Personal Hygiene at Work

Personal Hygiene at Work

How to maintain personal hygiene in the workplace?

Personal hygiene is an aspect that should not be neglected because it has a direct impact on over all health of an individual. While it is easy to maintain high standards of hygiene at home, many people find it difficult to do the same while at work. However, you have to realize that no matter how engrossed you might be it is imperative to keep up your personal hygiene at work simply for the sake of protecting yourself.

Advantages

Of course there are many advantages that accrue from it - besides smelling good you also prevent a variety of contagions from invading your system. One of the time tested ways of enjoying good health stems from remaining free of all kinds of disease causing germs and this is particularly difficult in a workplace courtesy of its openness. As opposed to a home, a workplace comprises of all kinds of people having different concepts of cleanliness. Under the circumstances, the onus is on the individual to protect himself by adopting good personal hygiene at work.

Good hygiene at work includes many practices in addition to just washing your hands. Adhering to a few basic steps would go a long way towards achievement of this objective.


Basic steps

To begin with, you need to have a dish cloth close at hand so that in case of a spill, your table can be immediately wiped clean. You also need to stock up on adhesive bandages, antiperspirants, deodorants, comb, hairbrush, buttons, thread and needle not to mention a clean t-shirt so that you can have something to change into if needed. Having apples and celery is also a good idea since they are effective mouth cleansers when chewed.

Many people admit to having lunch on their desks. Besides the possibility of dropping the food on your documents, this practice is also known to increase the germ count manifold. Because your desk is one place where there is bound to be a build-up of bacteria, you must refrain from keeping food around it and make it a point to have your meals elsewhere.


Things you can carry

If you like to exercise while at work, you must remember to carry a fresh pair of socks and clothing. Synthetic clothes that cannot absorb the sweat are preferable along with sports shoes. Training should be followed with a bath, meaning keeping personal hygiene products like soap and towel are a must. Others products that can also be added to the kit are pain relievers, body cleanser, conditioner and shampoo.

By showering every day, you will be washing away the dirt from your skin together with the bacteria and other microscopic organisms. Bathing with lukewarm water is recommended as it is more effective than using water that is too hot or too cold. Using a gentle cleanser helps to remove potential toxins not to mention control the body odor that is emanated thanks to the function of apocrine glands.


Protection against contagions

People do come to work even while suffering from flu or cold thus exposing their colleagues to the same. An effective method of keeping them at bay entails washing your hands often with warm water and soap and paying close attention to your wrist and nails. In the event of lack of water, resorting to a hand sanitizer is equally effective. Food poisoning being a severe problem, people who work in food industries are required to take care of their personal hygiene at work more than others.

Reviewed By:

Dr. Bharti Talreja (MBBS, DPM, FAGE, MIPS)

She is a Psychiatrist practising in Botad, India.