Personal hygiene
Key facts
- Good personal hygiene means keeping your body clean and healthy through daily habits.
- Washing your hands helps protect you and others from getting sick.
- Bathing or showering removes sweat, dirt and bacteria that can cause body odour and skin problems.
- Cleaning your teeth and mouth every day helps prevent tooth decay and bad breath.
- Using sanitary products during your period keeps you comfortable and clean.
What is personal hygiene?
Good personal hygiene means keeping your body clean and looking after your health through daily habits.
Personal hygiene includes:
- washing your body every day
- washing your hands with soap and water after using the toilet
- brushing and flossing your teeth twice a day
- cutting and cleaning your nails
- covering your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve, when you sneeze or cough
- washing your hands after touching pets and other animals
Read more about personal hygiene for children and how to cut your baby's nails.
Why is personal hygiene important?
Good personal hygiene helps protect you from getting sick. It also helps stop the spread of germs that can cause infectious diseases.
Germs can spread by:
- touching other people
- touching animals, animal feed or animal poo
- blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing
- getting poo or other body fluids on your hands
- handling contaminated food
- touching dirty surfaces or objects
Health problems linked to poor personal hygiene include:
- respiratory infections, including COVID-19, colds and flu
- diarrhoea
- scabies
- lice
- tooth decay
- eye infections, such as conjunctivitis and trachoma
- worm infections
CHECK YOUR SYMPTOMS — Use the Symptom Checker and find out if you need to seek medical help.
Washing your hands
Washing your hands removes germs that can make you or others sick.
Make sure to wash your hands when they look or feel dirty. Also wash your hands:
- after you use the toilet or change a baby's nappy
- after you clean up wee, poo or vomit
- before, during and after you make or eat food
- after you blow your nose, cough or sneeze
- before and after you treat a cut, scrape or wound, or visit someone who is sick
- after you touch rubbish, dirty surfaces or objects
- after you touch animals, their food or waste
Read more about how to wash your hands.
Washing your body
Try to bathe or shower regularly. This removes sweat, dirt and bacteria that cause body odour. It's also important to wash after physical activity or if you've been somewhere unclean.
Focus on cleaning:
- your eyes, neck and behind your ears
- under your armpits
- around your genitals (vulva or penis) and your anus
- between your toes
You can use soap, shower gel or a mild or hypoallergenic body wash.
Use a washcloth with soap to clean your body. Start with your head and face, then your arms, chest, abdomen (tummy) and back. Finish with your legs, genitals and bottom.
Read more about washing your baby and cleaning your baby's ears, eyes and nose.
Washing your genitals
Washing your genitals can help stop or reduce symptoms, such as itching and bad odour (smell).
Penis care
If you have a foreskin (are uncircumcised), you'll need to take extra care when washing your penis.
You should clean your penis by:
- gently pulling back the foreskin
- washing underneath it with warm water and a gentle soap
- after washing, pull the foreskin forward to its normal position
Read more about penis care.
Vulva care
You can gently wash the delicate skin around your vulva (external female genitals) using your hands and a mild soap substitute.
Avoid perfumed soaps and bath products, as these may irritate your vulva.
Do not clean inside your vagina or use a douche. This upsets the healthy bacteria that live in your vagina. Avoid using soap, shower gel, scrubs, bubble bath, deodorant or baby wipes on the vulva.
Period hygiene
Good hygiene during menstruation (period) helps to:
- prevent infections
- reduce odours
- keep you comfortable
You can use different products to absorb or collect blood during your period, such as:
- sanitary pads
- tampons
- menstrual cups or discs
- period underwear
Wash your hands before and after using the bathroom. Also wash your hands before and after changing a tampon, sanitary pad or menstrual cup.
To dispose of used menstrual products:
- wrap them in toilet paper or disposal bags
- put them in a rubbish bin
- never flush them down the toilet
Preventing body odour
The best way to avoid body odour is to shower or bathe regularly. Use a mild (low pH) soap.
After washing your body:
- use a clean towel
- dry yourself well
- apply deodorant to your armpits
Deodorants help reduce smell. Antiperspirants help block your sweat glands to reduce sweating.
Change into clean clothes often and make sure to wash dirty clothes regularly.
If you sweat more than most people, speak to your doctor.
ASK YOUR DOCTOR — Preparing for an appointment? Use the Question Builder for general tips on what to ask your GP or specialist.
Preventing tooth decay and bad breath
Tooth decay and bad breath can be caused by poor oral hygiene.
Look after your teeth by:
- brushing your teeth twice a day with a soft toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste
- cleaning between your teeth with dental floss or interdental brushes every day
- having regular dental check-ups
Read these dental care tips to learn about care for your mouth, teeth and gums.
Read more about dental care for babies and children.
FIND A HEALTH SERVICE — The Service Finder can help you find doctors, pharmacies, hospitals and other health services.
Resources and support
General hygiene:
- The Royal Women's Hospital provides tips on how to keep your genitals healthy.
- The Victorian Department of Health has information about hygiene before swimming and personal hygiene for food handlers.
- The Victoria Policy and Advisory Library offers personal hygiene resources.
- Hygiene for Health shares information about personal hygiene, including hair hygiene, skin hygiene and more.
Oral hygiene:
- Teeth.org.au has tips to help prevent tooth decay.
Hand hygiene:
- Hand Hygiene Australia offers guidance on how to wash your hands.
- Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care explains the 5 moments for hand hygiene.
You can also call the healthdirect helpline on 1800 022 222 (known as NURSE-ON-CALL in Victoria). A registered nurse is available to speak with you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Languages other than English
- The Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing has videos about good hygiene practices to help stop the spread of COVID-19, available in multiple languages.
- HealthyWA offers translated fact sheets about hand hygiene.
- NSW Health offers translated resources about hand hygiene.
- Access Easy English has a poster on how to wash your hands.
Information for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples
The Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet offers resources for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples, including:
Watch the No Germs on Me video about hand washing.
Learn more here about the development and quality assurance of healthdirect content.
Last reviewed: August 2025
