HYGIENE AND
HEALTHY HABITS FOR
TEENS
This module is intended for high school
learners. It contains three lessons:
• Handwashing
• Personal Hygiene
• Healthy Habits to Help Immunity
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Lesson 1: Handwashing
Content overview and objectives 2
Let’s get started 2
Try this 2
Let’s read and learn 3
Think about this 3
Let’s read and learn 4
Think about this 5
Now try this 6
Lesson 2: Personal Hygiene
Content overview and objectives 7
Let’s read and learn 7
Try this 9
Lesson 3: Healthy Habits to Help Immunity
Content overview and objectives 10
Let’s read and learn 10
Try this 11
Let’s read and learn 12
Now try this 15
1
LESSON 1
HANDWASHING
CONTENT OVERVIEW OBJECTIVES
In this lesson, you will learn that: By the end of this lesson,
1. Microorganisms such as bacteria and you should be able to:
In this lesson,
viruses are microscopic organisms that exist 1. Explain the importance of we will learn to:
everywhere. They can easily transfer from handwashing in preventing
objects and surfaces to people, or from one the spread of disease.
person to another. 2. List critical times when
2. Microorganisms can cause illness, so it is handwashing is needed.
important to prevent their spread. 3. Demonstrate proper
3. One way to protect yourself and others from handwashing techniques.
getting sick is by proper handwashing.

LET’S GET STARTED

Microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses are microscopic

organisms that exist everywhere. They cannot be seen with
the naked eye, but can easily transfer from objects and
surfaces to people, or from one person to another.

When the microorganisms come into contact with your eyes,

nose or mouth, they can enter your body, and this may result
in you feeling sick.
When you see a person who is sneezing, coughing, or has a
runny nose, or when a person has a fever and rashes on their
skin, it means that microorganisms have invaded their body.

Try placing baby powder on your hands and pretend that the
TRY THIS little white particles are microorganisms. Next, try touching a
surface, like your shirt or a chair. As you can see, the powder
spreads easily. Lastly, try to shake your hands. Does the powder
come off?
Just like the powder, microorganisms spread easily! They can
go from your hand to a surface, or from a surface to your body.
They can transfer from one person to another. They can even
transfer from your hands to your food and drinks! Merely wiping
or shaking your hands will not help to get rid of them.

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Lesson 1 - Handwashing

LET’S READ & LEARN

Handwashing is one of the best ways to get rid of these microorganisms. Soap can kill these
microorganisms, so washing your hands properly can help prevent the spread of microorganisms
that cause people to get sick.
When, and how often, should you wash your hands? These are the times we need to remember to
wash our hands:

Before, during, and Before eating food Before and after After coughing or
after preparing food caring for a sick sneezing
person

After using the toilet After touching money After touching After touching
animals or animal garbage or dirty
waste dishes

THINK ABOUT THIS

Can you think of other situations when handwashing is important?

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Lesson 1 - Handwashing

LET’S READ & LEARN

Proper Handwashing Procedure
Just putting soap, rubbing our hands together and rinsing off the soap does not ensure that all the
microorganisms will be washed away. There is a proper way to wash your hands.

1 2

First, apply soap and create a thick Next, rub your palms together while
lather for about 20 seconds. intertwining your fingers.

3 4

Then, rub the backs of your fingers and Afterwards, grasp one thumb and rub
fingertips against the opposite palm. with a rotating motion. Do the same
Do the same with the other hand. with the other thumb.

5 6

Follow that with rubbing one palm Lastly, rinse your hands with running
against the back of the other palm, and water.
vice versa.

Dry your hands with a clean towel, or

7 better yet, air dry them.

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Lesson 1 - Handwashing

It is better to air dry our hands than use cloth

towels. Microorganisms can also exist on
cloth towels, so if we use a cloth towel those
microorganisms will just transfer back to our
hands.

What if you are not able to immediately wash your

hands with soap and water? What can you do to
minimize the microorganisms on your hands?
Use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60%
alcohol to kill microorganisms. By looking at the
product label, you will see how much alcohol the
product contains. But remember, sanitizers cannot
remove all types of microorganisms and is not
as effective as soap and water, especially if your
hands are visibly dirty or soiled.

