PERSONAL HYGIENE FOR ADOLESCENT GIRLS AND WOMEN*

*Dr. B.S Anuradha

Department of Microbiology

Chaitanya Postgraduate College (Autonomous)

 Hanamkonda Telangana

Introduction:

Hygiene refers to the set of practices perceived by a community to be associated with the preservation ofhealth and healthy living. When a young girl starts to mature, many physical changes take place. Some of these changes include an increase in body hair, an increase in sweat (accompanied with body odor), facial skin problems and an oily scalp.

 Good personal hygiene should be practiced to combat the problems associated with these changes and to avoid contracting any diseases related to poor personal grooming.

A finely tuned body in good working order from head to toe promotes and reflects a sense of well being. If we treat our body with respect we actively encourage a feeling of vibrant health, energy and confidence.

Understanding how our body works and knowing how to take care of it on day to day basis are the two of the important elements to fitness and well being. Such type of body care includes looking after our skin, whatever its type, caring for our hair, keeping hands and nails well groomed ,looking after teeth and gums and also maintain cleanliness during the menstrual cycles. We have to also keep our eyes and ears healthy as these are delicate organs which need regular care and attention to serve us well for life.

Having good personal hygiene is important for both your health and physical appearance. Because a man and a woman’s chemistry is different, a woman needs to pay more special attention to her personal hygiene, especially during the days we have our menstrual period.

Personal hygiene is the process of maintaining cleanliness. Individual standards for personal hygiene vary from person to person depending on factors like culture, personal preference and learned habits. Laying out specific objectives for personal hygiene is a helpful way to ensure that all goals are met. Understanding the consequences of poor hygiene can serve as motivation for planning and accomplishing personal hygiene objectives.

Everyone needs to understand the basics of personal hygiene. Personal hygiene is the process of keeping your body clean. If you stop taking care of yourself and allow your level of personal hygiene to fall, you have a greater risk of becoming sick or being ostracized by others.

 This paper discuss about the personal hygiene on day to day basis especially for teenage girls and young women.

Personal hygiene basics:

SHOWER DAILY:

Shower daily to remove the offensive odour that develops when bacteria caused from sweating is left on the skin to grow. The odour from these bacteria has a strong smell to it, especially in the area of the armpits and the feet. The groin area may develop an unpleasant odour. Cleanse your body with warm water and a gentle soap. Apply deodorant, antiperspirant or talcum powder to underarms to keep sweating under control and to mask underarm odour if needed. An antiperspirant works to stop sweating, and it may help sweat dry up. Deodorant or talcum powder is designed to mask the unpleasant odour that comes from bacteria growth associated with sweating. Antiperspirants and deodorants may be irritating to sensitive skin.

KEEP HAIR CLEAN

Wash your hair at least once in a week basis and use oil-free hairstyling products. The sebaceous glands make more than enough oil in the teen years, so do not add to it with greasy products. The objective of hair care is to keep the hair clean and well-groomed. Choosing a shampoo formulated for your particular hair type can produce the best results.

Take care of your hair. Care for your hair each day. Don't forget to comb it. Knotty, frizzy, and unkempt hair is harder to manage or clean.

NAILS HYGIENE:. Trim your nails regularly to keep them how you like, also washing your hands often should keep them relatively clean underneath, but if not, use an under nail scraper to get the dirt under your nails. Clip and clean your fingernails and toenails at least once every week or once every two weeks, it depends on how much your nails grow.

FACIAL SKIN HYGIENE:

Wash your face two times a day without fail. Adolescents go through a period in which their oil glands produce more oil, and some adolescents wind up with acne. Use skin care products made to treat acne, and if your acne symptoms do not improve after eight weeks, go to a dermatologist to see what he/she can do to help you. Avoid using anything on your face that contains oil if you have acne, and do not rub the skin on your face with a heavy hand. Do not spend too much time under the sun, and keep your hands off your face. Skin care is vital for a youthful and attractive appearance. Daily washing of the face skin is vital for a youthful and attractive appearance. Daily washing of the face and body with mild soap and water is the best way to remove oil and debris that cause acne breakouts. Regular exfoliation using a scrub brush or exfoliating lotion helps remove dead skin cells that build up and clog pores.

BODY HAIR HYGIENE:

Shave your under arms and legs if you desire, but do so with care. Use a new blade if you are going to shave with a manual razor to lessen your risk of cutting yourself. You can also use hair removing creams, waxing to remove hair on your arms and legs. Take your time when shaving to avoid nicks and cuts. Removing hair from under arms reduces the body odour to a large extent.

Many women feel cleaner and more confident after they remove some or all of the hair from their genital region. You can rid yourself of pubic hair by waxing, shaving or using a depilatory cream. Do not apply the cream to your genitals it can cause burning and tissue damage.

ORAL HYGIENE:

Do not let halitosis, bad breath, become a problem. Brush your teeth after eating, especially after eating foods that contribute to bad breath. Clean your teeth for two minutes minimum, and replace your toothbrush after six months. Brush your tongue as well as the top of your mouth, using a light touch. Use floss to remove plaque and pieces of food from between your teeth. Schedule an appointment to have your teeth cleaned by a dentist once a year.

