COMMUNITY HYGIENE

COMMUNITY
A community is a social unit with commonality such as norms, religion, values, customs, or identity.
Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area or in virtual space through
communication platforms.

HYGIENE
"Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of
diseases." Personal hygiene refers to maintaining the body's cleanliness.

COMMUNITY HYGIENE
Some health measures can be undertaken only by the community as a whole; these include water
source protection, proper disposal of solid waste and excreta, wastewater drainage, controlling animal
rearing and market hygiene. Some of these issues have been described in earlier sections. Individual
community members play an important role in community hygiene, and have a responsibility to their
neighbours and to the community to promote good health and a clean environment. For example,
everyone in the village must keep their houses and compounds clean, because one dirty house can
affect many conscientious neighbours and contribute to the spread of disease. Community leaders can
promote cleanliness in the home by regularly checking on village households and by using by-laws to
encourage household maintenance

1. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
Community hygiene plays a major role in maintaining health and fitness. Hygiene is a vital link between
water, sanitation and health . Community hygiene can prevent diseases as-well-as can lower down the
death rates. If the surroundings are kept clean by each and every individual , it ensures a healthy
community and more prominent life . With hygienic community not only the human beings are
benefited but also animals live a healthy life . To ensure health and fitness it the responsibility of the
community to remain hygienic by keeping the surroundings clean and dust - free.
Community should take some pledges like :-
 To throw garbage in dustbin rather than polluting surroundings and river bodies.
 Plant a tree every month .
 Avoid the more usage of vehicles to so as to avoid the air pollution.
 Good hygiene education should be taught to every individual in the society.
 Also follow the swacch Bharat policy to keep the community healthy and fit.

Good hygiene results in better health by helping prevent the spread of illnesses and infections. For
example, if you use a public bathroom without washing your hands with soap and water before you
leave, you transmit germs on your hands when you push or pull open the door to exit. The next person
who touches the door to exit picks up your germs and transmits them to whatever he/she touches next
and so on.

2. TYPES OF HYGIENE?
There are two types of Hygiene:
1. Personal Hygiene
- the aim of personal hygiene is to promote standards of personal cleanliness, within the setting
of the condition where people live. Personal hygiene includes bathing, laundering, washing hands and
toileting, care of nails, feet, teeth, spitting, coughing, sneezing, personal appearance and inculcation of
clean habits when young.
- means cleanliness of your person or your body
WASHING HANDS
Proper handwashing is one of the most effective ways of preventing the spread of
diarrhoeal diseases. Pathogens cannot be seen on hands, and water alone is not always
sufficient to remove them. Soap and wood ash are both cleansing and disinfecting
agents when used with water and can be used to kill pathogens on hands and utensils.
The most important times that hands should be washed with soap and water are: •
After defecating. • After cleaning a child who has defecated. • Before eating or handling
food
BATHING
Regular bathing and laundering are important for cleanliness and good personal
appearance. They also prevent hygiene-related diseases such as scabies, ringworm,
trachoma, conjunctivitis and louse-borne typhus.
 LAUNDERING
To promote laundering of clothes and bedding, laundry slabs or sinks can be constructed
near water points. They should be large enough to wash bedding and other bulky items
and be situated so that water drains away from the laundry area and away from the
water source. Locating laundry places in natural water bodies, streams and irrigation
canals is best avoided if possible, since this practice can contribute to the transmission
of schistosomiasis.

2. Environmental Hygiene
This is again classified into two types:
 Domestic hygiene
- domestic hygiene comprises of home, use of soap, need of fresh air, light, ventilation, hygiene
in storage of food, disposal of waste, avoidance of household pests, rats, mice, insects.
- means cleanliness in your home

 Community hygiene
- It includes safe disposal of human excreta, control of vectors responsible for transmission of
diseases, control of air and water pollution.
Safe Disposal of Human Excreta
Control of Disease Vectors in the Community:
 Environmental Control
 Chemical Control
 Biological Measures
 Genetic Control
Control of Air and Water Pollution:
 Air Pollution
 Water Pollution

3 . Main Causes of Poor Community Hygiene

John Snow convincingly proved that cholera spreads due to contamination of the drinking water with
human excreta. This he did, long before there was discovery of the bacteria responsible for
causing cholera. This led to the principle of sanitation barrier. Sanitation barrier is a method of
segregating human feces from water, fingers, flies, soil and food. This sanitation barrier can be
effectively created by provision of a sanitary latrine.

Sanitary latrines should be preferably sewered, water-flush type. It should ensure that the feces are not
accessible for flies and odor is not emanated. Also the latrines should see that the feces do not
contaminate soil, ground water, or food. If drainage facilities are available, then it should be treated and
converted into harmless substance before disposing off in sea, river or other place chosen. For this, the
feces are subjected to primary and secondary treatment before disposal. If drainage facilities are not
available, septic tank or aqua privy provide safe alternative.

