1. Health Class January 6, 2009

2. Good hygiene doesn’t just keep a person clean  Good hygiene helps keep the skin intact to fight infection and prevent injuries.  Good hygiene removes from the skin substances in which bacteria will grow, reducing the risk of infection.  Good hygiene keeps the mouth and gums healthy, which makes eating easier and therefore promotes good nutrition.  Good hygiene allows you to rest comfortably.

3. Wash Your Hands  Wash your hands because it's the single most important way to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.

4. Wash Your Hands  We all should know the importance of washing after using the toilet, yet less than 50 percent of people actually do it -- and almost no one does it properly.  Wash for 30 to 45 seconds, scrubbing between fingers and under nails. It's even a good idea to lather, rinse and repeat.

5. Question  What are three advantages of good hygiene?

6. Answers  One advantage of good hygiene is it helps to keep the skin intact which prevents infections.  Another advantage is it removes harmful bacteria.  A third advantage of good hygiene is it keeps the mouth and gums healthy which promotes good nutrition.

7. Question  What is the single most important thing you can do to prevent diseases?

8. Answer  Wash your hands!!!!!!!!

9. Be Cloth Specific  People often use the same sponge or cloth to clean everything in the kitchen -- the counter, the dishes, the cutting board, etc.  People often use the same sponges and cloths to wash their faces and bodies.

10. Cross-contamination  To prevent cross-contamination. Use a different implement for each cleaning task in the kitchen and bathroom. Disinfect cutting boards after each use.

11. Q & A  What do you think cross-contamination means?

12. Cleaning Sponges  Replace the sponge frequently. Sponges and scrubbers provide the warm, moist conditions and trapped food particles on which bacteria thrive. The bacteria can multiply, increasing from a few to millions in a matter of hours. You should keep a sponge (for use in the kitchen) no longer than a week. Between uses, clean it with an antibacterial cleaning product and let it dry. Look for thinner sponges, which dry faster.

13. Vacuum Cleaners  Empty the vacuum. Dangerous organisms such as salmonella could be multiplying in your vacuum cleaner bag, waiting to be released into the air every time you vacuum. Empty the collection bag at least monthly, or switch to a vacuum with a HEPA filter, which reduces airborne pollution.

14. Disinfect the garbage can  Germs that grow in your garbage can don't always stay there. It's common for a plastic liner to leak, allowing waste to collect in the bottom of the can (bin). Then when someone empties the container, the person typically sets the bag on a surface such as the floor, a counter or a chair, spreading the bacteria to that surface as well as his or her hands.  Spray garbage cans with a disinfectant after every bag.

15. Bath Towels  Change the towels.  The average person sloughs off 1 million skin cells an hour. Bath towels harbor those cells and their bacteria, and can serve as a terry-cloth petrie dish if they're folded and left in a damp bathroom.  Hang towels unfolded to let them air dry, and replacing them with clean towels after three uses.

16. Your Toothbrush  Protect your toothbrush. Every time a toilet is flushed, fecal matter and bacteria spray 20 feet in the air.  Keep your toothbrush out of the line of fire by storing it in a drawer, cabinet or other enclosed place.

17. Your Toothbrush  You should also sanitize your toothbrush daily by rinsing it with peroxide or mouthwash.  Yes, the germs on your toothbrush are your own, but they can multiply to enormous numbers between uses.

18. Question  What are some ways you can protect your toothbrush?

19. Answer  Keep your toothbrush out of the line of fire by storing it in a drawer, cabinet or other enclosed place.  You should also sanitize your toothbrush daily by rinsing it with peroxide or mouthwash.

20. Sleep Hygiene Tips  Go to bed at the same time. Wake up at the same time. Ideally, your schedule will remain the same (+/- 20 minutes) every night of the week.  Naps decrease the ‘Sleep Debt’ that is so necessary for easy sleep onset.  Each of us needs a certain amount of sleep per 24-hour period. We need that amount, and we don’t need more than that.

21. Student Questions  Questions should be related to hygiene.  Questions should be inoffensive.  Questions should be mature.  Questions may be about hair.