Hygiene

Hygiene

Hygiene means practice of keeping yourself and your surroundings clean. Cleanliness is part of welfare and maintaining health. Good hand hygiene prevents illness and the spread of diseases like flu, diarrhea and vomiting. Good hand hygiene includes washing hands always before eating, handling or preparing food and always after going to the toilet. You should also wash your hands every time when you come home, especially during flu season and vomit&diarrhea epidemics.

People who work with food have higher regulations for hygiene and they need to pass and exam to get a hygiene pass. You can find more information on hygiene pass here: https://hygieniapassi.fi/opiskelumateriaalit

You can practice Finnish words and practices about hygiene with this game: http://puhtausfi.oph.oodles.fi/

Shower is the most common way to wash oneself in Finland. You can take a bath as well, but before and after bath you should take a shower so the dirt does not stick with the bath water and remain on your skin. Mild body wash is enough for every day washing. You should not use strong soaps because they might make your skin too dry.

Intimate hygiene means maintaining cleanliness of genital areas. Adults and teenagers should wash penis and vulva daily with water. You can find a hand shower by many toilet seats in Finland for intimate washing. Children who are in diapers should also have their diaper area cleaned daily, and every time it looks dirty. Lukewarm water is usually enough for washing, you can also use mild diaper area wash or water wipes if needed. You can easily wash a small child’s diaper area directly under the tap, but check first the temperature of the water.

Oral hygiene is part of daily hygiene as well. According to the current guidelines, you should brush your teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste. Each person needs to have their own tooth brush, which must not be used by anyone else. Tooth brush should be changed every couple of months and always after having an infection.

Sauna is very common in Finland. Even many small apartments have their own sauna. Nowadays most saunas are heated by electricity, but you can find wood burning saunas in many houses and cottages. Sauna is thought of as a clean place, so you should always wash before and after going into sauna. People use sauna mostly naked in Finland, in some saunas you can were a swimming suit.

Finnish sauna is for everyone, so families often use sauna together, at least until the children reach the puberty. Going into sauna with friends and colleagues is common. Sauna can be unisex or men and women can use it separately, it is up to the group using the sauna to decide what is comfortable for them. In public places, like swimming halls, saunas are built separately for men and women. Some public saunas may have separate shifts for men and women.

When you use sauna for the first time, you should have someone with you and take it slowly, starting with mild temperature.  If you get dizzy or nauseous leave sauna slowly, go to cooler area to sit down and drink some water. You should not use hot sauna if you have cardiovascular illnesses. If you are not in very good health, you should not move quickly from sauna to much colder temperature, like swimming or outside. You should not go to sauna alone, or drink alcohol before or in the sauna –although many people do.