Types of Personal Hygiene: Importance & Tips to Maintain Hygiene

There are various definitions of ‘personal hygiene’ but in simple words, it defines how you care for your body. Good personal hygiene includes keeping all external body parts clean & healthy and it’s really important to maintain both physical & mental health. It may include bathing, washing, brushing, and more. 

Nowadays, when the world is fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic, good personal hygiene is a must for everyone. It’s important for both health & social reasons. Keeping your hands and body clean is essential to halt the spread of illness & viruses. Every day you go outside, your body attracts millions of germs & viruses. They can remain on your body, and in most cases can make you sick easily by affecting your nervous system. This simple habit doesn’t only improve your health but also keeps people around you safe. There are various types of hygiene, importance, and ways to maintain it. Learn more about the types of personal hygiene and how to maintain good personal hygiene for a healthy lifestyle. 

5 Types of Personal Hygiene That You Must Know

There are various types of personal hygiene because each person’s criteria is different. Here we have put together around 5 points to help those who are looking forward to adopting a healthy personal hygiene routine. 

1. Toilet Hygiene

Wash your hands and wash your hands properly are two different things that make a difference between good & bad hygiene. However, toilet hygiene is one of the most important types of personal hygiene, it is vital to wash your hands properly after you use the restroom. Scrub with soap or hand wash for 20-30 seconds, zig-zag of the finger, ensure to clean on the back of your hands, in your nails. Wash with water and dry with a clean towel. 

In case you don’t have water & soap, the alcohol-based sanitizer will also work but make sure it contains nearly 60% alcohol.

2. Shower Hygiene

It’s not taboo if you spend a little longer in the bathroom. However, personal preference may differ how often you wish to bathe, but you should bathe at least every other day. And give it a minute because using soap or shampoo can remove dead skin cells, bacteria, and oils as well. 

Also, you should wash your hair, not daily, but twice a week. Shampooing your hair and scalp, removes skin build-up, and prevents major hair problems such as dandruff and oil that irritates.

3. Nail Hygiene

How many of you are habitual of nail-biting? Though trimming your nails regularly to keep them short & clean is a sign of personal hygiene, of course not from your teeth. Keep your nails short and brush under them to clean little particles of dirt and bacterias or use a washcloth to get rid of germs & filth. 

As it is the most important type of personal hygiene, trimming your nails can help you halt the spread of germs and virus transmission through your mouth and other body openings. Here’s how to quit your habit of nail biting.

4. Teeth Hygiene

Good dental health is beyond brushing your teeth every day and getting white teeth. Taking care of your gums & teeth is the best way to prevent gum & teeth diseases and cavities.

Experts recommend brushing at least twice a day for 5 minutes. Avoid edibles without brushing in the morning. It is better if you can brush after every meal because it removes all the food particles in teeth gape that causes gum diseases and stinginess. Floss between your teeth every day and using an antibacterial mouthwash is what professionals recommend. 
It doesn’t just prevent tooth decay but also eliminates gum diseases and keeps your teeth healthy forever.

5. Hands Hygiene

One of the most common types of personal hygiene, hand wash has become a habit amid pandemics. The coronavirus outbreak has added this to your daily routine, from children to elders, everyone is conscious about hand hygiene. However, you should always wash your hands frequently because germs may linger on your hands and can gate crash your body and affect your immune system. It’s easier for germs to enter your body through your hands than anywhere else. Bacterias may enter your body from the nose, mouth, eyes, and other parts of your body. Always wash your hands;

• Before having food
• After handling garbage
• After using the restroom
• When you sneeze
• After touching any animal
• When you contact someone who is sick

Additionally, always wash your hands frequently and after changing baby diapers, assisting someone cleans themselves, or when rendering any medical service to someone. 

How to Maintain a Good Personal Hygiene?

So, now you know that good personal hygiene is as important as other factors to stay safe, but how to formulate a good personal hygiene routine and where to start has always been a big question. While good personal hygiene will help you stay healthy & safe, it’s never too late to start teaching hygiene. Here we have broken down some of the easy steps to help you and your family stay healthy & safe. These tips will be a better start to maintain good personal hygiene. Keep reading to learn some easy tips to maintain personal hygiene.

Handwashing

The best & easiest place to start when thinking about maintaining personal hygiene is our hands. Whether it’s about meeting someone or having dinner, we often use our hands; touching various surfaces & things. So, it’s no wonder that your hands are the most responsible for the transmission of viruses & germs in your body. 

You just need to ensure that you and your family are practicing good hand hygiene because it’s the easiest & quickest way to prevent common health issues such as cough, colds, flu, and gastroenteritis. Another way to halt the spread of potential illness-causing germs is to wash your hands properly and frequently using water & soap.

Dental Hygiene

Looking after your teeth is the second most vital step that must be taken to prevent some serious dental problems. Here’s what experts recommend for a healthy mouth & smile;

• Brushing twice a day – in the morning and before bed or after every meal if possible.
• Floss Regularly
• Replace your toothbrush in every 3-4 months
• Store it in a clean and dry place
• Use an antibacterial mouthwash daily

Experts suggest replacing your toothbrush every 3-4 months or every illness. Also, here is when to change your toothbrush. 

Showering

It is suggested to shower or bathe every other day, but it’s a personal preference. However, this personal preference may affect your health badly. Also, you should use soap and shampoo to remove dead body cells, oil, and germs that irritate. You should pay more attention to your more sweaty body parts such as armpits, the back of your neck, between your toes, and the groin area. Here’s how to bathe properly;

• Wash every day with soap & shampoo and warm water because warm water keeps you fresh the whole day.
• If any of your body parts are infected, then make sure to clean it every day using an antibacterial liquid such as Dettol and Savlon.
• Wash your hair twice a week with shampoo to prevent dandruff and other hair issues.
• Always bathe properly and clean all body parts, especially those that accumulate more sweat. 

Use an antibacterial soap to ensure killing more and more germs when you shower.

After showering, it’s a good idea to do the shaving part of your grooming process. Hot water from the shower is known to cleanse your skin, with the steam doing a lot to open up your pores, making after showers the best time to shave. Of course, choosing your shaving method and tool is another predicament. If you go for razors, you must know that there are all sorts of razors. It is often down to your preference, but shaving with straight razors is back in the trend, so it might be something you’d like to consider. 

Menstrual & Genital Hygiene

We often take it lightly and end up diagnosed with a serious illness. It is important to change sanitary products regularly and to wash hands after removing or changing tampons, sanitary pads, or any other sanitary product. 

Vaginas are self-cleaning, you better use soap and lotion with fewer pH levels to clean the vagina because using high pH level soaps can cause an imbalance of its natural bacteria and lead to a serious infection. 

People with an infected penis can clean it gently using fewer pH levels of soap or warm water. 

Hygienic Clothes

Here we go. Did you know that dirt & bacteria can build up on your clothes too? Well, bacteria and viruses can linger on your clothes and can transmit via your hands and other ways. Therefore, as a part of personal hygiene, it’s vital to take care of your clothes as well. You better wash them properly and every day in antibacterial solutions. This is perhaps the most important activity to do to keep yourself healthy & safe.

Personal hygiene should not be tough. Once you start following good & healthy personal hygiene, you will automatically get free from doctors. And it will become your habit just like you wake up and brush every day. Of course, there are side effects of poor personal hygiene that we’ll discuss later. As of now, you should focus on maintaining a healthy personal lifestyle which is the need of the hour.