Hygiene

Hygiene is the maintenance of healthy practices. In modern terminology, this is usually regarded as a particular reference to cleanliness.

Some hygienic practices

Personal hygiene

• Daily washing of the body and hair
• More frequent washing of hands and/or face
• Cleaning of the clothes and living area
• General avoidance of bodily fluids
• Holding a hand in front of the mouth when sneezing or coughing
• Suppression of habits such as spitting or nose-picking
• Use of condoms in sexual relations
• Washing hands before eating
• Not licking fingers before picking up sheets of paper
• Not touching feces.

Food preparation and consumption

• Cleaning of food preparation areas and equipment
• Washing of hands after touching uncooked food when preparing meals
• Not using the same utensils to prepare different foods
• Non-sharing of cutlery when eating
• Refrigeration of foods (and avoidance of certain foods in environments where refrigeration is or was not feasible)
• The labeling of food to indicate when it was produced (or, as food manufacturers prefer, to indicate its best before date)
• Proper storage of food so as to prevent contamination by vermin
• Disposal of uneaten food and packaging
• Institutional dish sanitizing

Medicine

• Use of sterile bandaging and dressing of wounds
• Use of protective clothing such as masks, gowns, caps, eyewear and gloves.
• Sterilisation of instruments used in surgical procedures
• Safe disposal of medical waste

Personal services

• Sterilisation of instruments used by hairdressers
• Sterilisation by autoclave of instruments used in body piercing