This document discusses many factors that can affect personal hygiene, including culture, socioeconomic status, spiritual practices, developmental level, health state, and personal preferences. It outlines common skin problems like dryness, rashes, and acne. Some causes of impaired self-care are also explained, such as decreased motivation, pain, or cognitive issues. The nursing process for skin care and personal hygiene is introduced. Overall, the document stresses the importance of respecting individual differences and providing hygiene care and information non-judgmentally based on a client's specific situation and needs.

1. Factors affecting Personal
Hygiene
Prepared by: Pooja Koirala
Lecturer
NMCTH

2. Introduction
• Hygiene is the science of health and its
maintenance
• Personal hygiene is the self care by which
people attend to such function such as bathing,
toileting, general body hygiene and grooming.
• Hygiene is a highly personal matter
determined by individual values and practices

3. Introduction cont…
• It involves care of the skin, feet, nails, oral and
nasal cavities, teeth, hair, eyes, ears, and perineal-
genital areas.
• It is important for nurses to know exactly how
much assistance a client needs for hygienic care
• Clients may require help after urinating or
defecating, after vomiting, and whenever the
clothes become soiled, for example, from wound
drainage or from profuse perspiration.

4. Skin

5. Common skin problems
• Excessive dryness: skin can appear flaky and
rough.
• Ammonia dermatitis (diaper rash):caused by
skin bacteria reacting with urea in the urine. The
skin becomes reddened and is sore.

6. Skin problems cont…
• Acne: inflammatory condition with papules
and pustules
• Erythema: redness associated with a variety
of conditions, such as rashes, exposure to sun,
elevated body temperature.
• Hirsutism: excessive hair on a person’s body
and face, particularly in women.

8. Some cause of self care deficit
• Decreased or lack of motivation
• Weakness or tiredness
• Pain or discomfort
• Perceptual or cognitive impairment
• Inability to perceive body part or spatial
relationship
• Neuromuscular or musculoskeletal impairment
• Medically imposed restriction

9. Some cause of self care deficit cont…
• Therapeutic procedure restraining mobility
(e.g., intravenous, infusion, cast)
• Severe anxiety
• Environmental barriers
• Activity intolerance
• Decrease strength
• Impaired mobility

10. Defining characteristics
• Disorderly appearance, strong body odor
• Frustration
• Impaired ability to put on or take off clothing
• Inability to ambulate autonomously
• Inability to bathe and groom self
independently
• Inability to control temperature of water

11. Defining characteristics cont…
• Inability to do common tasks such as
telephoning and writing
• Inability to dress self autonomously
• Inability to feed self independently
• Inability to move from bed to wheelchair
• Poor personal hygiene
• Problems in finishing toilet tasks

12. Factors affecting personal hygiene
• Hygiene activities and practices can protect
health and prevent disease
• However, hygiene practices vary widely
among groups and people
• It is important to respect differences in patient
hygiene practices and provide care and
information in a non judgmental manner

13. Culture
• It is important to identify cultural variations that
could affect a patient’s personal hygiene
preferences, such as typical bathing habits and
behaviors such as use of various hygiene related
products.
• For e.g. People form some cultures place a high
value on personal cleanliness and feel unclean
unless they shower or bath at least once a day
• Many consider bathing incomplete without the
use of products to reduce or mask normal body
odors.

14. Culture cont…
• So culture may influence whether bathing is a
private or communal activity

15. Socio economic
• A persons socioeconomic class and financial
resources often define the hygiene options
available to that person
• For example: Some people may have limited
finances to buy soap, shampoo, shaving cream
and deodorant
• Homeless people may have no or limited
access to the water, soap

16. Spiritual practices
• Spiritual practices including religious beliefs may
include ceremonial washings and purifications
such as before prayer, eating
• For e.g. in the Jewish tradition, ritual baths are
required for women after childbirth and
menstruation
• In some religion of Nepal, contact with a
deceased person may make a person unclean.

17. Developmental level
• Children learn hygiene practice while growing
up
• An adolescent become more concerned about
their personal appearance
• They may adapt new hygiene measures such as
taking showers more frequently and wearing
deodorants

18. • Bathing frequency commonly decreases as a
person ages due to limitation in mobility and
the natural tendency toward drier skin with age

19. Health state
• Disease, surgery or injury may reduce a person’s
ability to perform hygiene measures or motivation to
follow usual hygiene habits
• Weakness, dizziness and fear of falling prevent a
person from entering a tub or shower or bathroom or
from bending to wash the lower extremities
• Illness may also create a demand for new or modified
hygiene measures

20. Health state cont…
• For example: peripheral vascular
complications that often accompany diabetes
mellitus require meticulous foot care
• Pain: it may decrease the person’s ability to
perform self care

21. Personal preferences
• People have different preferences with regard to
hygiene practices such as taking a shower versus
a tub bath, using bar soap versus liquid soap and
washing to wake oneself or to relax before sleep
• A persons self concept and sexuality also
influence personal hygiene practices
• For example: in an effort to promote a positive
self image, older adults may use skin care
products advertised to prevent wrinkles and
diminish signs of ageing

22. • Women who are sexually active may use a
variety of hygiene products following
intercourse to promote cleanliness

23. Nursing process for skin care and
personal hygiene
Assessment :
Nursing diagnosis :
Planning:
Implementation:
Evaluation:

24. Thank you