Personal hygiene is very important because no-one likes to be close to a person who stinks and is dirty.  Keeping your body clean is an important part of keeping you healthy and helping you to feel good about yourself. Caring about the way you look is important for your self esteem (what you think about yourself). 

One of the most effective ways to protect yourself and others from illness is good personal hygiene. This means washing your hands, especially, but also your body.

It means being careful not to cough or sneeze on others, cleaning things that you touch if you are unwell, putting items such as tissues (that may have germs) into a bin, and using protection (like gloves or condoms) to reduce the risk of catching an infection.

Personal hygiene, such as bathing, should be done at least twice every day and use deodorants to avoid bad body odours.

Body odours are caused by a number of factors working in combination, including: chemicals in sweat, wastes such as alcohol excreted through the skin, actions of bacteria that live on the skin and feed on dead skin cells and sweat and unwashed clothes, such as underwear and socks.

Make sure you wash your hands as much as you can to prevent infections. Most infections, especially colds, are caught when we put our unwashed hands, which have germs on them, to our mouth.

Some infections are caught when other people’s dirty hands touch the food you eat. Hands and wrists should be washed with soap and clean water, using a brush if your fingernails are dirty.

Dry your hands with something clean, such as paper towels or hot air dryers. You should always wash your hands: After using the toilet, before preparing or eating food, after handling dogs or other animals, if you have been around someone who is coughing or has a cold.

One sensitive area for cleaning is your genital area. Your private parts as a woman (for lack of a better word) clean themselves and no special care is needed, other than washing the external genitals.

Do not put anything like soap or douches into the vagina, as the delicate skin can be damaged. However, there is need for extra caution during menstruation.

That is wash your body, including your genital area, in the same way as you always do but change tampons and sanitary napkins regularly, at least four to five times a day. Always wash your hands before and after handling a tampon or pad.

More on personal hygiene, to prevent urinary infections always urinate before and after sexual intercourse. This helps to flush out any bacteria that may be in the urethra and bladder.

More so, some soaps and detergents can irritate the skin of the vagina, and make thrush (a fungal infection of the vagina characterized by a white discharge and itching) infections more likely.

Some people find that they often get thrush when they use antibiotics. Use mild soap and unperformed toilet paper. Avoid tight, synthetic underwear.

Try cotton underwear, and change regularly. There is medical treatment for thrush, so talk to your doctor or pharmacist. Note: Prevention is better and cheaper than cure and what better way than maintain great personal hygiene.

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