health and hygiene essay pdf

Talk to our experts

1800-120-456-456

• Health and Hygiene Essay

Introduction to Health and Hygiene

The term "Health" refers to the body's natural and healthy state. It is a wonderful source of calm and joy. A healthy state of mind and a physically fit body are considered to be free of disorder, illness, or disease. Health refers to a person's physical, emotional, and psychological well-being in basic terms. Cleanliness, adequate wastewater disposal, and safe drinking water supply are all examples of hygiene practices that help to avoid disease and promote good health. It encompasses all activities aimed at enhancing, preserving, and maintaining excellent health.

Health and Hygiene

Health is a positive state of being in which all components of the body and mind are in proper balance and harmony with one another. As a result, all of the body's organs are in good working order. It is well believed that only those people may be considered healthy if they have a healthy mind and a healthy body. For a healthy and happy existence, health and cleanliness are essential. In terms of community hygiene, health education is critical. To avoid disease and have a positive attitude about health, you must have accurate and comprehensive health knowledge. 

Hygiene is another word for sanitation and cleanliness. Great personal hygiene is essential for health reasons. One must practice good hygiene. We must cover our mouth while sneezing and immediately wash our hands to prevent the germs from spreading. This shows our consciousness about health through hygiene. Keeping a decent standard of cleanliness prevents the spread of disease. Social awareness must be spread amongst the civilians so that they would realize the importance of hygiene.

What Exactly is Health?

Health is a quality of life that enables you to live a longer life. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as "a condition of complete physical, mental, spiritual, and communal well-being, rather than only the absence of illness."A person is not regarded as healthy if he is free of sickness or in good bodily shape but is stressed, tense, angry, greedy, or in any other way.

Aspects of Health

Let's look at the health concerns for a moment.

Physical well-being

Mental well-being:

Emotional wellness

The well-being of the community

Spiritual well-being

Hygiene is the science and art of maintaining and improving one's physical and mental well-being. Hygiene enables people to have a healthy interaction with their surroundings. It is applicable to both individuals and communities. Recognize the importance of hygiene and sanitation in maintaining good health.

Our hands keep touching so many surfaces such as handrails, smartphones, steering wheels while driving, etc. Hands are the part of the body that spreads germs the most easily. It takes less than a minute to wash our hands; still, many people refrain from doing this. Good hand hygiene is proven beneficial in preventing the spread of diseases amongst society and family. As per the World Health Organization (WHO), washing hands with soap and water is sufficient to prevent the spread of certain diseases by almost 50%. The next important part of the body that needs proper hygiene is the eye. We are all aware that the eyes are the most delicate part of the body. So taking care of it is not only essential but a necessity. We are surrounded by thousands of electronic things which have a bad impact on the eyes. Keeping the eyes clean must be a frequent task in our daily routine.

While playing in the school, kids must take care of their belongings, such as their water bottles. It is important to keep such things in a clean place. Keeping the bottle here and there and then drinking from the same water bottle is harmful to health. Parents and teachers play a vital role in creating awareness about hygiene in kids.

Hygiene is like a preventive measure that keeps us away from diseases and various other health ailments. No matter how much you care about cleanliness, if the potable water itself is not clean, then it is of no use. Water needs to be not only clean but also healthy. Water is used throughout the day, from drinking, cooking to cleanliness activities. Hence, it is important to use clean water. 

Civilians must be made aware of how to maintain hygiene in public places like hospitals. Hospitals are generally crowded with patients and it is obvious that the place will be a hotspot of bacteria and viruses. Hence, it is important to use hand sanitisers and maintain a safe distance from visibly sick people. The next critical step towards a healthy life is oral hygiene—proper oral hygiene wards off gum diseases, bad breath and many infections. Understanding the importance of hygiene will make it easier to eradicate the disease from the world.

How Do You Keep Your Hygiene?

The only thing that helps a person feel healthy is good hygiene. Otherwise, bacteria developing in the dirt generate a slew of ailments, and our health suffers as a result.

When we are surrounded by cleanliness, it makes us feel happy and motivates us to complete our tasks. If there is dirt surrounding us, no matter how focused we attempt to work, we will not be able to complete the task successfully. Our health will decline as well.

Hygiene is Crucial!

It helps to lessen the need for medical assistance: we are all susceptible to a variety of ailments around the world. Diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, cancer, gastrointestinal problems, asthma, and lung disorders affect a large portion of the world's population. Some of these diseases are deadly, and there is no treatment that can save a person's life. There are extremely few sicknesses in a sanitary living individual. This person will not require medication to remain healthy. It protects against numerous germs and viruses by preserving personal cleanliness.

Health is more valuable than money, and everyone's health is paramount. It has a strong link to hygiene and health. There will be good health when there is cleanliness. Our health is heavily influenced by our surroundings.

FAQs on Health and Hygiene Essay

1. What are some of the ways to maintain personal hygiene?

We come in contact with millions of germs and viruses every day, all of which can make us sick. Some methods for maintaining personal hygiene and preventing the spread of germs and viruses include Toilet and Bath Hygiene: After using the restroom, we should always wash our hands. To maintain our nails clean, we must avoid biting them and trim them on a regular basis. Bacteria and viruses can quickly enter our bodies through the mouth, nose, and eyes. When handling garbage, touching animals, cleaning, etc., we should always wash our hands with soap and water.

2. Why is hygiene important for good health?

It is important to maintain good hygiene in order to avoid the spread of germs and infectious diseases. Coming into close contact with patients, handling contaminated food, and unclean surfaces or things can all pass on germs that cause many diseases. Poor hygiene can readily spread diarrhea, respiratory ailments, tooth decay, and other diseases. Seasonal flu, viruses, and other bacterial illnesses can all be aided by good cleanliness. As a result, sustaining good health requires a high level of hygiene.

3. Where can I find a well-written essay on Health and Hygiene?

You can find a well-written essay on the topic ‘Health and Hygiene’ on many online educational sites such as Vedantu. Vedantu offers well-curated study materials and articles on various topics. Students can find free essays on Health and Hygiene and other commonly-asked topics in exams.

4. Why is it important to train young kids on the importance of hygiene and sanitation?

Antibiotics and vaccinations are becoming less effective against viruses and bacteria. Many of these viruses are now being encountered all over the world, and the world is enabled to cope with them. Germs can readily spread among children because they play outside without paying attention to their health. To avoid getting sick, parents must educate their children on the value of cleanliness. In addition, basic personal cleanliness will help them feel more confident and self-assured. As a result, it is important to teach children about the importance of cleanliness and hygiene.

5. Is writing the Health and Hygiene Essay for Students in English difficult?

Regular practice and back to back sessions on essay writing can help students to write proper English essays. The Health and Hygiene Essay for Students in English requires some prior knowledge about health and hygiene and hence one should study about the same before writing it. After you've grabbed the concepts, the writing part isn't difficult. Vedantu can help you in framing proper English sentences with proper grammar, tone, clarity, and essay.

• CBSE Class 10th
• CBSE Class 12th
• UP Board 10th
• UP Board 12th
• Bihar Board 10th
• Bihar Board 12th
• Top Schools in India
• Top Schools in Delhi
• Top Schools in Mumbai
• Top Schools in Chennai
• Top Schools in Hyderabad
• Top Schools in Kolkata
• Top Schools in Pune
• Top Schools in Bangalore

Products & Resources

• JEE Main Knockout April
• Free Sample Papers
• Free Ebooks
• NCERT Notes
• NCERT Syllabus
• NCERT Books
• RD Sharma Solutions
• Navodaya Vidyalaya Admission 2024-25
• NCERT Solutions
• NCERT Solutions for Class 12
• NCERT Solutions for Class 11
• NCERT solutions for Class 10
• NCERT solutions for Class 9
• NCERT solutions for Class 8
• NCERT Solutions for Class 7
• JEE Main 2024
• MHT CET 2024
• JEE Advanced 2024
• BITSAT 2024
• View All Engineering Exams
• Colleges Accepting B.Tech Applications
• Top Engineering Colleges in India
• Engineering Colleges in India
• Engineering Colleges in Tamil Nadu
• Engineering Colleges Accepting JEE Main
• Top IITs in India
• Top NITs in India
• Top IIITs in India
• JEE Main College Predictor
• JEE Main Rank Predictor
• MHT CET College Predictor
• AP EAMCET College Predictor
• GATE College Predictor
• KCET College Predictor
• JEE Advanced College Predictor
• View All College Predictors
• JEE Advanced Cutoff
• JEE Main Cutoff
• JEE Main Advanced Answer Key
• JEE Advanced Result
• Download E-Books and Sample Papers
• Compare Colleges
• B.Tech College Applications
• KCET Result
• MAH MBA CET Exam
• View All Management Exams

Colleges & Courses

• MBA College Admissions
• MBA Colleges in India
• Top IIMs Colleges in India
• Top Online MBA Colleges in India
• MBA Colleges Accepting XAT Score
• BBA Colleges in India
• XAT College Predictor 2024
• SNAP College Predictor
• NMAT College Predictor
• MAT College Predictor 2024
• CMAT College Predictor 2024
• CAT Percentile Predictor 2023
• CAT 2023 College Predictor
• CMAT 2024 Answer Key
• TS ICET 2024 Hall Ticket
• CMAT Result 2024
• MAH MBA CET Cutoff 2024
• Download Helpful Ebooks
• List of Popular Branches
• QnA - Get answers to your doubts
• IIM Fees Structure
• AIIMS Nursing
• Top Medical Colleges in India
• Top Medical Colleges in India accepting NEET Score
• Medical Colleges accepting NEET
• List of Medical Colleges in India
• List of AIIMS Colleges In India
• Medical Colleges in Maharashtra
• Medical Colleges in India Accepting NEET PG
• NEET College Predictor
• NEET PG College Predictor
• NEET MDS College Predictor
• NEET Rank Predictor
• DNB PDCET College Predictor
• NEET Result 2024
• NEET Asnwer Key 2024
• NEET Cut off
• NEET Online Preparation
• Download Helpful E-books
• Colleges Accepting Admissions
• Top Law Colleges in India
• Law College Accepting CLAT Score
• List of Law Colleges in India
• Top Law Colleges in Delhi
• Top NLUs Colleges in India
• Top Law Colleges in Chandigarh
• Top Law Collages in Lucknow

Predictors & E-Books

• CLAT College Predictor
• MHCET Law ( 5 Year L.L.B) College Predictor
• AILET College Predictor
• Sample Papers
• Compare Law Collages
• Careers360 Youtube Channel
• CLAT Syllabus 2025
• CLAT Previous Year Question Paper
• NID DAT Exam
• Pearl Academy Exam

Predictors & Articles

• NIFT College Predictor
• UCEED College Predictor
• NID DAT College Predictor
• NID DAT Syllabus 2025
• NID DAT 2025
• Design Colleges in India
• Top NIFT Colleges in India
• Fashion Design Colleges in India
• Top Interior Design Colleges in India
• Top Graphic Designing Colleges in India
• Fashion Design Colleges in Delhi
• Fashion Design Colleges in Mumbai
• Top Interior Design Colleges in Bangalore
• NIFT Result 2024
• NIFT Fees Structure
• NIFT Syllabus 2025
• Free Design E-books
• List of Branches
• Careers360 Youtube channel
• IPU CET BJMC
• JMI Mass Communication Entrance Exam
• IIMC Entrance Exam
• Media & Journalism colleges in Delhi
• Media & Journalism colleges in Bangalore
• Media & Journalism colleges in Mumbai
• List of Media & Journalism Colleges in India
• CA Intermediate
• CA Foundation
• CS Executive
• CS Professional
• Difference between CA and CS
• Difference between CA and CMA
• CA Full form
• CMA Full form
• CS Full form
• CA Salary In India

Top Courses & Careers

• Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com)
• Master of Commerce (M.Com)
• Company Secretary
• Cost Accountant
• Charted Accountant
• Credit Manager
• Financial Advisor
• Top Commerce Colleges in India
• Top Government Commerce Colleges in India
• Top Private Commerce Colleges in India
• Top M.Com Colleges in Mumbai
• Top B.Com Colleges in India
• IT Colleges in Tamil Nadu
• IT Colleges in Uttar Pradesh
• MCA Colleges in India
• BCA Colleges in India

