Personal hygiene is defined as the way in which a person cares for their body. These processes can include bathing, brushing your teeth, washing your hands, and many more. It is seen as a measure of one’s cleanliness but it actually does more than just spruce up your outward appearance. Having poor personal hygiene has been linked to several illnesses and has even been proven to decrease one’s life expectancy.
Increased Life Expectancy
Public health concerns have for a long time shown to be major causes of simple diseases that if not treated can lead to fatal results. For example, in many developing countries, the leading cause of prepubescent deaths is caused by diarrhea and respiratory infections. Because these countries cannot afford the medication and treatment to help treat the patients, many researchers and scientists have been trying to find links to help them provide an affordable solution to this problem. They found that their lack of access to proper sanitation measures as well as unclean water were two of the most prevalent causes of these infections. So, in order to help, they sent soap as well as piped in clean water to many areas and found that there was a significant decrease in the amount of deaths. Not to mention, that these measures actually helped to improve the life expectancy of the community by about 5-10 years.
Disease Prevention
When you cough or sneeze, or use the restroom, you have transferred all of your germs to your hands. And then if you do not wash your hands, you are continuing to accumulate those germs. You then go on to touch others and spread those germs. Not to mention, that you touch the food that goes into your mouth, with those unwashed hands. This is how diseases are most commonly spread; because people do not wash their hands.
In developing countries, where access to proper sanitation is extremely limited, there has been a strong correlation between how often a person gets sick and their lack of personal hygiene. The CDC conducted a study in which they gave half of the participating families soap and the other half they did not. They found that illnesses such as diarrhea and respiratory infections were vastly decreased because of hand-washing. They even found that regardless of whether the families were given antibacterial soap or just plain soap, the instances of these illnesses were decreased.
Chronic Disease/Pain Prevention
There are many chronic diseases that can develop as a result of other diseases, many of which are caused by poor personal hygiene. For instance, gum disease, such as periodontitis, can lead to heart disease. This is due to the bacterial buildup in the mouth which can cause an infection in the bloodstream and then make its way to the heart. The best way to prevent this cascade of events is to brush your teeth, twice a day, daily, as well as floss. That way you can be sure that you are cleaning your gums.Â
People don’t often associate pain with cleanliness, however, the pain comes from chronic diseases that are associated with poor hygiene. For example, if you don’t brush or floss your teeth on a daily basis, it could lead to gum disease which causes inflammation in your gums and leads to excruciating pain. Same goes with not washing your hands and nails. Failing to do so, could lead to build up of fungal bacteria under the nails causing excess inflammation and buildup of oils leading to pain.
Parasites
Not completely a surprise, however, not washing your body, hands, hair, or teeth could also lead to increased risk of parasites to infect your body. Lice, scabies, hookworm, and much more could find their way into or onto your body. Without proper maintenance of these parasites, they will continue to grow and can lead to other diseases such as malaria and trichomoniasis
Trichomoniasis is an STD that is caused by a parasite called Trichomonas vaginalis. Many people actually don’t even know that they are infected by this parasite because they are asymptomatic. So, the best way to prevent infection by this parasite is to always use protection. Even if someone says that they are clean, it is always best to be on the safer side and use condoms. You should also get tested as often as possible, because although this STD is treatable, since most people are asymptomatic, the longer this parasite is left untreated, the more of an increased risk the person has for getting HIV.
Skin and Eye Infections
These infections are mainly caused by makeup and not cleansing the skin correctly after hours of exposure to the outside. After wearing hours of makeup, all dermatologists recommend that you thoroughly remove the makeup, using a wipe or a cleaning balm, and then wash your face using a gentle cleanser. The use of all of these products helps to breakdown and remove any and all sebum and dirt that has built up within your pores throughout the day. However, many people do not correctly remove their makeup and this can lead to infections such as painful acne, pink eye, stye, and many more.
The best way to make sure that you are preventing yourself from experiencing these infections is to not only wash your face, but to also frequently wash the sponges and makeup brushes that you use on your face. Along with that, make sure that you are not sharing your makeup or makeup tools with others because this cross contamination can cause you to spread your germs to others and infect others. Finally, make sure to throw away your eye makeup, mainly mascara, after at least 3 months of use because the bacteria build up inside a can of mascara can lead to increased risk of contracting other infections.Â
Self-Esteem and Mental Health
Looking and feeling oily and dirty can negatively affect your attitude and the way you interact with others. Poor hygiene is often associated with laziness and sluggish behavior which is often found in those that are depressed and have poor mental health. Having poorer mental health makes people often see the negative aspects of life versus the positive and optimistic aspects.
However, having a cleaner image as well as smelling nice, can lead to better self-esteem! Self-esteem may seem like a minor side effect when in comparison to disease prevention, however, having a better self-esteem actually promotes the production and the absorption of serotonin which can help to better their mental health.
