Cleanliness And Health (1949)

Summary

The video emphasizes the importance of cleanliness in preventing the spread of germs and maintaining health. It explains how soap and water remove harmful microbes, which can cause infections. The script discusses hospital hygiene, including hand washing, sterilizing instruments, and cleaning clothes, while also addressing everyday habits like washing hands, avoiding sharing food, and keeping nails and skin clean. Special attention is given to how germs thrive in dirty environments, the role of antiseptics, and the significance of personal hygiene for overall well-being.

Takeaways

• 🧼 Cleaning is important for maintaining hygiene, as seen with Dan cleaning his bike.
• 👐 Clean hands not only look better but are crucial for health, especially to prevent the spread of germs.
• 👩‍⚕️ Doctors wash their hands to remove harmful microbes, or germs, that cause infections.
• 🦠 Germs and microorganisms are everywhere, and some are harmful, leading to illness when they enter the body.
• 😷 Covering your mouth when coughing or sneezing helps prevent spreading germs.
• 🔬 Germs can be studied in a lab to understand how they grow and how soaps with germicides can stop their spread.
• 👚 In hospitals, cleanliness extends to uniforms, linens, and medical instruments to prevent infections.
• 💧 Soap and water help remove oil, dirt, and germs from the skin, promoting overall cleanliness and health.
• 🦶 Drying between your toes and cleaning your nails are important to prevent fungal infections like athlete’s foot.
• 🪥 Brushing your teeth removes food particles that feed germs and can cause tooth decay.

Q & A

Why is Dan cleaning his bike, and why do his hands also need cleaning afterward?

Dan is cleaning his bike to keep it looking better, but after cleaning, his hands are dirty and need washing because cleanliness isn't just for appearance but also for hygiene.

What are microbes, and why are they harmful?

Microbes are tiny living organisms that are everywhere around us. Harmful microbes, often called germs, can cause infections and make us ill by entering our bodies and multiplying.

Why is cleanliness especially important in hospitals?

Cleanliness in hospitals is vital to prevent the spread of harmful germs, which can cause infections. This includes maintaining clean hands, clothing, linens, and sterilized medical instruments.

What experiment is performed in the hospital laboratory, and what does it demonstrate?

An experiment using a culture plate is performed to show how soap with germicides prevents germs from growing. The untreated half of the plate grows colonies of germs, while the treated half remains clean, demonstrating the effectiveness of germicides in soap.

Why is it important to cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze?

Covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze helps prevent the spread of germs from your mouth and nose to others, reducing the risk of infection.

How are medical instruments sterilized in hospitals, and why is this necessary?

Medical instruments are sterilized using very hot steam in a sterilizer, which kills germs that even boiling water cannot destroy. This is essential to prevent infections during surgery or medical procedures.

What personal hygiene habits can help prevent the spread of germs?

Personal hygiene habits such as washing hands with soap, not sharing food or drinks, keeping fingernails clean, and covering wounds with antiseptic can help prevent the spread of germs and infections.

Why do you need to wash with soap and not just water to clean your skin?

Soap is necessary because it helps loosen and remove the oily mixture of dirt, germs, and waste on the skin, which water alone cannot effectively clean.

What is athlete’s foot, and how can it be prevented?

Athlete’s foot is a fungal infection that thrives in warm, moist environments like the spaces between toes. It can be prevented by washing and thoroughly drying between the toes.

Why is brushing your teeth important for preventing tooth decay?

Brushing your teeth removes food particles that germs in your mouth can feed on. If not removed, these germs produce acids that attack your teeth, leading to tooth decay.

Outlines

00:00

🧼 The Importance of Clean Hands and Germ Control in Hospitals

The first paragraph highlights the significance of cleanliness, particularly handwashing, to prevent infections. Dan cleans his bike, emphasizing the importance of washing hands afterward, as dirty hands are unsightly and unsanitary. The focus shifts to hospitals, where doctors wash hands to remove harmful microbes, also called germs, which cause infections. The paragraph explains how germs can multiply inside the body, leading to illness. The experiment with a culture plate demonstrates how liquid soap with germicides effectively prevents germs from growing, showing the critical role soap plays in germ control.

05:02

🚫 Avoiding Germs in Daily Life

The second paragraph discusses how germs can spread through everyday activities like sharing food, drinks, or handling unclean objects. It emphasizes the importance of rejecting such habits to avoid getting germs into the body. Germs thrive in warm, moist environments, such as inside a cut or broken skin, potentially leading to infection. The paragraph introduces the use of antiseptics to kill germs and encourages maintaining personal hygiene, including washing hands and avoiding unsanitary practices.

