Cleanliness and 12Lesson Hygiene I Will Learn About • the importance of cleanliness and hygiene. • cleanliness and hygiene of our body, clothes and surroundings. • diseases caused due to the lack of cleanliness and hygiene. • biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes in our surroundings. • ways to reduce non-degradable waste in our surroundings. I Think Lavanya went on a forest safari with her extended family. During lunch time, she asked her mother to give her some water to wash her hands. Her mother gave her a small bottle of some liquid, and asked her to use it to clean her hands. Lavanya wondered what that liquid was, and how it can clean our hands. Do you know how? The importance of cleanliness and hygiene To live a healthy life, we need to take care of our Cleanliness is the habit of bodies and surroundings. We follow cleanliness keeping things dirt or dust-free. and hygiene practices at home, school and in Hygiene is a set of practices our neighbourhood to keep ourselves healthy that we follow to maintain our and disease-free. health and prevent the spread of diseases. Cleanliness and hygiene of our body, clothes and surroundings Let us learn about some practices to ensure the cleanliness and hygiene of our body, clothes and surroundings. 47
1) B athing: Bathing regularly helps to wash off sweat, dirt and germs. It also helps to remove the oil and dead skin from our bodies. 2) W ashing our hands: We use our hands to do Washing hands different kinds of work. We touch different surfaces and the dust, dirt and germs from different surfaces stick to our hands and nails. By washing our hands we can remove all such harmful things. We can wash our hands with soap and water or we can use a hand sanitizer. A hand sanitizer is a liquid used to kill the germs on our hands. We should wash our hands before and after our meals, after outdoor activities, after using washrooms, after touching pet animals and after coming in contact with sick people. 3) C are of nails: You might have observed that dirt easily gets accumulated below our nails. So, we should trim them regularly and clean them well to remove any dirt and germs. 4) S calp and hair care: The skin that covers our Scalp and hair care head (other than the face) is called the scalp. Washing our hair and scalp regularly is necessary to keep them dirt and oil free. Have you seen anyone who scratches their scalp a lot? It may be because of a dirty scalp or due to the presence of head lice. Head lice are tiny insects that live in human hair. If we share combs, caps or clothes with anyone who has head lice or sit close to them, these insects may crawl into our hair also. So, we should avoid using the clothes and accessories of others. 5) Oral hygiene: We need to keep our teeth, gums and tongue clean and germ-free. For this, we need to brush our teeth twice a day, use a tongue cleaner to clean the tongue and use floss to clean the spaces in between the teeth. Washing and rinsing our mouth after every meal is important too. 6) C are of clothes: We wear clothes for protection. But, if we do Brushing teeth not keep them clean, disease-causing germs grow in them. So, we should wear clean clothes. We should change them when they are dirty and wash them well to remove dirt, sweat, stains and germs. 48
7) Respiratory hygiene: While breathing, we may give out or take in germs through the air. To prevent the spread of germs, we should cover our mouths and noses with a handkerchief when we cough or sneeze. Wearing a mask in crowded places also helps to prevent the spread of germs. 8) F ood and water hygiene: This includes the practices that Wearing a mask we follow to prevent food poisoning. Food poisoning is an illness caused due to germs or other harmful substances in food. To ensure food hygiene we should: • U se clean and germ-free water to cook and drink. Always use purified or boiled water for drinking. Boiling water for 15–20 minutes kills most germs and makes it safe for drinking. Water purifiers and ROs are used nowadays. We should avoid having sherbet, cold water, ice cream and other food from road side vendors. They may contain disease-causing germs. • Use clean raw food for cooking. Water purifier • Cook food items long enough to kill the germs in it. • Store food properly to prevent growth of germs in it. • Keep food items away from harmful chemicals, dust and insects. 9) C leanliness and hygiene of surroundings: We should keep our surroundings clean to prevent the growth of germs in it. We can do this through the following practices: • K eep harmful insects away: Use insect repellents to prevent the growth of insects in and around our houses. We should also ensure that dirty water or garbage does not get collected in our houses or surroundings to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes and house flies. • Use disinfectants to kill germs: Disinfectants are substances that can kill germs. We can use them to wipe surfaces and clean washrooms. • Sunlight can kill some disease-causing germs: Keeping doors and windows open in the mornings and evenings allows fresh air and sunlight to enter the houses. • G arbage disposal: All the waste materials should be collected in covered dustbins and disposed off regularly. Littering provides a breeding ground for germs and insects and attracts harmful animals like rats. Put garbage in dustbin Cleanliness and Hygiene 49
?• Avoid unhealthy practices like spitting, State one way to ensure open defecation and urination. Always use cleanliness and hygiene of toilets to defecate and urinate. our surroundings. Diseases caused due to the lack of cleanliness and hygiene We have learnt about some practices related to Infectious diseases are cleanliness and hygiene. What will happen if we do not caused by pathogens. follow these practices? Harmful germs will grow on our They spread through body, clothes and surroundings. They will cause diseases. touch, air, water and Let us learn about some diseases that spread due to the insects. lack of hygiene and cleanliness. Diseases that spread from one person to another are called infectious diseases. The germs that cause diseases are called pathogens. For example, some bacteria and viruses. They live all around us; in air, water, food and so on. They are not visible to the human eye. They spread from a sick person to a healthy person through touch, air, water and insects. 1) D iseases that spread through the air are called airborne diseases. Germs from ill people spread through the air when they cough or sneeze. When healthy people breathe in the same air, these germs may enter their body through the mouth or nose. They can cause diseases like common cold, chickenpox or measles. Child suffering from Children suffering from common cold chickenpox 2) Diseases that spread by drinking unclean water are called waterborne diseases. For example, typhoid, dysentery and cholera. ? Name a disease spread through unclean water. 50