Quick Links

• Information Technology Courses
• Programming Courses
• Web Development Courses
• Data Analytics Courses
• Big Data Analytics Courses
• RUHS Pharmacy Admission Test
• Top Pharmacy Colleges in India
• Pharmacy Colleges in Pune
• Pharmacy Colleges in Mumbai
• Colleges Accepting GPAT Score
• Pharmacy Colleges in Lucknow
• List of Pharmacy Colleges in Nagpur
• GPAT Result
• GPAT 2024 Admit Card
• GPAT Question Papers
• NCHMCT JEE 2024
• Mah BHMCT CET
• Top Hotel Management Colleges in Delhi
• Top Hotel Management Colleges in Hyderabad
• Top Hotel Management Colleges in Mumbai
• Top Hotel Management Colleges in Tamil Nadu
• Top Hotel Management Colleges in Maharashtra
• B.Sc Hotel Management
• Hotel Management
• Diploma in Hotel Management and Catering Technology

Diploma Colleges

• Top Diploma Colleges in Maharashtra
• UPSC IAS 2024
• SSC CGL 2024
• IBPS RRB 2024
• Previous Year Sample Papers
• Free Competition E-books
• Sarkari Result
• QnA- Get your doubts answered
• UPSC Previous Year Sample Papers
• CTET Previous Year Sample Papers
• SBI Clerk Previous Year Sample Papers
• NDA Previous Year Sample Papers

Upcoming Events

• NDA Application Form 2024
• UPSC IAS Application Form 2024
• CDS Application Form 2024
• CTET Admit card 2024
• HP TET Result 2023
• SSC GD Constable Admit Card 2024
• UPTET Notification 2024
• SBI Clerk Result 2024

Other Exams

• SSC CHSL 2024
• UP PCS 2024
• UGC NET 2024
• RRB NTPC 2024
• IBPS PO 2024
• IBPS Clerk 2024
• IBPS SO 2024
• Top University in USA
• Top University in Canada
• Top University in Ireland
• Top Universities in UK
• Top Universities in Australia
• Best MBA Colleges in Abroad
• Business Management Studies Colleges

Top Countries

• Study in USA
• Study in UK
• Study in Canada
• Study in Australia
• Study in Ireland
• Study in Germany
• Study in China
• Study in Europe

Student Visas

• Student Visa Canada
• Student Visa UK
• Student Visa USA
• Student Visa Australia
• Student Visa Germany
• Student Visa New Zealand
• Student Visa Ireland
• CUET PG 2024
• IGNOU B.Ed Admission 2024
• DU Admission 2024
• UP B.Ed JEE 2024
• LPU NEST 2024
• IIT JAM 2024
• IGNOU Online Admission 2024
• Universities in India
• Top Universities in India 2024
• Top Colleges in India
• Top Universities in Uttar Pradesh 2024
• Top Universities in Bihar
• Top Universities in Madhya Pradesh 2024
• Top Universities in Tamil Nadu 2024
• Central Universities in India
• CUET DU Cut off 2024
• IGNOU Date Sheet
• CUET DU CSAS Portal 2024
• CUET Admit card 2024
• CUET Result 2024
• CUET Participating Universities 2024
• CUET Previous Year Question Paper
• CUET Syllabus 2024 for Science Students
• E-Books and Sample Papers
• CUET Exam Pattern 2024
• CUET Exam Date 2024
• CUET Cut Off 2024
• CUET Exam Analysis 2024
• IGNOU Exam Form 2024
• CUET PG Counselling 2024
• CUET Answer Key 2024

Engineering Preparation

• Knockout JEE Main 2024
• Test Series JEE Main 2024
• JEE Main 2024 Rank Booster

Medical Preparation

• Knockout NEET 2024
• Test Series NEET 2024
• Rank Booster NEET 2024

Online Courses

• JEE Main One Month Course
• NEET One Month Course
• IBSAT Free Mock Tests
• IIT JEE Foundation Course
• Knockout BITSAT 2024
• Career Guidance Tool

Top Streams

• IT & Software Certification Courses
• Engineering and Architecture Certification Courses
• Programming And Development Certification Courses
• Business and Management Certification Courses
• Marketing Certification Courses
• Health and Fitness Certification Courses
• Design Certification Courses

Specializations

• Digital Marketing Certification Courses
• Cyber Security Certification Courses
• Artificial Intelligence Certification Courses
• Business Analytics Certification Courses
• Data Science Certification Courses
• Cloud Computing Certification Courses
• Machine Learning Certification Courses
• View All Certification Courses
• UG Degree Courses
• PG Degree Courses
• Short Term Courses
• Free Courses
• Online Degrees and Diplomas
• Compare Courses

Top Providers

• Coursera Courses
• Udemy Courses
• Edx Courses
• Swayam Courses
• upGrad Courses
• Simplilearn Courses
• Great Learning Courses

Health and Hygiene Essay for Students and Children

The term "health" refers to a mentally healthy state and a physically fit body free from any disorders, illnesses, or diseases. Simply put, a person's physical, emotional, and psychological well-being is referred to as their state of health. Cleanliness, proper wastewater disposal, and access to clean water are all examples of good hygiene practices that promote health and prevent disease. It includes all of the actions taken to maintain and improve one's health. Here are a few sample essays on health and hygiene.

100 Words Essay on Health and Hygiene

A person's overall physical, social, and mental well-being is referred to as their "state of health." According to the World Health Organization, health also refers to the means of supporting daily life and not just the goal of living. In order to maintain our health, we must practice hygiene. Maintaining good hygiene helps our immune systems develop and shields our bodies from disease. Health requires a diet that is both well-balanced and nutrient-dense . Vital minerals and vitamins that we require are present in fruits and vegetables. Toxin removal is aided by drinking enough water. Furthermore, cleanliness is crucial. Regular baths and wearing clean clothes help us maintain better hygiene. Personal hygiene can be improved by frequently washing hands, trimming nails, and brushing and flossing teeth every day. Since it helps our organs function properly and removes toxins, pure drinking water is essential for keeping us hydrated.

200 Words Essay on Health and Hygiene

Our capacity to function is improved by being in good health. Maintaining good health enables us to fend off illnesses and strengthen our bodies. Hygiene refers to routine actions we take to maintain our health. We are shielded from illnesses by these procedures.

A balanced diet containing a variety of foods is necessary for good health. Vital minerals and vitamins that we require are present in fruits and vegetables. All the toxins in our bodies can be eliminated by drinking plenty of fluids. To stay hydrated, we should drink pure water. We must consume fewer processed foods and more meals high in protein. Our bones are strengthened by milk. It's important to wash fruits and cook vegetables before eating them.

It's also important to keep things tidy. Regular baths and wearing clean clothes help us maintain better hygiene. Hand washing reduces the spread of germs. When our nails get too long, we must trim them, and we must brush and floss our teeth every day. Daily exercise keeps us fit and healthy. Our immune system is strengthened by these activities.

Keeping our surroundings clean is another aspect of hygiene and good health. Garbage must be disposed of properly; it cannot be dumped on the streets. It's very unsanitary to defecate outside. We need to implement these behaviours not only for our society's sake but also to stay healthy.

500 Words Essay on Health and Hygiene

Taking care of one's health and hygiene has never been more crucial than it is today. Everyone needs to make maintaining their health and hygiene a priority due to the growing population, pollution, and emissions of harmful gases.

When the body's various organs are functioning harmoniously, it is said to be in a healthy state. It also helps the other parts balance and function properly. In other words, the physical well-being state in which the human body is when all of its parts are functioning properly is referred to as "health" .

The idea that a healthy person is someone who has a sound body and a sound mind is well-stated and supported by research. One of the aspects of life that contributes to a longer lifespan is health.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) , health is a complete state of mental, spiritual, physical, and social well-being and does not merely refer to the absence of disease. If a person is in a good physical state and free from any diseases but is under constant stress, greed, tension, anger, etc., then that person is not healthy.

Good habits and customs that promote health and disease prevention are referred to as "hygiene" . So, the main components are cleanliness, a safe drinking water supply, and proper sewage disposal. As a result, it covers all of the actions taken to maintain and improve one's overall health.

How I Maintain Health and Hygiene?

By incorporating these practices into my daily life, I promote health and hygiene.

by keeping a healthy, balanced diet.

by taking a bath every day.

by twice daily brushing my teeth.

by abstaining from junk food.

Good Habits for Better Health and Hygiene

Nourishing Food | A healthy diet is necessary for good health. We consume food, and some of it keeps our bodies warm. While another component produces the flesh that contributes to providing strength. Pure milk is regarded as one of the most nutrient-rich foods. In order to eat nutritious food, we typically consume a variety of other foods, such as vegetables. A mixed diet is regarded as the ideal choice for the human body. It ought to contain the right number of calories, vitamins, and minerals that our body needs to function.

Clean And Fresh Water | Pure water is one of the main ingredients in a healthy and hygienic lifestyle. Water is one of the components of our body, despite appearing to be a commonplace item. Drinking tainted water is a major cause of illness for many people. Additionally, it occurs most frequently in villages where people wash their clothes, bathe, and clean their cattle in the same water. The use of this water for drinking could therefore be harmful to one's health.

Clean Surroundings | One of the most crucial components of good health is cleanliness. Therefore, keeping yourself and your surroundings tidy and clean is a crucial hygiene habit. There are germs that thrive wherever there is dirt. The dirt also moves around in the air because it is light in weight. Consequently, a dirty man is frequently the one who is susceptible to various diseases.

Applications for Admissions are open.

ALLEN Digital Scholarship Admission Test (ADSAT)

Register FREE for ALLEN Digital Scholarship Admission Test (ADSAT)

JEE Main Important Physics formulas

As per latest 2024 syllabus. Physics formulas, equations, & laws of class 11 & 12th chapters

PW JEE Coaching

Enrol in PW Vidyapeeth center for JEE coaching

PW NEET Coaching

Enrol in PW Vidyapeeth center for NEET coaching

JEE Main Important Chemistry formulas

As per latest 2024 syllabus. Chemistry formulas, equations, & laws of class 11 & 12th chapters

ALLEN JEE Exam Prep

Start your JEE preparation with ALLEN

Download Careers360 App's

Regular exam updates, QnA, Predictors, College Applications & E-books now on your Mobile

Certifications

We Appeared in

Hygiene and Environmental Health Module: 3. Personal Hygiene

Study session 3  personal hygiene, introduction.

The exercise of proper personal hygiene is one of the essential parts of our daily life. Many people in rural areas may not understand what good or bad personal hygiene is. The prevention of communicable diseases, like diarrhoea, trachoma and many others is highly possible through the application of proper personal hygiene. You need to learn the proper practice of personal hygiene and use this for the prevention and control of important public health diseases that are prevalent in your locality. This study session will also help you to understand the links between personal hygiene and one’s dignity, confidence and comfort.

Learning Outcomes for Study Session 3

When you have studied this session, you should be able to:

3.1  Define and use correctly each of the key words printed in bold .(SAQ 3.1)

3.2  Describe the public health importance of personal hygiene. (SAQ 3.3)

3.3  List and describe the components of personal hygiene. (SAQs 3.1 and 3.2)

3.4  Describe what are acceptable and poor personal hygiene practices. (SAQ 3.4)

3.5  Prioritise the components of personal hygiene that are critical for public health concerns. (SAQ 3.3)

3.6  Explain hygienic handwashing using standard procedures, and list the critical situations for effective handwashing. (SAQs 3.4 and 3.5)

3.7  Explain the elements and activities that are needed for planning personal hygiene promotion. (SAQ 3.6)

3.8  Describe the criteria that are used for evaluating the effectiveness of personal hygiene application. (SAQ 3.7)

3.1  What is personal hygiene?

Personal hygiene is a concept that is commonly used in medical and public health practices. It is also widely practised at the individual level and at home. It involves maintaining the cleanliness of our body and clothes. Personal hygiene is personal, as its name implies. In this regard, personal hygiene is defined as a condition promoting sanitary practices to the self. Everybody has their own habits and standards that they have been taught or that they have learned from others. Generally, the practice of personal hygiene is employed to prevent or minimise the incidence and spread of communicable diseases.

3.2  Difference between cleanliness and hygiene

The term cleanliness should not be used in place of hygiene. Cleaning in many cases is removing dirt, wastes or unwanted things from the surface of objects using detergents and necessary equipment. Hygiene practice focuses on the prevention of diseases through the use of cleaning as one of several inputs. For example, a janitor cleans the floor of a health centre using detergent, mop and broom. They might also use chlorine solution to disinfect the floor. The cleaning process in this example is the removal of visible dirt, while the use of chlorine solution removes the invisible microorganisms. Hygienic practice encompasses both cleaning for the removal of physically observable matters and the use of chlorine for the removal of microorganisms. The hygiene practice in this example aims at preventing the spread of disease-causing organisms. Cleaning is a means to achieve this task.

