Personal hygiene
BODY AND ORAL HYGIENE
The basis of a healthy lifestyle, effective primary and secondary prevention of various diseases is personal hygiene - a set of measures aimed at preserving and strengthening health by observing hygiene requirements in everyday life and human activity.
The sphere of personal hygiene includes: body and oral hygiene, hygiene of physical education and hardening, prevention of bad habits, hygiene of sexual life, hygiene of clothing and footwear, hygiene of rest and sleep, hygiene of individual nutrition, hygiene of mental work, psychological hygiene, etc.
Body hygiene, ensuring its cleanliness, skin and hair care are the oldest elements of personal hygiene. Systematic washing ensures cleanliness and normal functioning of the skin, which is very important in connection with its physiological role.
A significant amount of volatile substances is released through the skin, in particular, such as propanol, acetic acid, acetone, methanol, organic and inorganic salts, enzymes. The combination of these and other substances contributes to the reproduction of bacteria and fungi on the skin, especially in the perineum and scrotum.
At the same time, especially clean skin has bactericidal properties - the number of microbial bodies in a suspension of microorganisms applied to clean skin for 2 hours is reduced by more than 90%. The bactericidal effect of well-washed skin is 15-20 times higher than that of dirty skin. Therefore, it is necessary to wash the entire body with warm water (preferably under the shower) at least once a week. In addition to the mandatory washing in the morning and before bedtime, you should wash your feet every evening. It is also necessary, especially for women, to wash the external genitals, which is also an element of daily personal hygiene. It is recommended to wash your hair once a week if your skin is dry, and once every 3-4 days if your skin is oily.
Smoking and loud talking are prohibited during the procedures. Before the steam room, you should take a warm shower, and in the sauna, you should prevent your head from overheating.
The main method of hygienic oral care is to brush your teeth twice a day (in the morning and before bed). Brushing your teeth is necessary to remove plaque, slow down the formation of tartar, which is one of the main factors in the development of caries and periodontal disease, eliminate bad breath, and reduce the number of microorganisms in the oral cavity, including conditionally pathogenic microorganisms, for the development of which it has the necessary nutrients and favorable temperature and humidity conditions.
Special tooth powders and pastes are used for mechanical teeth cleaning. The main components of tooth powder are purified chalk and various additives. The properties of tooth powder to clean teeth and massage gums are quite high, but its main disadvantage compared to pastes is the abrasive effect on tooth enamel: The advantage of pastes, which contain significantly less chalk than tooth powders, is the possibility of creating various compositions in terms of composition, convenience and hygiene of use. The range of toothpastes includes hygienic and therapeutic and prophylactic pastes. In the formulation of therapeutic and prophylactic pastes, unlike hygienic ones, in order to create an anti-inflammatory, fluoride-replacing positive effect on teeth and gums, various biologically active substances are introduced: vitamins, plant extracts, mineral salts, trace elements, etc.
Teeth are cleaned with special toothbrushes that differ from each other in the size of the working surface, material (made of pig bristles or synthetic fibers) and shape. It is more convenient to use brushes with a concave working surface up to 3-3.6 cm for adults and up to 2.5-3 cm for children. A fairly effective way to keep toothbrushes clean and prevent their strong bacterial contamination is to rinse them well with running water after use and cover the working surface with soapy foam, which is easily washed off before the next use.
The main components of physical culture are walking, running, morning hygienic gymnastics, swimming, various types of sports games and classes. The simplest types of physical culture should be engaged in by all practically healthy adults and children. Adapted physical exercises should be a mandatory element of the daily regimen for most people with any chronic diseases.
Physical activity, as a rule, should be individual and based on the real state of health, age and fitness of a person.
For most people, the oldest, most accessible and contraindication-free type of physical activity is walking. "Movement as such can replace any medicine in its effect, but all the remedies in the world are unable to replace the effect of movement" - the famous French therapist Tisse repeatedly emphasized.
PREVENTION OF HARMFUL HABITS
A prerequisite for a healthy lifestyle is the rejection of harmful habits, in particular smoking, alcohol consumption, drugs, sexual perversions, etc.
Smoking increases the content of carboxyhemoglobin in the blood, causes tissue hypoxia, negatively affects the functions of the stomach and endocrine glands, blood vessels, teeth, oral cavity, impairs memory and attention, and reduces mental performance. The average life expectancy of smokers is 5-7 years shorter than that of non-smokers.
A great danger (especially for children and pregnant women) is forced passive smoking while staying in a room polluted with tobacco smoke.
All these data indicate the need to strengthen the fight against smoking (the first example of this should be demonstrated by doctors) and to intensify the relevant preventive explanatory and organizational work.
