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PERSONAL AND DOMESTIC HYGIENE |
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Hand washing: Proper hand washing is one of the most effective ways of preventing the spread of diarrhoeal diseases. Pathogens cannot be seen on hands, and water alone is not always sufficient to remove them. Soap and wood ash are both cleansing and disinfecting agents when used with water and can be used to kill pathogens on hands and utensils. The most important times when hands should be washed with soap and water are:
Promoting good personal hygiene often requires that community members are mobilized towards this goal and awareness is raised about how to achieve it.
Bathing: Regular bathing and laundering are important for cleanliness and good personal appearance. They also prevent hygiene-related diseases such as scabies, ringworm, trachoma, conjunctivitis and louse-borne typhus. Educational and promotional activities can encourage bathing and laundering, but increasing the number of washing facilities and locating them conveniently may be more effective. Bathing with soap is an important means of preventing the transmission of trachoma; An illness that can cause blindness and other eyesight problems. Children's faces in particular should be washed regularly and thoroughly. If a child has trachoma, a special towel or tissue should be used to wipe or dry the child's face; the towel should never be used for other children because of the risk of transmitting the disease. Ideally, programmes that promote bathing should be combined with a programme to reduce the numbers of flies, which spread trachoma and other diseases, and to improve sanitation. For people to bathe thoroughly they must use sufficient water, but it may be difficult to promote the use of more water for washing if water supplies are distant and water must be collected by hand. Moreover, many traditional bathing practices do not use water efficiently and ensuring cleanliness may be difficult. By modifying existing practices, such as by encouraging the use of water containers with taps, it may be possible to improve the efficiency of water use. Community shower units, with separate facilities for men and women (as provided in Sulabh Toilet Complexes) can also become income-generating enterprises in larger villages, but the facilities require careful maintenance and must be conveniently located.
Laundering: To promote laundering of clothes and bedding, laundry slabs or sinks can be constructed near water points. They should be large enough to wash clothes as well as bulky and heavy items like bedding etc. They should be situated in such a manner that water drains away from the laundry area and away from the water source. Locating laundry places in natural water bodies, streams and irrigation canals is best avoided if possible, since this practice can contribute to the transmission of schistosomiasis. Components of an All-round Personal hygiene programme:
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