Simple Personal Hygiene:

• Hygiene is defined as the science and practice of maintaining good health.

  • It requires caring for one’s own body (personal hygiene) and taking proper care of surroundings (social hygiene).

  • The major aspects of personal hygiene are as follows:

    • Cleanliness

    • Rest and sleep

    • Physical exercise

    • Healthy habits

• Cleanliness. Personal cleanliness is essential.

  • Hands and skin must be cleaned regularly.

    • We are continually handling a variety of things— furniture, books, coins, currency notes, seats and supporting rods in buses, pets and other domestic animals, tools and machinery in workshops, and so on.

    • All these objects may carry germs which may be picked up by our fingers and transferred over to other parts of the body or into the mouth through food.

      • The practice of washing hands with soap after using toilets is very important.

        • A daily bath regularly keeps the skin clean and free of germs, the body odors given out in perspiration are removed and keep the sweat pores open.

          • Particular attention must be paid to the cleansing and drying of the various clefts and folds of the skin or example, to arms, legs, and toes.

          • Undergarments and handkerchiefs must be washed daily.

            • Hair should be kept clean by frequent washing and regular combing.

              • This keeps it healthy and free of parasites (like head lice).

          • Teeth should be cleaned at least twice a day—before going to bed at night and after getting up in the morning.

            • The mouth should be washed after every meal.

              • Too much eating of sweets and chocolate spoils

                the teeth causing caries and gum infections.

          • Breathe by Nose. One must always breathe by the nose and never by the mouth.

            • One should blow the nose into a handkerchief and should hold a handkerchief in front of the mouth and nose while sneezing.

            • Eyes must be cleaned and washed with clear water two or three times every day.

        • Trachoma and conjunctivitis are two common diseases of the eye caused by dust and contamination by hands and towels.

          • For preventing eye infections:

            • One must never share towels with others, even in the same family.

            • The Indian custom of applying “kajal” (soot) may sometimes lead to infections of the eyes through the shared applying sticks, so never share such sticks.

              • Ears should be kept clean.

              • The wax inside may be cleaned by a soft moist swab.

                • One should never put any sharp pointed object into the ear, it may injure the eardrum.

            • Some physical exercise is necessary for all age groups, especially children, adolescents, and young people.

              • Long gentle walks are enough for the old. Physical exercise should be systematic and regular.

                • It improves blood circulation.

              • Rest and sleep. All organs of the body including the brain (mind) need rest.

                • In general, the body obtains adequate rest by means of sleep.

            • The amount of sleep required varies with age. Very young infants sleep for most of the day.

          • For adults 6-7 hours of continuous undisturbed sleep is sufficient.

            • Healthy habits. One should develop good health habits such as going to bed at night at regular times, taking food at regular hours, etc.

          • In general, going to bed at late hours or immediately after taking dinner are not good habits.

    • Bowels should be cleared every day preferably in the mornings

      • Tobacco should be avoided—it is injurious to health and may even lead to cancer.

    • Taking stimulants and sedatives is unnecessary and spoils habits.

      • Drinking alcoholic beverages is definitely harmful to one’s own body as well as to society.

      • The living rooms should be well-ventilated for fresh air and sunlight.

        • Fresh air brings oxygen and sunlight kills germs.

Social Hygiene and Sanitation:

• All public places such as schools, office buildings, bathrooms, lavatories, cinema halls, etc., should be kept clean.

  • The eating places such as hotels, restaurants, roadside dhabas, and their surroundings must be kept clean and free of flies.

    • All eatables must be covered.

      • All utensils, cups, glass tumblers and spoons, etc., must be thoroughly washed preferably with soap and hot water.

    • All public drains and garbage must be covered and some disinfectants such as bleaching powder, lime, etc., must be frequently sprinkled.

      • The civic bodies (municipalities, etc.) must ensure the supply of clean germ-free drinking water and efficient sewage disposal.

Control of Vectors:

• A vector is any agent that acts as an intermediate carrier of the pathogen.

  • Many insects and other animals spread diseases.

• Steps should be taken to control or eradicate them.

  • Control of housefly’s mosquitoes and cockroaches should be given maximum priority.

    • These three are considered the worst public enemies.

• Economic Importance of Housefly.

  • The housefly is a kind of natural scavenger cleaning and consuming the leftovers of food, etc.

    • But the dangers which the housefly poses to human life are so serious, that it is been designated as Public Enemy.

      • It spreads numerous diseases including dysentery, cholera, typhoid, etc.

        • The manner in which the housefly spreads diseases.

          • Hairy body and legs pick up filth:

            • The body and especially the legs are hairy or spiny.

            • They easily pick up filth containing germs from dirty places.

              • Such a fly contaminates our food by sitting on it.

          • A resting housefly always keeps on rubbing its legs against itself and over the body, thus dropping particles of filth.

          • Pouring out saliva:

            • Food is also contaminated with germs when the housefly moistens the foodstuffs by pouring out its saliva on it, or when it vomits (regurgitates) food that it has swallowed from dirty places.

          • Excreta: It deposits its excreta while it feeds, and thus contaminates human food.

          • Direct transmission of germs: Sometimes it directly conveys the infection.

            • For example, germs of trachoma ( a disease of the eyes) are directly transferred when a fly that once settled on the infected eyes of a patient, next time sits on the eyes of a healthy person.

        • Control of the housefly. There are several methods to control houseflies.

