Sophomore Laurin Mendelsohn stands in her kitchen ready to make cookies with one of her friends. They wash their hands and begin to bake. After mixing the ingredients, they place the dough onto the cookie sheet to put into the oven. To Mendelsohn, all of these steps were obvious, but there was one step she could not forget: she had to wash her hands.
In the right foods, or at the right temperature, an environment in which germs can multiply is created, and when people eat the infected food, they get sick. By simply washing her hands, Mendelsohn avoided this issue and made sure that she and anyone else who ate the cookies wouldn’t get sick.
“[Hygiene] is very important because that’s how we get sick,” Mendelsohn said. “I don’t ever want to get sick.”
As the weather gets colder, there often ends up being more people sneezing, sniffling and coughing their way through the school day. While minor symptoms may not seem harmful, diseases can begin to spread, increasing the number of infected people, something which can be avoided as long as people stay hygienic.
Washing your hands well and often can help with staying hygienic. Whether before making food or after petting a dog, washing hands limits the spread of disease and prevents infection. Viruses can often spread when people cough or sneeze before touching a surface; the germs left can be unknowingly be picked up and spread by someone else who touches the same surface. Even if they don’t spread the disease, people can get infected if they touch their eyes, nose, or mouth after touching the infected surface. School nurse Ms. Elisa Watkins stresses the necessity of hand washing.
“It’s very easy to transmit diseases by shaking someone’s hand, or by looking at someone’s phone and them putting their phone to their face,” Ms. Watkins said.
While some people may think washing their hands really isn’t that important, the impact of it can be monumental. A study conducted by The National Center for Biotechnology Information found the act of washing hands can reduce the risk of getting a respiratory illness, such as the cold or flu, by up to 21 percent.
Ms. Watkins can attest to the effects of staying hygienic. She estimates that 80 percent of the students who come into the nurse’s office for sickness show cold or flu symptoms. Her first response as to how to stay healthy, and thus reduce this number, is hand washing.
“Hand washing is number one,” Ms. Watkins said. “Hand washing helps to make sure your bacteria stays your bacteria and somebody else’s stays theirs.”
Keeping your mouth clean to prevent any diseases such as gum disease and tooth decay proves to be just as important as washing hands. Brushing your teeth the recommended 2-3 times a day, flossing at least once every day and replacing your toothbrush every 3-4 months helps with this aspect of hygiene. Teens who don’t keep up with dental hygiene may end up as one of the 84 percent of 17-year-olds with tooth decay, or one of the 60 percent of 15-year-olds with the beginning stage of gum disease, known as gingivitis.
“It’s not just about keeping your teeth clean,” Ms. Watkins says. “The mouth is the easiest access point for any kind of bacteria to get into your body, whether it goes to your stomach or your lungs.”
Not keeping up with hygiene impacts the social aspects of a person’s life. It can cause people to become more self-conscious, as people generally don’t want to talk to someone who they can tell does not keep up with hygiene.
“I don’t feel like [people are] disgusting or anything,” Mendelsohn states. “I’ll still talk to them, but I feel like it’s a different mood versus someone who keeps up with their hygiene.”
Having good hygiene can make social interactions more pleasant. Healthy habits of hygiene also demonstrate higher levels of self esteem and productivity, as Mendelsohn says.
“I feel more awake when I do keep up with [hygiene],” Mendelsohn said. “I feel better because my confidence is up.”