3.3  Public health importance of personal hygiene

The knowledge and practice of personal hygiene are vital in all our everyday activities. The purposes are:

Preventing faeco-orally transmitted diseases

The fingers may get contaminated with one’s own faeces, either directly or indirectly. Activities during defecation and child bottom-washing are additional opportunities for the contamination of the fingers that facilitate the transmission of infections.

Aesthetic values of personal hygiene

A person with clean hands is proud while eating because they feel confident of preventing diseases. A teacher in a school is always happy to see their students with clean faces and eyes, and dressed in clean clothes. A mother is mentally satisfied to feed her infant with clean hands because she ensures the preservation of her child’s health. Generally, cleaning oneself produces pride, comfort and dignity at home and in public places. Caring about the way you look is important to your self-esteem.

Social impact

A person with poor personal hygiene might be isolated from friendship because telling the person about the situation might be sensitive and culturally difficult. The success of a job application or the chance of promotion could be affected by poor personal hygiene; no company wants to be represented by someone who does not appear to be able to look after themselves.

3.4  Components of personal hygiene

3.4.1  body hygiene (skin care).

The body has nearly two million sweat glands. Moistened and dried sweat and dead skin cells all together make dirt that sticks on to the skin and the surface of underclothes. The action of bacteria decomposes the sweat, thereby generating bad odour and irritating the skin. This is especially observed in the groin, underarms and feet, and in clothing that has absorbed sweat. Skin infections such as scabies, pimples and ringworm are results of poor body hygiene. Figure 3.1 shows ringworm of the scalp ( Tine a capitis ).

The first task in body hygiene is to find water, soap and other cleansing materials. Taking a bath or a shower using body soap at least weekly is very important to ensuring our body stays clean (Figure 3.2). Bathing can be every day or after periods of sweating or getting dirty. The genitals and the anal region need to be cleaned well because of the natural secretions of these areas. Dry the body with a clean towel after thorough rinsing. Change into clean underwear after a bath. Changing sweat-soaked clothes after each bath is advised. Cleaning the ears after every bath is also necessary. Avoid sharing soaps and towels because of the danger of cross-infection.

3.4.2  Oral hygiene (oral care)

The mouth is the area of the body most prone to collecting harmful bacteria and generating infections. Our mouth mechanically breaks food into pieces. This process leaves food particles (food debris) that stick to the surface of our gums and teeth. Our mouth cavity is full of bacteria and is a good environment for bacterial growth.

Why is the mouth a good environment for bacterial growth?

It is at the optimum temperature (37 º C) and is often rich in food particles that support bacterial growth.

The decaying process that takes place on the surface of the teeth eventually produces a build-up called plaque (a sticky deposit on which bacteria grow) that is then converted into tartar (a hard, yellowish, calcified deposit on the teeth, consisting of organic secretions and food particles). The result is tooth decay. In addition, unpleasant smelling breath ( halitosis or stinking odour ), teeth and gum infections could be a result of poor oral hygiene.

Advice for keeping the mouth clean (Figure 3.3) is:

• Rinse the mouth after each meal.
• Brush your teeth with a fluoride-containing toothpaste twice a day – before breakfast and before you go to bed. Cleaning the mouth with twigs is possible if done carefully.
• During the day, fill your mouth with water and swish it around to get rid of anything sticking to your teeth.
• In addition to regular brushing, it is advisable to floss your teeth at least once a day, usually before you go to bed.

3.4.3  Handwashing (hand care)

The cleanliness of our hands is very important in all our daily activities. In our normal activities our hands frequently get dirty. There are many situations in which microorganisms are likely to attach to our hands along with the dirt. There are many communicable diseases that follow the route of faeco-oral transmission. Hand hygiene plays a critically important role in preventing this transmission.

Hygienic hand washing involves the mechanical removal of microorganisms from contaminated hand surfaces using soap or detergent. Handwashing should involve more than a quick rinse under a tap (faucet) or in running water.

The following handwashing technique (also shown in Figure 3.4) ensures that the hands are properly washed and it doesn’t take long to complete:

• First wet your hands with clean water and lather with a bar of soap.
• Next rub your hands together vigorously and scrub all surfaces up to your wrists.
• Clean under your fingernails.
• Continue for 15–30 seconds or about the length of a little tune (for example, the ‘Happy Birthday’ song). It is the soap combined with the scrubbing action that helps dislodge and remove germs.
• Rinse your hands well with clean running water (pour from a jug or tap).
• Dry your hands in the air to avoid recontamination on a dirty towel – do not touch anything until your hands are dry.
• Wood ash will also rub off any dirt and smells. The slight irritation you feel when you wash your hands with ash shows the cleansing power of ash.
• Local seeds such as indod (Lemma’s plant), which are known to be good cleaning agents, can also be used for regular handwashing.
• Clean sand with water can be used for handwashing to help to rub off dirt.

If you don’t have soap, you can use alternatives. These serve the same purpose as the soap, to help ‘scrub’ what is stuck on your hands, so the running water can brush it off. To get clean hands, you must POUR the water over your hands (no dipping in a bowl!). The soap or ash ‘lifts’ the dirt, and the water then washes off the visible dirt and the invisible germs. Various options for handwashing are indicated in Figure 3.5.

As well as routine personal hygiene that applies to everyone, your daily work will include many situations when you may ask yourself when you need to wash your hands. To know when to wash your hands at home and at work, you must first identify critical situations ; that is, situations, activities or incidents that indicate the possibility that pathogenic microorganisms are present on hands, fingers and nail surfaces.

Critical situations in everyday activity include:

• After using the toilet (or disposing of human or animal faeces)
• After changing a baby’s diaper (nappy) and disposing of the faeces.
• Immediately after touching raw food when preparing meals (e.g. chicken or other meat).
• Before preparing and handling cooked/ready-to-eat food.
• Before eating food or feeding children.
• After contact with contaminated surfaces (e.g. rubbish bins, cleaning cloths, food-contaminated surfaces).
• After handling pets and domestic animals.
• After wiping or blowing the nose or sneezing into the hands (respiratory hygiene).
• After handling soiled tissues (your own or others’, e.g. children).

Critical situations in healthcare activity include:

• Before and after contact with an infected wound.
• After contact with blood or body fluids (e.g. vomit).
• Before and after dressing wounds.
• Before giving care to an ‘at risk’ person (e.g. attending delivery, attending a baby).
• After giving care to an infected person.

3.4.4  Face hygiene

Our face reveals our daily practice of personal hygiene. Face hygiene includes all parts of the face. The most important area to keep clean is the eyes. The eye discharges protective fluids that could dry and accumulate around the eye. They are visible when a person gets up in the morning. The organic substance of the eye discharge can attract flies and this is dangerous because the fly is a carrier (vector) of trachoma and conjunctivitis.

A person should wash their face every morning in order to remove all dirt that they have come in contact with during the course of the day. This will keep your face clean all day. Children are advised to wash their face frequently. Never share your face towel with others.

Why is it inadvisable to share a face towel?

Because some diseases, such as conjunctivitis and trachoma, can be transmitted easily from person to person in this way.

3.4.5  Fingernail and toenail hygiene (nail care)

A nail is hard tissue that constantly grows. Long fingernails tend to accumulate or trap dirt on the underside. The dirt could be as a result of defecation or touching infected and contaminated surfaces. Keeping nails trimmed and in good shape weekly is important in maintaining good health. Clip nails short along their shape but do not cut them so close that it damages the skin. Razor blades and fingernail cutters or scissors are used to cut nails. Nail cutters should not be shared with others.

Why is it inadvisable to share nail cutters?

Because some diseases, such as fungal infections, can be transmitted easily from person to person in this way.

3.4.6  Ear hygiene

Ear wax accumulates in the ear canal that leads from the outer ear to the ear drum. As the secretion comes out of the ear it collects dust particles from the air. Daily washing with soap and water is enough to keep the outer ear clean. Do not reach farther than you can with your little finger into your ear. Putting in hairpins, safety pins or blunt-edged things for cleaning purposes might harm the ear. If you feel wax has accumulated and is plugging your ears and interfering with hearing, consult your doctor.

3.4.7  Hair hygiene (hair care)

The hair follicles from which the hair grows produce oil from the sebaceous glands that keeps the hair smooth. The scalp (the skin covering the head) also has numerous sweat glands and is a surface for the accumulation of dead skin cells. The oil, sweat and dead cells all add together and can make the hair greasy and look dirty unless you wash it regularly.

Poor hair hygiene could cause dandruff and skin infections such as Tinea capitis (see Figure 3.1). Dandruff is dead skin on the scalp that comes off in tiny flakes when sebaceous glands produce too much oil and accumulates on the scalp.

Head hair is a good harbour for head lice ( Pediculus humanus capitis) and nits (eggs of head lice). The head louse is a tiny insect that lives by sucking blood. Children are especially prone to lice infestation. Lice spread from one head to another when there is close contact as in school environments. They make the scalp itchy and are a cause of annoyance, irritation and embarrassment. Shaving of the head hair is possible in cases of heavy lice infestation. Sharing of blades with others, however, should be discouraged.

Hair cleaning (Figure 3.6) is important to ensure it stays clean, healthy and strong.

The recommended procedures for cleaning the hair are:

• Use clean water to wash your hair regularly (at least twice weekly, preferably once every other day) with body soap or shampoo, whichever is available.
• Massage your scalp well. This will remove dead skin cells, excess oil and dirt.
• Rinse well with clear water.
• Conditioner is helpful if you have longer hair as it makes the hair smoother and easier to comb, but hair doesn’t need to have conditioner.
• Use a wide toothed comb for wet hair as it is easier to pull through.
• Dry the hair and the head with a clean towel. Never share a towel with someone else.
• Comb the hair to look beautiful for the day.

3.4.8  Foot hygiene (foot care)

We spend a lot of time on our feet. Our feet sweat as we walk day and night and the sweat accumulates on all foot surfaces and between the toes. The sweat may stain the shoes and can produce an awful odour.

What causes sweat on the skin to produce an unpleasant odour?

The action of bacteria as they decompose the sweat.

As well as bacteria, sweat also encourages fungal growth between the toes. This is called athlete’s foot. The symptoms of athlete’s foot are scaly skin and sores or blisters, which start between the toes but can often spread to the soles of the feet. This is a minor irritation and often disappears by itself but sometimes these cracks and sores become the site for other infections. The feet should be washed daily, or at least twice weekly.

Foot hygiene is also important in the treatment of podoconiosis , sometimes known as mossy foot. This disease causes swelling in the feet and lower legs and is common in certain parts of Ethiopia. It is a reaction in the body to very small soil particles that have passed through the skin of the feet. Podoconiosis can easily be prevented by wearing shoes at all times but, if someone is affected, careful washing and drying of the feet is an important part of the treatment.

Toenails do not have much role in the transmission of diseases. However, they can accumulate dirt and this can increase the potential for bacterial and fungal breeding e.g. athlete’s foot.

3.4.9  Armpit and bottom hygiene

These are body parts that easily get sweaty and where ventilation is very poor. After puberty, our sweat gains a specific and unpleasant odour which may be offensive to others. The armpits and the bottom should be washed daily.

Anal cleansing is the hygienic practice of cleaning the anus after defecation. The anus and buttocks may be cleansed with clean toilet paper or similar paper products. Water may be used. Hands must be washed with soap afterwards. The use of rags, leaves, stones, corn cobs, or sticks must be discouraged as these materials can damage the skin.

3.4.10  Clothes hygiene

We usually have two layers of clothing. The internal layer is underwear (or underclothes) such as pants, vest and T-shirt. These are right next to our skin and collect sweat and dead skin cells, which can stain the cloth. Bacteria love to grow on this dirt and produce a bad smell in addition to the specific odour of the sweat. Underwear must be washed more frequently than the outer layer of clothing.

Clothes hygiene is an important aspect of one’s dignity. Changing used clothes for clean ones every day is recommended. Washing dirty clothes requires adequate clean water, detergents (solid or powdered soap) and washing facilities (Figure 3.7). If possible, the washed clothes should be ironed to help the destruction of body lice and nits. Boiling water or insecticides can be used to destroy clothes infestation.

