Hygiene for Health

Hygiene is an important aspect of our overall health that I think some people tend to overlook. Not to say they don't practice it, sometimes it can be overlooked and forgotten. Merriam-Webster actually defines Hygiene as "a science of the establishment and maintenance of health". In medical terms hygiene actually refers to the maintenance of health and healthy living. Although hygiene consists of more than simply washing your hands and brushing your teeth. It also includes things like proper food safety while cooking and eating, and good medical hygiene (like putting a band-aid on a cut).

The type of hygiene we think of first is personal hygiene. This consists of the typical things we all learned as kids. The list includes washing your hands regularly, brushing and flossing your teeth, washing your face everyday, combing your hair, taking a shower everyday, etc. Perhaps not directly connected to this, but I will throw it in there anyway is doing things like keeping regular visits to the dentist and doctor, especially when you become an elderly citizen. Good personal hygiene is directly related to good physical and emotional health. People who don't take care of themselves are at a higher risk of getting sick, and more often than other people, which can lead to poor emotional health.

Another important aspect of hygiene is good food preparation and cooking hygiene. I can attest to this because I had food poising before and it sucked big time. There are so many ways you can get sick from food contamination it is important to always do things such as: clean preparation areas, use correct type cutting boards for the situation, proper dish sanitation, washing hands before and after touching food, not using the same utensil to prepare multiple food items, no licking of fingers, proper food storage and refrigeration, etc. The list here could go on much longer, but I believe most people understand the basics. One thing I think is important is choosing the correct cutting board. There are advantages to using wood ones compared to plastic and vice versa. The soft surface of plastic cutting boards can get scored more easily, leaving a nice place for bacteria to hang out and grow. On the other hand a good wood cutting board like you would see on a food network show may not have this problem, but if you get a cheap one like most of us would have they are more susceptible to scoring and have larger pores that can retain dirty water. Perhaps you could just get a glass one and replace your knives more often.

The last big part of good hygiene is typical household medical hygiene. Things in this category include using a band-aid and some antibiotic ointment like neosporen, or for those of you who have piercings and tattoos you should check out the safety of the place where your intending to get it done (like do they have an autoclave or are the instruments laying on the table), and afterwards keeping it clean so it does not get infected.

Lastly there is a thing known as excessive hygiene. For example your ears clean themselves and it is not necessary to use a Q-Tip everyday, and excessive washing can reduce the bodies natural protective fat layer over the skin and lead to eczema. Like all things you need to use common sense and some discretion. However good personal, food, and medical hygiene are an important part of a persons overall health and an important thing to keep up in order to live a healthy lifestyle.