Poor hygiene destroys health

First of all, let's find out the ingredients of poor hygiene.  Poor hygiene is a situation whereby an individual fail or neglect to attend to his/her personal and basic needs, such as personal hygiene, keeping healthy, feeding properly, proper clothing and keeping his/ her environment clean. It is a sign of self-negligence, inability and unwillingness to attend to one’s hygiene.

Many people especially here in Nigeria are suffering from "Poor hygiene syndrome". We have situations where you would accidentally bump in to a person or a friend in the office and you would find out that he is smelling like sewage due to his Hygiene status. Some people don't even bath nor use deodorant. Many don't brush their mouth in the morning and or in the evening. Some wear and re-wear their dirty underpants causing them to have a distinctive smell everywhere they go.  

What should be noted here is poor hygiene does not only affect you, it affects your friends, family and neighbours. It also affects your interpersonal relationship, social interaction, work and school performances. Personal hygiene is very necessary but it is always overlooked all in the name of being in a hurry to work or am so busy. Mind you, caring for your personal hygiene should be your number one priority in your everyday life. Good hygiene does not only make you stand out, it gives you confidence and boldness in everything you do.

 Some everyday bad habits that can destroy your health include are as follows:

Not brushing your teeth: Brushing your teeth should be the number one thing you do every morning before anything else. It is also advisable to brush your teeth at night time before going to bed. Not brushing your teeth can lead to bad breath and dental disease, this may occur as a result of the food particles we eat which sticks to your teeth. These food particle rot in the teeth and lead to bacteria which result in bad breath and dental diseases.

Poor Environmental Sanitation: Many health issues we face today are associated with poor environmental sanitation and poor waste management which lead to environmental pollution. Poor sanitation can lead to health issues such as malaria, diarrhea, fungal infections, respiratory infections etc. it is important that you keep your environment clean for proper health.

Drinking contaminated water: Drinking dirty water can affect us in so many ways, the effect can be immediate or it can last over a long period of time. Water is considered unsafe to drink when it has taste and colour, so it is important to treat your water and ensure that the water you use your household chose are free from germs and bacteria. Contaminated water can cause nausea, diarrhea, typhoid, malaria etc.

Dirty clothing: Dirty clothing may include, bed sheets, pillow case, curtains, inner wears, leggings, tight clothes and socks. They harbour microorganisms. Re wearing dirty clothes can cause skin infections and rashes and can also lead to unpleasant odour. To stay healthy, avoid wearing and re wearing of dirty clothes. Always wash your clothes with soap, water and detergent and dry it under the sun to dry properly. We should also avoid wearing sole clothing as sole clothing can cause skin irritation and other diseases.

Dirty and smelling Shoes: Our shoes should be among the personal hygiene we should not overlook; shoe hygiene is also very important as our feet produces a lot of sweat when we wear cover shoes. Some shoes provide a warm, moist and comfortable environment for bacteria growth which can lead to fungi infections and bad smell. Always air your shoes outside for some minutes after wearing it to avoid bacteria growth and infections.

Re-wearing of inner wears:  Most if not all people are guilty of wearing their inner wears more than once. Dirty inner wears affect our overall health and for ladies, it affects the health of your vagina. As a lady, you should have the habit of washing your pant and bras every day.  Wearing moist and dirty inner can lead to rashes, yeast infections and so many deadly diseases such as cancer. It is also medically advised that we should avoid wearing too tight under wears, it may cause medical conditions that are detrimental to our health.

Dirty hands and fingernails: No matter how often you clean your nails, they will always be dirty, so it is very important to always pay special attention to your nails. We do so many things with our hands that the dirt get stock in our fingernails such as shaking hands and forgetting to wash your hands after using the rest room. These and so many more habit harbour germs which make us fall sick. Research shows that bacteria which makes people vomit and have diarrhea are often found on our fingernails. So, always wash your hands with soap and water and always remove the dirt in your nails.

Unkempt hair: The beauty of a woman lies on her hair and an unkempt hair reduces a one’s physical attraction. Dirty hair leads to ringworm, lice and dandruff which will eventually lead to itching, when your hair start itching you, you cannot help but scratch it in a public place and that's totally not cool. Dirty hair also reduces your hair natural shine. For healthy clean and shiny hair, always wash your hair with shampoo at least twice in a month.

Not bathing every day: Washing and bathing are the most important ways of maintain good Hygiene and protecting ourselves from infections, illnesses and ailments. It's is at least advised that a person should bath at least once a day, with soap or shower gel. Failure to do that would attract bad health and sometimes bad odour. Maintaining cleanliness is also important for our self-confidence, physical and emotional well-being. The main purpose of washing is to remove dirt and odours.

Health is wealth, so always practice good hygiene.

By Mercy Kukah