Dermatreat

Overview To Hygiene

When we speak of hygiene in this context we refer to personal hygiene, those measures which each of us can take on a daily basis to ensure that our health and our presentation amongst our fellow citizens is irreproachable.

It is simple things, performed regularly which make the difference.

Like washing your hands, your body, not sneezing openly.

Personal hygiene may vary from culture to culture. Daily bathing can become a ritual, and the use of soaps and deodorants to stop body smells is expected. In other cultures, different measures are applied.

Body odour is perhaps one of the least attractive results of a negligent personal hygiene programme. Chemicals produced in sweat, waste materials excreted through the skin, bacteria which multiply on dead skin cells and the use of unwashed clothes such as socks and underwear may all play a role in producing body odour.

Most transmissible infections such as gastroenteritis and colds can trace their origins back to unwashed hands which when placed in proximity to the mouth transmit the germs which will do the damage. It may also be the case that someone who has prepared our food has not taken these elementary precautions and passed on their germs in our meal. Therefore always thoroughly wash the hands, scrub your nails and do this after using the toilet, if you have a cold or other illness, if preparing food, if you have touched animals.

For women menstruation, cystitis and thrush are often a fact of life and here again personal hygiene plays a major role. Regular washing, protection during sex and choice of natural, perhaps cotton, under wear could help in these areas.

Dental hygiene is all important as bad breath is most disturbing. Whether caused by inadequate brushing, leading to a proliferation of odour causing bacteria to develop, or through having eaten a particularly pungent food, when in close proximity with family, friends or colleagues, it will be noticed. Simply brushing regularly or chewing flavoured gum can help reduce bad breath, if only temporarily in the case of the gum.

So, personal hygiene is personal, but if not taken seriously then those around you will begin to notice that all is not as it should be.

The products to deal with personal hygiene are available, with forms to suit each individuals particular needs, so there is no excuse to let a poor hygiene regime continue. Do yourself, and everyone around you, a favour and relish in the feeling that only a clean and healthy body can bring.