Hygiene
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hygiene is commonly understood as preventing infections in personal places through cleanliness. In broader call, scientific terms hygiene is the maintenance of health and healthy living. Hygiene ranges from personal hygiene, through domestic up to occupational hygiene and public health.
Contents |
[edit] Etymology
The term "hygiene" is a reference to Hygieía oder Hygeía, the Greek goddess of health, cleanliness and sanitation (Roman equivalent: Salus). Hygiene is also a science that deals with the promotion and preservation of health. Also called hygienics.
[edit] History
Elaborate codes of hygiene can be found in several Hindu texts such as the Manusmriti and the Vishnu Purana.[1] Bathing is one of the five Nitya karmas (daily duties) in Hinduism, not performing which leads to sin according to some scriptures.
Regular bathing was a hallmark of Roman civilization.[citation needed] Elaborate baths were constructed in urban areas to serve the public, who typically demanded infrastructure to maintain personal cleanliness. The complexes usually consisted of large, swimming pool-like baths, smaller cold and hot pools, saunas, and spa-like facilities where individuals could be depilated and oiled. Water was constantly changed by an aqueduct-fed flow. Bathing outside of urban centers involved smaller, less elaborate bathing facilities, or simply the use of clean bodies of water. According to historian William Dalrymple, many early Christians considered one bath to be sufficient for purification for one lifetime, and considered regular bathing a heretical pagan ritual. [2] The diseases resulting from this lack of hygeine, according to him, was one of the chief reasons for the fall of the Byzantine empire in the Levant. [3]According to him, the Europeans seem to have learned the habit of taking regular baths in the seventeenth century upon their colonization of India. [4]
[edit] Hygienic practices
[edit] Personal hygiene
- washing of the body and hair.
- frequent washing of hands and/or face.
- Oral hygiene—Daily brushing and flossing teeth and avoidance of bad breath by use of breath mints, chewing gums and other breath fresheners.
- Daily application of deodorant.
- Cleaning of the clothes and living area.
- General avoidance of bodily fluids such as feces, urine, vomit.
- Not touching animals before eating.
- Holding a tissue over the mouth or using the upper arm/elbow region when coughing or sneezing, not a bare hand. Alternatively, washing hands afterwards.
- Suppression of habits such as nose-picking, touching the face etc.
- Not licking fingers before picking up sheets of paper.
- Not biting nails
[edit] Food safety
- Maintain good food and cooking hygiene to prevent food poisoning
- Cleaning of food preparation areas and equipment for example using designated cutting boards for preparing raw meats and vegetables.
- Thorough cooking of meats
- Institutional dish sanitizing.
- Washing of hands after touching uncooked food when preparing meals.
- Not using the same utensils to prepare different foods.
- Non-sharing of cutlery when eating.
- Not licking fingers or hands while or after eating.
- Proper storage of food so as to prevent contamination by vermin.
- Refrigeration of foods (and avoidance of specific foods in environments where refrigeration is or was not feasible).
- Labeling food to indicate when it was produced (or, as food manufacturers prefer, to indicate its best before date).
- Disposal of uneaten food and packaging.
[edit] Medicine
- Use of bandaging and dressing of wounds.
- Use of protective clothing such as masks, gowns, caps, eyewear and gloves.
- Sterilization of instruments used in surgical procedures.
- Safe disposal of medical waste.
[edit] Personal services
- Sterilization of instruments used by hairdressers.
- Sterilization by autoclave of instruments used in body piercing and tattoo marking.
[edit] Grooming
The related term personal grooming/grooming means to enhance one's physical appearance or appeal for others, by removing obvious imperfections in one's appearance or improving one's hygiene.
Grooming in humans typically includes bathroom activities such as primping: washing and cleansing the hair, combing it to extract tangles and snarls, and styling. It can also include cosmetic care of the body, such as shaving and other forms of depilation.
[edit] See also
- Hygiene hypothesis
- occupational hygiene, which is the practice of controlling workplace exposure to harmful agents.
- Cleanliness
- Natural hygiene, the science of health
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.sulabhtoiletmuseum.org/fact.htm
- ^ The City of Djinns, William Dalrymple
- ^ Dalrymple, From the Holy Mountain (1997)
- ^ The White Mughals, William Dalrymple
