Hygiene: A Clean Way To Live

What Is Hygiene

This is a condition or practice conducive to maintaining health and preventing diseases. It is derived from the Greek word “hygenos” which means healthy. Hygiene means being healthy

Types of Hygiene

Personal Hygiene
Menstrual/ Genital Hygiene
Environmental
Domestic
Food

Personal Hygiene

This involves keeping all parts of the body clean and healthy. People with poor personal hygiene have a greater vulnerability to infections.

Types Of Personal Hygiene

Dental: This involves taking care of your teeth, gums, tongue, etc. good dental hygiene can help to prevent bad breath and promote strong healthy gums.

Body: Washing the body can prevent skin irritations and body odor. It also stops your body from being a constant depository for all kinds of germs.

Hand-washing: This is one of the best ways to curb the spread of disease. Since the beginning of the Covid 19 pandemic, doctors, nurses, and health professionals worldwide could not stress enough the importance of handwashing. You can transfer more germs through your hands than you can through kissing.

Menstrual/ Genital Hygiene

To practice good menstrual/genital hygiene, it is advised to always keep down there dry, change sanitary products regularly, and wash hands before wiping the vagina. Wiping from vagina to anus etc. The outer part of the vagina, the vulva, and the vaginal mound (mons pubis) should be washed with mild soap and water.

Uncircumcised men can clean their penis by pulling back the foreskin and washing the inner skin thoroughly.

Environmental Hygiene

This involves keeping spaces clean in order to prevent the spread of disease. It is made up of air, water, and land hygiene.

Land pollution: Disinfection of workplaces, homes, churches and public spaces can help to curb the spread of disease. Nigeria is doing woefully bad in this area. Lagos has one of the dirtiest states in the world. Innovative ways need to be introduced. The accumulated waste ends up blocking drainage, roads, and pathways. Sometimes it can pollute drinking water. It contributes a lot to air pollution because of the foul smell emitted.

Air Pollution: This is characterized by smoke from burning things, industrial chimneys, car exhausts, and chemical waste disposal into the atmosphere. During the covid 19 pandemic, factories shut down at the same time. This was the first in a long time which resulted in the appearance of blue skies even over China.

Water Pollution: Dumping refuse into the oceans, disposing of chemical/toxic waste in the seas. Oil spills alone make up for 12% of oil-based pollution on the open seas. The rest comes from shipping travel, drains, and dumps. The catastrophic effect this has on marine wildlife cannot be overlooked.

Noise Pollution: Noise pollution is generally defined as regular exposure to elevated sound levels that may lead to adverse effects in humans or other living organisms. According to the World Health Organization, sound levels less than 70 dB are not damaging to living organisms, regardless of how long or consistent the exposure is.

Domestic Hygiene

This involves the

General cleanliness of homes
Ventilation in the house
Sanitary methods in cooking
Clean ways of storing and disposing of garbage.

Domestic hygiene encompasses all the work done to keep the house clean, washing clothes, cleaning toilets, and washing plates after eating.

Food Hygiene

Contaminated food is a major health concern in any part of the world. It is one of the leading causes of disease outbreaks. When food is kept for too long and not in favorable conditions, pathogens and other chemical toxins are formed. Also, foods eaten raw can get contaminated by flies and unclean water. Fruits put near decomposing fruits tend to get spoilt as well.

Conclusion

Good hygiene is the practice of keeping clean, frequent hand washing, and other means of preventing body odors, skin infections, and many other contagious illnesses. Its essence lies in its ability to prevent illness or control its spread. The word hygiene comes from a Greek word meaning “to make healthy’. Hygiene is something every human being should pay attention to. The amount of attention you pay yourself especially when it comes to being clean, says a lot about an individual.