Frequent changing into clean clothes might not always be possible in poor households. However, the frequency of changing is advised to be twice a week for internal wear and 12 times per week for outerwear. The frequency mainly depends on the intensity of dirt on the clothes, and that depends on the climate and type of activity.

3.4.11  Menstrual hygiene (Personal hygiene for women)

The vagina is able to clean itself; no special care is needed other than washing the external genitals. Washing the outer genital area with clean water must be a daily practice. Change tampons and sanitary napkins or pads regularly. Always wash your hands before and after handling a tampon or pad. Clean and soft cloths can be used in place of sanitary pads. The use of dirty cloths must be discouraged. Menstrual blood-absorbing items must be properly disposed of in a burial pit or other appropriate method.

3.5  Planning for the improvement of personal hygiene

You will find further details of hygiene promotion activities in the Health Education, Advocacy and Communi ty Mobilis ation Module.

As a Health Extension Practitioner, educating the community members on personal hygiene is one of your main duties. You may ask yourself: what educating, educating whom, where, and how? You may further ask yourself: how do I monitor or evaluate my success in the promotion of personal hygiene? The following section will answer these questions.

3.5.1  Preparing a plan of action for personal hygiene promotion

You need to make a baseline survey of your community to help you understand the extent of personal hygiene problems. Villages and schools can be surveyed for this purpose. Designing a health survey will need collaboration with others but your input is valuable for structuring the questions so they relate to local knowledge, attitude and practice (abbreviated as KAP). Interviews with the respondents, group discussion and observations are all useful for exploring the practice of personal hygiene. From the results of the survey you should be able to identify the priorities and interventions for improving personal hygiene in your community. You can then design a plan of action knowing the key themes that need to be covered. The plan should include the themes, objectives, type of audience, key messages, etc. This is illustrated in Table 3.1. The first few rows of the table have been completed to demonstrate how you could use a plan of this type.

Footnotes  

3.5.2  identifying the audience.

There must be a good reason why you want to educate the community on personal hygiene. You should identify which group of people you want to target so that you can prepare appropriate health messages and teaching materials (Figure 3.8). School children, women, elders, adults, teenagers and patients seeking medical help are some groups that you might decide are priorities.

3.5.3  Sites for personal hygiene promotion

Whenever you have an outreach visit you can take the opportunity to promote personal hygiene to individual household members. Group meetings and mass gatherings (market, church, holiday) are also good opportunities, as are schools and patients in health facilities. Remember that the type and number of your audience will differ from site to site.

3.5.4  How to promote personal hygiene

This is a basic question that you need to address carefully. The most important point is that you must be prepared for the theme you want to cover. The preparation must focus on gaining detailed knowledge and adequate information on that theme. This requires reading materials, collecting appropriate teaching aids and knowing the audience (educational background, their needs, behaviour, habits, etc.). Fixing the site, date and time is also important. You should identify the key messages you want to get across to your audience.

3.5.5  Evaluating the status of personal hygiene

You will need to measure the success of your effort in the promotion of personal hygiene. It is not always a simple task to identify the absence of proper hygienic practice. Some of the methods that could be used widely are described as follows.

The presence of hygienic handwashing procedures

You should look for an instruction manual for handwashing procedures that should be available in public facilities (Health Post, health centre, hospitals). It’s a good idea for the procedure to be posted on a wall where everyone can see it as an easy reminder.

Observation

This is the easiest and most reliable method. In order to say if the surface of an object (body surface, eye, table top, floor, etc.) is clean or not, you should first understand what ‘clean’ means for those objects because the degree of cleanliness is judged in different ways. It may be clean or not clean; acceptable or not; or it may be categorised using a five-point scale: not clean, somewhat clean, clean, very clean, and super clean. You have to understand that the degree of cleanliness may vary between your own and someone else’s observations of the same object. Such judgement, however, is only applicable to visible dirt. It is important to realise that a surface that looks clean is not necessarily free of microorganisms.

Indirect way of assessing

You need to ask yourself why some infections are more prevalent in one village than another.

What could be the reason if you get reports that diarrhoea is a frequent problem in one out of ten villages?

You must suspect that poor personal hygiene practice might be one of the factors for the sustained transmission of the disease. Lack of adequate water for handwashing or open defecation could be other factors.

Post-baseline surveying

The behaviour of your community can be surveyed again to find out if your efforts in personal hygiene education have been successful. The design of any follow-up survey should be based on the original baseline survey so you can compare your survey findings with the baseline. The timing of a post-baseline survey will depend on the local circumstances. It should be long enough to allow time for behaviour to change but not later than one year after the initial survey.

Summary of Study Session 3

In Study Session 3, you have learned that:

• Personal hygiene is a necessity for our daily activities. It is very important for the protection of our health and helps to prevent the spread of communicable diseases.
• Personal hygiene has social and aesthetic values. An individual who follows the practice of proper personal hygiene gains confidence, pride and dignity.
• Personal hygiene applies to all parts of the body, but hand hygiene is probably the most important for public health.
• The procedures that apply in personal hygiene (such as handwashing and oral hygiene) need to be followed strictly to gain the best results.
• The promotion of personal hygiene should aim to change human behaviour. The provision of hygiene information first impacts on knowledge and then practice.
• The promotion of personal hygiene must be well planned in order to bring positive changes.

Self-Assessment Questions (SAQs) for Study Session 3

Now that you have completed this study session, you can assess how well you have achieved its Learning Outcomes by answering these questions. Write your answers in your Study Diary and discuss them with your Tutor at the next Study Support Meeting. You can check your answers with the Notes on the Self-Assessment Questions at the end of this Module.

SAQ 3.1 (tests Learning Outcomes 3.1 and 3.3)

Identify the components of personal hygiene that are numbered in Figure 3.9.

1 Hair hygiene; 2 Face hygiene; 3 Body hygiene; 4 Hand hygiene; 5 Feet hygiene; 6 Nail hygiene; 7 Armpit hygiene; 8 Oral hygiene; 9 Eye hygiene.

SAQ 3.2 (tests Learning Outcome 3.3)

Write the names of one or two communicable diseases or conditions and the recommended frequency of washing or cleaning for the following respective components of personal hygiene.

SAQ 3.3 (tests Learning Outcomes 3.2 and 3.5)

Given your answer for SAQ 3.2, which components are most important for your locality?

Your choice of components of personal hygiene depends on the burden of communicable diseases in your area. If diarrhoea and trachoma are prevalent in your locality, then hand and eye hygiene will be important to you. Many other answers are possible.

SAQ 3.4 (tests Learning Outcomes 3.4 and 3.6)

One day at a wedding, you observe some guests lining up for handwashing, while other people have started to eat the feast without handwashing. Among those who washed hands, some used soap, while others just used running water without soap. Are these acceptable or poor handwashing practices?

Handwashing with soap is a good or acceptable personal hygiene practice, while not washing with soap and only washing with running water is poor handwashing practice. Not washing the hands at all is obviously not good!

SAQ 3.5 (tests Learning Outcome 3.6)

The purpose of handwashing is to get rid of microorganisms from our hands. Suppose you want to educate family members on proper handwashing and demonstrate the correct procedure to follow. What will you tell them to do? What are the critical situations for proper handwashing they should be aware of?

The stepwise procedure is:

• Remove visible dirt with running water. Always wash hands under running water, preferably with hot water.
• Apply soap after wetting the hands. Bar, powdered and liquid soaps can be used. Lather well.
• Rub hands vigorously together for 15–30 seconds, paying particular attention to fingertips, thumbs, under the fingernails and between the fingers. Effective handwashing also includes the backs of the hand, palms and exposed portion of the arm.
• Rinse the hands with clean running water.
• Dry with a clean cloth or disposable towel, or let them dry in the air.

Critical situations include:

• After using the toilet (or disposing of human or animal faeces).
• After cleaning a child’s bottom.
• Before preparing or handling cooked/ready-to-eat food.
• Before and after coming in contact with an infected wound.

SAQ 3.6 (tests Learning Outcome 3.7)

SAQ 3.5 addressed educating household members. What activities would you consider for the planning of personal hygiene promotion at community level?

Here are some of the elements and activities you should include in your plan for community hygiene promotion:

• Identify which components of personal hygiene need to be promoted.
• Identify the target audience.
• Prepare teaching and educational materials.
• Identify who to involve in hygiene education.
• Engage actively in hygiene education.
• Identify indicators for monitoring and evaluating hygiene promotion performance.

SAQ 3.7 (tests Learning Outcome 3.8)

Go back to SAQ 3.5 and your answer. Imagine that you have given this handwashing promotion to a group of households. How will you evaluate whether the promotion was effective?

To monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of your promotion, you would need to identify indicators to show you if the performance of personal hygiene was correctly done or not. You would need to observe people’s behaviour towards handwashing or ask them about their practice. If you can see that the household members are handwashing before and after critical times, i.e. good hygienic practice, then you could say your promotion had been successful. If not, and you observed poor hygienic practice by some people, then you should consider how you might improve the situation. This might be more promotional work with the group of households, perhaps taking a slightly different approach if the initial training had had limited success.

Except for third party materials and/or otherwise stated (see terms and conditions ) the content in OpenLearn is released for use under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Sharealike 2.0 licence . In short this allows you to use the content throughout the world without payment for non-commercial purposes in accordance with the Creative Commons non commercial sharealike licence. Please read this licence in full along with OpenLearn terms and conditions before making use of the content.

When using the content you must attribute us (The Open University) (the OU) and any identified author in accordance with the terms of the Creative Commons Licence.

The Acknowledgements section is used to list, amongst other things, third party (Proprietary), licensed content which is not subject to Creative Commons licensing. Proprietary content must be used (retained) intact and in context to the content at all times. The Acknowledgements section is also used to bring to your attention any other Special Restrictions which may apply to the content. For example there may be times when the Creative Commons Non-Commercial Sharealike licence does not apply to any of the content even if owned by us (the OU). In these stances, unless stated otherwise, the content may be used for personal and non-commercial use. We have also identified as Proprietary other material included in the content which is not subject to Creative Commons Licence. These are: OU logos, trading names and may extend to certain photographic and video images and sound recordings and any other material as may be brought to your attention.

Unauthorised use of any of the content may constitute a breach of the terms and conditions and/or intellectual property laws.

We reserve the right to alter, amend or bring to an end any terms and conditions provided here without notice.

All rights falling outside the terms of the Creative Commons licence are retained or controlled by The Open University.

Head of Intellectual Property, The Open University

• Skip to main content
• Skip to secondary menu
• Skip to primary sidebar
• Skip to footer

ReadingJunction

Ultimate hub of educational content (Essay, Speech, Debate, Festivals, Events)

Health and Hygiene Essay for Students and Children in 1000 Words

April 18, 2020 by ReadingJunction 1 Comment

In this article, you will read Health and hygiene Essay for students and children in 1000 words. It leads to happy and healthy lives.

What do you know about health and hygiene? How it affects our lives in the path of happiness and success ? Read this post to know all the details.

Table of Contents

Introduction (Health and Hygiene Essay)

Health is a positive state of well-being in which all parts of the body and mind remain in harmony and proper balance with all other parts.

So all the organs of the body function normally.  It is well said that we can call only those persons healthy who have a healthy mind in a healthy body.

Health and hygiene is a vital phenomenon for a healthy and happy life. Health education plays a vital role in community hygiene. To prevent disease and have a positive attitude towards health, you need a correct and complete knowledge about health.

We relate health to cleanliness, and cleanliness is one of the principal ways to defend infectious diseases and self-preservation. In this lesson, we will discuss the real importance of health and hygiene, so we can achieve the goal of good health through healthy habits and a healthy lifestyle.

We need to understand a few things about Health and Hygiene

• Understand well the concept of health and hygiene.
• Recognition of the importance of physical, mental, and spiritual health
• Importance of hygiene.
• Specify the need for personal, environmental, and hygienic hygiene.

What is health?

Health is a characteristic of life that allows you to live longer. According to the World Health Organization (WHO): Health is a state of complete physical, mental, spiritual, and communal well-being, not just a lack of disease.

If a person is free of disease or in good physical condition but under stress, tension, anger, greed, etc., he is not considered a healthy person.

Therefore, besides physical health, we must also consider mental and emotional health. It only can be achieved if spiritual and social health can be achieved, and can move towards the welfare of society.

