Personal hygiene is a basic necessity that most people take for granted. Having access to showers, products, clothing and other necessities is a privilege that others may not have proper access to. Something many people don’t consider is how personal hygiene can have a strong impact on one’s health – both mental and physical.
Having a strong hygiene routine may help improve health and limit the possibility of illness or disease later in life. It can help make you feel more confident about yourself, improve your motivation, and overall improve your quality of life. Beyond this, having poor hygiene or little access to personal hygiene can cause or increase depression & anxiety.
Many people learn basic hygiene and bathing habits at a young age and shaving, laundry, and other practices when they get older – if these prominent years are disrupted by external factors that can play a big role. Hygiene choices have a profound impact on quality of life as well as mental and physical health.
Poor Hygiene & Disease Prevention
For various reasons, poor hygiene can have a strong impact on one’s health, therefore impacting the quality of their life. Each person’s idea of good hygiene may differ due to upbringing or available resources. Certain basic practices are almost universally accepted as good hygiene and can be damaging if you don’t have access to these. Some of the basic hygiene practices include bathing regularly, nail trimmings, brushing teeth, and hand washing.
Implementing these hygiene practices into your daily routine will help better your physical and mental health. Having limited access to these resources can quickly impact one’s health. Having access to a shower is not only necessary to remove dirt, bacteria, and other external substances left on your skin from the day. Trimming nails and washing your hands will prevent problems like infected nails and infections or virus spreading.
Good personal hygiene is the number one way to protect against illnesses. Common conditions that can be avoided by personal hygiene include the following: athlete’s foot, body lice, diarrhea, tooth decay, and gum disease, scabies, UTI, and even in more serious cases ringworm. Something as simple as handwashing can have a significant impact on your health.
Professional Acceptance
In terms of those experiencing homelessness and the lack of hygiene, professional acceptance can be a huge barrier. Poor hygiene may cause issues in social and professional settings, deterring people from having a career. Someone with bad body odor or breath may be unpleasant to be around, while others may feel that being around someone with inadequate hygiene will reflect poorly on their image. Those who experience homelessness do not have proper access to these essential services, therefore further perpetuating the lack of professional acceptance.
Those with good hygiene, however, will not experience this barrier when trying to connect with people socially or cooperate with co-workers professionally. Personal cleanliness alone will not get you more friends or make a job promotion more likely. However, you might consider it a prerequisite for social and professional acceptance. Whether it is fair or not, good hygiene will help create an acceptable image with friends, professional peers, and decision-makers at work. Without the distraction of poor hygiene, making both social and professional connections easier.
Help The Homeless
At ShowerUp, we provide mobile showers and personal hygiene services to those experiencing homelessness in Nashville, Wichita, Huntsville, and our newest location, Chicago. Our mission is to work on bettering the hygiene of these homeless communities in order to better their life experiences. We work to improve hygiene, lifestyles and make the day-to-day a bit easier. Visit our website today to sign up to volunteer, donate, or learn more about our mission!
