Importance of Hygiene

We can understand hygiene as the process that makes a person take care of their health, their appearance, cleaning it to avoid contracting diseases or viruses, to clean the dirt, to behave in a healthy way in the society in which lives. Hygiene is a complex system of more or less simple actions that each individual must carry out on their own, that is, hygiene is not a responsibility of the State or professionals (as it can be to keep an epidemic under control) if not it is the pure and exclusive responsibility of the person. Hygiene habits are gained from childhood and that is where the role that parents or authorities have in teaching children the ways to act in certain situations, for example, washing your hands before eating, after leaving the bathroom, brushing your teeth after each food etc

It has been proven over time that the small actions that characterize the daily and personal hygiene of each individual are, in short, very important to ensure the person a good state of health, avoiding being in contact with viruses or bacteria, limiting exposure to diseases and maintaining, in general terms, a good state of cleanliness of the body.

Personal hygiene refers to the conscious care and cleanliness of our body and is necessary because it helps prevent the development of infections, diseases and bad odors. Maintaining high standards of cleanliness involves care on a personal level, but also making healthy choices about our interaction with others.

Our Personal Image

The way we see ourselves and how others perceive us impacts our self-esteem and motivation. Those who have a distorted self-concept or are going through a stage of depression commonly neglect their grooming, which has a negative impact on their image and this in turn on their self-confidence, becoming a circle vicious.

Maintaining a clean and pleasant appearance will make us feel good about ourselves and project it towards others.

The importance for health

from a perspective very simple, our health depends on the proper grooming of our body. The Fund of the United Nations for Children or UNICEF, states that more than 50% of illnesses and deaths in young children are caused by germs from fecal matter, which are spread by eating food with dirty hands or drinking water contaminated.

Maintaining daily cleanliness habits such as bathing or washing hands with soap and water after using the bathroom, or before cooking and eating, can help prevent diseases such as diarrhea or cholera. This practice has been shown to reduce the rate of other illnesses such as pneumonia, influenza, or skin and eye infections, among others.

Water plays a fundamental role as it is well known that without it there is no hygiene. Unfortunately, contamination and unhygienic practices for its use cause millions of deaths every year, especially in developing communities.

What measures do we need to take?

It is important to think of each part of our body separately when it comes to hygiene. The basic actions that we all must carry out are:

1. Brush your teeth at least twice a day.

2. Take a daily bath, especially if you live in a city where pollution and humidity make the body a magnet for bacteria.

3. Change our underwear every day and wash it well.

4. Wash hands as much as possible.

5. Caring for our environment:

Germs can spread in our home, especially in places where there are very high temperatures and considerable levels of humidity.

Virtually any object can be exposed to the development of bacteria harmful to health, for it is necessary to take care of the cleanliness of the whole house, paying special attention to two places that we detail

The kitchen:

Being the space where we prepare our food, we must guarantee the conditions of sanitation necessary to avoid infecting us with any disease. There are certain potentially risky elements in this area, such as the sink, where a lot of humidity accumulates, cleaning utensils such as rags and sponges, the surface where food is prepared, and places where we store food, such as the refrigerator and kitchen. cupboard.

Bathroom:

It is the space where we take care of our personal hygiene and meet our basic physiological needs. Here the heat and humidity favor the development of bacteria, therefore, constantly disinfect and Maintaining good ventilation that allows moisture to evaporate and air to be renewed is essential.

We all deserve to enjoy adequate living conditions and optimal health. Procuring good hygiene at a personal and social level is a part of the fundamental right to human dignity, which all people have.

Hygiene can be carried out in small actions such as washing hands several times a day and at specific times, bathing in a immediately, wear comfortable and fresh clothes, brush your teeth after each meal and also keep the environments cool, ventilated and clean. All these small acts and many others contribute to raising people's quality of life and directly influence in maintaining a good state of health that further limits the presence of possible diseases or health problems health.

Photos: iStock, ChaNaWiT/andresr