'''Hygiene''' is the maintenance of healthy practices. In modern terminology, this is usually regarded as a particular reference to cleanliness. The term Hygiene originates as a reference to [[Hygieia]], who was a daughter of [[Asclepius]] र the goddess of health, cleanliness र sanitation. The related term '''personal grooming/grooming''' means to enhance one's physical appearance or appeal for others, by removing obvious imperfections in one's appearance or improving one's hygiene.
Outward signs of good hygiene include the absence of visible dirt (including dust र stains on clothing) or of bad odor/smells. Since the development of the germ theory of disease, hygiene has come to mean any practice leading to the absence of harmful levels of bacteria.
Good hygiene is an aid to health, beauty, comfort, र social interactions. It directly aids in disease prevention and/or disease isolation. (That is, good hygiene will help keep one healthy र thus avoid illness. If one is ill, good hygiene can reduce one's contagiousness to others.)
Washing (with water) is the most common example of hygienic behavior. Washing is often done with soap or detergent which helps to remove oils र to break up dirt particles so they may be washed away.
Hygienic practices—such as frequent hand washing or the use of boiled (and thus sterilized) water in surgery/medical operations—have a profound impact on reducing the spread of disease. This is because they kill or remove disease-causing microbes (germs) in the immediate surroundings. For instance, washing one's hands after using the toilet र before handling food reduces the chance of spreading ''[[E. coli]]'' bacteria र [[Hepatitis A]], both of which are spread from fecal contamination of food.
Adequate hygiene requires an adequate र convenient supply of clean water. In much of the developing world maintaining an acceptable level of cleanliness is difficult or impossible for much of the population due to lack of adequate water supply र sanitation. This results in the rapid spread र extent of diseases such as [[trachoma]] which are rare in the developed world.