Control of disease vectors in the community:

The general principles involved in controlling vectors of the disease in environment are as following:

Environmental control: it includes minor engineering works like, source reduction (by filling, leveling
and drainage of breeding places), carefully planned water management, provision of piped water
supply, proper disposal of refuse and other wastes, cleanliness in and around houses.

Chemical control: use of insecticides and rodenticides (like DDT, Malathion, Paris green, etc) help for
control of mosquitoes, flies and rodents that can spread diseases to human beings. However, it should
be ensured that the insects and rodents are not resistant to the chemicals intended for use.

Biological measures of vector control include, use of fishes like Gambusia and Lebister which feed on
larvae of mosquitoes and help in controlling their breeding. Also useful are fungi like Coelomomyces
which are pathogenic to mosquitoes.

Genetic control: theoretically it is possible to control vectors by using techniques like sterile male
technique, chromosomal incompatibility and chromosomal translocations, etc.
However, a single measure is likely to become outdated in the long term and neither do they provide
solutions in every situation. Therefore it is important that all measures are used in an integrated
manner to control vectors to obtain maximum benefits with minimal inputs.

Control of air and water pollution:

Air pollution can be minimized by containing the dust smoke or harmful gases at the site of production.
The technology should be used to replace sources of air pollution with one making no/ lesser pollution.
For example, use of electricity or LPG helps to reduce the pollution caused by wood or cow dung when
cooking food. Establishing green belts between industrial and residential areas helps to reduce the
effects of air pollution on general population. Using legal measures like raising height of chimneys of
factories, creating smokeless zones, keeping vehicles conditioned etc also help in reduction of air
pollution.

Water pollution: water bodies have their capacity to cleanse themselves, provided if their pollution level
can be kept minimal and sufficient time is provided for the natural forces to act. However, engineering
measures can be used to minimize water pollution, for example, treatment of industrial wastes,
recycling industrial effluents, incineration of toxic materials etc. Legal measures also help in reducing
the water pollution.

Health Education

All said and done, the {personal and environmental} hygiene will be optimally maintained only if the
people themselves participate. To enable them in doing this, health education regarding prevention of
pollution, motivating them to behave responsibly is important.

The ultimate aim of the public health is to prevent the disease, prolong life, promote health efficiency
through organized community efforts for the sanitation of the environment, the control of
communicable infections, and the education of the individual in personal hygiene, and the organization
of medical and nursing services for early diagnosis and preventive treatment of the diseases.
3. MAIN CAUSES OF POOR COMMUNITY HYGIENE
Poor hygiene can be a sign of self-neglect, which is the inability or unwillingness to attend to one's
personal needs. Poor hygiene often accompanies certain mental or emotional disorders, including
severe depression and psychotic disorders. Dementiais another common cause of poor hygiene. Other
people may develop poor hygiene habits due to social factors such as poverty or inadequacy of social
support. Physical disabilities can also interfere with one's ability to care for oneself and may result in an
individual being unable to attend to personal hygiene. There is no treatment for poor hygiene, although
antipsychotic and antidepressant medications are used when certain mental illnesses are the cause of
this behavior.

Community Hygiene
Community hygiene is of the life conditions in them and the influence of these conditions on the health
and efficiency of the population. Several community development activities can be used to achieve this
goal, including education and learning programs, encouraging community management of
environmental health facilities, and social mobilization and organization. Hygiene promotion is not
simply a matter of providing information. It is more a dialogue with communities about hygiene and
related health problems, to encourage improved hygiene practices.

In India, most people defecate outdoors, most along roadsides, in or next to communal water supplies
and in common areas, due to lack of toilets. This is the cause of many health problems, and also of
discomfort for many women, who often have to wait until it gets dark before looking for a safe place to
urine or defecate.

Some health measures can be undertaken only by the community as a whole. These include:

Water source protection

Proper disposal of solid waste and excreta:

Solid waste is defined as any waste that is dry in form and is discarded by people as unwanted. You can
describe the solid waste from general housekeeping as residential waste, refuse, household waste or
domestic waste. Waste produced in other areas is defined as industrial, commercial, institutional or
agricultural waste, or street sweepings, depending on its source. In urban settings, municipal waste
refers to the solid waste that is collected by local government (the municipality) and may include
household, commercial, industrial waste and street sweepings. The solid waste that is produced as a
result of food preparation, or any foodstuff leftover after eating, is called kitchen waste or garbage.

Solid Waste Management can be classified into five main stages these are:

Onsite handling, storage and processing

Source of Solid Waste

Street refuse
Market refuse
Stable litter
Industrial refuse
Domestic refuse.