Aspects of health

Let us understand the health aspects-

• Physical health: when the body is free of physical diseases or abnormalities, it is physical health.
• Mental health: It is a state with no stress, tension, worry, negative thoughts , etc. It is mental health.
• Emotional health : a balanced state of lack of anger, greed, pride, hate, etc. This is emotional health.
• Community health is the art and science of maintaining, protecting, and improving people’s health through organized community efforts.
• Spiritual health : living within oneself with uniformity and harmony is spiritual health. Also, faith in their religion and respect the religion of another person with equal harmony is known as spiritual health.

What is Hygiene?

Hygiene is the science and art of preserving and improving health. Hygiene allows a person to live in a healthy relationship with the environment. It applies to the individual and the community. To be healthy, know that hygiene and sanitation play a significant role.

Health is more than any wealth, and for every person, his health is most important. It closely relates health and cleanliness. Where there will be cleanliness, there will be good health. Our environment has a high impact on our health.

If our environment is clean, then our health will be healthy, and if we pollute the environment , it will have adverse effects on our health. Hygine, whether it is body or home, has a very positive effect on health.

How to maintain hygiene?

Hygiene is the only thing that makes a person feel healthy. Otherwise, because of germs growing in the dirt, creates many diseases and our health gets spoiled.

If there is cleanliness around us, then it feels cheerful and encourages our mind to do every work. If there is dirt around us no matter how concentrated we try to work, even we can do that work in the best way it cannot finish well. Our health will also deteriorate.

As remembering the health and hygiene, the campaign of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has been launched by India Prime minister Shri Narendra Modi.  There is the responsibility of every person in the nation to make the environment hygienic.

Together we should take steps towards cleanliness and health. We should regularly clean our bodies, houses, and neighborhoods. We should eat fresh food.

We should not allow water to collect around us because mosquitoes and flies sit in it which contaminate the food and create many diseases. Our health depends on cleanliness. The more we keep cleanliness around us, the more we will be healthy.

Some say that health is invaluable wealth that lost, everything is lost, and it does not recover quickly in many severe diseases. Therefore, to keep ourself healthy, we need to take care of both cleanliness and health and take steps towards clean India and good health.

Why is hygiene important?

What do you think hygiene matters in our lives?  Hygiene is crucial to lead a healthy life.

Importance of hygiene

It helps reduce the need for medical help: in the world; we are all susceptible to many diseases. A lot of the world’s population suffers from diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, gastrointestinal problems, asthma, lung disorders,.

Some of these diseases are fatal so that no medication can save a life. A hygienic living person has very few diseases. This person will not need to depend on medication to stay healthy. By maintaining personal hygiene, it protects against many bacteria and viruses.

The healthy life saves financial loss against the disease. This helps build confidence: if you take proper care of your health and your surroundings, you can socialize with more confidence. Society enjoys only if a person keeps clean and healthy. No one prefers to mix with an unhygienic and sick person.

It helps raise the level of a joyful life: if a person follows the importance of personal hygiene and healthy life. This helps a better impression among others. Maintaining hygiene and healthy life facilitate the path to success. I hope you liked this informative article, Health and Hygiene Essay.

Reader Interactions

November 17, 2021 at 3:17 pm

This essay helps alot for better understanding of health and hygiene. Encourages lersoon to stay healthier aur save the environment to.Iam very satisfied with the essay.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Copyright Protection

All articles on this website are Copyright Protected. Copying or Using any material in any form is a serious offense.

Important Links

• Privacy Policy
• Terms and Conditions

Health Is Wealth Essay for Students and Children

500+ words health is wealth essay.

Growing up you might have heard the term ‘Health is Wealth’, but its essential meaning is still not clear to most people. Generally, people confuse good health with being free of any kind of illness. While it may be part of the case, it is not entirely what good health is all about. In other words, to lead a healthy life , a person must be fit and fine both physically and mentally. For instance, if you are constantly eating junk food yet you do not have any disease, it does not make you healthy. You are not consuming healthy food which naturally means you are not healthy, just surviving. Therefore, to actually live and not merely survive, you need to have the basic essentials that make up for a healthy lifestyle.

Introduction

Life is about striking a balance between certain fundamental parts of life. Health is one of these aspects. We value health in the same way that we value time once we have lost it. We cannot rewind time, but the good news is that we can regain health with some effort. A person in good physical and mental health may appreciate the world to the fullest and meet life’s problems with ease and comfort. Health is riches implies that health is a priceless asset rather than money or ownership of material possessions. There is no point in having money if you don’t have good health.

Key Elements Of A Healthy Lifestyle

If you wish to acquire a healthy lifestyle, you will certainly have to make some changes in your life. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle demands consistent habits and disciplined life. There are various good habits that you can adopt like exercising regularly which will maintain your physical fitness. It also affects your mental health as when your appearance enhances, your confidence will automatically get boosted.

To live a healthy life, one must make some lifestyle modifications. These modifications can include changes to your food habits, sleeping routines, and lifestyle. You should eat a well-balanced, nutrient-dense diet for your physical wellness.

Further, it will prevent obesity and help you burn out extra fat from your body. After that, a balanced diet is of great importance. When you intake appropriate amounts of nutrition, vitamins, proteins, calories and more, your immune system will strengthen. This will, in turn, help you fight off diseases powerfully resulting in a disease-free life.

Above all, cleanliness plays a significant role in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Your balanced diet and regular exercise will be completely useless if you live in an unhealthy environment. One must always maintain cleanliness in their surroundings so as to avoid the risk of catching communicable diseases.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Benefits Of A Healthy Lifestyle

As it is clear by now, good health is a luxury which everyone wants but some of them cannot afford. This point itself states the importance of a healthy lifestyle. When a person leads a healthy lifestyle, he/she will be free from the tension of seeking medical attention every now and then.

On the contrary, if you have poor health, you will usually spend your time in a hospital and the bills will take away your mental peace. Therefore, a healthy lifestyle means you will be able to enjoy your life freely. Similarly, when you have a relaxed mind at all times, you will be able to keep your loved ones happy. A healthy individual is more likely to fulfil all of his goals because he can easily focus on them and has the energy to complete them. This is why the proverb “Health is Wealth” carries so much weight.

A socially healthy individual is one who is able to interact effectively and readily connect with others. Without his ego, he can easily blend with the person in front of him, exuding a nice feeling and energy.

Every human being should participate in sports and activities to get away from the monotony of daily life. It is because sports and games assist in instilling a sense of oneness in people, build leadership skills, and make a person absolutely disciplined.

Moreover, a healthy lifestyle will push you to do better in life and motivate you to achieve higher targets. It usually happens that people who are extremely wealthy in terms of money often lack good health. This just proves that all the riches in the world will do you no good if there is an absence of a healthy lifestyle.

In short, healthy life is the highest blessing that must not be taken for granted. It is truly the source of all happiness. Money may buy you all the luxuries in the world but it cannot buy you good health. You are solely responsible for that, so for your well-being and happiness, it is better to switch to a healthy lifestyle.

Good Health for Children

Childhood is an ideal period to inculcate healthy behaviours in children. Children’s health is determined by a variety of factors, including diet, hydration, sleep schedule, hygiene, family time, doctor visits, and physical exercise. Following are a few key points and health tips that parents should remember for their children:

• Never allow your children to get by without nutritious food. Fruits and vegetables are essential.
• Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, therefore teach them to frequently wash their hands and feet.
• Sleep is essential for your child.
• Make it a habit for them to drink plenty of water.
• Encourage physical activity and sports.
• Allow them enough time to sleep.
• It is critical to visit the doctor on a regular basis for checks.

Parents frequently focus solely on their children’s physical requirements. They dress up their children’s wounds and injuries and provide them with good food. However, they frequently fail to detect their child’s deteriorating mental health. This is because they do not believe that mental health is important.

Few Lines on Health is Wealth Essay for Students

• A state of physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being is referred to as health. And all of this is linked to one another.
• Stress, worry, and tension are the leading causes of illness and disease in today’s world. When these three factors are present for an extended period of time, they can result in a variety of mental difficulties, which can lead to physical and emotional illnesses. As a result, taking care of your own health is critical.
• Unhealthy food or contaminated water, packed and processed food and beverages, unsanitary living conditions, not getting enough sleep, and a lack of physical activity are some of the other primary causes of health deterioration.
• A well-balanced diet combined with adequate exercise and hygienic habits, as well as a clean environment, can enhance immunity and equip a person to fight most diseases.
• A healthy body and mind are capable of achieving things that a sick body and mind are incapable of achieving, including happiness.
• It is also vital to seek medical and professional assistance when necessary because health is our most valuable asset.
• Activities such as playing an instrument, playing games, or reading provide the brain with the required exercise it requires to improve health.

Maintaining healthy behaviours improves one’s outlook on life and contributes to longevity as well as success.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question 1: What are the basic essentials of a healthy life? Answer: A healthy life requires regular exercise, a balanced diet, a clean environment, and good habits.

Question 2: How can a healthy life be beneficial? Answer: A healthy lifestyle can benefit you in various ways. You will lead a happier life free from any type of disease. Moreover, it will also enhance your state of mind.

Question 3: When is World Health Day celebrated?

Answer: Since 1950, World Health Day has been observed on the 7th of April by the World Health Organization (WHO), after a decision made at the first Health Assembly in 1948. It is observed to raise awareness about people’s overall health and well-being around the world.

Customize your course in 30 seconds

Which class are you in.

• Travelling Essay
• Picnic Essay
• Our Country Essay
• My Parents Essay
• Essay on Favourite Personality
• Essay on Memorable Day of My Life
• Essay on Knowledge is Power
• Essay on Gurpurab
• Essay on My Favourite Season
• Essay on Types of Sports

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Download the App

Featured Topics

Featured series.

A series of random questions answered by Harvard experts.

Explore the Gazette

Read the latest.

Harvard-led study IDs statin that may block pathway to some cancers

New Alzheimer’s study suggests genetic cause of specific form of disease

Had a bad experience meditating? You’re not alone.

How to reduce the spread of coronavirus.

Much of it follows traditional cold-season admonitions, but some is more specific

Harvard Staff Writer

Washing hands with plain soap and plain water kills viruses, but only if it’s done thoroughly and often.

This is the latest story in our   Coronavirus Update  series, in which Harvard specialists in epidemiology, infectious disease, economics, politics, and other disciplines offer insights into what the latest developments in the COVID-19 outbreak may bring.

Turns out Mom was right.

Health experts say the best, simplest ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the novel coronavirus that has killed more than 3,200 people and affected more than 100,000 around the world, follow the tried and true cold-season admonishments given out for generations. Wash your hands. Cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze. Avoid touching your face. Stay home if you are sick.

But some of the advice has gotten a little more specific.

COVID-19 is spread through respiratory droplets, which typically travel about three to six feet and settle on surfaces, where they can live for a few hours up to several days, according to the World Health Organization. There is a risk of catching the disease by inhaling those particles, but there is a more significant risk of getting it by touching surfaces, such as desks, handrails, or doorknobs, where those droplets may have settled.

“The disease transmission goes from a cough or sneeze to a surface to your hand to your face, and that’s how people get infected,” said Paul Biddinger , director of the Emergency Preparedness Research, Evaluation, and Practice Program, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health . “Good hand washing really matters. If people cough or sneeze into their elbow, that limits the spread of respiratory secretions. What all of us can do together is follow basic hygiene measures that will actually slow the spread of disease in communities.”

“Most people don’t wash their hands very well. As silly as it sounds to go watch a YouTube video on handwashing, people should do it to learn how to do it properly.” Paul Biddinger, Harvard Chan School

Basic hygiene measures may seem obvious, but they are important. Washing hands with plain soap and plain water kills viruses, but only if it’s done thoroughly and often. Hands should be scrubbed for at least 20 seconds, the time it takes to sing the “Happy Birthday” song twice, to ensure germs won’t be transferred to objects or spread from person to person.

“Most people don’t wash their hands very well,” said Biddinger. “As silly as it sounds to go watch a YouTube video on handwashing, people should do it to learn how to do it properly. Washing hands has been clearly proved to decrease disease transmission and lower your chance of getting infected.”

Hand sanitizers may be helpful, if they contain at least 60 percent alcohol, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But if your hands are dirty or greasy the sanitizer won’t work, which is why the agency favors hand washing. A 2006 study found that hand washing can cut the risk of respiratory infection by 16 percent and a 2008 study showed a 21 percent reduction.

Experts acknowledge the hardest of the self-protective measures to follow is not touching one’s face. A 2015 study that observed medical students at the University of New South Wales found that each of them touched their face 23 times per hour on average.

