12 Personal Hygiene Mistakes Almost Everyone Makes (Mom Never Told You About #4!)

Clothespins in the bag, towels, laundry detergent, and a basket

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Mothers everywhere start teaching their babies personal hygiene habits when they are still very young. Everything from brushing your teeth, taking a bath, putting on clean clothes, to washing your face was ingrained in you at a very early age.

However, as time goes on, scientists learn more and more about germs and how they work. What we thought was healthy 60 years ago (putting butter on a burn, for example) we now know doesn’t work.

This means that some of the things mommy taught you all those years ago might be doing you more harm than good.

Take a look at the 12 hygiene mistakes many people are still making today and see if any of them sound familiar to you.

 

1. Using Antibacterial Soaps

Over the years, some marketing genius has managed to convince Americans that regular soap and water doesn’t really kill germs and that we need antibacterial soaps. This isn’t true. Antibacterial soaps are not only unnecessary, but they are actually causing the world more harm than good. The antibacterial compound put in soaps, triclosan, truly does kill bacteria, but it also kills human cells. Triclosan interrupts our body’s natural production of hormones and has led to the increase in antibiotic resistant bacteria. Plain old soap and water kill germs, friends; you do not need triclosan to do this. Buy products that do not contain this health-damaging compound.

 

2. Not Flossing

OK, flossing is gross. When you don’t do it for long periods of time, your gums bleed, too. Did you know that not flossing can lead to heart disease? It seems like a strange connection, but it’s true. When you don’t floss, bacteria stays between your teeth and deep into your gums. Bacteria like to travel as much as anyone else, so they take a ride through your blood stream and end up in your heart, where they can start multiplying, and causing heart disease. They can travel other places as well. It might be gross, but flossing just once each night before bed will do your teeth, as well as your heart, a ton of good.

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