These 7 good hygiene habits may be quietly "stealing" your health!

Ms. Zhao, 51 years old, developed a rash on both elbows without obvious cause one year ago. The rash was lichenoid, accompanied by desquamation and itching. She did not pay attention to treatment at the time. Since then, the symptoms have gradually worsened and expanded. The skin has gradually thickened and the itching has gradually worsened, especially at night, making it difficult to fall asleep, which has seriously affected her work and rest.

Ms. Zhao suffered from itching and finally made up her mind to go to the dermatology department of the hospital. After a series of examinations, she was diagnosed with neurodermatitis .

It turned out that Ms. Zhao worked as a housekeeper, which required her to do long-term cleaning and frequent contact with detergents and other chemicals, which damaged the skin's barrier function and led to neurodermatitis.

Doctors warn that neurodermatitis is a common skin disease with severe itching as the main symptom. It is characterized by paroxysmal skin itching and skin lichenification. It is more common in adults. The cause is often related to mental factors, chronic friction, excessive washing, etc.

If patients wash their skin excessively, the skin barrier function may be damaged, thereby inducing neurodermatitis.

Good hygiene habits are the basis for maintaining health and happiness, but excessive cleaning and hygiene are not necessarily a good thing.

These hygiene "good habits" that you have always adhered to may be quietly "stealing" your health!

01

Wash your hands frequently

There is a layer of natural oil on the surface of the skin, which can keep the skin moisturized and prevent the invasion of harmful microorganisms.

If you over-clean your hands or use disinfectant or soap to clean your hands , the oils will be washed away, causing the skin to lose protection, become dry, tight or itchy, and may even induce diseases such as dyshidrosis, eczema, and dermatitis.

In addition, excessive washing can cause disruption of skin homeostasis and changes in surface flora, making it more susceptible to bacterial infection and inflammation.

02

Nail clippers are too short

Nails are relatively small organs in the human body, but they have many functions. They provide a certain degree of protection for the fingertips, and the role of nails is irreplaceable when picking up small objects.

When trimming nails, if they are trimmed too short, the above physiological functions will not be able to be well completed.

If the nails are trimmed too short, it is easy to cause damage to the nail bed . Bacteria invade based on the damage, easily causing paronychia and damaging the physiological structure of the nail bed. The subsequent growing nails are prone to cause abnormal growth and penetrate into the flesh to form paronychia .

If the nail is severe, it will affect the patient's daily life. In severe cases, it can lead to paronychia and periungual abscess . If necessary, surgical resection or abscess drainage can cure the related diseases.

The correct way to trim your nails:

1. Remember to wash your hands before cutting your nails . If it is the dry autumn and winter season, you can soak them in warm water first.

2. Whether you are cutting fingernails or toenails, leave about 1 mm of blank space , and the length of the nails should exceed the skin of the fingers and toes.

3. Fingernails can be cut into a circle, but toenails should be cut into a square as much as possible . The top of the toenail should be a straight line. Triangles and circles with shorter ends are not correct shapes.

4. After cutting the nails, grind the sharp ends of the nails to make their edges smooth.

03

Clean your belly button regularly

The belly button is a place where dirt and filth are hidden. The "mud" inside is human secretions and metabolic products. It is reported that there may be as many as 1.2 million bacteria in the belly button.

Although there are many bacteria, they are generally harmless to human health.

If you over-clean or pick your belly button incorrectly, it may lead to bacterial infection or other potential problems . This is because the belly button is the weakest part of the abdomen. If you use too much force, it may irritate the intestines in the abdominal cavity, causing spasmodic pain, or even some gastrointestinal reactions, nausea, vomiting and other discomforts.

Because the skin inside the belly button is uneven, a lot of dirt is easily hidden in the folds, so you must be careful to control the strength when cleaning. Do not turn it over forcefully or rub the belly button hard, as this may damage the skin inside the belly button and cause bacterial infection and omphalitis.

How to clean your belly button correctly:

Dip a disposable cotton swab in clean water or 75% medical alcohol, and then gently wipe the inside of your belly button.

