Personal hygiene is more than just having a shower daily. There are facial routines, hair-washing routines, and even oral routines to develop. You need to think about in between the toes, consider the nails, and remember about everyday things that will help to keep germs at bay.
Good personal hygiene makes all the difference between getting ill and suffering from common colds. You can keep serious illnesses at bay, avoid fungal infections, and even protect your family.
Here’s a look at everything you need to know about personal hygiene and how to follow a good routine every single day.
Is Good Hygiene That Important?
Let’s start with the importance of good personal hygiene. We have just mentioned the reasons you will need to follow a good routine, but not quite how personal hygiene affects your immune system.
Good hygiene really will help you keep your health in top shape. You will be able to avoid bacteria growing in various parts of your body, prevent fungi spreading around the skin, and even keep plaque from forming on your teeth. If you do not wash your hands, trim your nails, brush your teeth, or bathe regularly, you will find that germs spread around your system.
Your immune system must work much harder. It must fight against the growing infections while trying to handle other ailments. Those viruses that you get from friends at work will grow within your body because your immune system is too busy dealing with the bacteria you have allowed to grow because of your poor hygiene.
You also pick up germs throughout the day. It is amazing how long bacteria and germs can last on surfaces. If you do not take wash your hands or clean surfaces, you will find that you pick up the germs and spread them around your body. Touching your mouth or putting your fingers near your nose will make it easier for the germs to circulate in your whole system.
At the same time, you put other people at risk. Your poor hygiene can lead to other people getting sick. You spread your germs around surfaces due to the lack of washing your hands. If other people do the same, the viruses and bacteria will continue to spread and multiply, leaving people continually sick.
Did You Know Personal Hygiene Hints at Other Problems?
Your poor personal hygiene does not necessarily mean you are lazy. Many people who are depressed have poor personal hygiene. This is because they do not feel like they are worth much or have the energy to even think about looking after themselves. They will draw themselves in and do as little as possible, because of the negative hormones around the body.
If someone close to you has poor personal hygiene, you may want to look at other symptoms they may be showing. This could be a sign that they need help for their mental state. Your friends or relatives are not necessarily going to talk to you, but letting them know you are there for support goes a long way.
Personal Hygiene Is More Than Just Washing
While regularly bathing is an important part of personal hygiene, it is more than that.
You do not need to wash your hair every single day. You do not always need to have a shower every day. All people are different. Their bodies create natural oils at a different speed, and daily washing can disrupt and affect that. However, you need to wash regularly. If you do not, you can lead to a build-up of germs.
Your skin sheds every day. This is a natural process that helps to get rid of the dead cells and bring newer cells to the front. Regularly Washing will help with this process. If you leave the cells, you can block the pores and cause bacteria to grow. This can also cause problems with fungal infections.
It is worth finishing your shower with a cold wash. This does not have to be freezing, but cold enough to help close your pores and stop you sweating.
Do not forget about your feet. However, you also need to think about your nails. Both your toe and fingernails need to be trimmed on a regular basis. You need to clean out the dirt from underneath them and protect them from damage. Look out for any signs of fungal nail infections. These spread exceptionally quickly and can be a pain to get rid of. There are pharmaceutical and herbal remedies to get rid of the fungal nail infections (along with other infections) effectively.
However, good personal hygiene will help to limit the chance of catching and spreading the fungal infections. Part of this is the towels that you use. Do not use towels if you suspect a fungal infection. Have paper towels that you can discard to dry your feet. Only use them once and get rid of them. If you do use bath towels, have a separate one for your feet compared to the rest of your body and always put it straight into the wash to prevent putting the fungal back onto your body after.
You will also want to make sure that your feet are always dry and clean. If your feet are damp, you increase the risk of infections growing.
Oral hygiene is part of the routine. It is best to brush your teeth twice a day. You want to do this in the morning and at night. Make sure you floss too. If you do not have gum infections or problems with your teeth, flossing once a day is fine. If you have gum disease or your dentist believes you are a high risk for it, consider flossing twice a day to prevent the buildup of plaque.
Brushing your teeth and flossing will help to remove food from between your teeth. You get rid of plaque, which can damage the enamel on your teeth and cause bacteria growth in your mouth. Unhealthy gums will weaken, and your teeth can fall out. You can also end up with damage to your bone structure.
Oil pulling is something worth considering. This process will help to pull out the bacteria from the mouth and can manage the acid levels.
