Health is a state of well-being for humans in which all aspects of the mind and body are in balance. It also operates and integrates all other subsystems. In other words, the human body’s physical health considers fitness relating to the body’s proper functioning. It is well-known and proven that a healthy person has a sound body and a balanced mind. Health is one of the features of life that makes people live longer.

According to the WHO, health is the absence of illness and total mental, ethical, physical, and social well-being. If a person is in good physical health, free of illnesses, but always under depression, covetousness, stress, frustration, etc., the person cannot be considered.

1. Mental health – An individual in a state of good and emotional and psychological state is in good mental health. Also, the same individual is expected to behave cordially with fellow people and use his/her cognitive skills to handle various emotions and operations.
2. Social health – An individual’s social health is concerned with his/her socio-economic conditions, access to various services, safety, society status, and various religious or social taboos. We can say a person is in good health if they have good social coordination and camaraderie.
3. Physical health – Any individual capable of undertaking basic tasks and labour and good resistance to various vulnerable diseases is in good physical health. This aspect of health covers proper body functioning and adequate body fitness.

1. Hygiene relates to healthy customs and values which protect and improve health. It concerns the appropriate treatment of water, uniformity, and reliable supply of drinking water-primarily. It also covers all the work undertaken to preserve, improve and sustain fitness. Here, you will know about various types of hygiene.
2. Environmental hygiene – Environmental hygiene comprises both physical as well as biological factors. It is a critical factor and requires quick redressal to ensure better conditions to enhance better health and adequate disease prevention. As a result, you need to ensure proper availability of drinking water, better sanitisation, and other related matters that lead to better environmental hygiene.
3. Food hygiene – Food hygiene is the most vital factor for an individual to remain in good health. We know how harmful contaminated food can be for human consumption. As a result, we need to ensure proper food storage, uninfected food items, proper hygiene and sanitisation while cooking and consuming food.

• Water purity – Pure water is one of the principal providers of well-being and hygiene. Though it seems ordinary, water is an indispensable component of our body. Many people get ill due to the impure water they drink, especially in the villages where people are bathing, washing clothes, and cleaning their cattle in the same water. This water will then lead to dangerous health if used for drinking purposes.
• Nutritious foods – You have to eat healthy food for good health. Some of the food we eat is designed to keep our body warm, while other components give flesh power. Pure milk is one of the most nutritious foods. We mainly use farm vegetables which deliver nutritious meals. A mixed diet is the safest choice for the human body, which provides sufficient quantities of nutrients, vitamins, and calories to support our organs.
• Proper cleanliness – Cleanliness is one of the essential well-being properties. Therefore, you and your surroundings must remain tidy and clean in an effective grooming habit. Whenever dirt is encountered, it incorporates germs. Furthermore, the dirt is lighter in the air and travels in the air. Therefore, a filthy man also has different infections that can be quickly exploited.

In the case of live skin or tissue, antiseptics are used to deter bacteria, while disinfectant sterilises surfaces, appliances, and other inanimate structures. Disinfectants are heavier and hazardous than antiseptic products; thus, they are added not to live tissues but to surfaces or non-living objects.

Concerns about the contamination and infection of fruit, food, and foodstuffs have caused antiseptic and disinfectant to be increasingly used late. The control and prevention of infections by antiseptics and disinfectants are significant. They are the basic washing and sanitation techniques acting as an aid to health, eliminating pathogens that cause surface and living tissue contamination.

Some of the commonly used antiseptics are iodoform and chloroxylenol, while sulfur dioxide and chlorine frequently use disinfectants in various industrial facilities and healthcare sectors. Phenol is used both as antiseptics and disinfectants. When the concentration is 0.2%, it is used as an antiseptic. At the same time, the 1% concentration of the same is used as a disinfectant.

There is a diverse range of health services worldwide with as many different backgrounds and organisational frameworks. The nations should affirmatively design and analyse their health systems according to their needs and finance. However, primary health care and public health interventions are key denominators of all health systems. Here, you will learn about two of the primary health organisations in the world.

1. WHO – WHO or World health organisation is a particular branch of the United Nations that focuses on improving health standards worldwide. Moreover, WHO promotes research, gathers and supplies medical needs, and recognises steps to combat any pandemic.
2. RED CROSS – It is a worldwide movement to deploy world-class first aid training programs. They are actively involved in community welfare and disaster preparedness. The Red Cross follows a set of principles including humanity, impartiality, neutrality, autonomy, voluntary service, unity, and universality.

The concept of health and hygiene is pretty important, and it makes you learn about the essential aspects of them. It means keeping your hands, head, and body safe so that germs and diseases are never transmitting. Your hygiene improves your wellbeing and even changes your quality of life.

1. What is the importance of good health and hygiene?
   Answer: The practice of good health and hygiene ensures any facility meeting hygienic requirements to prevent disease transmission, such as bacterial and viral diseases.

2. How good hygiene is interlinked to better health?
   Answer: Dirty hands transmit a significant proportion of cases of foodborne disease. Therefore, a good habit of hand-washing may reduce the risk of foodborne disease and other diseases effectively.

3. Name some of the unwanted outcomes of poor hygiene?
   Answer: These are skin infections, stomach ache and food poisoning.

4. What is the significance of health education?
   Answer: Health education services allow patients and families to live healthy lives by expanding their knowledge and influencing their actions to care about their well-being, strengthening their physical, mental, emotional and social health.

5. What is poor hygiene?
   Answer: Poor hygiene may be an indication of negligence to one’s well-being, which, as a result, paves the way for psychotic as well as other fatal ailments.