Personal hygiene is a topic that’s come up a lot in recent months. With the current health situation in full force, we have been urged to wash our hands more frequently and be aware of how germs can spread between people. It’s more important than ever to maintain adequate personal hygiene routines, but you may be surprised to hear that most people make a lot of mistakes when it comes to the bathroom.
You may think keeping yourself clean and tidy is easy enough to get right, but there are several common errors people make that can be harmful to your health.
Overwashing
You probably wouldn’t think you can be too clean, but washing too much can be detrimental to your health. Taking showers and baths is essential for removing dirt and bacteria from your body and shedding dead skin. But washing too frequently or aggressively can lead to irritation and infection, allowing bacteria to enter your body more easily. Bathe once a day and gently wash your body with a damp soapy cloth, but don’t scrub too hard.
Not washing your hands thoroughly
One of the reasons the health situation spread so quickly is from people transmitting it through touch. Most people give their hands a quick run under the tap before wiping them off on their jeans, but you need to be cleaning them for twenty seconds to keep them adequately clean.
Keeping your toothbrush too close to the toilet
When you flush a toilet, toilet water and fecal matter can spray several feet in all directions. If you keep your toothbrush on display in your bathroom, you may be brushing your teeth with excrement. Dirty water splashing from the sink can have a similar effect. To avoid this, store your brush away from sinks and toilets or have a covered toothbrush holder to protect it. Replace it every few months and always close the lid when flushing.
Not cleaning your teeth for long enough
Experts advise you should clean your teeth twice a day for two minutes at a time, yet most people don’t even go for a full minute. To remove all the harmful plaque and bacteria from your teeth, consider setting a timer or investing in an electric toothbrush that alerts you when you can stop brushing.
Reusing the same towel
How long do you use the same towel for? Most people wash them once a week, but others leave them hanging in the bathroom until they start to smell musty and unpleasant. Every time you dry yourself after a shower, you transmit dead skin, bacteria, fungi, urine, and fecal matter onto your towel. This is probably enough information to convince you that you need to wash towels after every three to five uses.
Cleaning your ears with cotton buds
Your ears produce wax to protect your inner ear from dirt and bacteria, but it often builds up and becomes unpleasant. If you use cotton buds to clean your ears, you should stop immediately. Not only does this push wax further into the ears, worsening the problem, it also potentially causes tinnitus, infection, and hearing loss.
Keep these tips in mind next time you head to the bathroom, and you will ensure you keep your body as clean and germ-free as possible.