Health & Fitness Guide » Personal Hygiene

Right Way To Floss Your Teeth

admin — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 10:39:34 +0000

If you’ve ever wound that waxy thread around your fingertips and then tried to force it through the tiny space between your teeth, you know that flossing is not as simple as the Dental Hygenist makes it look. It may be good for your teeth and gums, but it sure can hurt your poor fingertips! Not to mention the hassle of winding and re-winding the slippery string as the pressure of forcing it between your teeth pulls it loose.

There’s got to be an easier way!

One alternative is the Braun Oral B Interclean (R) flosser. This interesting product looks a lot like an electric toothbrush, except that where you’d normally find the brush, you’ll find a pointy plastic tip with a thread-thin filament that rotates and can dart in and out. It’s that plastic filament that you insert between each of your teeth. Its spinning motion cleans the plaque from between your teeth.

One of the trickiest parts of using the Interclean is holding the plastic tip at just the right angle and location between your teeth to allow the filament to insert into the available space. For this reason, you’ll want to use the product while you’re standing in front of a mirror. Before long, you’ll learn just how to hold the Interclean to get the best results.

1. Put a new tip on the Interclean each time before you use it. You may also need to replace the tip once or twice during each session, if the filament bends or stops coming out of the tip. As you get better at holding the Interclean in place, you’ll be able to replace tips less frequently (but always use a new one for each session).

2. Slide the switch on the Interclean handle upward once or twice to test that the filament comes out of the tip and rotates. It’s important to make sure that this is working before you start cleaning your teeth and to check it periodically while cleaning your teeth. If the filament isn’t coming out of the tip properly, it won’t be effective in cleaning your teeth.

3. Hold your Interclean like an electric toothbrush, and position the tip perpendicular to your teeth, just at the gum line. You’ll probably want to start with the space between your front teeth, because it’s generally one of the easiest to clean.

4. Slide the switch on the Interclean handle and hold it up (so that the filament is out and spinning) for 2-3 seconds. You’ll feel the filament spinning and cleaning the space between your teeth.

5. Release the switch and the filament retracts into the tip.

6. Move the Interclean tip to the space between the next to teeth, right at the gum line, and repeat Steps 3 and 4. Continue until each set of teeth has been cleaned.

Body Odor – Causes and Remedies

admin — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:29:43 +0000

Body odor is a big thing in America and many have an aversion to it. It is the source of much self-consciousness and locker room antics. This also supports a huge industry selling soaps, fragrances, deodorants, and antiperspirants to a willing public. Many other cultures, though, do not understand the problem Americans have with body odor. Some cultures consider body odor normal, acceptable, and even erotic. Body odor is what happens when sweat and other skin secretions are acted apon by occurring bacteria.

There are two different glands that produce sweat. One gland is call the eccrine gland and they are dispersed throughout the body, but are concentrated in the armpits,

soles of feet, palms of hands, and the forehead. When the body over heats, from hot weather, physical exertion, or fervor, the eccrine glands help regulate body temperature by giving off a solution of water and salts that evaporates and cools the skin down.

The second type of gland is the apocrine glands. These glands are concentrated in the armpits and groin area. Apocrine glands develop during the stages of puberty and have nothing to do with body temperature. These glands respond to sexual arousal, nervousness, and anger. They can sometimes respond to heat and exertion. The sweat produced by these glands is rich in organic substances that attract bacteria and produce a strong odor. Scientists say that our ancestors recognized these smells as sexual signs, just like in most animals.

Symptoms of having body odor would include a distinctive, sweaty odor, especially forming from the armpits, groin, and feet. This smell is usually considered unpleasant. Any unusual odor emitted from body tissue, different from a sweaty smell, is body odor, even though it is not unpleasant.

Body odor is caused not by sweat at all. Bacteria that occurs on the skin makes a person develop what we all recognize as a sweaty smell. The smell is escpically high in the feet, armpits, and groin because those areas have high concentration sweat glands. Clothes and shoes trap perspiration in, encouraging bacterial activity. Eating certain foods and taking certain drugs can also cause a distinctive smell. For instance the cancer fighting

Body odors that smell fruity or like nail polish remover may indicate that a disease is present or a metabolic problem exists. Such diseases may include kidney disease, diabetes, various gastrointestinal problems and fungal infections. A person who is presciently non-sweaty and has a non-sweaty smell should be checked by a doctor.