3) Some diseases spread through touch. Germs from infected people may spread through things they touch and clothes they wear. When we touch infected things with our hands and then touch our eyes, nose, mouth, or a cut on the body it allows the germs to enter the body. Conjunctivitis, chicken pox and measles are some examples of infectious diseases that spread through touch. 4) Some diseases are spread by insects like mosquitoes and houseflies. Mosquitoes and flies lay their eggs in unclean surroundings. They are carriers of disease-causing germs. Some examples of diseases spread by mosquitoes are malaria, dengue and chikungunya. Houseflies spread diseases like typhoid and cholera. Mosquitoes spread diseases Flies on food We can protect ourselves from these diseases and also prevent the spread of such diseases by practising cleanliness and hygiene. We have learnt that garbage (waste) disposal is an important practice related to cleanliness and hygiene. Let us learn more about different types of garbage and the ways to reduce the problems arising from them. Every day we throw away many things which we do not need. Waste is generated everywhere and may be found in the solid, liquid or gaseous form. The wastes collected in different places also differ. Waste generated in cities is called urban waste. Waste from villages is called rural waste. Urban waste mainly includes paper, plastic bottles, glass pieces, kitchen waste and so on. Rural waste mainly includes the wastes ? What does rural waste from fields and farms. It can be in the form of mainly include? animal waste like cow dung, stalks of cut crops, dried leaves and other such waste. Cleanliness and Hygiene 51
Urban waste Rural waste Biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes in our surroundings Some wastes decay when we bury them under the soil. They become part of the soil. Such wastes are called biodegradable wastes. They are composed of waste from living organisms, plant waste and waste from dead organisms. Example: cow dung, dry leaves, leftover food, remains of dead animals. Some wastes do not decay when buried under the soil. Such wastes are called non-biodegradable wastes. Example: plastic bottles and bags, glass pieces, metals, medical waste and so on. Biodegradable waste Non-biodegradable waste ?Non-biodegradable materials do not Name two non-biodegradable waste materials. breakdown naturally. They make the environment unclean and unhealthy for all living things. They also cause the death of soil inhabiting organisms. So, it is very important to reduce non-degradable garbage in the surroundings. 52
Let us learn how we can do this. Ways to reduce non-degradable waste in the surroundings The use of the 5R method of waste management can help us to reduce the quantity of non-biodegradable waste in our surroundings. Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle (R5 or 5Rs) Let us understand what the 5Rs mean. 1) Refuse: We should refuse to use things that can harm us or the environment. For example, we should refuse all single-use plastic items. 2) Reduce: We should reduce or limit the use of things which are harmful to the environment. For example, we can do this by carrying our own cloth-bag for shopping instead of asking shopkeeper for plastic bags. 3) Reuse: We should reuse things as much as possible before replacing them. For example, we can donate some old clothes, toys or other things which are in a good condition. Needy people can reuse them. We can reuse empty metal and glass jars to store different things in our houses. 4) Repurpose: Repurposing means to reuse a thing for another purpose. For example, we can use newspaper to make paper bags as well as art and craft items. 5) Recycle: Have you seen a person who collects old newspaper, plastic bottles and boxes? Newspaper bags What is done with these wastes? New useful things can be made from such wastes. This is called recycling of wastes. For example, old newspaper collected from houses can be changed into paper pulp. Many new things like cardboards, paper cups and dishes can be made from the pulp. Paper plates Cardboard box Cleanliness and Hygiene 53
d Be Amaze A It takes 80–100 years for an aluminium can to decompose in a garbage dumpyard. Recycling one aluminium can saves enough energy to run a television for three hours. Connect the Dots English Fun Find out the synonyms used in the lesson for: 1) garbage: __________________________________________________________________ 2) germs: ____________________________________________________________________ Social Studies Fun M. K. Gandhi had realised the importance of cleanliness. While leading a non-violent movement, he said “Sanitation (cleanliness and hygiene) is more important than political independence.” A Note to Parent Use separate garbage bins for different types of waste at home. Encourage your child to throw sorted waste materials in their respective bins. 54
C Inside the Lab Make sure you do these activities only with the help of your teacher or an adult. Activity C1: Up, Up and Away! A catapult is a simple machine used to shoot stones or any other objects. Let us make a simple catapult using a few easily available materials. Let us also find out how they help us to throw stones. You will need: nine craft sticks or ice cream sticks, six good quality rubber bands and one plastic spoon. You need to: 1) T ake seven craft sticks, bind them together using one rubber band, each at both ends. 2) B ind the other two craft sticks together towards the end of the sticks, using another rubber band. 3) Put the stack of seven sticks in between the two-stick bundle. 4) S ecure these two bundles with a rubber band in a cross fashion as shown in the given image. 5) U se a few rubber bands, and attach the plastic spoon to the open end of the two sticks. 6) N ow, try catapulting stones or other small objects. 55
Activity C2: Be a Junior Engineer! We have learnt that simple machines help us to do different types of work easily. Let us make a simple machine using pencils. Let us also find out how they make work easy. You will need: one brick and 10 pencils per group. You need to: 1) Divide the class into groups of four. 2) A sk a student from each group to push a brick or stone slab across the floor. Is it an easy task? 3) N ow, ask each group to take 10 pencils. How could you move the brick more easily using the pencils? Take group members’ suggestions. 4) D irect the students to put the pencils under the brick and roll it across the pencils. Ask if it was easier this time. 5) M ake them try moving other things such as books in the same manner. Ask if there is a difference. Find out how people in the olden times may have used this simple machine to move big objects. 56
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