in the early 1900s, introduced the personal hygiene as a part of the curriculum, the goal was to get people to wash themselves more often. Today is the problem of the reverse, says Jessica Sunesson, who is a midwife at the Stockholm school youth center.
– The most common problem that we come in contact with when it is a matter of personal hygiene is to wash the vaginal area too often. Usually you are afraid to smell bad and therefore begins övertvätta. It is also not uncommon to use soap. It makes it usually worse and creating a vicious circle.
at the youth center for over ten years and met countless troubled young people, a concern that she think that mainly stems from the lack of knowledge and the unattainable ideal.
Many young people are scared of all the body odor, despite the fact that it really is completely normal. A body smells like. A sex smell. It is not possible to remove completely without damaging the body. If you wash sex too much with the soap that dries out the so-formed cracks in the skin and mucous membranes where fungus and bacteria can gain a foothold.
But at the same time as many washes out excessively much, see Jessica an opposite trend when it comes to shower in the school. Many young people are uncomfortable with showing themselves naked before the others and therefore avoid showering there.
” the Risk is that you do not dare to deal with these issues in school. Most young people obtain the knowledge of hygiene from friends and the internet. And when they look for information online, so it is usually not ungdomsmottagningens page they come to. Many get their standards from, for example, porn, and other pages that give distorted body image, ” says Jessica Sunesson.
approach to the body, sexuality and hygiene, she thinks that it should become a clearer subject in the school.
today, teachers are to weave in these questions in other subjects, but it often results in it becoming very poor and that the quality varies incredibly much between different schools. The responsibility has mainly fallen on the youth and organizations working with these issues, but unfortunately, is not enough resources to reach out to all. I think it would be good if the school had a clearer role, so that you could reach out to all young people.
Sometimes, she also in contact with people with tvångsbeteenden linked to hygiene.
” When it is about persons with obsessive-compulsive disorder, OCD, is it common to wash the hands very often. Then we see to it that you get to meet a counselor or psychologist. Get help early so there are good chances that you can live a normal life, ” says Jessica Sunesson.
From the annual bath to the daily shower for the last 100 years
Excessive washing can harm the bacteria
