SCOTT GULLEDGE / Scroll
Using nice-smelling products is important to having good hygiene.

Hygiene is good for you – and everyone else

Kadie Sharp SHA04007@BYUI.EDU lifestyle asst. editor

You walk into the crowded elevator and to your surprise your best friend from eighth grade is next to you.

As the two of you begin to talk, you realize she has really bad breath — and you have to stand three inches from her for four more floors.

Hygiene, whether good or bad, is part of everyone’s life and a source of anxiety for most people.

“I notice lack of deodorant and food in the teeth,” said John Houston, a junior from Camas, Wash. “I’m a big fan of mouthwash.”

Not all anxiety is just about whether or not one has good hygiene. Sometimes it is an anxiety created because of the lack of hygiene in others.

“Bad breath is the most common hygiene problem,” said Michael Steinberg, a freshman from Bloomington, Ill. “A lot of people get stuck on campus and don’t brush their teeth during the day.”

Halitosis, otherwise known as bad breath, is a hygiene problem most people are aware of in others, but not themselves.

Part of the reason might be due to the fact that most people are uneducated in the many causes of bad breath.

According to the American Dental Association, top causes of bad breath include, but are not limited to, types of food such as onions and garlic, particles of food left in the mouth, some medications, dry mouth or a medical disorder.

Visiting the dentist regularly, brushing twice a day and flossing once a day are three suggestions the American Dental Association gives to solve a problem with bad breath.

Mouthwash is not one of the association’s suggestions because “mouthwashes are generally cosmetic and do not have a long-lasting effect on bad breath.”

The real question is what to do when someone has a hygiene problem. Most people would agree it is easier to tell someone they have a hygiene problem if they know the person well.

“If it wasn’t uncomfortable in today’s society, I would tell them. But everyone makes a big deal about it and get offended. So it makes it hard to say anything about it,” Steinberg said.

When working in close proximity with others, bad hygiene can be unbearable. Coworker or employer-employee relationships can become strained if bad hygiene is a problem.

According to the Job Accommodation Network, in a study done for the U.S. Department of Labor, “ignoring hygiene problems or dealing with them indirectly may allow them to continue until they start interfering with the work of other employees or driving customers away.”

Some tips the Job Accommodation Network gave to employers are to first, know how to discuss the problem with the employee, and then meet with the employee in a private area to discuss it.

“The employer should be sensitive but direct … In some cases, the employee may be unaware that a problem exists,” according to the Job Accommodation Network.

The employer should then make sure the employee knows how to fix the problem and should offer help if needed.