Health and hygiene go hand in hand. Apart from eating a balanced diet and exercising regularly to stay healthy, maintaining proper personal hygiene is also important to help you stay away from bacteria, virus and fungi. Here are 7 personal rules you must know and follow every day.
Rule #1: Wash your hands more often
Can you imagine your hands are carrying a million germs? That’s why keeping your hands clean is extremely important to keep you away illness. Please make sure you wash and rub your hands thoroughly with soap and water at least 20 seconds. When soap and water are not available, you can use handy alcohol-based hand sanitizer gel.
Rule #2: Take a shower/bath daily
Take a shower or bath at least once a day. Using body wash or soap to scrub the body can help remove dead skin cells. Regular bathing also helps remove germs, dirt and sweat from the body. If you don’t bathe, bacteria, sweat and dead cells will accumulate on your skin and produce a nasty smell.
Rule #3: Brush your teeth twice a day
Oral hygiene is also an important part of personal hygiene. Brush your teeth in the morning and at night or even brush your teeth in between meals can prevent gum diseases which may lead to other illnesses. Remember to brush your teeth after eating sweets or acidic foods that cause tooth erosion. Daily flossing and using mouthwash are also effective ways to keep oral hygiene.
Rule #4: Sharing is not always caring
Don’t share personal items with others, such as make-up products, nail clippers, earphones and hairbrush. They are perfect breeding grounds for bacteria, germs and fungi. Sharing personal items with other people increases the risk of getting infections. In order to protect your health, it’s better to keep certain items exclusively for individual use.
Rule #5: Change your socks daily
You may neglect day-to-day foot care easily. When you wear shoes, your feet produce sweat as they do not have enough space to be able to breathe. Bacteria and germs are attracted to dirt. That’s why you should change your socks everyday.
Rule #6: Clip your fingernails & toenails
Keeping your fingernails and toenails long can cause bacterial and fungal infections due to dirt can accumulate in your nails. When you do not trim your nails, bacteria and germs will start growing on the nails or on your feet, which can lead to bacterial and fungal infections.
Rule #7: Cover your mouth with your hand when coughing or sneezing
Covering your mouth with your hands when coughing or sneezing is a good hygiene practice to prevent the spread of illness and disease. And, you should clean your hands regularly and thoroughly when you are sick. It is ideal to wear a surgical mask to avoid spreading the germs.