Some things that can be done to prevent body odor is to wash with soap and water, sometimes two or three times a day. Antibacterial soaps and lotions will help kill the bacteria that causes the sweaty smell. Deodorants containing mild antibacterial agents and scents will help slow the bacteria down. They, however, do not stop perspiration: they merely cover up the scent. Once an antiperspirant is chosen, be patient with it and use daily for two weeks to get maximum effectiveness.

How to Take Care of Teeth

admin — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:23:27 +0000

Your adult teeth are meant to last you for the rest of your life so you should be taking care of them. There are many ways to keep your teeth and gums healthy. For starters, brushing your teeth after every meal as well as after eating anything too sugary will help cut down on cavities. Your toothbrush should be large for adult and small for a child. Hard bristles are hard on the gums so you will want your tooth brush to have medium or soft bristles. When you put toothpaste on the toothbrush, it should be the size of a lima bean.

For children, the toothpaste drop should be the size of a pea. Start by brushing your molars, top and bottom. Then brush the sides of your teeth, this will be the easiest part. Make sure you get all of them, if you have wisdom teeth brush them as much as you can. You should be able to brush all sides of your teeth in 3 minutes, minimum.

Next, comes flossing. You will need a piece of floss about a foot long. Wrap about an inch of one end around one finger and an inch of the other end around another finger on the opposite hand. Starting at the back and working your way forward, push the piece of floss between your teeth. When it reaches the gums pull it back up and move on. This will remove plaque and bits of food from between your teeth. When you have finished flossing your teeth you can throw the floss away.

After flossing you can use mouthwash if you want to. It is not necessary but helps reduce plaque buildup and gum disease. Mouthwash can be bought in most supermarket in the toothpaste aisle. Fill the cap 3/4 full of the mouthwash. DO NOT SWALLOW MOUTHWASH!!!! This could be extremely painful and dangerous. Swish it around in your mouth and gargle for 30 seconds. Spit and rinse.

There are other ways to clean your teeth on top of brushing. Using baking soda, do not confuse it with baking power, will whiten your teeth. Pour about a Tablespoon of baking soda into a small bowl. Wet your toothbrush under water and coat in the soda. This method tastes absolutely horrible but it works. Brush your teeth the same way you would with toothpaste. Don’t swallow the soda!!! When you have finished, you only need about a minute to brush, spit out the soda and rinse your mouth out thoroughly. You may want to brush with toothpaste again afterwards.

Normal household salt can also be used to clean teeth and keep gums healthy. Follow the directions for brushing with soda above only this time use salt. This too has a horrible taste.

If you have a cut or inflamation in your mouth you should gargle with salt water. This helps keep the cut clean and reduces bacteria. Put 1 teaspoon of salt in a cup of water and stir. Follow the same directions as with the mouthwash.

Change your Perfume with Season

admin — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:56:07 +0000

On a sweltering summers’ day, walking around in a cloud of a strong perfume won’t win you any popularity contests. If everyone around you is already struggling to deal with the stifling heat, one more demanding element will fray tempers further. If you find that everyone mysteriously finds a reason to get out of the room soon after you enter, maybe it’s time to fine-tune your perfume to suit the season.

How concentrated is your perfume?

If you’re wearing the most concentrated version of your favourite perfume and it’s the height of summer, you might want to change to the eau de toilette form of the same fragrance. Not only is the watered-down version less expensive, it’s lighter and will fade on your skin more quickly. The result is you’re more likely to dominate a room with your personality, and not the smell of your perfume.

There are a range of lighter fragrance options open to you, which you might want to consider for the warmer months of the year. Aromatherapy spritzes are not only light and often contain a greater proportion of water to fragrance, but they can also enhance your mood. Choose one that is designed to energize you and spray it on your wrists and cleavage on a Monday morning. Or, on a hot Saturday night, try an aromatherapy spray which promises to enhance romantic feelings, and see how your date reacts!

