Failure to maintain good hygiene standards can lead to health problems and negatively affect many psychological and social aspects of one’s life as well.

Personal health and physical well-being are directly related to personal hygiene and poor personal hygiene can lead to poor health! Many illnesses are associated with poor personal hygiene as people run great risks of contracting and transmitting infectious diseases that can reach epidemic proportions due to poor (or even total lack) of personal hygiene standards.

Along with physical health, poor personal hygiene can have a negative impact on many social and psychological aspects. Being unclean and “smelly” can lead to social isolation as most people will alienate themselves from a person with poor personal hygiene habits.

Social acceptance is heavily affected by personal hygiene (or the lack of it!). Hygiene habits can make the difference between “hire” and “fire” when it comes to job applications and career advancements. Nobody wants to spend his working day next to an unclean co-worker and employers will want their companies to be represented by people who can look after themselves and give a good impression.

Moreover, people who maintain poor personal hygiene habits may find themselves socially abused (or even bullied) for their lack of hygiene. This is most prominent with children and elderly people who depend on others to maintain their personal hygiene and may be socially embarrassed if they are neglected.

Finally, People with mental disabilities and conditions such as depression and autism tend to forget to maintain their personal hygiene or have poor hygiene habits. Such people will need extra care and attentions otherwise poor personal hygiene can be the cause of a vicious circle for such conditions, as it can worsen many mental illnesses that in turn will worsen the hygiene habits.