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9.4.1 Personal Hygiene
Hygiene is a set of practices carried out to safeguard health. It refers to practices and
conditions that help to prevent the spread of diseases as well as maintain health.
Personal hygiene refers to preserving the body’s cleanliness. Environment plays a
major role in personal hygiene. Contaminated water may not clean the hand and
body during hand washing and bathing.
Personal hygiene includes, but is not restricted, to hand washing, respiratory
hygiene, hygiene in the kitchen, food hygiene, hygiene in the bathroom and toilet,
oral hygiene and laundry hygiene.
9.4.2 Clean Domestic Environment
People spend the bulk of their time in homes. Hence, the choices they make about
houses influence the health of residents and neighbours. However, not all will a have
a choice to choose a good house due to financial constraints, distance between
workplace and home, distance between children and home, homes inherited, etc.
Health is affected by:
1. Contaminants in water
2. Indoor air pollution
3. Injurious radiation
4. Noise
5. Rodents
6. Solid waste
7. Vectors
These could be present in domestic environments due to:
1. Chemicals in battery/paint/detergents
2. Noise in the house/neighbourhood
3. Poor household ventilation
4. Poor solid waste management inside the house or in the neighbourhood
5. Radiation source in the ground/neighbourhood
6. Chemicals used in the home and garden
7. Combustion of fuel
8. Entry of contaminants into the water source and treated water
9. However, slums and makeshift houses often push the people to an unhealthy
environment (Fig. 9.20).
10. Emission of specific pollutants either directly or through chemical reactions
and transformations affects health.
Many of the problems in attaining a clean domestic environment can be resolved by
money if the resident can afford it. The entry of pollution can be filtered by an air conditioner, at the same time ensuring a comfortable temperature. Dirty water supplied by
9.4 Housing
9.4.1 Personal Hygiene
Hygiene is a set of practices carried out to safeguard health. It refers to practices and
conditions that help to prevent the spread of diseases as well as maintain health.
Personal hygiene refers to preserving the body’s cleanliness. Environment plays a
major role in personal hygiene. Contaminated water may not clean the hand and
body during hand washing and bathing.
Personal hygiene includes, but is not restricted, to hand washing, respiratory
hygiene, hygiene in the kitchen, food hygiene, hygiene in the bathroom and toilet,
oral hygiene and laundry hygiene.
9.4.2 Clean Domestic Environment
People spend the bulk of their time in homes. Hence, the choices they make about
houses influence the health of residents and neighbours. However, not all will a have
a choice to choose a good house due to financial constraints, distance between
workplace and home, distance between children and home, homes inherited, etc.
Health is affected by:
1. Contaminants in water
2. Indoor air pollution
3. Injurious radiation
4. Noise
5. Rodents
6. Solid waste
7. Vectors
These could be present in domestic environments due to:
1. Chemicals in battery/paint/detergents
2. Noise in the house/neighbourhood
3. Poor household ventilation
4. Poor solid waste management inside the house or in the neighbourhood
5. Radiation source in the ground/neighbourhood
6. Chemicals used in the home and garden
7. Combustion of fuel
8. Entry of contaminants into the water source and treated water
9. However, slums and makeshift houses often push the people to an unhealthy
environment (Fig. 9.20).
10. Emission of specific pollutants either directly or through chemical reactions
and transformations affects health.
Many of the problems in attaining a clean domestic environment can be resolved by
money if the resident can afford it. The entry of pollution can be filtered by an air conditioner, at the same time ensuring a comfortable temperature. Dirty water supplied by
9.4 Housing