Personal hygiene refers to the habits you can build into your routine to promote feelings of confidence and wellbeing. Many of these practices begin in childhood before continuing throughout adulthood.
Feminine hygiene is an integral component of good personal hygiene, including cleaning and respecting your vulva as an external organ with its own ecosystem.
Brush your teeth daily
Brushing teeth daily helps lower the risk of dental caries by eliminating bacteria build-up in the mouth and bad breath (halitosis).
Studies have revealed that poor oral hygiene can contribute to serious health complications, including heart disease and stroke, as well as having adverse impacts on a pregnant woman and her unborn child.
Personal hygiene may come naturally to most, but for some, mental health conditions like depression, severe schizophrenia and dementia may make maintaining healthy habits harder than ever.
An early lesson on personal hygiene for children should begin as early as possible. They should learn to wash their hands after using the toilet and prior to eating. Furthermore, they should be encouraged to brush twice daily for two minutes at each sitting and use floss if applicable.
Wash your hands often
Handwashing regularly is one of the best ways to prevent germs from spreading. Germs spread when touching infected surfaces or objects, coughing or sneezing into hands or eating or drinking without washing hands first.
People should wash their hands often throughout the day, particularly before using the restroom and handling money or food. Furthermore, they should also do this after shaking hands, blowing their nose or coughing or sneezing.
People looking to properly wash their hands should use clean running water and apply soap. After lathering up their hands with this mixture, they should rub their hands together in order to lather up more soap while remembering to scrub each finger, their backs, the spaces between each finger, under nails and anywhere else that might need scrubbing. After this thorough process is completed, people should rinse their hands well and use paper towels that absorb moisture instead of jet air dryers for drying them off afterwards.
Change your towel regularly
Towels can become breeding grounds for germs (from shed skin cells) and bacteria that can lead to infections, as well as providing the perfect conditions for mold to flourish.
As temperatures heat up in summer months and more bacteria thrives in humid environments, it is wise to regularly launder towels. Gym towels in particular must be washed right after each use to avoid further bacteria buildup.
Avoid soaps not designed specifically for feminine hygiene as these can disrupt delicate vaginal flora. Instead, choose skin-friendly cleaning products instead. When wiping the genital area from front to back to prevent harmful bacteria entering, always use a fresh towel after emptying your bladder to avoid irritation and inflammation.
Wear natural fibre underwear
Your undergarments come into direct contact with your skin, making it crucial to select fabrics free from harmful chemicals and switch to natural fiber underwear such as cotton and modal.
Natural fibres are more efficient at temperature regulation, absorbing and dissipating moisture away from the body to avoid bacteria growth and unpleasant odors.
Natural fibre underwear looks better, feels softer and stays in place more easily than synthetics, without shrunk or creasing as much. Blue Canoe’s organic cotton and modal underwear range is certified OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified dyes; carbon neutral; member of 1% for the Planet and carbon neutral – offering eco-friendly solutions at an excellent value!
Keep your vagina clean
Every woman needs to keep the vulva, perineal area and anus clean and healthy during menstruation, particularly on days that include menstruation. This requires regularly bathing in warm water with fragrance-free soap; using cotton sanitary pads; as well as changing anus liners and tampons on an as needed basis.
Avoid douches and feminine washes, as these products can alter the vagina’s natural pH balance and lead to irritation. Instead, wash with unscented soap in the shower, drying gently with a soft cloth afterwards.
Your vulva has its own ecosystem that works to remove dead cells and bacteria naturally through discharge. In addition, it produces lubrication to protect and reduce friction, keeping your vulva healthy requires proper diet, safe sex practices, as well as plenty of fluid intake. To achieve optimum health in this regard, drink lots of water throughout the day!
