Editing Hygiene (section)

== Personal hygiene ==

===Regular activities===
{{unreferenced section|date=January 2022}}
[[Image:Kulturbeutel1.jpg|thumb|right|A clear plastic [[toiletry bag]]]]
Personal hygiene involves those practices performed by a person to care for their bodily health and well-being through cleanliness. Motivations for personal hygiene practice include reduction of personal illness, healing from illness, optimal health and sense of wellbeing, social acceptance, and prevention of spread of illness to others. What is considered proper personal hygiene can be culture-specific and may change over time.

Practices that are generally considered proper hygiene include showering or [[bathing]] regularly, [[Hand washing|washing hands]] regularly and especially before handling food, [[face washing]], washing scalp hair, keeping hair short or removing hair, wearing clean clothing, brushing teeth, and trimming fingernails and toenails. Some practices are sex-specific, such as by a woman during [[menstruation]].

[[Toiletry bag]]s hold body hygiene and toiletry supplies.

[[Anal hygiene]] is the practice that a person performs on their anal area after [[defecation]]. The [[anus]] and [[buttocks]] may be either washed with liquids or wiped with [[toilet paper]], or by adding [[gel wipe]] to toilet tissue as an alternative to [[wet wipes]] or other solid materials in order to remove remnants of [[Human feces|feces]].

People tend to develop a routine for attending to their personal hygiene needs. Other personal hygienic practices include covering one's mouth when coughing, disposal of soiled tissues appropriately, making sure toilets are clean, and making sure food handling areas are clean, besides other practices. Some cultures do not kiss or shake hands in order to reduce transmission of bacteria by contact.

[[Personal grooming]] extends personal hygiene as it pertains to the maintenance of a good personal and public appearance, which need not necessarily be hygienic. It may involve, for example, using deodorants or perfume, [[shaving]], or [[combing]].

===Hygiene of internal ear canals===
{{See also|Earwax}}

Excessive cleaning of the [[ear canals]] can result in infection or irritation. The ear canals require less care than other parts of the body because they are sensitive and mostly self-cleaning. There is a slow and orderly migration of the skin lining the ear canal from the eardrum to the outer opening of the ear. Old earwax is constantly being transported from the deeper areas of the ear canal out to the opening where it usually dries, flakes, and falls out.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.medicinenet.com/ear_wax/article.htm|title=How to Remove Ear Wax|website=MedicineNet|first=Melissa Conrad|last=Stöppler}}</ref> Attempts to clean the ear canals through the removal of [[earwax]] can push debris and foreign material into the ear that the natural movement of ear wax out of the ear would have removed.

