Personal hygiene is very important, particularly washing of hands after defecation and before eating and cooking. In the face of Ebola outbreak in the country, OYEYEMI GBENGA-MUSTAPHA writes on natural ways of maintaining personal hygiene.
Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases. Medical hygiene therefore includes a specific set of practices associated with this preservation of health, for example environmental cleaning, sterilisation of equipment, hand hygiene, water and sanitation and safe disposal of medical waste.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) despite water shortage and restricted sanitation facilities in emergency situations, it’s critical to ensure that some of the available water supply is used for personal hygiene to minimise health risks. Messages about the importance of hand washing with soap at critical times-i.e. after defecation, after handling babies’ faeces, and before preparing food-are particularly important. As soap may be in short supply during emergencies, the use of ash, sand, lime or other culturally acceptable substitutes should be promoted.
In extreme settings where people are poor, and at highest risk for morbidity and mortality from infectious disease, the greater need is for families to spend what little income they have on food. For these communities, the use of clean and dried soil and ash for hand washing is preferable to using water only, because it is more effective.
Hand washing is particularly important in reducing the burden of infectious and parasitic diseases. The hands are the last line of defense against exposure to pathogens which can occur either directly from the hand to the mouth, eye, nose, or other area of the skin, or indirectly by “handling” of food or water.
For some communities, the use of clean and dried soil and ash for hand washing is preferable to using water only, because it is more effective. In public health, it is generally accepted that hand washing with soap should be preferred over mud, soil or ash, which in turn is preferable to using water only. All of these options are preferred over no hand washing at all. Government needs to encourage the use of soap rather than mud, soil or ash, but where there is dire need of water, these natural options are in tandem. According to WHO, ash main benefit is its being an abrasive agent.
Another common soap is the black soap. In West Africa, black soap is known by its Yoruba name, Ose dudu. ‘Dudu’ means the colour black, which comes from the extensive ‘cooking’ of the soap to the point of charcoal. Many cultures in West Afrca use charcoal to detoxify and purify the skin, and this is an integral aspect of the true black soap.\Black soap is made from a centuries of old recipe of handcrafted shea butter and indigenous West African palm kernel oil. Saponification is provided by adding ashes to the hot oils, then cooking the soap for six hours. The final step is to dry and cure the soap in the sun for three weeks. Black soap is a multipurpose soap, suitable for cleaning, washing shaving, shampooing, and as a general hand and body wash.
According to the Director, Corporate Affairs/health and Value Business, Pfizer, Mrs Maggie Olele, other ways not to contract Ebola virus include nonlaying of hands, anointing and holding hands in churches among Pastors, Priests and the congregation and non sharing of Choir gowns et al.
“At the hair salon the use of unsterilised towels and pedicure, manicure sets can transmit Ebola virus, just as with physical checking of luggage at the airport – the officers are wearing gloves, but have checked myraids of luggage, they will ransack towels et. al. they are safe, you are not. You can insist that the officer change his gloves, while he checks your luggage.
“People, especially drivers who patronise the mobile local (hausa) pedicure and barbers are exposing themselves as well. Persons who patronise sex workers and sex workers, considering that it is advised that a person with Ebola must hang on for seven weeks before he or she gets a bit proactive with sex ( fidelity to partners is crucial at this point),” she said.
According to the Centre for Disease Control (CDC), washing hands with soap and water is the best way to reduce the number of microbes on them in most situations. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 per cent alcohol. Why? Many studies have found that sanitizers with an alcohol concentration between 60–95 per cent are more effective at killing germs than those with a lower alcohol concentration or non-alcohol-based hand sanitizers. Non-alcohol-based hand sanitizers may (1) not work equally well for all classes of germs (for example, Gram-positive vs. Gram-negative bacteria, Cryptosporidium, norovirus); (2) cause germs to develop resistance to the sanitizing agent; (3) merely reduce the growth of germs rather than kill them outright, or (4) be more likely to irritate skin than alcohol-based hand sanitizers.
Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can quickly reduce the number of microbes on hands in some situations, but sanitizers do not eliminate all types of germs. Why? Although alcohol-based hand sanitizers can inactivate many types of microbes very effectively when used correctly, people may not use a large enough volume of the sanitizers or may wipe it off before it has dried. Furthermore, soap and water are more effective than hand sanitizers at removing or inactivating certain kinds of germs, like Cryptosporidium, norovirus, and Clostridium difficile.
