According to the World Health Organization, health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
Hygiene
The definition of hygiene is healthy habits that include bathing, keeping the mouth clean, keeping the skin protected from the sun and washing hands frequently before handling edibles to insure the safe delivery of food.
Good and Bad Hygiene
The difference between good and bad hygiene is:
Good hygiene keep you protected from things, like germs and dangerous UV rays from the sun, in the environment that can hurt you
Bad hygiene allows these things to affect your body and probably make you sick
The Benefits of Good Hygiene
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, addressing the spread of germs in schools is essential to the health of our youth, our schools, and our nation
Good hygiene prevents the spread of germs
It also helps to give a good first impression to others
Healthy Skin: Hand Washing
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) 22 million school days are lost each year due to the common cold.
Some viruses and bacteria can live from 20 minutes up to 2 hours or more on surfaces like cafeteria tables, doorknobs, and desks
If you do eat these things, you may want to brush immediately afterwards
Protection From the Sun
Cancer researchers believe childhood sunburns may increase a person's risk of developing melanoma, the most serious skin cancer.
Most of the more than 1 million cases of nonmelanoma skin cancer diagnosed yearly in the United States are considered to be sun-related.
Protection From the Sun
80% of the average person's lifetime sun exposure happens before age 18.
Skin cancer is the most common of all cancers. It accounts for nearly half of all cancers in the United States.
How to Protect Yourself
Avoid the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Seek shade: Look for shade, especially in the middle of the day when the sun's rays are strongest.
Cover your head with a wide-brimmed hat, shading your face, ears, and neck.
How to Protect Yourself
Wear sunglasses
Cover up with protective clothing to guard as much skin as possible when you are out in the sun. Choose comfortable clothes made of tightly woven fabrics that you cannot see through when held up to a light.
Sunscreen
Use sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or higher.
Apply a generous amount about a palmful all over areas of your skin that are exposed.
Put it on 15-20 minutes before going out in the sun.
Sunscreen
Reapply after swimming, toweling dry, or perspiring.
Reapply every two hours
Use sunscreen even on hazy or overcast days.
Sunscreen
More time in the sun!
If you could spend 10 minutes in the sun without sunscreen and you apply SPF 15… Now you can stay in the sun for 2 hours!
If you do get a sunburn, use a lotion or aloe vera on the skin.
Review
Hygiene: Lather, Rinse, Repeat.
Teeth: Brush, Floss, Rinse.
Sunscreen: Slip, Slop, Slap
Resources
National Food Service Management Institute (2002). Wash Your Hands. Retrieved May 18, 2005 from http://www.nfsmi.org/Information/handsindex.html
Lesson Plans (2004). Why Wash? Retrieved May 19, 2005 from http://www.lessonplanspage.com/PEWhyWashHygieneComics2.htm
American Dental Association (2005). Animation and Games. Retrieved May 20, 2005 from http://www.ada.org/public/games/animation/interface.asp
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2004). Stopping Germs at Home, Work, and School. Retrieved May 26,2005 from http://www.cdc.gov/germstopper/home_work_school.htm
World Health Organization(1948-2005). Definition of Health. Retrieved May 26, 2005 from http://www.who.int/about/definition/en/
American Cancer Society (2005). Skin Cancer Facts. Retrieved May 22, 2005 from