Alcohol abuse also negatively affects the body at all stages of its development, starting with the intrauterine one. Under the influence of alcohol, premature births can occur, and perinatal mortality increases. Many scientists associate alcohol intoxication of pregnant women with a 60-70-fold increase in the number of cases of specific malformations and developmental disorders in children, fetal alcohol syndrome and encephalopathies. Alcohol negatively affects all organs and systems of the body.
OBSERVANCE OF THE DAY ROUTINE AS AN IMPORTANT HYGIENIC PREREQUISITE OF A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE
Optimal human life is impossible without strict adherence to the daily routine, alternating active activity and rest, vigor and sleep. With all sorts of individual differences, for the majority of people who work and study, the day is divided into approximately three parts of equal duration: work activity (study), free time and sleep.
A mandatory, extremely important element of the daily routine from the point of view of forming a healthy lifestyle is rest, the main types of which are annual, weekly, daily and short-term. Neglecting daily, and especially weekly rest from professional activity is dangerous for human health and working capacity. Such rest is a physiological need of the body. The best forms of it should be considered to be staying in the fresh air, walking, doing physical education and sports. Special attention should be paid to the weekly rest of workers in intellectual work, since many of them use the weekends (often the days of annual leave) for intense mental activity. However, the most effective means of rest is, first of all, a change of activities.
Television has become very popular in recent years. On average, 1.5-2 hours are spent watching TV programs every day. A significant part of the population, including school-age children, spend 3-4 hours or more per day in front of the TV. To prevent the negative consequences of this, it is necessary to follow certain hygiene recommendations. The time spent watching TV programs should be limited (on average, no more than 2 hours per day). You should be at a distance of 2.5-5 m from the TV screen, and watch black-and-white and color programs at a room lighting power of 7-9 W/m2 for people under 35 years of age, 911 W/m2 for people over 35 years of age. The angle of the viewing area should be within 60° relative to the center of the screen.
HYGIENE OF CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR
Having appeared in the early stages of the emergence of human society, clothing has undergone significant evolution.
Currently, the following layers are considered the main components of a clothing package: underwear (1st layer), suits and dresses (2nd layer) and outerwear (3rd layer).
According to the purpose and nature of use, clothing is divided into everyday household clothing (including children's), professional (overalls), sports, military, hospital, ceremonial, etc.
An important indicator of the quality and hygienic properties of clothing is the microclimate under the clothing. At an ambient temperature of 18-22 ° C, the following parameters are recommended: temperature of the air under the clothing 32.5-34.5 ° C, relative humidity - 55-60%, carbon dioxide concentration - up to 1-1.5%.
The hygienic properties of clothing depend on the type of fabric, the nature of its texture and the cut of clothing. Textile fibers of various origins (natural, chemical) are used to make fabrics for clothing. Natural organic fibers are the oldest type of fabric materials, they have high hygienic properties. They can be organic (vegetable, animal) and inorganic. Vegetable (cellulose) organic fibers include cotton, flax, sisal, jute, yarn, etc. Organic fibers of animal origin (protein) include wool and silk. Inorganic (mineral) fibers, such as asbestos, can be used to make some types of workwear.
In recent years, another group of textile fibers has become increasingly important and widespread - chemical. Like natural ones, they can be organic and inorganic. However, the latter are used only for the manufacture of special types of clothing.
By purpose, household (home, summer, winter, everyday, festive, etc.), sports, special work, children's, military and medical (orthopedic, etc.) shoes are distinguished. In combination with clothing, footwear is an important attribute of our toilet, it has great aesthetic value, reflecting culture, upbringing and national traditions and shaping the appearance of a person.
Footwear must meet the following general hygienic requirements:
• Have low thermal conductivity, provide an optimal microclimate of the shoe space and its good ventilation.
• Be comfortable to use, do not disrupt the blood supply, growth and formation of skeletal and muscular elements of the foot, do not hinder movements during walking, physical education and during labor operations.
• Provide protection of the foot from adverse physical, chemical and biological influences.
• Do not release chemical substances into the inner shoe space in concentrations that, in real operating conditions, can have an adverse effect (skin irritant, resorptive, allergic, etc.) on the skin of the foot and the body as a whole.
• Correspond to age, gender and other physiological characteristics of the body.
• Easy to clean and dry, retain
the original shape and hygienic properties for a long time.
The hygienic properties of shoes depend on the material from which they are made, the correspondence of the dimensions to the foot configuration, design features and operational qualities.
Various natural and artificial materials are used to make shoes. Many indicators by which the advantages and disadvantages of a particular material and the possibility of using it in shoes for various purposes are judged coincide with those that characterized the hygienic properties of fabrics and clothing: thermal conductivity, moisture absorption, air permeability and vapor permeability.