10:05

🧴 Personal Hygiene and the Science Behind Clean Skin

This paragraph explains the science behind skin cleanliness, using a cross-section diagram of the skin to describe how sweat and oil glands work. Sweat carries waste materials, and oil attracts dirt and germs, creating a layer of impurities on the skin. Water alone can't clean this mixture, but soap can penetrate the oil and remove dirt and germs. The importance of washing hair, scalp, and areas where perspiration is heavy is discussed, as is the value of using germicidal soap to kill germs. Special attention is given to washing between toes to prevent fungal infections and to keeping fingernails clean, as dirt under nails can harbor germs.

Keywords

💡Microbes

Microbes are tiny living organisms that are all around us and can only be seen under a microscope. In the video, microbes are emphasized as important because some, known as germs, cause infections and illnesses. The video demonstrates the importance of handwashing and cleanliness to prevent the spread of these microbes, especially in hospital settings.

💡Germs

Germs are harmful microbes that cause infections and illnesses. The video highlights germs as a central threat to health, showing how they enter the body and multiply, leading to sickness. By washing hands, using germicidal soap, and maintaining cleanliness, the spread of germs can be minimized, as illustrated in the hospital and everyday life examples.

💡Handwashing

Handwashing is presented as a crucial method to remove dirt, oils, and harmful microbes from the skin. The video contrasts casual handwashing for appearance (e.g., Dan cleaning his bike) with the more essential practice of handwashing in hospitals to prevent the spread of germs. It underscores the role of soap in eliminating germs from the hands.

💡Germicides

Germicides are chemicals found in some soaps that actively kill or inhibit the growth of germs. In the video, germicides are shown to prevent germs from multiplying on treated surfaces, as demonstrated with the culture plate experiment, which reveals how soap-treated areas remain free from germ colonies.

💡Sterilization

Sterilization refers to the process of cleaning medical instruments in hospitals to ensure no germs remain. The video explains how high temperatures and steam inside sterilizers are used to kill germs that regular washing cannot destroy, especially in surgical tools where complete cleanliness is critical to preventing infections.

💡Infection

Infection occurs when germs enter the body and multiply, causing illness. The video explains how infections begin with germs entering through broken skin or the mouth and illustrates the importance of using antiseptics, soap, and other preventive measures to avoid infections, particularly in hospital settings.

💡Antiseptic

An antiseptic is a substance used to kill germs on the skin and prevent infection. The video suggests applying antiseptics to cuts or wounds to stop germs from entering the body, offering a key method to prevent infections. This is paralleled with the use of germicidal soap for general cleanliness.

💡Cleanliness

Cleanliness is the practice of keeping one's body, clothing, and environment free from dirt, germs, and waste. The video stresses the importance of cleanliness in both everyday life and hospital settings to prevent the spread of germs, emphasizing the cleaning of hands, clothes, medical instruments, and even personal habits like not sharing food or drinks.

💡Athlete’s Foot

Athlete’s Foot is a fungal infection that thrives in warm, moist areas of the body, such as between the toes. The video discusses the importance of drying these areas thoroughly after washing to prevent fungal growth, providing an example of how a lack of cleanliness can lead to infections beyond those caused by bacteria or germs.

💡Personal Hygiene

Personal hygiene refers to the habits and practices of keeping the body clean to promote health and prevent disease. The video covers multiple aspects of personal hygiene, including washing hands, cleaning nails, brushing teeth, and washing the scalp and hair. It stresses how good hygiene can prevent the spread of germs and ensure better health.

Highlights

Dan cleans his bike, showing the importance of keeping personal belongings clean.

Hands need to be cleaned not just for appearance but to remove harmful microbes.

Doctors wash their hands to prevent the spread of germs that can cause infections.

Germs, also called harmful microbes, are living organisms that cause illness.

Hospitals maintain high levels of cleanliness to prevent the spread of infections.

A demonstration shows the effect of soap with germicides on bacteria growth in a lab experiment.

On a treated culture plate, soap prevents the growth of germs, proving its germicidal properties.

Hospital staff and patients use clean uniforms and linens to minimize germ spread.

Laundry and sterilizers play key roles in sanitizing hospital clothes and medical instruments.

It's important to avoid sharing food or drinks to prevent the transfer of germs.

Germs thrive in moist, warm conditions, making proper wound care essential to avoid infections.

Daily hygiene habits, such as hand washing and skin care, are vital to reduce germ exposure.

Sweat, oil, and dirt on the skin create a breeding ground for germs, which soap helps remove.

Brushing teeth and keeping fingernails clean are important hygiene practices to prevent illness.

Using germicidal soap in areas with heavy perspiration can prevent fungal infections like athlete's foot.

