By Jacinta Nwachukwu
The importance of hygiene cannot be over-emphasised as good hygienic conditions bring about ways of protecting oneself and others from contracting illness.
This is because the human body can be home to an array of diseases; with germs and parasites growing and multiplying in certain parts of the body.
In the anatomy of the human body, parts such as the skin as well as various openings in the body can provide entrance for germs and parasites, particularly in persons with unhygienic habits.
Medical experts underscore the need for people to adopt simple, regular hand washing, among other hygienic habits, so as to prevent gastroenteritis (food poison), for instance.
Dr Sopuruchukwu Chineke, a public health consultant, says that even though many people can recover from gastroenteritis without medical treatment, some cases may require treatment.
“Gastroenteritis is an inflammation of the lining of the intestine; it is caused by virus, bacteria and parasites, and it spreads through contaminated food, water and contact with an infected person.
“Sometimes, the person may recover within three days but when it continues for five days, he or she must be hospitalised because if the disease is left untreated, it can kill,” he adds.
Chineke lists the symptoms of gastroenteritis as diarrhoea, abdominal pains, vomiting, headache and fever, among others.
Sharing similar sentiments, Mr James Olumide, a medical representative of the manufacturer of “DANONE Baby Nutrition’’, insists that hand washing and environmental sanitation remain the best ways of protecting the people from the hazards of contagious diseases.
He also emphasises the need for people to wash their hands before eating anything or preparing food and after using the toilet, smoking, touching animals, gardening or handling objects stained with blood or other substances.
He insists that hygiene entails total cleaning of the environment as well as washing of one’s body.
“It also involves being careful enough not to cough or sneeze on others, cleaning things one touches, discarding things that might have germs on them via appropriate channels,’’ he says.
Olumide says that personal hygiene requires using protective devices whenever one faces the risk of contracting or spreading infection and taking extra precaution when handling or storing food.
He says that most of the common infections, particularly colds and gastroenteritis, are contracted when eating with hands that are contaminated with germs.
“We can also contract some illnesses when other people infect our food with their dirty hands; hence it is important to keep our hands and environment as clean as possible.
“Use clean water and soap or an alternative to clean your hands and wrists; use a brush to clean your nails if they are dirty as well.
“Alternatively, alcohol-based sanitisers, which do not need water, are an excellent way of washing and disinfecting hands,’’ Olumide adds.
Also speaking, the former Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, says that the adoption of regular hand-washing habit will promote personal hygiene and reduce infant mortality.
He insists that hand washing is the simplest and cheapest way of preventing diarrhoea, arguing that most infections are harboured in the hands, hence the need for proper hand washing.
Chukwu stresses that the reduction of infant mortality is of utmost importance to the Federal Government, as Nigeria is ranked among top countries in the world where children die of diarrhoea.
In his own view, Dr Nathaniel Adewole, a gynaecologist at University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, opines that typhoid fever, which is gradually becoming endemic in the country, can be prevented through proper hygiene.
He says that typhoid fever is caused by contaminated water and food, among others.
Adewole says that typhoid fever is a disease that can be fatal if untreated, adding that it is a deadly bacterial infection of the digestive system.
He explains that typhoid is caused by the ingestion of food or water that is contaminated with the “Bacillus Salmonella typhi’’ — the bacterium that causes typhoid fever.
“The causative agent, `Salmonella typhi’, is an obligate parasite that has no known natural reservoir outside of humans,’’ he adds.
Adewole says that the symptoms of typhoid include feverish conditions, headache, nausea, severe abdominal pains and diarrhoea, among others.
He, however, advises that people should adopt hygienic ways of preparing food and storing drinking water.
Also speaking, Dr Patrick Okolie, an Abuja-based general physician, says that the best way of preventing urinary tract infection is by maintaining personal hygiene.
He says that urinary tract infection is infection anywhere along the urinary tract, adding “everyone is at risk of contracting the disease if there is no proper hygiene.
“A urinary tract infection (UTI) is a bacterial infection that affects any part of the urinary tract. When it affects the lower urinary tract, it is known as simple Cystitis (a bladder infection).
“But when it affects the upper urinary tract, it is known as Pyelonephritis (an inflammation of the kidney),’’ he says.
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Okolie notes that keeping the genital organs clean is a potent way of preventing urinary tract infection.
He, nonetheless, says that women are more predisposed to urinary tract infection than men because of the nature of their external urinary tract.
He explains that the external urinary tract of a woman is shorter and closer to the anus than that of the man.
“As a result, an infection can fast-forward from behind into the urethra, hence women are more likely to get infected; also it could be transmitted during sexual activities,” he says.
Okolie says that women, who use different birth control methods, can be prone to urinary tract infection if they do not observe proper personal hygiene.
All in all, experts are of the view that people should adopt proper hygienic practices, as part of pragmatic efforts to achieve healthy living. (NANFeatures)
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