Everything you know about your hygiene is wrong. Most people's hygiene is worse than they actually think. The following interesting facts about hygiene and health will make you rethink and change your current habits.
1. Facts about hygiene and health: Antibacterial hand soap can change your hormonal levels. Plus, it's not nearly as effective as you think. Most antibacterial soaps contain the chemical triclosan. It has been proven that this changes hormonal levels. Triclosan is found in 75% of all antibacterial soaps, as well as cleaning products and some toothpastes. Aside from the possible effects of triclosan, antibacterial soap is in no way more effective than regular soap.
2. Although washing clothes can remove dirt from them, there is also a chance that excrement will infest your laundry. Research shows that washing underwear in the washing machine can release 100 million Escherichia coli. This is a bacteria that lives in the large intestine. They are transferred to the clothes the next time they are washed. Specialists recommend washing underwear at higher temperatures and removing them from the machine immediately after the end of the washing program, as bacteria multiply in a humid environment. This is inevitable.
3. You probably spend a lot of time in the dirtiest place in your house. The bathroom can contain up to 2 million bacteria per square inch, and more than 500,000 bacteria per square inch live in the drainpipe of the kitchen sink.
Other interesting facts
4. If you dry your hands with a hand dryer, it might be better to switch back to regular paper towels. Paper towels are much more hygienic than hand dryers. In addition, more energy is used for this. The paper towels are the cleanest way to dry your hands. When you use a hand dryer, your hands usually stay moist, which actually attracts bacteria. For comparison: drying your hands with paper towels takes around 15 seconds, but with a hand dryer it takes 45 seconds, although most people stop after 13 to 17 seconds.
5. More microorganisms can live in the mouth than you can imagine. A study shows that 67% of all test subjects with fixed braces have yeast fungi. 50% of all have bacteria that can cause dangerous infections. In most cases, the problem lies in poor cleaning and poor hygiene.
6. The 5 second rule is wrong. The 5 second rule should be renamed the 0 second rule because 99% of all bacteria immediately get onto food that has fallen on the floor. Some floor coverings are more dangerous: There are more microorganisms in the bathroom.
Hygiene and health are closely linked
7. Clean your belly button more often. A study found that 2,365 unique bacteria live in the human belly button, 1,458 of which were previously unknown to science. So pay more attention to your belly button.
8. Struggling with acne may be wrong. Some products that are supposed to help fight acne can actually make the problem worse. Specialists explain that the problem with acne arises under the skin, which makes the products useless. Acne soaps can contain too much fat or oil, which can actually make acne worse.
9. Showering with shampoo every day is harmful. It is often said in the media that using shampoo daily does not harm the scalp or hair. However, dermatologists have a different opinion. The more often you wash your hair, the more sebum the sebaceous glands produce.This is how the body fightsagainst constant washing and drying out. Hair should not be washed more than 3 times a week.