It’s important to avoid face touching because germs can get into the body through the eyes, nose, and mouth. Contaminated hands can transfer the virus when people rub their eyes, scratch their noses, or touch their mouths. “We all reflexively touch our face,” said Biddinger. “But trying to be more mindful of touching our face decreases our chance of infection.”

More like this

Coronavirus screening may miss two-thirds of infected travelers entering U.S.

Harvard details coronavirus outbreak plans

So how bad is coronavirus in U.S.? We don’t know yet

A big coronavirus mystery: What about the children?

The importance of following basic hygiene measures was highlighted by Mark Lipsitch , professor of epidemiology at the Harvard Chan School and director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics.

“Slowing the epidemic is what we have to do if we can’t stop it,” Lipsitch said in a Facebook Live event on Monday sponsored by the Forum at Harvard Chan School and PRI’s “ The World .”

“All those measures, small as some of they may be, help to slow the epidemic. There is a real coalescence between individually self-protective measures and measures that will benefit the community. Basic hygiene and self-protection measures are in fact socially beneficial.”

In the U.S., the coronavirus death toll rose to 12, and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the number of reported COVID-19 cases climbed to 148 across 13 states as of March 5. The New York Times reported 163 cases in 18 states.

The World Health Organization said Tuesday that the new coronavirus is deadlier than the common flu, with a mortality rate of 3.4 percent. Seasonal flu kills fewer than 1 percent of those infected.

As the number of new cases outside China surges, concerns of a global pandemic are also rising. According to a March 4 report by the World Health Organization, there were only 120 new cases in China in the previous 24 hours, while 2,223 new cases were reported around the world. Eighty percent of the cases outside China were reported in South Korea, Italy, and Iran.

Health experts expect to see more coronavirus cases in New England, Massachusetts, and the Boston area, but Biddinger reminded the public to consult reputable information sites, such as the CDC or the Massachusetts Department of Health, to quell unfounded fears.

“Fear is not productive, and fear doesn’t protect you from illness in any way,” said Biddinger. “I encourage people to avoid the tremendous amount of misinformation that is out there on different social media sites. People need to get good information because being informed decreases fear, and they need to take basic hygiene measures that protect them. And even though those measures don’t sound very exciting, they are absolutely proved, by the data, to protect your health.”

Share this article

You might like.

Cholesterol-lowering drug suppresses chronic inflammation that creates dangerous cascade

Findings eventually could pave way to earlier diagnosis, treatment, and affect search for new therapies

Altered states of consciousness through yoga, mindfulness more common than thought and mostly beneficial, study finds — though clinicians ill-equipped to help those who struggle

Six receive honorary degrees

Harvard recognizes educator, conductor, theoretical physicist, advocate for elderly, writer, and Nobel laureate

When should Harvard speak out?

Institutional Voice Working Group provides a roadmap in new report

Day to remember

One journey behind them, grads pause to reflect before starting the next

Menstrual Health and Hygiene

Good menstrual hygiene management (MHM) plays a fundamental role in enabling women, girls, and other menstruators to reach their full potential.  The negative impacts of a lack of good menstrual health and hygiene cut across sectors, so the World Bank takes a multi-sectoral, holistic approach in working to improve menstrual hygiene in its operations across the world.

WASH United

Menstrual Health and Hygiene (MHH) is essential to the well-being and empowerment of women and adolescent girls.  On any given day, more than 300 million women worldwide are menstruating.  In total, an estimated 500 million lack access to menstrual products and adequate facilities for menstrual hygiene management (MHM). To effectively manage their menstruation, girls and women require access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities, affordable and appropriate menstrual hygiene materials, information on good practices, and a supportive environment where they can manage menstruation without embarrassment or stigma.

According to the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme 2012, menstrual hygiene management is defined as: 

“Women and adolescent girls are using a clean menstrual management material to absorb or collect menstrual blood, that can be changed in privacy as often as necessary, using soap and water for washing the body as required, and having access to safe and convenient facilities to dispose of used menstrual management materials. They understand the basic facts linked to the menstrual cycle and how to manage it with dignity and without discomfort or fear.” 

The challenges that menstruating girls, women, and other menstruators face encompass more than a basic lack of supplies or infrastructure.  While menstruation is a normal and healthy part of life for most women and girls, in many societies, the experience of menstruators continues to be constrained by cultural taboos and discriminatory social norms. The resulting lack of information about menstruation leads to unhygienic and unhealthy menstrual practices and creates misconceptions and negative attitudes, which motivate, among others, shaming, bullying, and even gender-based violence. For generations of girls and women, poor menstrual health and hygiene is exacerbating social and economic inequalities, negatively impacting their education, health, safety, and human development. 

The multi-dimensional issues that menstruators face require multi-sectoral interventions. WASH professionals alone cannot come up with all of the solutions to tackle the intersecting issues of inadequate sanitary facilities, lack of information and knowledge, lack of access to affordable and quality menstrual hygiene products, and the stigma and social norms associated with menstruation. Research has shown that approaches that can effectively combine information and education with appropriate infrastructure and menstrual products, in a conducive policy environment, are more successful in avoiding the negative effects of poor MHH – in short, a holistic approach requiring collaborative and multi-dimensional responses.

In low-income countries, half of the schools lack adequate water, sanitation, and hygiene services crucial to enable girls and female teachers to manage menstruation (UNICEF 2015). Many studies argue that inadequate sanitary facilities affect girls’ experiences at school, causing them to miss classes during their menstruation or even drop out. Schools that have female-friendly facilities and incorporate information on menstruation into the curriculum for both girls and boys can reduce stigma and contribute to better education and health outcomes.

• A meta-analysis on the status of menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls in India found that a quarter of the girls did not attend school during menstruation because of the lack of adequate toilets (Van Eijk et al. 2016).

• In South Sudan, 57 percent of surveyed adolescent girls reported staying home during menstruation because of the lack of private changing rooms in school (Tamiru et al. 2015).

• A study in Kenya found that 95 percent of menstruating girls missed one to three school days, 70 percent reported a negative impact on their grades, and more than 50 percent stated falling behind in school because of menstruation (Mucherah and Thomas 2017).

• A survey in Bangladesh found that only 6 percent of schools provide education on health and hygiene, and only 36 percent of girls had prior knowledge about menstruation before their first period (World Bank 2017c).

• A sanitary pad intervention in Ghana found that after six months of free sanitary pad provision and puberty education programming, girls missed significantly less school (Montgomery et al. 2012). 

When girls and women have access to safe and affordable sanitary materials to manage their menstruation, they decrease their risk of infections. This can have cascading effects on overall sexual and reproductive health, including reducing teen pregnancy, maternal outcomes, and fertility. Poor menstrual hygiene, however, can pose serious health risks, like reproductive and urinary tract infections which can result in future infertility and birth complications. Neglecting to wash hands after changing menstrual products can spread infections, such as hepatitis B and thrush. 

• Studies have found that giving out sanitary pads to girls leads to a significant reduction in sexually transmitted infections and bacterial vaginosis (Benshaul Tolonen et al. 2019; Phillips-Howard et al. 2016).

• The lack of means for hygienic management of menstruation can cause discomfort and psychological stress and adds to the shame and sometimes depression that women and girls experience because of menstruation-related taboos and stigma (Sweetman and Medland 2017).

Gender Equality

Promoting menstrual health and hygiene is an important means for safeguarding women’s dignity, privacy, bodily integrity, and, consequently, their self efficacy. Awareness of MHH contributes to building an enabling environment of nondiscrimination and gender equality in which female voices are heard, girls have choices about their future, and women have options to become leaders and managers. 

• Discriminatory social norms, cultural taboos, and stigma associated with menstruation can lead girls to follow unsafe practices.

• A study in Egypt found many schoolgirls reporting that they do not bathe during their menstruation because it is considered a social taboo to come in contact with water during the menstrual cycle (ElGilany, Badawi, and El-Fedawy 2005).

• A study in Nepal found that many girls were forced to stay in a hut or slept in the fields during their period even though the government had decreed this practice illegal (Thompson et al. 2019).

Improving menstrual hygiene and providing access to affordable menstrual materials can help improve girls’ and women’s access to education, opening more options for jobs, promotions, and entrepreneurship, thus unleashing female contributions to the overall economy, rather than keeping them at home. In addition, feminine hygiene products are a multibillion-dollar industry, which, if properly tapped into, can generate income for many and significantly boost economic growth.

• Girls who drop out of school have limited employment opportunities and often marry early and begin bearing children, further reducing their options for earning income.

• Women who lack female-friendly sanitation facilities in the workplace lose wages for days of work missed during menstruation and are viewed as unreliable workers, diminishing options for advancement.

• Because of financial constraints or limited markets, many girls and women are unable to access adequate menstrual products.

Environment

Disposable sanitary products contribute to large amounts of global waste. Ensuring women and girls have access to sustainable and quality products, and improving the management of the disposal of menstrual products, can make a big difference to the environment.

• Every year, an average woman trashes about 150 kilograms of nonbiodegradable waste. In India alone, roughly 121 million women and girls use an average of eight disposable and non-compostable pads per month, generating 1.021 billion pads waste monthly, 12.3 billion pads waste annually, and 113, 000 metric tons of annual menstrual waste (Bhor and Ponkshe 2018; PATH 2017).

Enhancing opportunities for women to access adequate menstrual health and hygiene is central to the World Bank Group in achieving its development outcomes. MHM cuts across many development sectors, and the Bank addresses this through collaboration and a holistic approach, as demonstrated in recent examples from World Bank operations:

• In Bangladesh , the Rural Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Human Capital Development Project is giving women access to microfinance loans and sanitation grants for investment in household WASH facilities.  In addition, the project is facilitating behavior change sessions and training on the importance of menstrual hygiene and safely managed WASH facilities.  At the community level, the project will construct MHH-friendly facilities in public places and promote women’s representation and leadership in water management committees. Access to finance will be provided to 150 women entrepreneurs to help them market and sell soaps, disinfectants and menstrual hygiene products at household doorsteps.  This will improve menstrual hygiene practices, especially among those who are too shy and reluctant to purchase them at public markets.

• In Eswatini , a Water Supply and Sanitation Access Project is promoting design approaches to ensure that sanitation and hygiene facilities are constructed in schools to meet the needs of women and girls. This includes gender-separated facilities with door locks, lighting, disposal bins, and handwashing stations with soap and water. Behavior changes and hygiene promotion campaigns incorporating MHH will be undertaken, targeting students, teachers, parents and the larger community.

• The GAMA Sanitation and Water Project in Ghana launched an in-depth qualitative study to understand the influences of MHM interventions in schools on adolescent girls’ educational engagement. Under the project, sanitation facilities were constructed at more than 260 schools across the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area.  The facilities all include separate toilets and changing rooms for girls, with locks on doors, handwashing facilities, and hygienic and safe spaces for disposal of used sanitary products.

• The Scaling-Up Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene Project , a multi-sectoral WASH project in Lao PDR , employs a nutrition convergence approach with infrastructure service delivery and behavior change at the community and household level. The project aims to address low attendance of adolescent girls in schools by ensuring that school sanitation facilities provide functional single-sex toilets with a reliable supply of water and soap. Educational materials on hygiene and MHM will also be provided and dispersed.

• In rural areas of Mozambique , the upper primary school completion rate is just 14 percent for males and 8 percent for females, severely limiting livelihood opportunities.  Few schools have adequate sanitation facilities, and those that do are poorly maintained and unsuitable for MHH.  The Urban Sanitation Project  is responding with a sanitation marketing and hygiene promotion campaign emphasizing the improvement of menstrual hygiene for girls and women. It is financing construction of 78 sanitation facilities in schools and market places in two project cities. Standard designs include handwashing facilities, accessibility for people with disabilities, and MHH amenities. MHH and hygiene promotion activities, including training for teachers and pupils, will be conducted in the schools. These approaches will inform future interventions in schools across the country.

