Do you know how many types of personal hygiene you need to clean your body entirely?
Are you aware of what is personal hygiene and its importance? If yes, then you should know that body cleanliness is more than teeth brushing, hand washing, and showering.
To practice good personal hygiene clean the entire body using corresponding cleaning activities.
You can break them down into routines to clean separate areas of the body.
Without further ado, let’s dive into different types of hygiene.
Types of personal hygiene
1. Hand hygiene
The issue
Hands are the dirtiest part of the body because they touch many things during the day.
But this is not the main problem.
The main problem is touching your eyes, nose, mouth, or wounds with dirty hands letting bacteria get inside the body. Once in the body, bacteria weakens the immunity or infects it with a disease.
Why you need hand hygiene?
Hand washing washes away the bacteria off the hands and lowers the chances of any contamination of the body.
How to maintain good hand hygiene?
Wash your hands thoroughly with water and soap. Scrub the palm, between fingers, under fingernails, and up until the wrist. When done, rinse your hands with clean running water and dry them out with a clean towel.
2. Nail hygiene
The issue
Fingernails need regular maintenance because dirt accumulates under them. This is unhealthy because the dirt can get inside the body through food or by touching the eyes, nose, and mouth.
And from an aesthetic point of view, the black line under the fingernails looks embarrassing.
Why you need nail hygiene?
Fingernails hygiene reduces the risk of possible infections after touching your mouth, eyes, or nose with your hands.
How to maintain your fingernails?
While washing your hands, rinse the buildup from under the fingernails, trim them with clippers or scissors, and don't bite them.
Don’t share your nail hygiene tools with others.
3. Face hygiene
The issue
Maintaining face hygiene means washing up your forehead, cheeks, and eyes.
If you don’t do that, the skin on the face covers with a layer of sweat and dust that clogs out the skin pores which decreases its ability to breathe. As a result, the skin on your face looks tired, dry and can develop pimples.
Another poor face hygiene characteristic is eye discharge. This accumulates around the eyes after sleeping.
Why do you need to maintain your face hygiene?
Face washing prevents clogging out the pores on the skin and maintains its freshness during the day.
How to maintain your face hygiene?
To eliminate eye discharge, wash your face first thing in the morning.
During the day, wash your face whenever you feel that the skin becomes sweaty and dirty.
4. Oral hygiene
The issue
The humidity level in the mouth is high, which makes it a perfect environment for bacteria development. Bacteria eat the food residues stuck on the surface of the teeth, tongue, and gums.
The more bacteria are present in the mouth, the higher are the chances of developing oral diseases such as tooth decay, cavities, gingivitis, and bad breath.
Why do you need to maintain good oral hygiene?
Oral hygiene activities reduce the number of unhealthy bacteria in the mouth.
How to maintain your oral hygiene?
1. Brush your teeth at least two times per day- once in the morning and once before bedtime.
2. Floss between the teeth.
3. Use an antibacterial mouthwash.
4. Use a tongue scraper or a toothbrush to clean the white coating from the surface of your tongue.
5. Visit a dentist every 6 months for a check-up.
5. Body hygiene (skincare)
The issue
The skin of the body releases sweat and produces dead cells. If it is not washed away it may develop unpleasant odors, scabies, pimples, and ringworms. These body discharges may also stick onto the inner side of the clothes, which worsens the unpleasant smells released by the body.
Why maintain body hygiene?
Body hygiene controls the release of unpleasant body odors and sweat.
How to maintain your body hygiene?
At least once or twice per day, take a shower using soap or body gel.
After that, dry out the body with a clean towel, wear clean underwear and fresh clothes.
6. Hair hygiene
The issue
The hair on the head produces oils that feed it with all the healthy nutrients.
However, an excessive release of these natural oils accumulates dust, which makes it look greasy and dirty.
Why maintain hair hygiene?
Hair hygiene prevents releasing too much oil and washes away the dry skin and dead cells from the surface of the scalp. This makes your hair look clean, fresh, and attractive.
How to maintain hair hygiene?
Wash your hair with shampoo once or two times per day.
While washing the hair, massage the shampoo into the scalp to eliminate the dead skin cells, excessive oil, and dirt.
When you’re done rinse well with clear water and apply conditioner if you want to make your hair smoother.
7. Ear hygiene
The issue
Ear wax accumulates in the ear canal, which attracts dust, looks embarrassing, and may cause hearing loss.
Why maintain ear hygiene?
Cleaning the ear wax prevents embarrassing the people around and hearing loss.
How to maintain ear hygiene?
The best way to clean the ear wax is after taking a shower. After showering, the wax melts and is easily removed from the ear.
To remove the wax from the ear canal, use a cotton stick. However, don’t use it too often, though, as it tends to push the wax inside the ear tube.
Use cotton sticks with caution.
If the ear wax has plugged your ears and you lost hearing, consult a doctor.
8. Foot hygiene
The issue
Wearing shoes all day long promotes sweating, which releases unpleasant smells, develops scabies, and fungal growth.
Why maintain foot hygiene?
Cleaning your feet prevents the release of the awful odor and fungal growth.
How to maintain ear hygiene?
Wash your feet with soap and make a habit to air out your shoes from time to time.
9. Food hygiene
The issue
One of the worst types of poisonings is food poisoning because its severity may lead to feeling weak, throwing up, or even death.
Why maintain food hygiene?
Consuming healthy food prevents you and your family members from getting food poisoned.
How to maintain ear hygiene?
- pay attention to the expiration date when you buy packed food.
- wash your food before consumption.
- store food under appropriate temperature in the fridge.
- maintain the cleanliness in the place where you handle and prepare food.
10. Respiratory hygiene
The issue
During the cold and flu season, your coughs and sneezes may spread bacteria through the air, which may infect other people around.
Why do you need to be aware of respiratory hygiene?
It prevents spreading the disease further to other people.
How to maintain respiratory hygiene?
If you don’t feel well, carry a cloth with you to cover your mouth whenever you feel the urge of sneezing or coughing. After coughing, wash your hands with soap and water or use a hand sanitizer.
11. Sickness hygiene
The issue
If you don't feel well and continue visiting the school or workplace you may infect your colleagues as well.
Why should you be aware of sickness hygiene?
Show your respect to the health and safety of your colleagues.
How to maintain sickness hygiene?
If you got sick, stay home and avoid any crowded places. Treat yourself before you can join any social gatherings.
12. Clothes hygiene
The issue
You wear two layers of clothing. The internal layer of clothes is underwear, pants, vests, and T-shirts. These types of clothes are right next to your skin that absorbs sweat and dead skin cells, which produces unpleasant odors.
Why maintain your clothes clean?
Wearing clean clothing reduces the chances of bacteria from the inner side of the cloths landing on the skin of the body. This extends the time in which your body stays clean.
How to maintain your clothes clean?
Change clothes for clean and fresh ones.
Use detergent to wash the dirty clothing containing stains, food, vomit, or bad smell.
After that, dry them out and, if possible, iron them. The high temperature kills most of the bacteria existing on the clothes.
Conclusion
Maintaining a good level of personal hygiene is about maintaining all parts of your body clean and fresh.
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