THINK ABOUT THIS

There are a number of infectious diseases that can spread from one person to another by one’s
contaminated hands. Search for the terms ‘handwashing’ and ‘diseases’ and see how many
different illnesses you can find that are related to handwashing.

Remember, handwashing is one of the best measures to protect yourself and others
from getting sick because it prevents the spread of microorganisms and reduces
the risk of getting other communicable infections. Be responsible for your health by
regularly practicing good hygiene.

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Lesson 1 - Handwashing

NOW TRY THIS

Imagine what happens in a restaurant or at the supermarket. List down situations where
microorganisms can spread from person to person through the surfaces and objects that people
touch, i.e. situations where microorganisms from one person’s hand can contaminate an object
or a surface which, in turn, can contaminate another person’s hand, even if the two people did
not come into direct contact with each other. Here are some examples:
• A server gives a customer the menu.
• A server hands a customer a spoon and fork.
• A consumer hands a cashier money as payment.

List down as many situations (i.e. opportunities for contamination) as you can come up with.
Then, for each situation, think of ways by which restaurants, supermarkets or owners of public
establishments can help prevent the spread of microorganisms through person-to-surface
contact. Have a look at these alternatives to the examples listed earlier:
• Restaurants place their menus on the wall instead of handing out menus.
• Spoons and forks are retrieved from a heated sanitizer, rather than handed out by the server.
• Customers pay electronically instead of by cash.

Opportunities for Contamination Alternative Action

Is there someone at home who needs to learn the steps for

proper handwashing? Record a video of yourself teaching them
TRY THIS the proper way to wash hands, and share this video with your
teacher and classmates, or share it on your social media account.

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LESSON 2
PERSONAL HYGIENE
CONTENT OVERVIEW OBJECTIVES

In this lesson, your child will learn that: By the end of this lesson, your
1. Personal hygiene is important in maintaining child should be able to: In this lesson,
we will learn to:
one’s health and preventing the spread of 1. Describe the importance of
diseases. personal hygiene.
2. Personal hygiene practices include 2. Explain what acceptable
handwashing, bathing regularly, washing scalp and poor personal hygiene
and hair, brushing teeth, cutting fingernails and practices are.
wearing clean clothes. 3. Demonstrate personal
hygiene practices.

LET’S READ AND LEARN

Personal hygiene refers to practices that you can do to take

care of your own health, by keeping your body clean and your
surroundings sanitized. The word sanitized means, ‘free from
microorganisms.’
Maintaining good hygiene is even more important during
puberty and adolescence because of the increased hormonal
activity and bodily changes that occur during this period.

Bathing every day and wearing clean clothes are both

important hygiene practices, especially since adolescents are
prone to body odor due to the hormonal changes that begin
in puberty.
Excessive sweating can cause body odor when sweat
combines with bacteria on your skin. While deodorants and
anti-perspirants can reduce the smell, it is still better to take a
bath every day to get rid of odor-causing bacteria.

Taking a bath is especially important for girls who are menstruating. Some believe in the myth
that bathing during your menstruation is bad, but that is not true. Bathing can help you to be
comfortable during your monthly period. You should replace your sanitary pads as often as
needed, or at least every 3-5 hours.

Wearing dirty clothes after bathing just exposes you again to the presence of bacteria that may be
multiplying on your dirty or sweaty clothes. Make sure to wear clean clothes and underwear after
every bath.

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Lesson 2 - Personal Hygiene

Washing your scalp and hair is also an important

personal hygiene practice. If you look closely at your
hair and scalp, you will see glands on the surface of
your scalp. Oil comes out of these glands, and if you
mix oil, dust and sweat – these can result in your hair
becoming greasy, making it another place where germs
and bacteria may multiply.
To properly wash your hair and scalp, you should:
• Wet your hair thoroughly.
• Use just the right amount of shampoo.
• Massage your scalp well to remove dead skin cells, excess oil, and dirt.
• Rinse until you don’t see any more bubbles or soap suds in your hair.
• Dry your hair and head with a clean towel.