Cover your mouth or turn away from people when you cough and sneeze. It's not just manners, as you could spread illness even when healthy. It is now being taught to cough or sneeze into the crook of your elbow/sleeve. This keeps germs from your hands which might contaminate others before you get an opportunity to wash.

CHANGE YOUR CLOTHES EVERY DAY

Put on clean clothes every day to prevent smelling bad, as fabrics have a tendency to absorb odours. Make sure your socks and undergarments are freshly laundered. Wear dresses and blouses made of cotton or dresses which have a cotton lining as this fabric and other natural fabrics are good at blotting up perspiration. Do not wear clothes with stains, wrinkles, and smells on them. Sometimes reusing clothes are okay, as long as you are sure they're not dirty.

HAND WASHING:

Hand washing is instrumental in preventing infections of all kinds. Food-borne illnesses, contagious infections like the flu and many other pathogens can enter the body via unwashed hands. According to medical practioners hands should be washed for 20 seconds with soap and water to effectively kill harmful microbes. Always wash hands before eating and after handling garbage, pets or raw meat. While anti-bacterial hand sanitizers are a convenient option, the friction created by soap-and-water washing is the most effective method for killing germs

The basic rule is to wash hands before preparing food and after handling uncooked meat and poultry, before eating, after changing diapers, after coughing, sneezing, or blowing one's nose, after using the bathroom, and after touching animals or anything in the animal's environment. Use warm water and soap every time you wash your hands. Create a soapy lather and rub your hands for 15 to 20 seconds. You can sing Happy Birthday in this amount of time.

Practice good bathroom hygiene. Always wipe yourself clean and wash your hands using plenty of soap and warm water.

EAR HYGIENE:

 The ears are normally efficient, self cleaning organs that take care of themselves. The wax in the outer ear contains a bactericide that helps to trap dust and potential irritants. Body warmth melts the wax which travels outward with the help of the movement of the hairs in the outer ear. Never poke the wax with any type of cotton bud, hairpin or any instrument this can damage the ear drum and can result in deafness. Wash or wipe only the outer ear with a wash cloth.

VAGINAL HYGIENE:

Don't use soap to clean your private parts, this will disturb your natural pH-balance, and might result in yeast infection. It is good to clean any of the sweat and bacteria gathered around your inner thighs and around your private general area, but there is no need to clean the outer or especially inner parts of your vagina. The vagina is a self cleaning ecosystem of good bacterias, and your discharge (the clear fluid that comes from your vagina) is what sweeps out anything unwanted. Do not douche (a method of washing inside a part of someone’s body, using a narrow stream of liquid) as doctors do not recommend douching. Wash the pubic area with a mild soap and water to keep the area clean and free of odour. See a gynaecologist if you experience abnormal itching, pain, a burning sensation or a yellow/green or lumpy white fluid coming out of your vagina or if you experience pain when you urinate.

Women, especially the college going and working professionals often have problems about maintaining hygiene during periods. The dirty restrooms, unavailability of paper towels, water problems are some of the common problems encountered when they are badly in need during this time.

 Women are more prone to infection if they do not maintain a proper hygiene during this time. Here are few suggestions on personal hygiene during menstruation.

Menstrual Hygiene Tips-

1. What Should Your Bag Contain: Paper towels, sanitizers, sanitary pads, water, chocolates, pain killers (not advised but only in case of emergency). The paper towels will help in cleaning, sanitizers keep your hands dry and smell fresh, pads for changing. Water and chocolate to provide you energy and make you feel better. Pain killers if you suffer from severe muscle cramps.
2. Never calculate the number of napkins (sanitary pads) you use as it is at the cost of health and personal hygiene. Discard it after certain hours of use as it may stink due to sweat and the damp pad may even irritate skin.
3. In case you are using homemade cloth napkins wash them properly with soap and water and dry them in sun to get rid of all the bacteria present on it.
4. Soak the stained clothes in warm soapy water and wash it after minutes. Stacking up the stained clothes for long will make stains stubborn and stink even after wash.
5. For personal menstrual hygiene, maintain a separate set of clothes and under garments for that time as even if the clothes stink or carry germs, it won't spread to the clean ones.

CONCLUSION:

The above methods if followed will undoubtedly help all the girls and young women free from any infections.

Poor hygiene deters people from getting to know you. If people find your body odour or unkempt, unclean appearance offensive, they're likely to pass judgments on your personality and your ability to care for yourself on a basic level. This can dissuade them forming friendships and meaningful bonds with you. People generally avoid smells and situations they find unpleasant. Maintaining good personal hygiene will benefit your social life in that it will remove this barrier to interaction and connections.
Appearances broadcast more than just how we look to the world. For example, when you present to a job interview well-dressed, displaying good hygiene, you look like a capable professional, able to handle yourself with care and respect. If you appear with poor hygiene, even if you're the most qualified candidate, it may send the message that you're sloppy, you don't care about your performance and you don't value and respect yourself. If your hygiene declines in school, college or the workplace, it can lead people to question your abilities and even your mental and physical health. At the very least, good hygiene in the workplace or school/College environment avoids creating unnecessary distractions to those around you.

References

U.S. Centers for Disease Control: Wash Your Hands

Hygiene on the Skin: When is Clean Too Clean?

Hygiene Expert: What is Personal Hygiene?

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