Hygiene and Prevention

Hygiene, also called as hygienics is the science concerned with the maintenance of health.

Attention to personal hygiene will help a person look their best, feel their best and can even help in avoiding disease. People who are conscientious about personal hygiene take care of cleanliness, routine health care, and preventive health maintenance.

An overview of some of the most common preventable health problems illustrates the role of personal hygiene:

Mouth: The combination of bacteria in the mouth, sugar in the diet, and susceptible teeth leads to decay, cavities, gum disease, and sometimes even the loss of teeth. These risks can be avoided by eating a variety of foods, limiting sugary foods, brushing and flossing regularly, and having regular dental checkups.

Ears: Avoid poking at the inside of the ears. Have regular hearing tests and ear examinations to check for hearing loss or other disorders and illnesses.

Skin: Remove dirt, prevent odor, and make sure rough skin is moisturized. Breaks in the skin should be washed and bandaged. Almost every teenager experiences some acne, and persistent cases can be treated by a family doctor or dermatologist. In cases of parasites such as head lice, body lice, and scabies, bedding and clothing must be treated in addition to the skin. The hair is part of the skin and it responds to good diet, exercise, good health habits, and regular shampooing.

Genitourinary: Conscientious patients can reduce the risk of cancer by performing the breast self-examination (women) and testicular self exam (men) at home and reporting any changes to a doctor. Prepubescent women need to learn special care of the body during menstruation. Adolescents face many problems including abstinence, contraception, pregnancy, abortion, and sexually transmitted diseases, which can be incurable or fatal.

General: Many day-to-day complaints can be addressed with preventive health strategies such as eating a good diet, getting enough rest, taking care of emotional stress, and seeking help for large fluctuations in weight. The simple act of hand washing (at least 20 seconds according to Food and Drug Administration recommendations) can prevent the spread of many food-borne illnesses and upper respiratory infections.

Sometimes lack of attention to personal health can be symptom of a deeper medical problem such as arthritis, poor eyesight, or dementia. Inattention to hygiene could also signal a depressive disorder or a substance abuse problem.

Post-text assignments

Exercise 6. Answer the questions.

1. How will an attention to the hygiene help a person?

2. What leads to decay, cavities, gum disease, and sometimes even the loss of teeth?How can risk of losing teeth be avoided?

3. Why do we need regular hearing tests?

4. What should a person do to maintain the skin hygiene?

5. How can a person reduce a risk of cancer?

6. What can prevent many food-borne illnesses?

7. What can lack of attention to a personal hygiene lead to?

Exercise 7. Match the terms with the definitions.

1. Hygiene 2. Checkup 3. Bandage 4. Precaution 5. Acne 6. Prophylaxis

a) A medical condition in which your face is covered in spots. It mainly affects teenagers. b) A long thin piece of cloth that you wrap around an injured part of the body. c) The use of medical treatment for preventing disease or infection. d) An action taken in advance to protect against possible danger, failure, or injury; a safeguard. e) The science that deals with the promotion and preservation of health. f) A medical examination, especially one taken at regular intervals to verify a normal state of health or discover a disease in its early stages.

Exercise 8. Give English equivalents of the following word-combinations.

Підтримувати здоров'я; піклуватися про чистоту; регулярно проходити стоматологічні оглади; гігієна і профілактика; уникнення хвороби; втрата зубів; зволожена шкіра; регулярне миття голови шампунем; хвороби, які передаються статевим шляхом; повсякденні скарги; симптом глибшої медичной проблеми; проблема зловживання; поганий зір; повсякденні скарги.

Exercise 9. Insert the necessary preposition.

to (4), in, of, from (2), for, at, with