Hygiene Defined
From the word Hygeia we get the word hygiene, which means health. Hygiene is defined as the science and the art of promoting health; the science of the preservation of human health by the removal of the cause of dis-ease. It is sometimes defined as the science of health. Hygiene is divided into two classes, personal and public.
Personal Hygiene is the science of the promotion of the individual’s health and deals with personal habits, such as eating and drinking; personal cleanliness; personal activities such as work, recreation, self-restraint. The handling of children comes under this branch of hygiene. The human machine is limited by the limitations of the physical, which necessitates the observance of these laws governing the expression of life.
Public Hygiene deals with the methods and processes necessary to preserve and promote the health interests of the public. It deals with man collectively rather than individually. This includes consideration of the environment, such as cleaning of streets, disposal of the dead, and proper hygienic methods in buildings and in public places.