Personal Hygiene
This domain tests everyday hygiene practices that prevent infection and support health: body, oral, hand, food, menstrual and footwear hygiene.
Core practices
- Hand hygiene: wet hands, apply soap, scrub palms, backs, between fingers and under nails for about 20 seconds, rinse and dry. Wash after using the toilet, before eating or preparing food, after coughing or sneezing, and after handling waste.
- Body and oral hygiene: bathe daily, especially after sport; brush teeth twice daily with fluoride toothpaste; change underwear and socks daily.
- Food hygiene: wash raw fruit and vegetables, separate raw meat from cooked food, cover food, use clean utensils, and keep cold food cold.
- Menstrual hygiene: change pads or tampons every 4–6 hours, wash the genital area with clean water, and dispose of pads wrapped, not flushed.
- Foot hygiene: dry between toes, wear clean absorbent socks, and avoid sharing footwear or nail clippers.
Worked example
A school canteen worker has a small cut on one finger. Reasoning: the cut can carry bacteria to food. Cover it with a waterproof dressing, wash hands before returning, and avoid touching cooked food with the bare hand; use tongs or gloves. If the wound cannot be covered, the worker should not handle food. This breaks the chain of infection at the transmission stage.
Traps that cost marks
- Hand sanitiser is not a substitute for soap and water when hands are visibly dirty or greasy.
- Sharing towels, razors or nail clippers can spread skin infections.
- Menstrual blood is not unclean in a moral sense; the hygiene issue is changing absorbents and washing.
- Do not flush pads or tampons down the toilet.