The colder months can also pose a fragrance challenge. Even though the thermometer might have dipped below zero, you may be working in an office which is overheated, or having dinner in a restaurant which has its thermostat wound right up. These kinds of conditions essentially replicate the summertime, and could put you directly in the firing line of the fragrance police once again.

Stick to the maxim “less is more”. If you love using a heavy concentrated perfume and can’t bear the thought of waiting until the autumn months to wear it, dab a tiny amount on your pulse points, and try to limit it to a

sultry evening party, or al fresco dinner.

Change of season, change your fragrance.

Are you stuck in a perfume rut? Although it can take an age to find a new perfume that feels just right, the extra effort can certainly pay off. The changing seasons can provide you with the perfect excuse to do some exploring at the perfume counter. When you’re wearing a different fresher

scent, you will be constantly reminded that you need to take a moment to look around you, and to enjoy the beauty of a particular time of year.

What about replacing your musky Oriental fragrance with a lighter, floral-based perfume for spring? Or try one of the summery fragrances available, which may make you feel that you’ve just come back from the beach. Fragrances with lemon or lime overtones are refreshing and cooling, and will make you feel that you’re enjoying the citrus tang of an ice-cool

glass of home-made lemonade.

Adapting your perfume to suit changing climates, then, has a hidden advantage. As well as ensuring that your perfume is not overpowering your friends and colleagues and having an antisocial effect, a change in your fragrance can also remind you that it really is important to stop and smell

the roses – as well as the frangiapanis, geraniums or citrus fruit!

Personal Hygiene – Are Your Considering it ??

admin — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:31:17 +0000

Are you missing out on friends, job opportunities and partners because of something that no one had ever pointed out to you-your lack of better personal hygiene.

Maybe in the past as a child your personal habits were pointed out, but in a negative way. No one really took an interest in you to tell you that you must groom yourself like the rest of the group or at least try to.

Some bad habits of people who have no concept of personal hygiene are: apparent body odor, greasy skin, oily hair, outdated hairstyles, bad breath, and clothing that is dirty or old. The sad part is most of these things can be remedied much, much, quicker than a bad cold or some disease and yet, individuals walk around like this day after day and endure the misery bad hygiene often brings. The misery includes people who do not want to be near these people for the above reasons and lost personal opportunities.

Some ways people can start to improve is to take a realistic look at themselves in a full-length mirror. Even if it hurts to think about it, they should consider the advice of others, especially the people who are around everyday.

Individuals who are suffering with this should try to pinpoint what exactly can be improved, and ask themselves “What Would I Really Like To Improve About Myself That is Available to Me Right Now?”

If the problem includes hair, there are many salons and barber shops who we be happy to give a person with this type of problem the latest style and some grooming tips on specific hair types, whether it be oily, dry, etc. They should just ask to look at a hair book and choose an updated look along with the hairstylist’s/barber’s advice.

Skin is another major problem. Make sure skin is thoroughly cleaned on a day-to-day basis. There are many sights on the internet that can help a person find what he/she needs to take care of the skin. The face is the first thing people see everyday, so it’s important that it’s clean.

If a person suffers with body odor that is uncontrollable, they should immediately try out new fragrances, strong smelling deodorant soaps, shampoos, or anything with a very pleasant smell. There is no excuse for walking around with bad body odor. These days stores are filled with cosmetics and items with various scents that can be of use to a person with this problem. And in this case, use the item and (most times) pooph! problem solved.

Others face the problem of chronic bad breath and then there are those who have to be around it, as well, dealing with it and dealing with the person who has it. In the case of bad breath, spicy foods should be avoided at all costs. Flossing and brushing should be performed daily, and the use of a good mouthwash is very important. Breath mints are available everywhere, as are strong smelling gums and candies. Also, more frequent visits to the dentist will help to remedy this problem.

Yes, there are individuals who have serious medical problems that cannot adhere to these types of remedies. In this case, a doctor should be consulted and advice should be given on personal hygiene (especially in the workplace). These types of people should wash daily and take an interest in their personal health and well being, as it will increase their chances of more positive reactions with the people they come in contact with.