=== Oral hygiene ===
{{Main|Oral hygiene}}

It is recommended that all healthy adults brush twice a day,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.colgate.com/en/us/oc/oral-health/basics/brushing-and-flossing|title=Brushing & Flossing: Technique & Choosing Dental Products|website=www.colgate.com|access-date=2018-04-15|archive-date=2017-11-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171120095430/http://www.colgate.com/en/us/oc/oral-health/basics/brushing-and-flossing}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Oral Hygiene {{!}} National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research |url=https://www.nidcr.nih.gov/health-info/oral-hygiene |access-date=2023-09-18 |website=www.nidcr.nih.gov |language=en}}</ref> softly,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/are-you-brushing-your-teeth-too-hard/11155502|title=Are you brushing your teeth too hard? |website=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=3 June 2019}}</ref> with the correct technique, replacing their toothbrush every few months (~3).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mouthhealthy.org/all-topics-a-z/brushing-your-teeth/|title=Brushing Your Teeth |publisher= American Dental Association|website=mouthhealthy}}</ref>
[[File:1st Dental Battalion teaches children good dental hygeine 160223-M-QB247-008.jpg|thumb|Teaching a child how to properly brush the teeth]]
There are a number of common oral hygiene misconceptions. The [[National Health Service (England)|National Health Service (NHS) of England]] recommends not rinsing the mouth with water after brushing – only to spit out excess [[toothpaste]]. They claim that this helps [[fluoride]] from toothpaste bond to teeth for its preventative effects against tooth decay.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nhs.uk/Live-well/healthy-teeth-and-gums/how-to-keep-your-teeth-clean/|title=How to keep your teeth clean |website=NHS|date=26 April 2018 }}</ref> It is also not recommended to brush immediately after drinking acidic substances, including sparkling water.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Mary Kay|last=Kleist|date=2013-04-01|title=Wait, Before You Brush — Why Brushing your Teeth After Eating Could be Bad for You|url=https://napervillemagazine.com/2013/04/wait-before-youbrush-why-brushing-your-teeth-after-eating-could-be-bad-for-you/|access-date=2020-10-04|website=Naperville Magazine|archive-date=2020-02-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220140220/http://napervillemagazine.com/2013/04/wait-before-youbrush-why-brushing-your-teeth-after-eating-could-be-bad-for-you/}}</ref> It is also recommended to floss once a day,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ada.org/en/science-research/science-in-the-news/the-medical-benefit-of-daily-flossing-called-into-question|title=The Medical Benefit of Daily Flossing Called Into Question|website=American Dental Association|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180416012922/http://www.ada.org/en/science-research/science-in-the-news/the-medical-benefit-of-daily-flossing-called-into-question|archive-date=2018-04-16}}</ref> with a different piece of floss at each flossing session. The effectiveness of [[amorphous calcium phosphate]] products, such as Tooth Mousse, is in debate.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Is there a place for Tooth Mousse® in the prevention and treatment of early dental caries? A systematic review|first1=Sarah|last1=Raphael|first2=Anthony|last2=Blinkhorn|date=25 September 2015|journal=BMC Oral Health|volume=15|issue=1|page=113|doi=10.1186/s12903-015-0095-6|pmid = 26408042|pmc=4583988 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Visits to a dentist for a checkup every year at least are recommended.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20140926-how-often-must-we-see-a-dentist|title=How often do you need to see a dentist?|first=Claudia|last=Hammond|date=2014-09-26|website=BBC Future}}</ref>

===Sleep hygiene===
{{Main|Sleep hygiene}}
Sleep hygiene is the recommended behavioral and environmental practices that promote better quality sleep.<ref name="SH2014">{{cite journal|last1=Irish|first1=Leah A.|last2=Kline|first2=Christopher E|last3=Gunn|first3=Heather E|last4=Buysse|first4=Daniel J|last5=Hall|first5=Martica H|date=October 2014|title=The role of sleep hygiene in promoting public health: A review of empirical evidence|journal=Sleep Medicine Reviews|volume=22|pages=23–36|doi=10.1016/j.smrv.2014.10.001|pmc=4400203|pmid=25454674}}</ref> These recommendations were developed in the late 1970s as a method to help people with mild to moderate [[insomnia]], but, {{as of|2014|lc=y}}, the evidence for effectiveness of individual recommendations is "limited and inconclusive".<ref name="SH2014" /> Clinicians assess the sleep hygiene of people who present with insomnia and other conditions, such as depression, and offer recommendations based on the assessment. Sleep hygiene recommendations include establishing a regular sleep schedule, using naps with care, not exercising physically or mentally too close to bedtime, and avoiding [[alcohol (drug)|alcohol]] as well as [[nicotine]], [[caffeine]], and other [[stimulant]]s in the hours before bedtime.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Healthy Sleep |url=https://medlineplus.gov/healthysleep.html |access-date=2023-09-20 |website=medlineplus.gov}}</ref> Further recommendations include limiting worry, limiting exposure to light in the hours before sleep, getting out of bed if sleep does not come, not using the bed for anything but sleep, and having a peaceful, comfortable, and dark sleep environment.