Publications

The Enabling Environment for Menstrual Health and Hygiene: Case Study - Kenya

Menstrual Health and Hygiene Resource Package: Tools and Resources for Task Teams (PDF)

Providing Sustainable Sanitation Services for All in WASH Interventions through a Menstrual Hygiene Management Approach  (PDF)

Improving toilet hygiene and handwashing practices during and post-COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesian schools

The Rising Tide : A New Look at Water and Gender

Feature Stories

A Holistic Approach to Better Menstrual Health and Hygiene: Entrepreneurs in Action

Periods Don’t Stop for Pandemics – Neither Will Our Efforts to Bring Safe Menstrual Hygiene to Women and Girls

#ItsTimeForAction: Investing in Menstrual Hygiene Management is to Invest in Human Capital

Menstrual Hygiene Management Enables Women and Girls to Reach Their Full Potential

Keeping Tanzania’s Girls in School: Investing in Menstrual Hygiene

Menstrual health and hygiene empowers women and girls: How to ensure we get it right

In times of COVID-19, the future of education depends on the provision of water, sanitation, and hygiene services

It’s time for action. Period.

Reflections from a mother on Menstrual Hygiene Day

The SDGs, surveys, and the need for additional evidence on Menstrual Hygiene Management

Globally, periods are causing girls to be absent from school

External Resources

•  The Enabling Environment for Menstrual Health and Hygiene: Case Study - Kenya

•  Menstrual Health and Hygiene Resource Package: Tools and Resources for Task Teams (PDF)

•  Providing Sustainable Sanitation Services for All in WASH Interventions through a Menstrual Hygiene Management Approach  (PDF)

•  Improving toilet hygiene and handwashing practices during and post-COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesian schools

•  The Rising Tide : A New Look at Water and Gender

•  A Holistic Approach to Better Menstrual Health and Hygiene: Entrepreneurs in Action

•  Periods Don’t Stop for Pandemics – Neither Will Our Efforts to Bring Safe Menstrual Hygiene to Women and Girls

•  #ItsTimeForAction: Investing in Menstrual Hygiene Management is to Invest in Human Capital

•  Menstrual Hygiene Management Enables Women and Girls to Reach Their Full Potential

•  Keeping Tanzania’s Girls in School: Investing in Menstrual Hygiene

•  Menstrual health and hygiene empowers women and girls: How to ensure we get it right

•  In times of COVID-19, the future of education depends on the provision of water, sanitation, and hygiene services

•  It’s time for action. Period.

•  Reflections from a mother on Menstrual Hygiene Day

•  The SDGs, surveys, and the need for additional evidence on Menstrual Hygiene Management

•  Globally, periods are causing girls to be absent from school

•  WASH United

Periods Don’t Stop for Pandemics: #ItsTimeForAction to Bring Safe Menstrual Hygiene to Women and Girls

This site uses cookies to optimize functionality and give you the best possible experience. If you continue to navigate this website beyond this page, cookies will be placed on your browser. To learn more about cookies, click here .

A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

• Handwashing
• Hand Hygiene as a Family Activity
• Hand Hygiene FAQs
• Handwashing Facts
• Publications, Data, & Statistics
• Health Promotion Materials
• Global Handwashing Day
• Clean Hands and Spaces: Handwashing and Cleaning in Educational Facilities
• Life is Better with Clean Hands Campaign
• Clinical Safety
• Healthcare Training
• Clean Hands Count Materials

About Hand Hygiene for Patients in Healthcare Settings

• Patients in healthcare settings are at risk of getting infections while receiving treatment for other conditions.
• Cleaning your hands can prevent the spread of germs, including those that are resistant to antibiotics, and protects healthcare personnel and patients.
• Patients and their loved ones can play a role in asking and reminding healthcare personnel to clean their hands.

Your hands can spread germs.

• Hands have good germs that your body needs to stay healthy. Hands can also have bad germs on them that make you sick.

Alcohol-based hand sanitizer kills most of the bad germs that make you sick.

• Alcohol-based hand sanitizers kill the good and bad germs, but the good germs quickly come back on your hands.

Alcohol-based hand sanitizer does not create antimicrobial-resistant germs.

• Alcohol-based hand sanitizers kill germs quickly and in a different way than antibiotics.
• Using alcohol-based hand sanitizers to clean your hands does not cause antimicrobial resistance.

Steps to take

When patients and visitors should clean their hands.

• Before preparing or eating food.
• Before touching your eyes, nose, or mouth.
• Before and after changing wound dressings or bandages.
• After using the restroom.
• After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
• After touching hospital surfaces such as bed rails, bedside tables, doorknobs, remote controls, or the phone.

How to clean hands

With an alcohol-based hand sanitizer:.

• Put product on hands and rub hands together.
• Cover all surfaces until hands feel dry.
• This should take around 20 seconds.

With soap and water:

• Wet your hands with warm water. Use liquid soap if possible. Apply a nickel- or quarter-sized amount of soap to your hands.
• Rub your hands together until the soap forms a lather and then rub all over the top of your hands, in between your fingers and the area around and under the fingernails.
• Continue rubbing your hands for at least 15 seconds. Need a timer? Imagine singing the "Happy Birthday" song twice.
• Rinse your hands well under running water.
• Dry your hands using a paper towel if possible. Then use your paper towel to turn off the faucet and to open the door if needed.

Clean Hands Count Campaign Materials‎

Ask your healthcare provider to clean their hands.

• Wearing gloves alone is not enough for your healthcare provider to prevent the spread of infection.
• "Before you start the exam, would you mind cleaning your hands again?"
• "Would it be alright if you cleaned your hands before changing my bandages?"
• "I didn't see you clean your hands when you came in, would you mind cleaning them again before you examine me?"
• "I'm worried about germs spreading in the hospital. Will you please clean your hands once more before you start my treatment?"

Speak up for clean hands in healthcare settings

• Clean your own hands and ask those around you to do the same.
• Don't be afraid to use your voice: it's okay to ask your healthcare provider to clean their hands.
• "I saw you clean your hands when you arrived some time ago, but would you mind cleaning them again?"

Frequently asked questions

Is there such a thing as too clean.

• Germs are everywhere. They are within and on our bodies and on every surface you touch. But not all germs are bad. We need some of these germs to keep us healthy and our immune system strong.
• Your hands have good germs on them that your body needs to stay healthy. These germs live under the deeper layers of the skin.
• Your hands can also have bad germs on them that make you sick. These germs live on the surface and are easily killed/wiped away by the alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• Using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer is the preferred way for to keep your hands clean.

Washing with soap and water: 15 versus 20 seconds

• Wash your hands for more than 15 seconds, not exactly 15 seconds.
• The time it takes is less important than making sure you clean all areas of your hands.
• Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are the preferred way to clean your hands in healthcare facilities.

Which one? Soap and water versus alcohol-based hand sanitizer

An alcohol-based hand sanitizer is the preferred method for cleaning your hands when they are not visibly dirty because it:

• Is more effective at killing potentially deadly germs on hands than soap.
• when moving from soiled to clean activities with the same patient or resident.
• when moving between patients or residents in shared rooms or common areas.
• Improves skin condition with less irritation and dryness than soap and water.

Guidelines for Hand Hygiene in Healthcare Settings Published 2002

Core Infection Prevention and Control Practices for Safe Healthcare Delivery in All Settings

What CDC is doing

CDC's Clean Hands Count campaign offers posters, factsheets, and brochures for healthcare providers and patients.

Keep reading: Clean Hands Count materials

Healthcare personnel

When and how to practice hand hygiene. Learn more .

New Training and Education Resources available for Healthcare Professionals.

Hand Hygiene in Healthcare Settings Video Series link: Education Courses | Hand Hygiene | CDC

Clean Hands

Having clean hands is one of the best ways to avoid getting sick and prevent the spread of germs to others.

For Everyone

Health care providers.

Log in using your username and password

• Search More Search for this keyword Advanced search
• Latest content
• Current issue
• JME Commentaries
• BMJ Journals More You are viewing from: Google Indexer

You are here

• Online First
• Equitable resource allocation in health emergencies: addressing racial disparities and ethical dilemmas
• Article Text
• Article info
• Citation Tools
• Rapid Responses
• Article metrics

• Chloe Zhang
• Queen's Gate School , London , UK
• Correspondence to Chloe Zhang, Queen's Gate School, London, London, UK; chloezhang20080228{at}icloud.com

This paper explores resource allocation complexities during health emergencies, focusing on pervasive racial disparities, notably affecting black communities. It aims to investigate alternatives to the Most Lives Saved approach, particularly its potential to exacerbate disparities. To analyse resource allocation strategies, the essay reviews the Dual-Principled System proposed by Bruce and Tallman (B+T) in 2021. B+T’s proposal critiques previous methods like the Area Deprivation Index and First Come First Serve while seeking to balance equity and utility by adjusting triage scores based on diseases displaying racial disparities. However, the study identifies inherent challenges in subjectivity, complexity and fairness, necessitating a careful examination and potential innovative solutions. The examination of the Dual-Principled System uncovers challenges, leading to the identification of three main issues and potential solutions. Furthermore, to address subjectivity concerns, it is necessary to adopt objective disease selection criteria through data analysis. Moreover, proposed solutions for complexity include real-time data updates, adaptability and regional considerations. Fairness concerns can be mitigated through educational campaigns and a lottery system integrated with triage score adjustments. The study emphasises nuanced resource allocation with objective disease selection, adaptable strategies and educational initiatives, including a lottery system, aligning with fairness, equity and practicality. As healthcare evolves, resource allocation must align with justice, fostering inclusivity and responsiveness for all.

• Ethics- Medical
• Health Care Economics and Organizations
• Resource Allocation
• Right to Health

Data availability statement

All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplementary information.

https://doi.org/10.1136/jme-2024-109947

Statistics from Altmetric.com

Request permissions.

If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.

Systemic biases and historical injustices have made it so that some racial minority groups, including black communities in the USA (and elsewhere), disproportionately face certain health challenges. For example, policies that may not have been intentionally racist, but nonetheless have discriminatory effects, have led to many black communities having lower quality, subpar resources and being exposed to greater environmental threats to health. 1 In emergencies, limited medical resources, such as ventilators in the COVID-19 pandemic, are allocated according to the likelihood of success given current health status, with people with poor health less likely to get the resource. Therefore, someone who may already unfairly have poorer health will now be less likely to get a limited resource, 2 arguably compounding the original injustice. Currently, allocation decisions are typically governed by the principles of having Most Lives Saved (MLS). However, for the reasons just mentioned, this approach results in already disadvantaged communities facing further disadvantages, leading to various criticisms of the current MLS model. 3 4

On the MLS model, the way resource allocation works is that people are assigned a score that reflects their likelihood of survival which is based on a combination of factors, including medical urgency, expected treatment outcomes (‘life years’) 5 and the availability of resources. 6 The widely used SOFA score, initially designed for sepsis, may not be the optimal predictor for COVID-19. However, during the initial stages, it served as the primary tool available for such assessments. 7 These decisions can be influenced by subjective judgments, institutional policies and regional healthcare guidelines, leading to inconsistencies and potential disparities in resource distribution. For example, rather than always maximising MLS, various exceptions are sometimes made, such as giving priority to front-line healthcare workers out of a sense of reciprocity for putting themselves at risk to help others 8 (p4). This shows that fairness-based deviations from MLS are already considered acceptable in certain circumstances or in relation to certain groups. Should similar deviations be considered for groups, such as black communities in the USA, in response to both past and present unfairness (eg, racist policies), which contribute to current disparities in baseline health?

In this first section of the essay, this paper will explore the problem of resource allocation during health emergencies. Then this study will briefly overview the methods that were previously proposed to address historical inequalities, before discussing a recent paper that criticised those methods by Bruce and Tallman (B+T) in 2021. In the following section, this study will undertake a critical examination of B+T’s proposal (Dual-Principled Method) and its arguments against alternative methods. They argue that an adjusted triage score should be implemented while acknowledging that the proposal will be on the premise of rejecting the MLS model. This paper will also discuss three potential challenges in adjusting triage scores and offer innovative solutions to each of them. One of these solutions is a hybrid lottery approach. In the subsequent section, this paper will elaborate on that proposal separately. This solution that it proposes upholds ethical principles and promotes fairness for all individuals, irrespective of their background. The equitable distribution of limited resources in the midst of health emergencies poses a profound ethical challenge that requires a delicate balance between justice and practicality.

Main proposals criticised in B+T (2021)

In 2021, B+T argued in the Journal of Medical Ethics against previous methods to achieve equity in scarce resource allocation during a pandemic. In this context, equity refers to a situation in which people of all races/ethnicities are treated fairly. 9 The main previous proposals B+T discussed were the socioeconomic methods of allocating resources, the Area Deprivation Index (ADI) and First Come First Serve (FCFS), which this paper will explain in a moment along with their response to them. They then offered their own proposal to correct the problems they identified in the previous proposals which was the Dual-Principled System, as mentioned earlier. Other proposals (including the ADI and FCFS) that have been raised in the literature 10 along with strengths and weaknesses are summarised in table 1 (see table 1 in the online supplemental appendix for a full summary).