Note that you need to be gentle . If one cleaning is not enough, you can clean it multiple times.

After cleaning, keep the belly button clean and dry.

04

Frequent ear cleaning

Many people enjoy picking earwax. They always feel that their ears are not clean. If they don't pick it for a day, they feel like something is missing, and they feel uncomfortable all over. Their ears feel itchy and uncomfortable.

But what people don’t know is that the earwax in the ears is useful “shit”, so don’t “kill it all”!

Frequent ear cleaning is not a good habit, as it may cause damage, increase the chance of external auditory canal inflammation, and spread external auditory canal skin diseases.

Normally, there is no need to clean your ears, because earwax is a greasy substance secreted by the cerumen glands in the external auditory canal. It usually dries into thin flakes or small pieces and can be discharged from the external auditory canal with opening your mouth and chewing, so there is no need to clean your ears frequently.

However, if earwax completely blocks the opening of the external auditory canal, or causes hearing impairment or pain, earwax needs to be removed.

The correct way to clean your ears:

Move slowly and gently, and don't dig too deep .

Use cotton swabs and ear spoons to simply deal with smaller earwax, but be careful not to use hard objects to remove earwax , otherwise it will damage the external auditory canal and thus damage the external auditory canal's own cleaning function.

Under no circumstances should ear cleaning cause pain to the external auditory canal.

05

Cut vegetables before washing

When washing vegetables, many people do not have much idea about whether to "wash first and then cut" or "cut first and then wash". They think whichever is more convenient. However, some people who love cleanliness are accustomed to cutting the vegetables first and then washing them, thinking that this will not get the cutting board wet and the kitchen will be cleaner and tidier.

In fact, behind this seemingly simple question, lies a profound impact on food hygiene and nutrition retention.

The correct way is to wash first and then cut.

If vegetables are cut before washing, it will lead to nutrient loss. The lost nutrients are mainly water-soluble nutrients , such as vitamin B1, vitamin B2, niacin, folic acid, vitamin C, etc. It is also easy to cause the loss of minerals in vegetables , such as potassium, magnesium, manganese, zinc, etc. These minerals are often lost through the water flow process when cutting first and washing later.

In addition, if you cut the vegetables before washing them, the flavonoids and polyphenols contained in the vegetables will be destroyed , and washing them again will easily cause a large loss of nutrients.

In addition, during the cutting process, the cut surface of the vegetables will be exposed and in direct contact with the knife and cutting board. If the knife and cutting board are not clean enough, or have previously handled other foods containing bacteria or viruses, they may penetrate into the interior of the vegetables through the cut surface, increasing the risk of contamination.

06

Stack the washed dishes

After washing the dishes in the kitchen, some people may choose to stack them together, thinking that this can save space. However, this practice poses some health risks.

Stacking washed dishes creates a moist, poorly ventilated environment, which is ideal for bacterial growth .

In such an environment, bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus can multiply rapidly.

These bacteria not only affect food safety, but may also cause digestive system diseases. Especially for middle-aged and elderly people with weak immunity, their health impact cannot be ignored. They can easily induce diarrhea, acute gastroenteritis, Helicobacter pylori infection, etc.

Experimental studies have found that the number of bacteria in stacked tableware is 70 times that of tableware placed upright.

For this reason, it is recommended to place the dishes in a well-ventilated area after washing, ensuring that each dish can be exposed to air to promote quick drying.

07

Make the quilt immediately after getting up

Many people who love cleanliness have a good habit of making their bed and folding their quilt immediately after getting up, but in fact, what you think is a good habit is actually wrong.

We spend 7 to 8 hours a day in bed. When we sleep, the sweat, dead skin and keratin secreted by the skin will fall off into the quilt, which is suitable for the growth of mites.

If you fold the quilt immediately after getting up, the sweat on the quilt will not be able to breathe freely, and over time too many mites will accumulate, which will induce skin diseases.

How to fold a quilt correctly:

After getting up, open the window, turn the quilt over and spread it upwards, let it dry for more than ten minutes and then fold it up . This will help the sweat evaporate.

The most important thing is to wash and dry the quilt frequently, at least once a month.