Why do people need hygiene needs?

Answer 1

The Importance of Good Personal Hygiene

Maintaining personal hygiene is necessary for many reasons; these can be personal, social, for health reasons, psychological or simply as a way of life. Essentially keeping a good standard of hygiene helps to prevent the development and spread of infections, illnesses and bad odours.

Personal ReasonsMany people are very conscious of their hygiene. A bright white smile with clean and healthy teeth can endear people to us, whereas brown, unhealthy teeth can cause embarrassment and can alter our sense of well-being. Healthy hair, skin and nails are signs of a good well-balanced diet and can give us confidence in everyday life.Social ReasonsMost people hate to be talked about, especially in a negative manner. By ensuring that our body is clean and well presented, we are more assured of projecting a positive body image that reflects our personalities. Children should be taught the importance of hygiene and how to achieve good hygiene very early to keep themselves and others healthy and to reduce the risk of being bullied at school.Health Reasons

If a person is due to go into hospital, sometimes that person becomes very aware of their hygiene. The thought of being vulnerable and exposed to strangers can cause the person to become very strict on their hygiene needs. If you have cut yourself, the wound should be cleaned and dressed suitably, this can help reduced the risk of infection and pain. Conditions such as head lice, athlete's foot etc. should be treated immediately to prevent further infections and spread to others. Hand washing cannot be emphasised enough as this simple action can prevent a plethora of illnesses and disorders developing. Many people 'forget' to wash their hands after using the toilet or before handling foods; this deed can cause a great deal of illness and even death.

Psychological Issues

By being well presented, clean and tidy, people can feel more confident, especially in social situations. Many job interviews and such like are highly dependent of hygiene as many decisions are made by first impressions within the first few minutes of meeting; these decisions are often made in the sub-conscious. Maintaining hygiene practices helps to reduce the risks of ill health, but equally important affects how we and others perceive ourselves and can influence our levels of confidence and self-esteem which can affect many aspects of our lives.

Answer 2

* If you have ever seen a nasty looking person, (homeless) they do not have good hygiene. If you don't want to look like that, you need good hygiene.

* Aside from appearances, there are more serious reasons to take care of yourself. Washing is a means of cleansing oils, bacteria, and dead skin from your body. It makes you not only look better but feel better. You might not notice this if preoccupied, but try going a few weeks without running water and you will start to notice yourself more and more... a better example would be how during the period of the Black Death soap was seen as poisonous and the church mandated you be sewed into your clothes so you couldn't wash. This greatly contributed to the deaths since many of the boils could have been treated with a bar of soap and hot water. In other words, people have literally died because they didn't clean properly.