For several days I have been trying to settle on a subject to write and have not had the slightest luck of finding one with which I feel comfortable. While this weighed heavily on my thinking, I woke up one morning and, as is my custom, stepped into the shower and began to wash and soak. The hot water was great and I reveled in complete satisfaction as it gently cascaded down and hit my body. While applying my favorite men’s body wash, using it according to direction, my thoughts turned to how wonderful it was to be able to shower and stay clean, but I was wondering what the negative impact would be of not being able to stay clean and practice good personal practices. . hygiene. So there you have it. I decided to use that moment of revelation as my starting point for this article. I am happy to have done it. It is a valuable topic to write about. What, then, is the negative impact of a general lack of personal hygiene and a habitually dirty body on that person’s general sense of well-being?
Where do we look for answers to this puzzling question? I decided to focus on the plight of street people as the most transparent and meaningful examples of the point I wanted to make. I want it to be perfectly clear that I do not see any causal relationship suggesting an inability to practice good personal hygiene as the cause of someone having to live on the streets. But I do suggest that it is axiomatic that there is a nexus that establishes the need to live on the streets as the main cause of a person’s inability to practice the requirements of good personal hygiene.
- Problems encountered due to lack of personal hygiene: the effect of a dirty body on general well-being
Forced to live on the street or in some other place where a person cannot do what is necessary for good personal hygiene has devastating effects. Here are some of them.
job
If that person was employed when this problem arose, it is unlikely that he will be able to remain employed for much longer than a week after his move to the streets. Because who among us will look with charity and patience at someone in the workforce, perhaps in the cubicle next door, filling the available air with body odor?
What are the job prospects if you didn’t have a job yet? After a week or so living on the streets, her chances of landing a suitable job are slim to none and dwindling with each passing day.
Social considerations
I would be an exceptional host or hostess sponsoring a dinner inviting our person from the street to attend. Even if he is a close friend, I suggest that no invitation be made and the most that could happen is that he is offered food without drawing attention as a way of extending charity. In the name of brotherly love, you might even be allowed to take a shower. But how many times could I count on that? You would have sold out your welcome at the end of the first week, if not sooner. Again, your lack of cleanliness, dirty clothes, body odor, and bad breath that exist in such circumstances are all blocks that prevent your inclusion in the social network, if any, that you had before this disaster.
There are also people who, for whatever reason, are simply careless and not even willing to take the time to get clean. This type of person, almost by definition, becomes a social misfit and a loner. Shy and introverted, he usually spent his time only excluding the world and others who might normally be actively involved in his life in some meaningful way.
Health and medical concerns
Finally, there are a number of general health and medical conditions that are contracted when living on the streets. Lice on the head and pubic areas acquired from the need to use poorly maintained public toilets and from having to sleep almost literally on the floor every night. Colds and the flu become commonplace, as do other medical conditions that require treatment.
What can be done to help?
What are some of the things we must do to remedy or mitigate the effects of these life circumstances that are affecting the general sense of well-being of those facing this problem?
- Up-to-date vaccines are needed to protect public health and, whenever possible, prevent disease outbreaks.
- Proper sanitation is a must.
- The construction of low-cost public housing to put a roof over the heads of the homeless and get them off the streets.
- Those who have the means to take care of themselves, but do not, should attend a seminar on how to stay clean and healthy.
- For a person who simply does not maintain personal cleanliness, there is very little we can do for him except do everything possible to instill the need in him, if necessary by hiring the services of professionals in social work, psychology, and other disciplines.
- Those with other disabilities have their local public health department and a number of social and religious entities to turn to. The Salvation Army, Meals on Wheels, and similar programs are widely available to the homeless, the elderly, and the disabled. Depending on one’s circumstances, education and counseling on how to properly care for yourself may be available. The Internet, a good phone book, and the Department of Public Health are good resources for identifying locally available agencies capable of providing help to a person who wants to overcome this problem.
conclusion
Failure to adhere to good personal hygiene practices will lead to a variety of personal, social, and medical conditions that have a major impact on a person’s overall sense of well-being. They also have the potential to cause problems for the general population if they are allowed to get ahead. A wise person once wrote the aphorism “cleanliness is next to godliness.” Remembering this serves as a reminder of our need to practice good personal hygiene.
© Douglas M Midgley, JD All rights reserved worldwide