5 Areas Of Hygiene That Get Ignored Too Often

They may not always seem like the most important aspects of your all-round cleanliness, but without proper hygiene habits, these little problems can escalate and become much bigger issues further down the line.

Here are just a few that are easy to forget, but of which you should be aware.  

Dental Hygiene

Forgetting to brush and floss can have much more serious ramifications than just tooth decay. You only get one set of adult teeth, and neglecting oral hygiene can lead to plaque build-up, gingivitis and weakened gums.

Gum disease can give bacteria a direct route to your bloodstream, which can then affect both your brain and your heart - causing strokes and severe heart disease.

Brush and floss every day and you'll greatly lower the risk of losing teeth and harming your gums. For more comprehensive oral hygiene, companies such as BF Mulholland supply high-quality products that can keep your teeth white and your gums healthy. 

Clothes Washing

Wearing the same pair of boxer shorts for long stretches of time may mean fewer wash loads, but the repeated use of dirty underwear can also pose considerable health risks.

Unwashed underwear can lead to fungal infections, as well as scabies, bacterial sores and the distribution of viral infections. Pubic lice can also live longer on dirty underwear, so when you do get around to washing them, they could potentially contaminate other clothes nearby.

Buy plenty of spare underwear or make sure you wash the ones you have regularly to avoid contracting a viral disease or skin condition.

Proper Hand-Washing

Initial Washroom Hygiene surveyed 100,000 people across Europe and found that 62% of men and 40% of women didn't wash their hands after using the bathroom.

This is far too common, and not properly washing your hands after using the toilet can harbour germs such as salmonella and E. Coli on your hands. These germs will get spread around and passed onto anything you touch.

Dirty hands can cause numerous diseases, and it only takes a couple of seconds to wash them. There is no excuse for not doing it.

Washing Feet

Take good care of your feet - bad foot hygiene can lead to athlete's foot, an irritating fungal infection that can easily spread to other people. 

Standing in the shallow, soapy water that collects as you're showering will not provide your feet with an adequate clean. The amount of sweat that builds up on your feet from a day of keeping them confined in socks and shoes means they require thorough washing to avoid infection.

Trimming Toenails

Toenails are easy to forget about - we don't see them as often as we see our fingernails, especially if you aren't washing your feet properly. Just like feet in general, untrimmed toenails can lead to disgusting fungal infections.

On top of this, they can also begin to grow inward and start to dig and pierce your skin. This can be very painful and can cause profuse swelling and other kinds of infection.

Regularly check your toes to see if any nails are growing inward, and trim them every once in a while to prevent painful swelling and reduce the likelihood of infection.

Many of these problem areas can be easily treated with minimal effort to prevent a small problem escalating into potentially fatal health risks.

Wash every part of your body thoroughly - not just the parts that most people see!