Hygiene is all series of habits related to personal care that positively affect health and prevent diseases. It is the part of medicine or science that tries by all means to prolong life and preserve the health of men. Hygiene is important to prevent infection or illness. It must be hygienic with personal hygiene, as well as clothing, footwear, food, animals in general and with pets, at home, with the environment and, just as important, with the community.
What is Hygiene
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The term comes from the French hygiene whose meaning speaks of a branch of medicine that prevents diseases and promotes the preservation of health, either in environmental or personal aspects. The word refers to the practices or habits that have to do with personal hygiene, cleaning public spaces and the home, although hygiene is really nothing more than a habit of great importance in the life of human beings, this It is because, without it, different consequences can develop for the organism of the human body and for the general society.
Hygiene has existed since the time of ancient Greece, although its scientific origins actually date back to the early years of the 20th century. The historical context of this habit began to be used in concise methods for the investigation of certain norms that could promote cleanliness in society, which were approved for immediate execution. Years later, this habit was accepted as a scientific branch for the prevention of diseases and its use has potentially decreased the percentage of infections with a quite remarkable level.
People tend to use synonymous hygiene such as care, cleanliness, individual standards, etc. But it is common to refer to it as personal or collective care. Currently, many people have decided to implement all the rules of cleanliness and social distancing due to the Covid-19 pandemic, so the measures have not only been increased, but they have been radicalized to the point of being totally mandatory in public places. Most establishments have made the use of face masks mandatory and provide antibacterial gel or soap to people to be able to care for them. These are 3 of the most important hygiene methods used worldwide today.
Hygiene classification
This habit is related to different aspects of human life, but it is important to note that it is classified into two important aspects, the first is public hygiene and the second is private.
Public hygiene
Here reference is made to the responsibility of all citizens, so, more than a care, people must comply with all the rules and conditions previously dictated by government entities for the protection of people and the preservation of common areas of a nation, state, city or locality. Collective hygiene includes the creation of specific places to place garbage and the prohibition of throwing waste in public places. In addition, the protection of parks is imposed so that children and the family can use them as a means of recreation.
Private hygiene
Different from the previous aspect, here we talk about the personal care of each of the citizens, including oral hygiene, hand hygiene, body hygiene, cleaning clothes and the different ways of behaving in society, since individual hygiene makes people look neat and proper to others.
Hygiene types
Just as there is a classification for cleaning habits, there are also different types of hygiene that serve to have a clean and bearable life, all these types will be developed in this section.
Personal hygiene
Here we talk about the different forms of hygiene that individuals can apply on themselves, starting with a deep body cleansing, paying attention to the skin, hair and making use of products that can cleanse and prolong the health of both. It must be remembered that abusing these products can end up being something harmful to health.
Sports hygiene
Here we talk about cleaning habits in the sports field, which is extremely beneficial for health and helps improve sports levels in competitive spaces. Athletes must pay attention to the areas where they perform various physical activities, see if they are completely clean and if the machinery, if used, work properly. It is also important to visit the doctor gradually to make sure that the body is in optimal condition for physical activities.
Before exercising, warm-up routines should be performed to prepare the body for the activities that it will do later, so the warm-ups would be of great help. If you exercise, you should wait for digestion, that is, two hours after consuming heavy food. Clothing must be clean, comfortable and not inhibit the body's natural perspiration.
Environmental hygiene
It is a relatively new and scientific activity that specializes in the control, correction and prevention of environmental situations that tend to occur gradually. For this reason , environmental hygiene includes taking care of both chemical, physical and biological elements external to the person, since they are elements that could influence health.
Its objective is to avoid the formation of diseases by creating environments free of pathogens. Among the main tasks that environmental hygiene includes, include disinfection, fumigation, ventilation, etc.
Industrial hygiene
It refers to occupational hygiene, in which all preventive measures for infections, diseases or occupational accidents must be taken into account. They are really legal normals, so their use is more than just a simple practice in work zones.
People who break these rules run the risk of being fired. Each cleaning and care measure protects the integrity of the worker and the company, thus reducing mental and physical risks.
These standards are divided into 2 groups, the first is the social condition that refers to the environment between each employee and the second is the hierarchical and informal organization. The first is allusive to the amount of work carried out in the company (normal hours and overtime, vacations, breaks between shifts, rest, etc.) and the second is about the physical space conditions and the position they have each worker.
Postural hygiene
It has to do with efforts or postures that are not necessary for humanity and that can damage the spine of people. Care is part of hygiene and the spine should be given extremely special attention, since its structure is the support of the human anatomy. If you are not careful in your posture, it is possible that lumbar ailments, abnormalities and serious diseases appear.
The advice that experts usually give is the distribution of weight between the upper extremities, try not to stretch too much, bend the legs and take care of body weight.
Hygiene at home
This type of cleaning not only applies to cleaning the home daily, it also corresponds to preventive measures for infections and in the way of ensuring that bacteria do not spread. Although it is not believed, there are germs everywhere, and they can be in the kitchen, the bathroom, the rooms… That is why it is so important to keep everything disinfected, clean food well before being consumed or prepared, etc.
Mental hygiene
It is the set of activities that ensure that a person remains in complete balance with the social and cultural environment. Each of these actions prevent the emergence of behaviors that do not tend to adapt to social functioning, but also ensure that emotions remain stable, only then can a person enjoy excellent mental health.
This habit is personal, so it is the responsibility of each person to take care of themselves mentally to have psychological balance.
Hygiene with pets
It is important to maintain a good cleaning in the home, especially when you have pets such as birds, turtles, cats or dogs because they tend to carry infections to homes. Each person should wash their hands very well after playing with pets and bathing them from time to time. It must be remembered that they are animals and that they need a lot of care not only to survive, but to avoid contracting diseases or infections.
School hygiene
This is nothing more than the application of standards, precepts or principles of individual cleaning in public areas such as schools, secondary schools and universities. Educational institutions should promote health awareness so that students not only follow the rules there, but also in their homes and in general society. Education has preventive functions and includes the execution of norms by teachers, since they are the example to be followed by students.
Recommendations for good hygiene habits
When there is no hygiene, different negative reactions and diseases can be caused both for humans and for pets, general animals and plants. Caring for the environment is everyone's responsibility and hygiene goes hand in hand with this purpose.
The lack of cleaning habits represents a very serious problem in humanity and that not only implies a bad appearance or a bad smell, but the increase in infections, viruses and various diseases from person to person, so we will leave you certain recommendations to take into account:
- Increasing your hand washing with soap and water is important to remove chemicals, contaminants, and some of the common germs found on surfaces.
- Food should also be washed well before being consumed, clean surfaces, the home in general, use antibacterial gel, implement the use of face masks in crowded places, wear gloves, etc.
- If you are going to carry out work with machinery, follow the rules of use and wear the appropriate clothing.
- Another important aspect to take into account is not to share clothes of any kind, because although many think that nothing happens, in reality different diseases can be spread by sweat.
- Nor should items for individual use such as toothbrushes or cosmetic products such as makeup be shared.