=== Personal care services hygiene ===
Personal care services hygiene pertains to the care and use of instruments used in the administration of personal care services to people:

Personal care hygiene practices include:
* sterilization of instruments used by service providers including [[hairdresser]]s, [[esthetician|aestheticians]], and other service providers
* sterilization by [[autoclave]] of instruments used in [[body piercing]] and [[tattoo]]ing
* cleaning hands

===Challenges===
Excessive body hygiene is a possible sign of [[obsessive–compulsive disorder]]. Neglecting bodily hygiene, or the cleanliness of one's environment, may be a sign of [[major depression]] and other psychological disorders.

====Hygiene hypothesis and allergies====
{{Main|Hygiene hypothesis}}
Although media coverage of the [[hygiene hypothesis]] has declined, popular folklore continues to sometimes assert that dirt is healthy and hygiene unnatural. This has caused health professionals to be concerned that hygiene behaviors which are the foundation of public health are being undermined. In response to the need for effective hygiene in home and everyday life settings, the International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene developed a "risk-based" or targeted approach to home hygiene that seeks to ensure that hygiene measures are focused on the places and times most critical for infection transmission.<ref name="ISFHH 2021" /> While targeted hygiene was originally developed as an effective approach to hygiene practice, it also seeks, as far as possible, to sustain "normal" levels of exposure to the microbial flora of our environment to the extent that is important to build a balanced immune system.

Although there is substantial evidence that some microbial exposures in early childhood can in some way protect against allergies, there is no evidence{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}} that humans need exposure to harmful microbes (infection) or that it is necessary to develop a clinical infection.<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite web|year=2012|title=The Hygiene Hypothesis and its Implications for Home Hygiene, Lifestyle and Public Health|url=https://www.ifh-homehygiene.org/best-practice-review/hygiene-hypothesis-and-its-implications-home-hygiene-lifestyle-and-public-0|publisher=International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene|vauthors=Stanwell Smith R, Bloomfield SF, Rook GA}}
|2={{cite web|year=2012|title=The Hygiene Hypothesis and its implications for home hygiene, lifestyle and public health: Summary|url=https://www.ifh-homehygiene.org/best-practice-review/hygiene-hypothesis-and-its-implications-home-hygiene-lifestyle-and-public|publisher=International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene}}
|3={{cite journal|last1=Bloomfield|first1=S. F.|last2=Stanwell-Smith|first2=R.|last3=Crevel|first3=R.W.R.|last4=Pickup|first4=J.|date=April 2006|title=Too clean, or not too clean: the Hygiene Hypothesis and home hygiene|url=https://researchonline.lshtm.ac.uk/id/eprint/19637/1/cea_2463.pdf|journal=Clinical and Experimental Allergy|volume=36|issue=4|pages=402–25|doi=10.1111/j.1365-2222.2006.02463.x|pmc=1448690|pmid=16630145}}
}}</ref> Nor is there evidence{{citation needed|date=October 2023}} that hygiene measures such as hand washing, food hygiene, etc., are linked to increased susceptibility to [[atopy|atopic disease]]. If this{{ambiguous|date=August 2023}} is the case, there is no conflict between the goals of preventing infection and minimizing allergies. {{weasel inline|text=A consensus is now developing among experts|date=August 2023}} that the answer lies in more fundamental changes in lifestyles that have led to decreased exposure to certain microbial or other species, such as helminths, that are important for development of immuno-regulatory mechanisms.<ref name="Rook2010">{{cite journal|last1=Rook|first1=G.A.W.|date=11 March 2010|title=99th Dahlem Conference on Infection, Inflammation and Chronic Inflammatory Disorders: Darwinian medicine and the 'hygiene' or 'old friends' hypothesis|journal=Clinical & Experimental Immunology|volume=160|issue=1|pages=70–79|doi=10.1111/j.1365-2249.2010.04133.x|pmc=2841838|pmid=20415854}}</ref> There is still much uncertainty as to which lifestyle factors are involved.