Everyone should should practice good personal hygiene or they will be at increased risk of developing many conditions and diseases. Not only that, your professional and social life could also be affected. (Remember how you felt with that spinach stuck in your teeth?)
But some hygiene practices are much less obvious and we may easily overlook them. Here are 5 that you might be missing.
Not wearing socks
Showing your ankles might be in fashion, but it can have a hygiene downside. Regardless of what you do, your feet will sweat as soon as you start walking. Socks can help absorb sweat, pulling bacteria-inducing moisture from your feet. Wearing shoes without socks can also lead to developing fungal infections and blisters. If you want a sockless look, you can wear low-cut “invisible” socks such as Peds.
Not cleaning or replacing make-up brushes regularly
Our skin is constantly renewing itself by sloughing off dead skin cells, and if you are used to wearing makeup every day, then chances are your makeup brushes and applicators are filled with some of those dead skin cells and the resulting bacteria which can cause pink-eye, staph and other infections. While helping your friends is a nice gesture, it is best to avoid cross-contamination by not sharing brushes amongst friends. So, replace the old applicators and wash or replace your brushes regularly.
Using cotton swabs to clean out earwax (cerumen)
There is simply no reason to insert cotton swabs or any similar objects into your ears. Swabs, if pushed into the ear canal, can damage your eardrum, which could eventually lead to temporary or even permanent hearing loss.
So how, then, ARE we supposed to clean out the ear wax? Your body is made to automatically slough off hardened wax- along with the dirt it collects- as it moves outwardly through the ear canal, so unless there is a severe problem, you can just leave it alone. According to experts, a nominal amount of cerumen is actually very helpful to moisturize and prevent contaminants from reaching the inside of your ears.
Not flossing your teeth
If your oral hygiene consists of only by brushing your teeth, then you don’t know the half of it! Most of the bacteria that cause gum disease and decay are located in hard to reach places between the teeth, and at or under the gumline. The only way to remove this bacteria is by flossing. Additionally, you should also be gently scraping and brushing your tongue to remove odor-causing sulfur compounds. You don’t want your date to think you’ve been sucking rotten eggs all day, now, do you?
Not changing and washing linens often enough
Changing our bed sheets or towels could be the last thing we remember throughout our day due to our busy schedules. Our bodies, though, are in regular, daily contact with one or the other of them, shedding dead skin cells, and triggering bacteria growth at the same time.
Changing and washing linens regularly must become a health necessity in your schedule. Be sure to change and launder your bed sheets, pillow cases and towels at least once a week. Some experts, however, suggest towel replacement after just 3 or 4 uses!
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