Also, it’s important not to share towels, combs or brushes. Do you know why?
You should not share towels, combs, brushes or even hair accessories to avoid the spread of head
lice or nits. Lice are small, wingless insects that live on the scalp and suck off human blood. If a
person with lice uses your brush, for instance, the lice might transfer to your brush, and it might
transfer to your head the next time you use your brush.
If your head is always itchy, it may mean that you have head lice. You should ask an adult to look
carefully at the strands of your hair to look for nits (lice eggs.) Nits do not come off by mere
brushing. You will need a special kind of shampoo to get rid of it.

Another important personal hygiene practice is brushing your teeth. Why is it important to brush
your teeth?
When we chew food, some of it gets stuck to our teeth and gums, while some of it gets stuck
in the spaces between our teeth. There is a sticky film that builds up on the surface of our teeth
called plaque and it has a lot of bacteria. The bacteria in plaque produce acids that can damage
the outer layer of your teeth, causing cavities and tooth decay.

The best way to prevent tooth decay is to brush your

teeth with toothpaste that contains fluoride. Here is the
proper way to brush your teeth:
• Squeeze a pea-sized amount of toothpaste onto
the toothbrush.
• Brush all teeth, especially the molars in the back,
for at least two minutes.
• Spit the toothpaste out, but do not rinse your
mouth.
• Wipe your mouth using hands with some water.
• Rinse your toothbrush with clean water.

Did you know that you are not supposed to rinse your mouth out with water after brushing your
teeth? This is so that the fluoride in the toothpaste will remain on your teeth to protect them
against plaque.

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Lesson 2 - Personal Hygiene

Cutting your fingernails is another important hygiene

practice. If your fingernails are long, dirt and bacteria can get
trapped under your fingernails.
You should be cutting your nails short enough, following the
shape of the nail, but not so short that you cut too close to
the skin underneath. Keeping nails trimmed is important to
maintaining your health.

As we said earlier, wearing clean clothes is an important

hygiene practice. Dirty clothes carry dirt and sweat, and
of course, microorganisms. Body odor can also result from
wearing dirty clothes. You must make sure that your clothes
are washed after every use to remove the dirt, sweat and
microorganisms stuck to them.
Underwear – like undershirts, boxer shorts, panties and briefs –
are right next to our skin so they collect sweat, dead skin cells
and body fluids. These clothes must be washed after every
use to prevent bacteria from multiplying on them.

TRY THIS
Make a recording of yourself explaining the importance of these personal hygiene habits. These
videos can be used to educate younger siblings or cousins about the importance of good
hygiene. They can be uploaded on a social media platform or even turned into a video blog.
You can collaborate online with one or two friends on this activity. Each should prepare a
recording and get feedback from the others to improve the recordings. If you are not able to
record a video, you may instead create flyers or infographics that can be shared with younger
siblings and cousins.

Remember: Personal hygiene is important because it affects your health and well-being,
as well as the health of those around you. Be responsible for your health by regularly
practicing good hygiene.

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LESSON 3
HEALTHY HABITS TO HELP IMMUNITY
CONTENT OVERVIEW OBJECTIVES
In this lesson, you will learn that: By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
1. A strong immune system defends the body 1. Understand the nature and importance of the
against the millions of microorganisms it is immune system.
exposed to every day, offering protection 2. Explain the role of Healthy Habits in
against a range of illnesses, from the common building up one’s resistance and preventing
cold to chronic disease. communicable diseases.
2. Along with keeping good hygiene, habits that 3. Practice Healthy Habits to support normal
support one’s immune system are as follows: immunity and prevent the spread of
• Choose nutritious and varied food communicable diseases.
• Manage portions
• Choose to drink water and milk
• Enjoy meals together
• Play actively
• Care for the planet

In this lesson, we will learn to:

Choose to
Choose Nutritious Manage Play
Drink Water
and Varied Options Portions Actively
and Milk

Enjoy Meals Care for the Keep Good

Together Planet Hygiene

LET’S READ AND LEARN

Have you heard of the words ‘immune system’? We also use
the terms ‘immunity’ or ‘resistensya’. Does anyone know what
these terms mean?
The immune system refers to the cells, tissues and organs
of our body that work together to protect the body against
infection. Remember, our body is constantly exposed to
millions of microorganisms. If bad microorganisms enter or
attack our body, our immune system is supposed to send cells
to find the bad microorganisms and kill them.

If our immune system is strong and functioning properly, then it can defend itself against the
microorganisms that cause sickness. But if our immune system is weak, it may lose against bad
microorganisms.

