Search results
Poor sanitation contributes to the spread of antimicrobial resistance and negatively affects broader well-being. Benefits of improving sanitation extend well beyond reducing the risk of diarrhoea and other diseases and include among others increased dignity and safety, particularly among women and girls, and increased school attendance.
- Background
The combined effects from ambient (outdoor) air pollution...
- Background
- Overview
- Why hygiene matters
- What is bad hygiene?
- Signs of bad hygiene
- What it can mean
- Ways to have good hygiene
- The bottom line
Improving your personal hygiene doesn’t have to be difficult or costly. Small changes in habits can make a big difference. If you’re concerned, see a doctor, as it may reveal an underlying health issue.
Wondering what constitutes bad hygiene, or trying to figure out if your hygiene habits are lacking?
Take a (minty fresh) breath, and rest assured that some supposed bad hygiene traits are actually NBD — like peeing in the shower, for instance.
That said, some poor hygienic traits can be harmful or even a sign of more serious issues.
Skimping on hygiene might seem like NBD, and it isn’t if we’re talking about the occasional day you don’t brush your teeth until noon. But it matters when it affects your life or that of the people around you.
In the most extreme cases, when left unattended, poor hygiene can breed disease that can affect you or others.
For example, not washing your hands after you use the toilet, handle food, or touch dirty surfaces can spread bacteria, viruses, and parasites. These can lead to infections and diseases, like food poisoning, gastroenteritis, cold and flu, and hepatitis A — just to name a few.
Poor dental hygiene can lead to tooth decay and gum disease, which can also affect the heart.
Not bathing can result in a skin condition called dermatitis neglecta and secondary infections.
An obvious lack of hygiene can also affect a person’s work and social life. Some companies have a hygiene policy in place for the protection of employees and company image, especially if you have a public-facing role.
Bad hygiene can be broken down into two categories: personal hygiene and environmental hygiene.
Here are examples of both kinds.
•Poor personal hygiene:
•not showering often
•not brushing teeth
•not washing hands before or after handling food
Here are some signs that are indicative of poor hygiene in yourself or someone else:
•body odor from not showering regularly
•unwashed or disheveled hair
•bad breath, food between teeth, or signs of tooth decay and gingivitis
•wearing soiled clothing
•dirty and untrimmed fingernails and toenails
People are quick to pass off poor hygiene habits as laziness, but poor hygiene can be a sign of a disease, such as Alzheimer’s, or a mental health condition, like depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
For some, lack of access to clean water, soap, or cleaning supplies can make proper hygiene more difficult to achieve.
Here are some easy ways to practice good hygiene:
•Brush your teeth twice a day. Doing it when you get up and before you go to bed makes it easier to get into a routine. Remember: You only need to brush for 2 minutes for a good clean, so you can do it even if you’re short on time.
•Wash your body daily. A quick shower or bath is all you need, as long as you cover the important parts (Think: pits and private bits). If access to water is limited, use a damp cloth or sponge to wash your genitals, around your anus, under your arms, between any skin folds, and under your breasts.
•Wash your clothes and bedding regularly. Doing laundry once per week is sufficient, whether by machine or hand. If you need to re-wear clothing, a quick wash in the sink and hanging it to dry for the next day works fine. Keeping your body clean lets you extend the time between washing clothing and sheets.
•Wash your hands often. If COVID-19 taught us anything, it’s that washing our hands goes a long way in keeping us healthy and reducing the spread of illness. Remember to wash your hands before and after contact with shared, or potentially unsanitary or contaminated surfaces to protect yourself and others.
•Wipe properly after going to the toilet. Wiping properly after going to the toilet will keep underwear clean and unpleasant odors at bay. Always wipe front to back to keep bacteria away from the urethra to avoid urinary infections. Body wipes or a bidet work, too. (Though keep in mind that wipes can make life hard for sanitation workers. So if you don’t need them, it’s best to stick with TP). If pain or a disability makes it hard to wipe, consider a toilet paper aid.
Practicing good hygiene doesn’t have to be time-consuming or require expensive products. A few tweaks to a person’s routine can help prevent bad hygiene.
Since poor personal and environmental hygiene can be a sign of an underlying condition, consider reaching out to a healthcare professional if you’re concerned about your hygiene or someone else’s.
May 10, 2024 · The most important way to reduce the spread of infections is hand washing - frequently wash hands with soap and water, if unavailable use alcohol-based hand sanitizer (containing at least 60% alcohol). Also important is to get a vaccine for those infections and viruses that have one, when available.
May 28, 2024 · WHO develops, updates and disseminates health-based guidance documents and best practice guides, norms and standards that support standard-setting and regulations at national level, particularly for drinking-water safety, effective surveillance approaches, recreational water quality, sanitation safety, safe wastewater use, WASH in health and educational facilities, and WASH monitoring.
The Power of Hygiene. Globally, nearly 1.8 million young children under the age of five die each year due to pneumonia and diarrhoea alone. 6 However, the simple act of handwashing with soap could be a life-saving shield, helping to protect one in every three children who suffer from diarrhoea and one in five from pneumonia. 6
Feb 14, 2017 · Poor cleaning and personal hygiene practices can cause food contamination, food poisoning, and the spread of infection. Wash hands with soap and water before performing the next job function after touching other food, and after smoking, chewing tobacco, eating and drinking, taking out the garbage, changing diapers, touching body parts such as the mouth or going to the washroom.
People also ask
What are some important hygiene practices?
What are the challenges in implementing good hygiene?
Is poor hygiene a sign of a disease?
Does hygiene really matter?
Can poor cleaning and personal hygiene cause food poisoning?
What is hygiene & why is it important?
Apr 2, 2024 · A few important practices include personal hygiene, proper infant diapering and feeding, and everyday cleaning. Personal hygiene refers to regularly washing parts of the body and hair with soap and water (including washing your hands and feet), grooming nails, facial cleanliness, covering coughs and sneezes, and menstrual hygiene. Personal ...
