Shocking Truth: 26 Unbelievable Hygiene Mistakes That Can Seriously Harm Your Health!

  21 Bad Hygiene Habits That Could Actually Make You Sick

Chaitanya Chaithu Updated: October . 2, 2023

100+Reader's Digest by Chaitanya Chaithu / October 01, 2023 at 08:30PM

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Small missteps can lead to big problems

The world can be a pretty gross place. Theres dirt, germs, viruses, bacteria, microscopic mites and so much more. And lets not forget the three years we just spent wading through COVID. The point is, we know the proper hygiene to keep us as safe and as clean as possible, especially now. But life gets busy. We might fall asleep without flossing or washing our face. We might forget to throw the laundry in the dryer and have to use that old towel one more time. We might not wash an apple because were hungry and in a rush. We all do it once in a whilehow bad can it be?

Pretty bad! These little hygiene transgressions might not seem like a big deal, but they can be more harmful to your health than you realize. And if you do them repeatedly, you could be in for a world of hurt. Here are the seemingly small things that doctors and other experts say you shouldnt let slide.

21 Everyday Hygiene Blunders You’re Unknowingly Making Here are 25 common hygiene practices, from applying deodorant to brushing your teeth, that you might be doing incorrectly without even realizing it.

Common Hygiene Mistakes Becoming a parent made me appreciate personal hygiene more than ever before. There are certain cleanliness rituals and practices that I’ve learned over time and assumed others would naturally follow.

However, anyone who has interacted with children will tell you that this isn’t the case. Kids have no qualms about urinating in a bath they’re currently in, licking toilet seats and subway poles, and generally being as unsanitary as possible.

But there are some “common” personal hygiene practices that we overlook on a daily basis. For instance, I was taken aback when I learned from other kids in my class that they didn’t use water to clean their rear ends after defecating, or they walked around their houses with their shoes on or sat on their beds wearing their dirty, public transportation-touched jeans. Thanks to a recent AskReddit post, I’ve become aware of many more personal hygiene dos and don’ts.

1. Change Your Towels Regularly Change your towel at least once a week. If your towel smells and you use it, you will smell too. You may not notice the difference, but others will.

2. Use Ethanol to Eliminate Shoe Odor If your shoes smell after a long day (running/sweating), try spraying some ethanol inside your shoes. Ethanol kills off the bacteria inside (usually what’s responsible for the smell), and by morning your shoes will smell like new!

3. Clean Your Hairbrush Wash your hairbrush. You wash your hair, so why would you comb your hair with something that’s dirty?

4. Use Deodorant and Antiperspirant One of my (16-year-old) students once said: “You know, some people put on deodorant right after they wash their armpits, that’s so useless!” I was baffled that I had to explain to so many teenagers that yes, that is how you use it because you put it on to PREVENT smelling. They had just been putting it on during the day after a break, thinking it would dissolve their sweat.

5. Febreze is Not a Substitute for a Shower Febreezing yourself is NOT the same as taking a shower.

6. Clean Your Rear End After Defecating The number of people that don’t wash their rear end is astounding. Yes, people can tell, yes it’s really that bad. Here’s the super simple fix: WASH YOUR REAR END!

7. Urinate After Intercourse Urinate within 30 minutes of having sex to clean out your urethra. I have stopped having UTI’s since I learned this.

8. Brush Your Tongue Not brushing their tongue. Brush your tongue to break up the smelly microflora there, especially near the back just short of making yourself gag.

9. Clean Your Phone Regularly If one of your cheeks breaks out more than the other, consider cleaning your phone more. Phones are incredibly dirty and the contact can clog your poress.

   10. Clean your ears: Use a wet wash rag to clean around and behind your ears. Avoid sticking anything inside your ear canal.

   11. Body spray vs deodorant: Body spray is not the same as anti-perspirant deodorant. Spray will not keep sweat from getting out of control.

   12. Flossing: Flossing daily can prevent cavities and improve oral health.

   13. Kitchen cutting boards: Use separate cutting boards for meats and vegetables to avoid cross-contamination.

   14. Change kitchen sponges and rags: Using the same kitchen rag/sponge for months without cleaning it can lead to bacterial growth.

   15. Hair care: Understand your hair type and how much you should wash it and how else it needs to be taken care of.

   16. Washing hands and feet: Make sure to wash your hands and feet properly in the shower.

   17. Clip toenails: Regularly clipping your toenails can prevent foot problems.

   18. Drying between toes: Make sure to dry between your toes after a shower to prevent fungal infections.

   19. Micellar jelly: Use micellar jelly to clean your face at the end of the day.

   20. Clean laptop trackpad: Regularly clean your laptop trackpad to prevent the spread of germs.

   21. Wipe till white: When using toilet paper, make sure to wipe until it’s clean.

The post 15 Bad Hygiene Habits That Could Actually Make You Sick appeared first on Reader's Digest.