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White blood cells are an important part of the immune
system. They circulate throughout the body, looking for foreign
bodies like bacteria, viruses and parasites.
White blood cells include:
• Neutrophils – these circulate throughout the body to look
for foreign substances
• Eosinophils – these protect the body from parasitic
infections
• Basophils - these respond during allergic reactions
• Monocytes – these ingest invading microorganisms
• Lymphocytes - these help the body remember the microorganisms and destroy them

Some types of lymphocytes are as follows:

• B-cells – a type of lymphocyte that produces antibodies, a protein molecule that helps to fight
off antigens
• T-cells – a type of lymphocyte that helps get rid of infected cells and cells that are different
from normal body cells, such as cancer cells

Antigens are toxins that trigger the body’s immune response.

They may come from substances produced by invading
viruses or bacteria, or from the environment like chemicals
or allergens. When the body does get sick because of the
presence of antigens, the immune system gets rid of them and
remembers how to combat the infection by producing protein
molecules called antibodies. As these antibodies circulate,
they attack antigens that trigger the immune response by
binding to them, facilitating their destruction.

TRY THIS
Research the following online:
• What are the signs and symptoms of a weakened immune system?
• What consequences and diseases are associated with a weak or compromised immune
system?

In the previous lessons, we learned to Keep Good Hygiene. This lesson talks about other
Healthy Habits that can help support our immune system. The immune system is always
working to get rid of any infection. You can help your immune system do its job by
practicing the Healthy Habits. These Healthy Habits strengthen your immune system so
that it can ‘resist’ or fight off infections.

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Lesson 3 - Healthy Habits to Help Immunity

LET’S READ AND LEARN

Let’s look at the first habit that strengthens your immune

system: Choose Nutritious and Varied Options. It is
important to eat a nutritious and balanced diet that is rich
in protein, fruits, vegetables, dairy and whole grains.
Choosing nutritious and varied options allows us to get
the different nutrients that our bodies need for a strong
immune system.

Vitamin A is an important vitamin that nourishes the skin

and tissues in the mouth, stomach and intestines. When the
skin and tissues in the mouth, stomach and intestines are
intact and healthy, they act as a barrier against infection.
Vitamin A is found in yellow and orange vegetables like
squash and carrots. It can also be found in fruits like
papayas, melons and mangoes. You can also find vitamin A
in sweet potatoes, organ meats like liver, and fortified milk.

Vitamin C is another important vitamin that supports the

the normal function of the immune system. It is found in
yellow and orange fruits like papayas, pineapples, mangoes
and oranges. Dark, leafy vegetables like malunggay and
kangkong are also rich in vitamin C, along with fortified
milk and chocomalt milk drink.

Vitamin D contributes to maintenance of normal bones

and muscles and normal absorption of calcium. You can
find vitamin D in fortified milk and chocomalt milk drinks,
cheese, eggs and fish like salmon, tuna or sardines.

Vitamin B6 also helps in producing the cells that fight

microorganisms. Vitamin B6 can be found in potatoes,
bananas, fish, eggs, chicken and organ meats like liver. We
can also get this vitamin from nuts and beans, whole grain
cereals, fortified milk and chocomalt milk drink.

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Lesson 3 - Healthy Habits to Help Immunity

Zinc is another nutrient that

supports normal growth
and normal function of the
immune system. Zinc also
helps in wound healing. It is
found in protein-rich food like
fish, eggs, chicken, red meat,
shellfish and fortified milk.

Our immune system

Iron helps in forming needs a lot of
substances that kill bacteria different vitamins
and inactivate invading and minerals,
microorganisms. Iron is found in and we can only
meat, poultry, fish, beans, and get the vitamins
green leafy vegetables, as well and minerals we
as fortified milk and chocomalt need if we choose
milk drink. nutritious and varied
options for food.
If we eat the same
thing every day,
Last but not least, folate is
we are preventing
another nutrient that helps our
our bodies from
immune system respond to
getting all the
microorganisms. It is found in
nutrients it needs to
dark green, leafy vegetables.
help maintain our
It is also found in nuts, beans,
immune system.
whole grain cereals and citrus
fruits, such as orange.