          • Elimination of breeding places: All refuse from houses, and all animal and human excreta should be removed at regular and frequent intervals and disposed of in such a way that the flies cannot breed in it.

        • If the refuse is covered by a layer of earth, enough heat is produced in it by decomposition, which is sufficient to kill the maggots, if any.

          • Spraying. Houses and breeding places should be sprayed with DDT and other insecticides.

            • Avoidance: Food should be kept well-protected and covered.

              • Flies should not be allowed to sit on the body.

                • Sleeping babies should be protected by baby umbrellas.

Mosquitoes and Diseases:

• Anopheles mosquito spreads malaria in man, monkeys, and birds, etc.

  • The malaria germ is a protozoan Plasmodium.

  • Culex mosquito spreads elephantiasis (filariasis), caused by a nematode worm Wuchereria.

    • A third mosquito, Aedes spreads yellow fever and dengue, both caused by their respective vases.

      • The germs of these diseases are spread when the mosquitoes bite to suck blood.

        • With this blood, the mosquitoes receive germs of the particular disease, which grow and multiply within their body.

      • When such infected mosquitoes bite a healthy person, these germs are introduced into his body through saliva.

        • Before sucking blood the mosquito first injects its saliva into the skin, which contains a substance that prevents the clotting of blood to facilitate suction.

Control of Mosquitoes:

• Several steps are recommended to destroy mosquitoes in different stages:

  • Spraying: Adult mosquitoes should be destroyed by spraying DDT and other insecticides in dwelling places.

    • Spraying on ponds and marshy places kills the life-history stages.

  • Elimination of breeding places: Breeding places should be destroyed.

    • Small ponds and puddles should be filled up.

  • Spraying on stagnant water: Kerosene or some other greasy oil should be poured over the water to make a thin film on the surface.

    • The oil kills the larvae and pupae when they come to breathe on the surface.

  • Biological control: Certain fishes such as Gambusia should be introduced in the ponds.

    • They selectively devour mosquito larvae.

Cockroaches:

• These are very common household insects breeding mostly in the connecting manholes and sewers.

  • They extend their activities to kitchens, cupboards, and wardrobes.

    • They eat and spoil food, paper, and clothes.

    • They are also suspected to be carriers of certain viral diseases, including possibly a cancer-causing virus.

      • Spraying DDT and other insecticides in their breeding places iS an effective method of control.

Rats:

• Rats are serious domestic pests.

  • Besides eating grain and other foods they also spread germs of certain diseases.

    • Rat-flea is a parasite that lives on the rat’s skin. It may carry germs of plague.

      • Plague had spread as a serious epidemic during the earlier pan of the twentieth century in many parts of the world killing a number of people.

      • Rats should be trapped and disposed of or killed by suitable rat poisons (pesticides).

Contamination of Water and Water-Borne Diseases:

• Clean and germ-free drinking water is essential for personal and public health.

  • Contamination of potable (drinking) water can occur in several ways such as:

    • Sewage if improperly disposed of leaks into the subsoil and may contaminate water supplies.

    • People defecating or urinating near lakes, rivers or ponds may contribute to the contamination of water.

    • Animal wastes and washings from dairies, poultries, etc. may also be drained into water bodies.

      • Besides the above principal sources of contamination, there can be a variety of industrial and agricultural wastes that may contain poisonous chemicals and can be harmful to human health.

        • For example:

          • Industrial wastes containing mercury cause abnormalities in the nervous system.

          • Tannery wastes contain the pathogen anthrax bacilli and are the most serious water pollutants.

          • Pesticides especially DDT are the most serious water pollutants, pesticide concentration in humans causes hormonal imbalance, leading to cancer.

          • The presence of fluorides in drinking water causes tooth disorders and bone disorders and in higher concentrations, it causes neuromuscular disorders and may be fatal to life.

The three common water-borne diseases:

• In case the water supply agencies are not very cautious in purifying water, the residents of the area may suffer from three common diseases, cholera, typhoid, and dysentery which may take the form of severe epidemics.

  • Cholera: The main points are as follows:

    • Infection of the intestinal tract is by a bacillus Vibrio cholera.

    • It appears as sudden onset of sickness and

      severe diarrhea and vomiting.

    • No urination due to a shortage of water in the body, urea accumulates in the blood, which is highly poisonous and causes death.

      • Infection of cholera occurs through contaminated water and also by dust and flies that sit on excreta and may transfer germs to exposed foods.

        • Food handlers with dirty hands can also transmit germs.

  • Dysentry: There are two forms of dysentery — bacillary and amoebic.

    • Bacillary dysentery:

      • The causative agent is a bacterium (Shigelo).

      • It occurs frequently among children.

      • The disease is marked by loose motions (diarrhea), intestinal pain, and mild fever.

      • Patients are treated with antibiotics.

      • Prevention includes drinking safe (boiled) water and avoiding flies from contaminating food.

    • Amoebic dysentery:

      • The causative agent is a protozoan Entamoeba histolytica.

      • This organism enters our body through contaminated water and food.

      • It establishes in the lining of the large intestine where it feeds by engulfing red blood cells of the patient’s intestine.

      • This amoeba has no contractile vacuole and bears one large blunt pseudopodium.

      • When fully mature it forms cysts that pass out through feces.

      • The cysts remain active for a long time.

      • On reaching a new host through contaminated water and food they split off to infect a new individual