Workshop for Teachers on Proper Hygiene in schools

New Delhi: Tuesday, 28 August 2012: While conducting a workshop on health and hygiene organized by Heart Care Foundation of India and DAV School, Kailash Hills, Padma Shri & Dr. B.C. Roy National Awardee, Dr. KK Aggarwal, President, Heart Care Foundation of India, said that school education must focus on health and hygiene. This will take care of the burden of communicable diseases and provide healthy and correct lifestyle and prevent most non-communicable diseases.

He said that to start with, children should clean their teeth properly as chronic poor oral health and tooth loss is associated with modest increases in future heart blockages and paralysis. This effect persists even after adjustment for known cardiovascular risk factors.

Keeping the environment clean can prevent a large number of communicable diseases. Environment hygiene includes air hygiene, water hygiene and food hygiene. Most food-borne diseases are direct food or water-borne illnesses. Typhoid fever is caused by a bacterium, Salmonella typhi, and is transmitted through the ingestion of food or drink contaminated by the feces or urine of infected people. Houseflies or other flying insects feeding on feces may occasionally transfer the bacteria through poor hygiene habits and public sanitation conditions. Though the cases occur round the year, typhoid occurs more often during summer and rainy seasons.

Do not eat fruits and vegetables that are cut and sold open as they can cause diseases such as typhoid, diarrhea, cholera and jaundice. Cut open fruits and vegetables, especially watermelon, sold on the streets and sugarcane juice attract flies and other infective organisms. Any food stored at room temperature for over two hours gets spoiled and may grow organisms. Cut open fruits on the road often remain in this state for hours together. In summer, precautions should also be taken while eating cut salad and uncovered food in the tiffin. The best fruits to eat in such situations are bananas and oranges.

Healthcare-associated infections are also becoming common. Therefore, one should avoid visiting a hospital for a formality.

A heart attack may occur at the age of 40 but the process of heart artery blockages starts in school age and early college life. To prevent the rising burden of obesity, diabetes, heart diseases, prevention must begin in school age.

Teachers from over 50 schools participated in the event. The participants included teachers, vice-principals and principals of various schools. Speaking on the occasion, Ms Era Khanna, Principal of DAV, Kailash Hills School said that the teachers who are trained in this workshop will work like trainers for other teacher and school children. She said that every school must have a teacher who is trained to educate children on health and hygiene.

The subjects covered in the workshop were food hygiene, hand hygiene, water hygiene, respiratory hygiene and sexual parts hygiene.