Let’s talk about the second Healthy Habit that that helps
support our immune system: Manage Portions.
This is Pinggang Pinoy®. It is an easy-to-understand food
guide that reminds us what our meals should look like
every day. A nutritious meal consists of Go, Grow and Glow
food which should be eaten with a glass of water and/or a
nutritious beverage like fortified milk. Following Pinggang
Pinoy® helps to strengthen our immunity.

Pinggang Pinoy® reminds us that half of the plate should have fruits and vegetables, with more
vegetables than fruits. The other half is for grains and protein sources, with more grains than
protein. Having the correct portion sizes in every meal ensures that we get the vitamins and
minerals needed to strengthen immunity and prevent infection.

Pinggang Pinoy® image adapted from Food and Nutrition Research Institute, Department of Science and Technology. (2016). Pinggang
Pinoy® A Healthy Plate for a Well-Nourished Nation: Guide for nutrition professionals. Taguig City, Philippines. FNRI-DOST.

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Lesson 3 - Healthy Habits to Help Immunity

Which brings us to our next Healthy Habit: Choose to

Drink Water and Milk. Water is an important component
of lymph, a fluid part of the immune system. Fortified milk
has calcium and vitamin D for normal bones and teeth. It
also has nutrients like iron, zinc and vitamin C that may
contribute to the normal function of the immune system.

Lack of water leads to dehydration, with the following

signs and symptoms: thirst, fatigue, discomfort, dizziness,
weakness and loss of appetite.

Another important Healthy Habit is to Play Actively.

Children need to regularly get 30 to 60 minutes of physical
activity. Doing so strengthens the body, making it more
capable of fighting against infections. Doing moderate to
average intensity physical activities – like brisk walking,
jogging or skipping rope – also strengthens the immune
system. These kinds of activities temporarily improve blood
circulation, which means increased circulation of the cells
that fight infection.

Physical activity does not just refer to sports and exercises. Physical activity also includes the
things you do to get your body moving, like doing household chores or going for a walk with your
family.

Another important habit for staying healthy is to Enjoy

Meals Together.
Studies show that children who always eat meals with their
families are more likely to eat fruits, vegetables and milk
which are all rich in vitamins and minerals. In other words,
eating with the family encourages healthier eating habits
which help build stronger resistance.

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Lesson 3 - Healthy Habits to Help Immunity

The last habit we will discuss has to do with our

environment: Care for the Planet.
We do our best to keep our bodies clean and our
immune system strong so that we can avoid getting
sick, but another important thing to remember is that
we should keep our surroundings clean.
If we make sure that our surroundings are clean,
then we minimize the presence of disease-causing
microorganisms that may cause sickness.
We can keep our surroundings clean by not littering, and making sure that trash is safely collected,
stored and disposed. We can also make sure that we regularly clean household surfaces like table
tops, kitchen sinks and bathroom surfaces with soap and water, to prevent microorganisms from
multiplying.

NOW TRY THIS

Which of these habits do you need to start practicing today? Try any of these Healthy Habit
Challenges below!

Identify nutritious foods that you need to add to your diet. Perhaps you do not eat
enough vegetables and fruits, or you only eat one kind of protein (such as chicken).
Research recipes (or come up with one of your own) for a vegetable, fruit, or protein
source that you should add to your diet. Share this recipe with your friends and teacher
through email or social media.

With a friend or classmate, think of ways you can remember to drink water throughout
the day. For instance, you can use an alarm to remind you every hour, or you can remind
yourself to drink water each time you walk into the kitchen. For seven days, you and your
classmate can record the number of glasses of water you drank each day to see if your
ideas helped to increase your water intake.

Ask your family members to answer this question during your next meal: “Name three
things you are grateful for.” Come up with similar questions that you can discuss while
enjoying your meal together and share these questions with your teacher and classmates.

Make an exercise video that you can share on your social media account, or choose a day
and time when you can meet with friends online to exercise together. Record your your
group exercise and share this video with your teacher and classmates to encourage them
to have physical activity as well.

Walk through your home with a member of your family and observe areas where
cleanliness can be improved. Come up with tips on how to properly clean surfaces of
your house, to keep your home clean and sanitized. Share these tips in a video or create a
poster that you can send to your teacher and classmates.

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