Collection of Solid Waste

House to House collection

Methods of Solid Waste Management

Insanitary Method:

Hog Feeding
Dumping

Sanitary Method:

Sanitary landfill/ Controlled tipping

The waste or by product that is obtained from human digestion is called human excreta. Since human
waste is unhygienic, it is often transferred as sewage through sewerage systems. It is also considered as
bio waste which is very useful to plant. Human excreta are the cause of many enteric diseases such as
cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, typhoid, infectious hepatitis, hookworm etc.

Methods of Excreta Disposal

Insanitary Method:

Open Defection
Conservancy system /Cartage. Example : Bucket latrine

Sanitary Method:

Pit latrine
Pour flush / Water seal latrine
Composting latrine
Aqua privy
Sulabh Shauchalya
Chemical closet
Biogas plant
Latrines suitable for camps and temporary use

Wastewater drainage

Wastewater is any water that is discharged by domestic residences, commercial properties and industry
that encompasses contaminants and concentrations.

Drainage is used in the English language to refer to the emptying of something by allowing liquid to run
out of it. This word is also defined in some quarters as the practice of removing contents from
something. Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of surface and sub-surface water from an area.
Many agricultural soils need drainage to improve production or to manage water supplies.

Waste water drainage: “Waste Water” is used water (e.g. water used for washing, bathing, cleansing,
flushing etc. in households, business premises etc.) which is discharged in the directly to the drain and
the septic tank used exclusively to cope with sewage from the water closets.

Under waste disposal these items are needed to be considered:

Rain water from streets, roofs of buildings, and other more or less impervious areas;
Waste water: including industrial waste from factories, laundries, breweries;
Water closet system.
Rain water disposal: Pipes discharge into open gutters. Rainwater from streets and other impervious
surfaces enters storm-water outlets which discharge into the sea or, sewers by gullies.

Water closet system: Apparatus for treatment of excreta, which is connected to sewer by pipe, and, in
which water is used to carry away the excrement. Soil Pipe for conveying excreta from water closet to
house drain.

House drain: Underground pipe connecting soil pipe and sewer. Receives discharges from soil pipe,
rainwater and waste water from baths and sinks

Sewer: a sewer is an underground pipe for conveyance of rainwater and sewage. It conveys household
effluents and trade effluents.

Septic tank: A septic tank is a water-tight receptacle used to break down sewage by conservancy, so that
the sewage becomes septic and decomposition occurs through the action of anaerobic bacteria
organisms, which naturally grow in the sewage under suitable conditions. The septic tank is provided for
the purpose of separating the liquid from the solids so that the effluent or liquid portion, which flows
from the tank, is rendered comparatively innocuous.

Markets:

Markets often represent a health hazard because foodstuffs may not be stored properly and because
the markets may lack basic services, such as water supply, sanitation, solid waste disposal and drainage.
Ideally, markets should have several taps to provide traders and customers with ready access to safe
water for drinking and washing. Many vegetable and fruit sellers regularly sprinkle their produce with
water, and it is important that they have access to clean water for this. The sanitation facilities should
also be appropriate for the number of people who will visit the market, with separate facilities for men
and women. Water and sanitation facilities for a market are often relatively easy to support by charging
a small user fee, or by using part of the market fee to pay for such services.

Foodstuffs sold at the market should also be clean and hygienic. This is particularly important for meat
and fish, which should be thoroughly inspected before sale to ensure that they have been prepared
hygienically and that they do not contain pathogens or other contaminants. Markets usually generate a
lot of solid waste and it is important that it is disposed off properly, to prevent vermin such as rats and
insects from feeding and breeding among it. The layout of market stalls should thus allow easy access
for vehicles that collect waste and clean the area. Solid waste should be collected and disposed off daily.
Strategically located waste bins (often concrete bunkers) can make this more effective. Market areas
should also be properly drained to prevent flooding and insect breeding.

Animal rearing:

In many communities animal rearing is a means of generating food high in protein content and
nutritional value, and for generating additional income. Animals can also provide many other products,
such as leather and fuel that improve the quality of life. However, if it is not practiced safely, animal
rearing can have negative effects on the health of the community.

Animals should always be kept away from households, particularly cooking areas and drinking-water
sources, since their excreta contains pathogens that can contaminate food and water.
Animals should be kept in compounds at least 100 metres from water sources and 10 metres from
houses.
Animal waste should be disposed of properly, away from homes and water sources, or be used as a
fertilizer.
It is also best that animals are slaughtered away from households and water sources, since the offal and
wastes may introduce contamination.
Some disease vectors prefer animal hosts to humans, for example dogs can be reservoirs of
leishmaniasis, and some mosquitoes prefer to feed on cattle rather than humans. Placing animal
shelters between mosquito breeding places and the village may therefore provide some protection
against malaria transmission.