Hygiene is of pivotal importance for everyone regardless of the profession they belong to. One way, individuals can protect themselves from ailments is through adequate personal hygiene. This includes washing your hand, face and body.
This essentially means that one has to be very careful about not coughing or sneezing on others. If you are unwell, you need to ensure that you sanitize everything that you touch for the safety of others. One needs to safely discard all used tissues as they may carry germs. Similarly, one should use protections such as gloves or condoms in order to eliminate the risk of catching an infection. These habits have physical and psychological advantages and ensure your wellbeing.
Those individuals who do not take care of their physical hygiene are likely to be prone to diseases. This makes the immune-compromised vulnerable and susceptible to ailments.
In people with poor personal hygiene, the body provides an ideal environment for germs to grow, leaving it vulnerable to infection. Further, socially those people who have poor hygiene levels are likely to be isolated by the society.
Hygiene for Doctors
With COVID-19 taking the world by a storm, the need for good hygiene is greater than ever. Today, doctors, paramedics, healthcare practitioners and nurses are at a greater risk of contracting ailments.
Doctors need to use personal protective equipment to protect themselves from infectious diseases. Today, masks, face shields, gowns, caps, etc. are readily available at various online lab coat and scrub market places making it easy for professionals and healthcare institutions to procure the protective gear.
As a healthcare professional, below are some personal hygiene healthy habits including good grooming that you and your patients need to practice. This will not only help in minimizing the rate of infection but also improve your overall health and wellbeing.
Bathe regularly:
Asking someone to bathe might just sound like stating the obvious, but is very important to was your hair and body frequently. While it is not forced to take a shower every day, but one should clean themselves and shampoo their hair on regular intervals that suit your body type. One needs to understand that the human body is constantly shedding skin which needs to be rinsed and cleaned. Caking up of dead skin may result in ailments.
Trim your nails:
When you keep your toenails and fingers trimmed and in good shape, you are likely to avoid problems like infected nail beds or hang nails. Similarly, those feet that are dry and clean are less likely to contract athlete's foot.
Brush and floss.
If you are really particular of your oral health, ideally you should brush your teeth post every meal. If not, at the very least, you should brush your teeth twice a day and floss regularly. When you brush your teeth, you minimize the chances of bacteria accumulation in your mouth causing gum diseases and tooth decay. Moreover, dentists believe that flossing helps in maintaining strong and healthy gums. One may not be aware but the bacteria that builds up in the mouth can result in gum diseases that can affect the heart and cause serious valve problems. Similarly, unhealthy gums can make your teeth loosen their grip making chewing and eating food extremely difficult. If you are a doctor, you should know that it is important to schedule your dentist visits every six months for cleaning and checkups.
Wash your hands:
Wash your hands or sanitize them when you see a patient or administer any treatment. Similarly, as a regular practice, wash your hands before you make or eat food, use the loo, cough or sneeze. By taking care of yourself and your loved ones, you will prevent the spread of viruses and bacteria. Today, most hospital facility have stringent sanitization protocols that need to be adhered to.
Sleep tight:
As a healthcare professional, I understand that your schedule is very daunting. However, make sure that you get ample rest and roughly 8 to 10 hours of sleep. This way you will be ready to face ay challenges. Lack of sleep can make you feel down and can also compromise on your immune system
Wear Clean Scrubs and Lab Coats
Your lab coats and scrubs carry the highest number of contaminants, hazards and bacteria. Make sure to wear clean scrubs and lab coats or sanitize them regularly to ensure the safety of the people around you.
Conclusion:
Personal hygiene is not difficult. Once you have a personal hygiene routine in place, it becomes a habit in no time. It is also important to set an example for your children so that they can also have their own personal hygiene routines to follow.