Transcripts

[Music]

we like to keep the things that we own

as clean as we can

that's why dan is cleaning his bike

it looks much better now

but his hands don't now they need

cleaning

dan washes up because for one thing

dirty hands don't look very good clean

hands look much better

but these are different hands

a doctor's hands

and they're being washed for a more

important reason than appearance

the soap and water are washing away

microbes

microbes are the tiny living things that

are all around us

harmful microbes are usually called

germs

because germs cause infections and make

us ill

much attention is paid to cleanliness in

a hospital

this girl is one of the patients here

she's much better today

the infection that made her ill

began when diseased germs entered her

body and then multiplied inside it

there are many germs in your mouth and

nose even when you're not sick

that's an important reason for covering

your mouth when you cough or sneeze

in the hospital laboratory let's see

what some germs look like under a

microscope

another name for germs and other

microbes is microorganisms

that is tiny living bodies that can be

seen only through a microscope

now as an experiment

let's take a sample of the germs that

made this girl ill

we'll rub the cotton swab with the germs

on this culture plate

it contains food for the germs

the plate is divided into two parts

we'll treat half of the plate with

liquid soap

like some of the soaps we use every day

it has germ-fighting chemicals called

germicides in it

the other half of the plate is left

untreated

when the culture plate is placed into a

special kind of oven an incubator

the germs have not only food but warmth

and moisture the conditions they need

for growth

these are similar to conditions inside

your body

let's see what has happened after a few

days

well on the half that was treated with

the soap

nothing's happened

the soap with its germicides kept the

germs from growing but on the untreated

half there are white spots

each spot is a colony of thousands of

germs

so the use of soap can prevent germs

from multiplying and spreading

we've already seen how hands are kept

clean in a hospital

cleanliness of clothing is important too

clean uniforms are always worn

everyone who works with patients wears

clean clothing

clean uniforms for the people who work

in a hospital as well as clean linens

for the patients

means a lot of laundry

so the laundry room of the hospital is

quite an important place

into the huge washing machines goes all

the laundry

the soap and water will get it clean

but the high temperature of the water

and the germicides in the soap will also

destroy most of the germs

while washing machines get clothes and

linens clean

sterilizers get medical instruments

clean

inside the sterilizer very hot steam

kills germs that even boiling water

can't destroy

instruments used in surgery must have no

germs on them

so in a hospital to prevent the spread

of germs everyone is concerned with

cleanliness

cleanliness of the people

of the clothes they wear and the

instruments they use

most of us aren't as careful as people

in a hospital

have you ever put something like a

pencil into your mouth

that's one way germs may get into your

body

taking a bite of someone else's food is

another way you may get germs into your

body

that's why it's a good idea to refuse

offers like this

you can also get germs from another

person by drinking from a glass that

someone else has used and not washed

food that has been handled with unclean

hands yours or someone else's may have

germs on it

when you eat such foods germs can get

into your body

many germs thrive on the warmth food and

moisture found in your body

so if your skin is cut or broken germs

may enter your body and cause an

infection

to help prevent an infection you can

apply an antiseptic

which like the germ fighting elements in

some soaps kills many of the germs

but even if your skin is not cut or

broken it's still a good health habit to

care for your skin and keep it clean

let's see why

this drawing shows us a cross section of

the skin

here is one of the hairs which grow out

of the skin

the oil gland produces oil which makes

its way along the hair to the surface of

the skin

and here's a sweat gland

it produces sweat

or perspiration which is carried along

the sweat duct to the surface of your

skin

your glands give off sweat all the time

but you notice it most when you're warm

sweating helps cool your body when it

gets overheated

sweat is water which contains waste

materials from your body

when the water evaporates the waste

materials are left behind along with oil

dirt and germs

this mixture is everywhere on your skin

right down to your fingertips

let's transfer a bit of this oily

mixture to a glass slide

now let's try to get the slide clean

water alone hasn't done it

water alone won't get your skin very

clean either

what about soap and water

the soapy water gets around and under

the oil and loosens the mixture

in a similar way soap helps to get rid

of the oil that is mixed with the dirt

and germs on your skin

so when you wash you need to wash

everywhere

and with soap

your scalp also perspires

it gives off waste products as well as

bits of skin

dandruff

since there is so much hair on your

scalp much oil collects there

so you have to wash your hair and scalp

thoroughly

and often

if a soap is used that contains a

germicide

leaving it on for a minute or two will

kill more germs

using a germicidal soap helps eliminate

germs and unpleasant odors

you especially want to wash thoroughly

where you perspire heavily

giving your face a good washing is

important

you want to wash away the oily mixture

which may cause pimples

and now a good rinsing will wash away

the dirt oil wastes and germs

when you dry

it's especially important to dry between

your toes

the spaces between your toes are warm

and when they're moist microscopic fungi

can grow there such fungi cause itching

and redness and breaks in the skin which

we call athlete's foot

because germs live in the dirt under

nails having clean fingernails is

another good health habit

clean nails look nice too

brushing your teeth is a kind of washing

too

brushing removes food particles which

might otherwise be fed upon by the germs

in your mouth

such germs form acids which can attack

your teeth and cause tooth decay

dan's all dressed now

his body is clean his clothes are clean

but more than that cleanliness will mean

better help for dad

[Music]

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