Supplemental material

The first proposal that B+T criticise is using the ADI to distribute scarce medications during COVID-19, favouring patients from socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. The way this would work is by implementing a weighted lottery system where individuals from these communities are prioritised. This means that patients residing in areas with higher ADI scores (indicating greater socioeconomic disadvantage) may have a better chance of receiving scarce medications. However, B+T argues that this fails to address the complexities of racial disparities during the pandemic, as it does not account for the fact that racial minorities experiencing health disparities may not always reside in such disadvantaged communities. This argument highlights a crucial limitation of relying solely on such indices. While the ADI may provide valuable insights into the socioeconomic conditions of certain communities, it fails to capture the full complexity of racial disparities, particularly in cases where individuals from minority groups may reside in more affluent areas yet still experience significant health disparities. Therefore, it is important to acknowledge the imperfections of the ADI while also considering additional factors and measures that more comprehensively assess the multifaceted nature of racial disparities during the pandemic.

The second proposal is FCFS. It claims that allocating resources based on who arrives first can help address equity-based problems with current resource allocation during the COVID-19 pandemic by claiming to ‘possibly avert disadvantaging vulnerable groups’. 8 However, B+T argues that it has a problem related to potentially further marginalising racialised groups who may have less access to healthcare resources. Specifically, the problem is that FCFS grants a privilege to those who can access medical resources quickly, often individuals with more power, knowledge and social connections, and the likelihood of aggravating the exclusion of racial groups due to disparities in access to healthcare resources. This concern aligns with findings from Obermeyer’s project, 11 revealing biases in risk scoring algorithms, which may perpetuate and scale up the marginalisation of racial groups with less access to healthcare resources. 12 As highlighted in an article on California’s COVID-19 data, there is a stark contrast in infection and mortality rates among black populations. This issue is further compounded by the inadequate distribution of testing centres, initially concentrated in affluent, predominantly white neighbourhoods. The case of the CDU testing site in South Los Angeles demonstrates the importance of adapting healthcare systems to the needs of marginalised communities rather than expecting uniformity. 13

To address these issues, B+T proposed the Dual-Principled System, which combines the goal of saving the most lives with the goal of promoting racial equity by adjusting triage scores for patients with diseases showing racial disparities. Adjusting the triage scores is a method that aims to balance equity and utility; the proposal involves hospitals or regions selecting major diseases known for having significant racial disparities. Patients affected with these specified diseases, regardless of their racial background, would receive reduced penalties during triage. This means that it enables tailored responses to the specific racial groups most affected by COVID-19 within each geographic region, without creating competition among individual patients. Some opponents of this method might argue that B+T’s proposal does not directly address systemic issues responsible for these disparities. However, it intends to minimise the impacts of these disparities in health outcomes rather than solve the underlying issues. In the following section, this paper will argue that this proposal also has strengths and weaknesses and will suggest ways of addressing these weaknesses.

Problems with the Dual-Principled System and potential solutions

In this section, we will consider the Dual-Principled System proposed by B+T. This idea here is that it would help with mitigating racial disparities in access to medical resources during triage and to ensure that patients do not face compounding injustices due to their race, while still prioritising those who are medically eligible for treatment.

This approach, tailored to each region, seeks to mitigate substantial health disparities by going beyond mere socioeconomic disparities by reflecting the outcomes of racism. Nonetheless, there is some potential vagueness in the proposal and risks of exacerbating inequalities. Thus, this paper has highlighted three main problems and plausible solutions.

Problem: subjectivity

An inherent challenge lies in the subjective nature of allowing hospitals or regions to ‘thoughtfully choose’ the diseases subject to adjustment. This introduces subjectivity that could lead to biases and inconsistencies; moreover, people’s trust in the healthcare system will be largely dependent on these decisions.

Solution: objective disease selection

To address this, the best way is to construct a specific set of principles or criteria that are formalised to objectively determine the diseases warranting adjustment. This might require starting by analysing existing data (such as census data, annual reports and routine collection) to find diseases that show significant racial disparities in terms of how often they occur, how widespread they are and how well people can access treatment and the outcomes they achieve. Once we have identified these disparities, we choose diseases based on the size of these disparities, focusing on those where the gaps in health outcomes are largest and long-lasting, and where it is clear that action is needed. Furthermore, a wide range of data could be collected, including the patient demographics, socioeconomic factors (income, education, access to healthcare), medical history, treatment regimens and health outcomes. These data will be analysed to identify factors contributing to disparities, such as bias in healthcare delivery, cultural barriers, lack of access to quality care or socioeconomic disparities. And finally, if relevant, geographic factors that might contribute to disparities could be considered, such as healthcare deserts or variations in healthcare infrastructure. This means that healthcare disparities will be addressed, and it ensures that adjustments aim to provide equitable care to all communities. To streamline and enhance efficiency, it might be prudent to involve a federal task force, potentially within the CDC, which can offer a national perspective, uncovering patterns that may be overlooked at the local level and ultimately aiding in a more effective and equitable response. Furthermore, implementing innovative technological solutions, such as machine learning algorithms or data analytics tools, could enhance the speed and accuracy of data analysis, allowing for more efficient identification of disparities and targeted interventions.

Problem: the complexity of resource allocation

Introducing a complex decision-making process at the regional or hospital level may lead to delays and administrative challenges, potentially hindering the ability to respond effectively to the crisis. Moreover, considering the dynamic nature of healthcare settings, relying solely on presampling disease scenarios may limit the algorithm’s adaptability, potentially leading doctors to prioritise their perceived professional identity commitments. As a result, during the COVID-19 global pandemic, many settings relied on FCFS because alternative approaches were considered impractical. 14

The complexity of the allocation decision is evident, as seen in the calculation of the SOFA score, whether with or without a racial adjustment. However, this algorithm should be pre-sampled with disease scenarios and continuously updated with real-time epidemiological data, such as the rate of infection, hospitalisation and resource availability. In addition, it is important to know that the algorithm can be adapted to consider regional variations in healthcare infrastructure and population density. Furthermore, doctors and nurses might find triage roles challenging due to ethical dilemmas or emotional stress. To help them embrace these roles, staff training and support programmes can be implemented to prepare them effectively. Finally, regarding the practicality concern, if the above solution of disease selection is implemented, healthcare systems can overcome the limitations of the FCFS (see online supplemental appendix ) and create a triage approach that is both practical and adaptable. To support this process, cross disciplinary triage teams mentioned earlier could reduce the pressure on individual hospitals to make difficult decisions amid a crisis like the pandemic.

Fairness concerns

Patients from racialised groups with diseases not subject to score adjustment might (rightly or wrongly) perceive the new system as unfair. If the status quo is adjusted against the perceived interests of these groups, it may trigger distress or protest. It could also cause the patients benefiting from adjusted scores to be seen as unfairly privileged, fostering resentment and distrust in the healthcare system. I will elaborate on this idea in the following section. Moreover, if not carefully adjusted or balanced, it could result in patients consistently receiving priority access to resources while other diseases may also have racial disparities and are not chosen. This could create new disparities within the patient population. Indeed, another divisive allocation method is the ‘life stages’ argument, which emphasises prioritisation based on age. While this approach has historical significance, it raises ethical concerns, particularly regarding ageism. The increased mortality rates for older COVID-19 patients have prompted age-related considerations, yet age-based discrimination is contested, given the unreliable association between chronological and functional age. This idea reinforces the need for transparency and ethical justification in prioritisation protocols, cautioning against exclusive reliance on age as a determinant. 14

Solution: education campaigns

One solution is to accompany any shifts in the algorithm with educational campaigns that are not only, but also culturally sensitive and community oriented to mitigate potential adverse effects. Bottom up solutions like engaging community health workers and stakeholders alleviate distress more effectively than traditional top-down strategies. Moreover, by tailoring the educational content to the specific needs and perspectives of the affected communities, these initiatives can foster greater trust and understanding. Additionally, incorporating interactive elements, such as workshops, can enhance community cohesion and raise awareness about the necessity of triage, the complexities of resource allocation and the ethical considerations involved.

That being said, education campaigns might not be enough. There would still be the problem of ensuring that the procedure to allocate the resources is fair. Therefore, this study will suggest a further possible solution in the form of combining a triage score adjustment with a lottery.

Integration of triage score adjustment with a lottery

As mentioned, this proposal ensures that a balance could be struck by incorporating a threshold for including originally excluded diseases, while not affecting those already included. It reduces ambiguity as it is an objective criterion that reduces the influence of personal biases or subjective judgments and effectively mitigates potential oversights in disease-specific or demographic prioritisation by introducing an element of randomness, thereby ensuring an unbiased allocation process. Most importantly, this approach modifies the healthcare system to better address existing inequalities, fostering greater patient trust by minimising the likelihood of favouritism and racial discrimination.

First, priority categories can be established, using objective criteria such as age, health conditions and healthcare worker status to guide resource allocation. Additionally, adjusting triage scores to account for diseases that disproportionately affect racial groups acknowledges existing disparities while considering the urgency of medical care. Introducing a randomised allocation approach within each priority category helps prevent unfair advantages and promotes equitable distribution of resources. Just like the selection of disease, the threshold will be set with objective reasons. For instance, it may be based on statistical data showing the prevalence of a particular disease and its impact on various demographic groups. 15

Objection and replies

However, opponents may raise concerns about transparency and fairness in such a system. To address these concerns, involving healthcare professionals and bioethicists in the identification of diseases with significant disparities and historical impact can enhance the accuracy of the selection process. Critics might argue that relying solely on chance may not guarantee a fair distribution, potentially resulting in seemingly arbitrary outcomes rather than ethically justified ones. 16 Nevertheless, it is important to note that chance operates within a framework designed to rectify systematic disparities, aiming for a more equitable allocation of resources. Moreover, everyone in the lottery has already been deemed eligible; for instance, they would all benefit from the resource. Indeed, introducing an element of randomness is not about leaving things entirely to chance. Instead, it is about injecting a degree of unpredictability into the system to counterbalance existing biases and inequities. This is because randomness could mitigate the influence of personal biases, level the playing field and prevent the perpetuation of imbalances. However, it is crucial to acknowledge the reluctance of those in power to admit biases, which can be addressed by public commitments, algorithmic audits, research and continuous improvements.

By combining elements of both the B+T (2021) proposal and the randomised allocation with the priority categories approach, we can create a comprehensive strategy that prioritises fairness, equity and practicality. This hybrid approach addresses the multifaceted challenges presented by resource allocation during health emergencies, offering a nuanced solution that respects the principles of both ethical distribution and medical urgency. Incorporating the regional specificity as suggested by the B+T proposal, along with the objectivity of a randomised allocation system, enables us to tackle the subjectivity inherent in decision-making while ensuring transparency and impartiality in resource distribution. Moreover, the integration of priority categories acknowledges the diverse vulnerabilities within the population, 17 ensuring that those at higher risk and with essential roles receive the attention they require. As we continue to navigate the intricacies of health crises, our resource allocation strategies must evolve to align with evolving understandings of equity, ultimately fostering a more just and compassionate healthcare system for all.

Ethics statements

Patient consent for publication.

Not applicable.

Ethics approval

• Peters DH ,
• Bloom G , et al
• Luce JM , et al
• Farrell TW ,
• Francis L ,
• Brown T , et al
• Wilkinson D ,
• Palacios-Gonzalez C , et al
• racial equality
• Schmidt H ,
• Roberts DE ,
• Samorani M ,
• Blount LG , et al
• Goldstein A
• Laventhal N ,
• Dell ML , et al
• Tolchin B ,

Supplementary materials

Supplementary data.

This web only file has been produced by the BMJ Publishing Group from an electronic file supplied by the author(s) and has not been edited for content.

• Data supplement 1

Contributors I, CZ, developed the concept for this paper and carried out all of the research, analysis and writing that appears here. Through a thorough assessment and a critical synthesis of existing research, the analysis of racial inequities in resource allocation—particularly in emergency scenarios like the COVID-19 pandemic—was produced. I agree with the conclusions of this manuscript and accept full responsibility for its content.

As the guarantor of this paper, I, CZ, take full responsibility for the work and/or the conduct of the study, had access to the data, and controlled the decision to publish.

Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

Competing interests None declared.

Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.

Read the full text or download the PDF: