The Negative Effect Poor Personal Hygiene Has On A Person's General Sense Of Well-Being

By Douglas M Midgley, J.D.

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For several days I have tried to settle on a topic to write and have had absolutely no luck coming up with one with which I felt comfortable. While this was laying heavily on my thought I got up one morning and, as is my custom, entered the shower and began washing and soaking. The hot water was grand and I basked in complete contentment as it gently cascaded down and pummeled my body. As I applied my favorite body wash for men, using it according to direction, my thought focused on how wonderful it was that I could shower and keep clean but wondered what the negative impact would be of not being able to stay clean and practice good personal hygiene. So there you have it. I decided on using that epiphany moment of insight as my point of departure for this article. I am glad I did. It is a worthwhile topic on which to write. What then is the negative impact of a general lack of personal hygiene and an habitually dirty body, on such person's general sense of well-being?

Where do we look for answers to this perplexing question? I decided to focus on the plight of street people as the most transparent and meaningful examples of the point I wanted to make. I want it perfectly clear that I do not see any causal relationship suggesting an inability to practice good personal hygiene as the cause of anyone having to live on the streets. But I do suggest it is axiomatic that there is a nexus establishing the need to live on the street, as a primary cause of a person's inability to practice the requirements of good personal hygiene..


Problems Encountered From A Lack Of Personal Hygiene: The Effect of A Dirty Body on General Well-Being


Forced to live on the streets or some other place where a person is unable to do what is necessary for good personal hygiene has devastating effects. Here are some of them.

Employment

If such a person had employment when this problem arose, it is unlikely that he will be able to stay employed much more than a week or so following his move into the streets. For who among us will look with charity and patience on someone in the work force, perhaps in the cubicle next to us, filling the available air with body odor?

What are the employment prospects if he did not already have a job? After a week or so living on the street his chances of gaining suitable employment are next to nothing and becoming less and less with each passing day.

Social Considerations

It would be an exceptional host or hostess sponsoring a dinner party that would invite our street person to attend. Even if a close friend, I suggest that no invitation would be issued and the most that would happen is that food might be inconspicuously offered him as a way of extending charity. In the name of brotherly love, he might even be allowed to take a shower. But how many times would he be able to count on that? He would have exhausted his welcome by the end of the first week, if not before. Again, his lack of cleanliness, dirty clothes, the body odor and bad breath that exist under such circumstances are all road blocks that prevent his inclusion in the social network, if any, that he had before this disaster.

Then, too, there are people who for whatever reason are just plain careless and even unwilling to spend the time needed to be clean. This type of person almost by definition becomes a social misfit and loner. Shy and introverted he would typically spend his time alone shutting out the world and others who might normally be actively engaged in his life in some meaningful way.

Medical and Health Concerns

Finally there are any number of medical and general health conditions contracted when living on the street. Lice in the head and pubic areas acquired from the need to use poorly maintained public restrooms and having to sleep almost literally on the ground every night. Colds and the flu become common place as do a number of other medical conditions requiring treatment.

What Can Be Done To Help?

What are some of the things we must do to remedy or mitigate the effects of these life circumstances that are impairing the general sense of well-being of those encountering this problem?


Updated vaccinations are needed to protect the public health and wherever possible prevent the outbreak of disease.

Proper sanitation is a must.

The construction of low cost public housing to put a roof over the heads of homeless people and get them off the streets.

Those who have the means to look after themselves but don't should be required to attend a seminar on how to keep themselves clean and healthy.

For a person that just won't maintain personal cleanliness there is very little that we can do for him except to make every attempt to instill in him the need, if necessary by engaging the service of professionals in social work, psychology and other disciplines.

Those with other disabilities have their local public health Department and a number of social and religious entities on which to draw. The Salvation Army, Meals on Wheels and similar programs are widely available to homeless, elderly and disabled people. Depending upon one's circumstances, education and counselling on how to properly care for one's self might be available. The Internet, a good telephone directory and the Public Health Department are good resources for identifying locally available agencies capable of providing help to a person wanting to overcome this problem.

Conclusion

The failure to follow good personal hygiene practices will lead to a variety of personal, social and medical conditions that greatly impact upon a person's sense of general well-being. They also have the potential to cause problems for the general population if allowed to get out hand. A wise person once wrote the aphorism "cleanliness is next to godliness." By remembering this it serves as a reminder of our need to practice good personal hygiene.

© 2013 Douglas M Midgley, J.D. All Rights Reserved Worldwide

Douglas M. Midgley, J.D. is the Author of this article. He expresses his thanks to EzineArticles.com not only for the encouragement, help and guidance they provide but also for making it possible for my original articles to be published. I could not do this without them. For those interested in reading future articles written by Douglas M Midgley, J.D. We would invite them to follow the publications here on EzineArticles.com and on our blog at http://doug21740.blogspot.com/ This is an original copyrighted article written by Douglas M Midgley, J.D..

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Negative-Effect-Poor-Personal-Hygiene-Has-On-A-Persons-General-Sense-Of-Well-Being&id=7476848] The Negative Effect Poor Personal Hygiene Has On A Person's General Sense Of Well-Being

The Impact of Niggling on Public Defenders

The Criminal Justice System consists of the Courts (trial judges), the State Attorneys (public prosecutors) and the Public Defenders (defense of indigents) each of which is expected to work with the others while maintaining an attitude of mutual respect, honesty and trust in the integrity, ethics and good will of the other participants. But the Public Defender program is viewed as the step-child of the Criminal Justice System, even in those jurisdictions in which the Public Defender is an elected official of the State government.  More . . .

By Douglas M Midgley, J.D.

http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Douglas_M_Midgley,_J.D. 

Nobody wants them, and yet in the Constitutional sense, everybody needs them. As a result, niggling is the norm among individuals in the general population, unless it is the complainer's ox that is being gored. At that point, the Public Defender is seen as vital with high praise and gratitude expressed when they are appointed to handle his case. And so life goes on in the Public Defenders office with a watchful eye cast upon other complainers who do not yet see the need to have such agency funded at public expense.

Considering the above, niggling coming from within the State Criminal Justice System, the general population, and even at times directly from within the State Legislature itself, negatively impacts the Public Defenders in the following ways:

Niggling unjustly casts them in a negative light undermining the legislative support required to obtain their fair share of the available funds.

Niggling inappropriately encourages a lack of respect for the agency's attorneys and in that way impairs the attorney client relationship which is so vital to the proper disposition of criminal cases.

Niggling is constantly coming from within the incarcerated population in the jails and prisons with the complaint that they do not see their attorney often enough. The high volume of cases the Public Defenders must handle with a bare bones operating budget and an inadequate legal staff, makes it impossible for them to visit their clients as often as well paid private defense lawyers visit theirs.

Every attorney employed by a Public Defender agency, must hold a valid license to practice law and be in good standing with their Bar Association, in order to represent such clients. Nevertheless, niggling clients are constantly asking the court to dismiss the Public Defender and appoint a "real" lawyer to defend them.

The widespread niggling from within the jails and prisons is responsible for the client's misperception that agency attorneys are too busy to be able to spend the time required to prepare a case for trial.

Since a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, the criminal cases can only move forward at a pace sustainable by the slowest agency. Historically that has been the Public Defenders Office since it is the agency that has been the most over-utilized and under-funded through the years.

Engaging in inter-agency backbiting and arguing over niggling details is self-defeating. The approach of each agency fending for itself is outdated. A new unified approach is required, the main ingredient of which could be the joint preparation and submission of a single, unified, balanced and thoughtful budget for the entire Criminal Justice System adequately funding the operating needs of each of the three participating agencies, to be recommended for passage in the legislature by the entire Criminal Justice System. A paraphrase of one of our country's forefathers proclaiming that "if we do not all hang together we will most assuredly hang separately." comes to mind as being relevant to our discussion.

The most important ingredient required to overcome niggling is mutual trust. A difficult commodity to come by when one works within the Public Defenders office where day in and day out clients are venting their frustrations over the limitations forced upon them by inadequate funding. The Public Defenders are commended for a job being well-done under extremely difficult funding and working conditions. So ignore the complainers. Charge full speed ahead, your cause is just..

� 2013 Douglas M.Midgley, J.D. All Rights Reserved Worldwide

This article is written on a legal topic but is not intended to be and must not be considered as giving or offering to give legal advice. The Author is now retired from the active practice of law. The opinions expressed in the article are those of the Author and he alone is responsible for its content.

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The Impact of Niggling on Public Defender

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Dare to be Different Your Future Depends Upon It

To be clear, the need for a higher education has not diminished, it has increased.

By Douglas M Midgley, J.D.

Article Source: Click Here  Dare to be Different

It seems almost like yesterday that the student who graduated from a college or university with a Bachelors degree had the advantage needed to get that coveted employment interview for the job he had worked so hard to get. After all, others had only graduated from High School, so a Bachelor of Arts or Science degree from an accredited college or university gave the job applicant a leg up on the others who applied. That is not the case today, and it is becoming more difficult to find suitable employment even with a four year degree. How do you solve this?
 

To be clear, the need for a higher education has not diminished, it has increased. So one possible answer to the question posed is to continue your education and get an advanced degree in your chosen field of study. It is the most obvious way to have a leg up on the competition and is the one that you should pursue if it is at all possible. Recalling when I attended the University of Florida, I was so taken with my many new friends and the opportunities to have fun, that my time at the University almost ended, before it even got off the ground. My grades for that first semester of my Freshman year were very borderline and I thought for sure I could be on my way to failing a course for the first time in my life. Not because I could not do the work or absorb the course content, I was just too busy having fun at the bidding of my friends, and as a result, did not make the effort needed to obtain good grades. I had failed to keep my eye on the goal of graduating. At age eighteen:I was a Freshman student living on campus in a dormitory for the first timeI was out from under the immediate reach of parental supervisionI was making decisions for myself that could have future consequences, most of which were not in my best interestsI was working part-time to supplement the funds my parents were able to send meI was not making an adequate effort to learn the course workDon't let this happen to you. Without a change of direction, it's a prescription for failure.What we heard during the Freshman Orientation session has been lost to the ages except for this. At the beginning of his remarks, the speaker told us:Look to your left and take a good look at the person seated next to you, and then to your right and do the same thing again. Two of the three of you will not graduate from the University and go home.Attend all your classes, study and prepare your assignmentsMy advice to those who are just entering a college or university for the first time then is this: don't run with the pack. Behave differently. Confine your fun to part of the weekend and spend the rest of the week attempting to master the course work assigned to you. Don't just attend college or the university. Be smart. Become the student that graduates. Let the guys who were sitting on your left and right at orientation be the ones who fail.

God Feeds the Birds, But He Doesn't Throw Food Into Their Nest

God Feeds the Birds, But He Doesn't Throw Food Into Their Nest

By Douglas M Midgley, J.D. 

Do you ever wonder why the same person can bounce out of bed one day ready to conquer the world and on the very next day he is totally lacking initiative and evidencing signs of complete laziness? Since, for the sake of this discussion we are assuming he was in his usual state of mental and physical health on both days what explains this difference? If asked that question I believe an answer along this line might be forthcoming: "I just don't feel like looking after those chores today. I will do them tomorrow." Well who or what is it that has suggested to us that before we can successfully do what needs doing, we have to "feel" like doing it?

The Concept of Duty

To some extent I think the explanation for this is found in "generational" differences. Those of us who are well into that time of our life generally referred to as being a "senior citizen", grew up having instilled in us the concept of duty. Looking backward in time to my pre-teen years as a Cub Scout in Canada I learned that I must "do my duty for God and the King", the King of Canada being George VI at that time in my life, not that it matters much who sat on the throne then, but the idea of having a duty to complete certain tasks in life has remained with me to this very day. As for example:


You had a duty to obey your parents.
You had a duty to serve your country in time of national crisis or great need.
You had a duty to your family to do your best to earn the money needed for their support in life, by going to work.
You had a duty to show up for work and would never consider telephoning your employer claiming sickness, unless you were truly unable to work,


In my early years, there was a bright line of separation providing clarity to the line of demarcation between what was and what was not one's duty. My observation of today's youth reveals that the line drawing that distinction is not as clearly established now, causing uncertainty in the minds of many.

The idea that a person has a duty to come to the aid of our nation in times of peril seems still clear enough, but in other aspects of life the line seems blurred at best. There is not much hesitation today, to call in sick when you are not, if there are more pleasant things you might want to do than go to work at your job.

In times past, husbands accepted their role as the wage earner. Wives looked after the children at home and made sure the house was kept up. Those days disappeared. Women have joined the work force and are now recognized as full partners with their spouse as both wage earners and in performing the household chores. The duties still exist but assigned to one another by mutual consent..

The truth is God feeds the birds, but He does not throw food into their nest. To eat and feed its young, the bird must seize the initiative and scratch around for the food. It is then and only then that it will have the means at its disposal to sustain life. We too must scratch around and do our part to earn our food and other necessities of life. If the world owes us anything at all, it is the opportunity to succeed in life. Once that takes place, if you are able-bodied and without disability, the rest is up to you to do on your own without regard for your gender.

©2013 Douglas M. Midgley, J.D. All Rights Reserved Worldwide

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Green Acres Was the Place for Me

Green Acres Was the Place for Me

By Douglas M Midgley, J.D. 

I looked out upon the scene, to acres green. The bustle of life was all around. The horses, cows, peacocks all abound. Mom and Dad were there as well, expressing interest, expressing love, that words can never tell.

Flooded with fond memories, my thoughts have turned inward to time spent together as a family at our property then known by most of us as Green Acres. Mother on the other hand decided on a change in the name and so renamed it Scottsgate, after my son, her one and only grandson, the apple of her eye, who at that time was a young boy about to enter his teenage years. But, as I am sure you know, there's a lot of truth and homespun wisdom in the familiar saying If momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy and so it was at Scottsgate, a twenty-five acre property my family then owned in one of Florida's more rural counties.

There was nothing on the property when first acquired except the typical native brush and foliage one would expect to find, such as palmetto bushes (fan palms), cabbage palms, sour orange trees, and a good amount of grass suitable for feeding cattle. So once owned by the family, the first order of business was to make the property habitable for the weekend get aways, retreats and family gatherings we expected to hold as our circumstances permitted. Dad went right to work. He built a large screened in chickee of contemporary design with thatched roof, cement floor and electrical service and provisioned it with a table of sufficient size to seat ten for meals, comfortable seating to relax in, a refrigerator for the food and drinks needed and an electrical hot plate so we were able to serve hot food. A small television set on which the local and regional news channel could be watched and listened to.

The barn was next, built from reclaimed wood found on the property. Beef cattle, a few chickens for the eggs and meat we could obtain, a couple of pigs and two quarter horses with the needed saddles and other required tack, was all purchased. We were also entertained by the next door neighbor's brightly colored adult male peacocks, with multi-colored purple plumage fanned and displayed while strutting along the side edge of our adjoining property.

It was not long after the completion of the barn, that we purchased our new manufactured homes and had them set up on the property. Mother and Dad owned and occupied one, and we the other. This provided suitable quarters for weekend and other longer getaways. Aside from the obvious change of pace from city to country life, the time spent there calmed jangled nerves and released built up frustrations accumulated from time spent at work.

A favorite activity after the sun went down, and the noise from daytime activities ceased, was to sit outside in the night darkness, where all was quiet and look up at the moon and stars smiling down on us from the clear cloudless sky above.

The tractor hummed from morn till night, running it was Dad's delight; While Mom her latest afghan in hand, looked out her trailer window to the land, that means so much to all of us. A place of rest - acres green and lush.

We loved that property and it was used by all of us in the family until the passing of Mom and Dad. Shortly after that happened we sold it. I have not been back since then to take a look at the property as it is today, preferring instead to rely on my fond memories of Scottsgate, our families rustic retreat of long ago.

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