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A healthier life always starts at home
A healthier life always starts at home
Understanding personal environment
Understanding personal environment
The environment is your surroundings, not just physical objects but even elements like air, animals, and other people. A crucial environment to be kept healthy and safe is home, as this is where you spend a considerable amount of time. It starts all the way from choosing the correct location to build or rent in (e.g., away from dumping sites, industries, etc.) to how you organize your personal home atmosphere.
At home, exposure can happen at different points within the household, like in the kitchen, or from external sources, like vermin that access the house from a neighboring house/waste site. In striving for a healthy home environment, balance becomes key; you have to look at it from all angles: physical, mental, and even external forces and regulations. A healthy environment fosters wellness and prevents diseases or injuries.
How to create healthy home environment
How to create healthy home environment
Personal hygiene
Personal hygiene
Activities like taking daily baths, oral cleanliness, and cleaning personal and home effects like clothes, bedding, furniture, and general house management (sweeping, mopping, and vacuuming) are important.
They enhance the feeling of freshness and well-being, partly promoted by living in an aesthetically pleasing environment as a result of hygienic measures. These efforts also partly keep away pests like roaches and parasites like lice, which can cross-contaminate food and directly inhabit the body, causing disturbances and diseases.
Pests and parasite control
Pests and parasite control
There are various creatures that transmit diseases either directly or indirectly by acting like a reservoir to disease-causing pathogens. Mosquitoes cause malaria, dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya, and encephalitis; ticks (Lyme disease); lice (trench fever); sandflies (leishmaniasis); and tsetse flies (sleeping sickness).
Animals, like dogs, can cause rabies through their bite. Others act as a reservoir; for example, cat poo transmits toxoplasmosis, snails host parasites that cause schistosomiasis upon contact, and rats, through urine and droppings, transmit the parasites that cause leptospirosis and hantavirus. Cockroaches contaminate food and cause cholera and dysentery.
Parasite and vector control can be done through:
• Maintaining personal hygiene at all times
• Having a clean waste management system in the neighborhood to avoid breeding areas of vermin
• Clean surroundings, including well-maintained shrubs if need be, and drain stagnant water to discourage mosquitoes.
• Handling animals’ products with safety, e.g., boiling cow’s milk thoroughly before use and handling cats’ litterbox/poo with gloves.
• Disinfecting water before use in daily activities like cooking and cleaning food.
• Getting your pet dog vaccinated and neutered/spayed to reduce hostility and chances of biting.
• Use repellents and sleep under treated mosquito nets.
• Fumigate the house once in a while to get rid of bugs.
• Deworm regularly.
Social wellness
Social wellness
The people you live with form your social environment. Through their actions, like playing loud music, they can affect youth health and general well-being. These can be people you share your home with and neighbors. In order to maintain peace, practice:
• Respected boundaries, both with roommates and neighbors, to avoid conflicts that could revolve around waste management or noise control.
• Have mutual shared responsibilities and assigned chores with roommates to avoid being burdened and physically worn out.
• Engage in activities that are neutral and non-provocative to others.
• Maintain social connection through shared groups like neighborhood/court WhatsApp groups where people come together to make initiatives that create better estates.
Indoor pollutants control
Indoor pollutants control
Gases (carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, formaldehyde, and nitrogen dioxide) - They come from furniture, adhesive new products, burning incense, and cooking and heating appliances like jikos, kerosene lamps, and generators.
Control by:
• Servicing gas appliances regularly
• Using exhaust hoods that lead outside in the kitchen or leaving some windows open.
• Leave windows open when burning incense.
• Air out new textiles to dissipate the smell first before actively using them in your house.
Particulate matter (smoke, soot, dust)—These come from candles, smoke from fireplaces and active smokers, incense, cooking process byproducts, and poorly maintained heaters.
Control by:
• Limiting smoking/vaping in the house
• Clean and maintain heaters and cooking appliances.
• Open windows strategically to limit soot and dirt from outside
Volatile compounds—These come from paints, solvents, air fresheners, cleaning products, and pesticides.
Control by:
• Do not mix cleaning chemicals and go for the mild ones
• Use personal protective material like masks, gloves, and goggles when handling pesticides.
• Avoid strong fragrances, and be sure to open windows if regularly using such.
• Do not inhabit a place with fresh paint.
Mold and dampness- Caused by plumbing leaks, condensation on windows and walls, and poor drainage.
Control by;
• Fix any plumbing and drainage issues
• Use humidifiers and dehumidifiers.
• Replace mold-damaged walls and material.
Biological allergens- originate from dust, mites, pet dander, pollen, and pests. Controlled by;
• Regular pet grooming
• Maintaining surrounding plant environment
• Use allergen-proof covers
• Regular sanitation of house textiles.
Remember! Choosing the right location for a home is also a big factor. Consider distance from untarmacked roads, any open garbage landfills, industrial complexes, and even the nightlife.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions on healthy home environments)
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions on healthy home environments)
Can a home space look clean but still be unhealthy?
Can a home space look clean but still be unhealthy?
Yes. Looking and being clean are two different things. There is also the aspect of pests that can still access a clean house, dust, chemical residues, mold, or a hostile social atmosphere.
Are 'natural' home products safer?
Are 'natural' home products safer?
Sometimes, it depends on the raw material used for the item. Some products are allergens and emit volatile compounds. Check ingredients and formulation, and always have proper ventilation when using natural products.
Are smart home devices useful in maintaining a healthy environment?
Are smart home devices useful in maintaining a healthy environment?
Yes, if you buy the appropriate ones, like dehumidifiers, vacuum cleaners, and thermostats. These all help in maintaining a clean environment and can help detect any problems early.
Is creating a healthy home environment expensive?
Is creating a healthy home environment expensive?
No. It is a matter of change in attitude and informed choices, habits, and hygiene levels. Consistency is important; buying expensive products is an option, not a mandatory thing.
How often should a home be accessed for environmental health issues?
How often should a home be accessed for environmental health issues?
A basic assessment twice a year or quarterly is ideal.
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