Wash your hands frequently through the day. You will be surprised at the number of germs you pick up throughout the day. Did you know your phone has more bacteria and germs than your toilet seat? Then there are door handles and your computer keyboard. These are hardly cleaned throughout the day, which allows the bacteria to grow and multiply without you even noticing.
You put your hands on them all the time. Moreover, then you put your hands near your mouth!
Before every single meal, you need to wash your hands. You will be able to get rid of the viruses that sit on your fingers before you eat, helping to limit the spread of them. It is also worth using an alcohol gel for sterilizing, especially if you do not have access to wash your hands. Many businesses will now have alcohol gels available, so use them to help prevent the spread.
Stop touching your face! One part of personal hygiene that is often overlooked is the amount that you touch your face. You spread germs all over your body and around the home and office. Think about the bacteria that you pick up from your phone and computer keyboard. You just put them in your mouth right away.
Then when you touch your face again, the bacteria and germs will go back into your hands and end up wherever you touch. This could be your phone, or it could be the work surface where you are preparing a meal. It could also be on your colleague’s desk or a door handle. The germs have now spread around the home and office.
Do not Rush Your Hygiene
Many people will try to rush their hygiene routines. They feel the need to get through as quickly as possible so that they can get on with everything else in their day. This is the worst thing you can do.
If you rush the process, you will find your cleaning and grooming is not as effective as it could be. You will not be able to get all the germs off your body and from your mouth. Just the smallest germ can end up causing problems for your health. The tiniest bacterium left behind will multiple into a bigger infection.
When showering, give the warm water a chance to run over your body first. Warmer skin will be more relaxed, making it easier to get rid of the dirt and grime stuck in your pores. You will be able to get rid of more bacteria with just the one wash.
You will likely have heard that you should spend two minutes brushing your teeth. This will give you the chance to get the toothpaste over all your teeth and into the gaps. You do not need to brush for longer. In fact, brushing longer can cause problems. It is possible to wear down the enamel with your toothbrush, and you could cause the gums to recede. The gums can also tear, causing gaps for bacteria to grow.
Limit your use of mouthwash, especially anti-bacterial mouthwash. While now and then is not going to hurt, you could lead to mouthwash-resistant bacteria growing in your mouth. The bacteria are getting smart and have mutated over time. If you want something to swish, oil pulling is often the better option. Bacteria have not developed an immunity to natural antibiotics. Oil pulling can take 5-20 minutes, depending on how used to it you are.
Personal Hygiene Does Not Have to Involve Fragrances
If you do not want to use a perfume during the day, do not worry about it. This is a matter of preference and is not a necessity of personal hygiene. However, if you are going to use perfume, do not use it to cover up the fact that you have not washed in a few days. Your body’s natural scent will come through during the day, and it will be worse. You also do not cover up the damage you are doing to your body by not washing regularly.
On the other hand, deodorants can be useful. This is especially the case if you sweat a lot. They can help to prevent the moisture from your glands. There are unscented options if you prefer them! Do wash them off at the end of the day, however. Some can block the pores and cause other health problems.
Do not Forget About Clothes and Sheets Washing
You want to make sure anything that touches your body is washed regularly. Your underwear will need washing after its first use. The parts down there get sweaty and moist. It is the perfect place for spreading fungal and bacterial infections. If you do not wash your underwear regularly, you run the risk of developing more infections like UTIs and thrush.
The rest of your clothes will depend on how they are used and how long you wear them. Your sports clothes will need to be washed after use. The sweat will absorb into the material, creating the perfect home for bacteria growth. You can find loose tops, sweaters, and some pants can be worn two or three times before they are washed. Of course, if they become dirty then you will want to wash them after that use.
As for sheets, you can use these for up to a week before washing them. Any longer than that and you make it easy for bacteria and germs to grow. In fact, lack of washing the sheets is one of the reasons for people to get acne around their body! The pores become clogged and bacteria multiply within them.
Towels can also be left for a few days between washing unless you have an infection. Fungal infections especially will last for a long time within the fibers of towels. Washing them will help to get rid of those diseases. Otherwise, you will usually find you do not get too many germs growing after the first use.
Develop Good Personal Hygiene
Personal hygiene is more than just showering to be clean. You need to shower properly and help to get rid of all the germs from your body. Then you need to think of the other parts of the body that germs, bacteria, and fungi develop and grow.
With the above guide, you can develop good personal hygiene and improve the health of you and your family. You will find that you get fewer colds and runny noses. Plus, you will protect your body from other more serious conditions since your immune system is not working as hard to keep you well.
