Poor sanitation can be described as a state of disorderliness or untidiness in an environment. The environment in question here could be just a room, a street, or even an entire state. Poor sanitation is the lack of good hygiene and care for one’s health.
Basic acts like washing of hands and proper disposal of waste are disregarded, resulting in an environment that looks filthy. Such an environment is always unfit for people to reside in as it poses a great risk to their health and wellbeing.
Everything in an environment with poor sanitation would be bad, from the roads to the air people breathe, the water, and so on.
An environment with poor sanitation has a lot of health effects on people. Some of the major health effects of poor sanitation include:
1. Pollution
Pollution is one of the common signs of poor sanitation. The land around environments with poor sanitation would be littered with all kinds of waste, including faeces, at times. This gives room for some pests like rodents and other creatures to breed and spread diseases.
The air around such an environment would also be very toxic to breathe in. The air may also contain several germs that could spread diseases. This is one reason why diseases are so common in such places.
Another type of pollution is water pollution. Due to how water is so important in our everyday lives, an area facing water pollution would find it hard to do so many things. Getting clean water to drink or cook with would be very difficult. Even water to wash or clean with would not be available, resulting in even more pollution.
2. Spread Of Diseases
There is always an increase in diseases in places with poor sanitation. This is because the environment provides the right condition for bacteria and viruses to thrive. Some of the common diseases include cholera, malaria, dysentery, typhoid, diarrhoea, worm infection, and more.
Even diseases like tuberculosis and other communicable diseases would be widespread in an environment with poor sanitation. It is no surprise that people who live in places with poor sanitation are always battling one disease or the other. To make things worse, such people may not have access to quality healthcare, further worsening their situation.
3. Malnutrition
People who live in areas with poor sanitation often suffer from malnutrition. This is not surprising as the land that should have been used for farming would be polluted, further adding to the problem.
Also, it is difficult to store food in such a place as the food can be easily contaminated by germs and other agents. All of these result in a scarcity of food and vital nutrients.
Conclusion
The effects of poor sanitation cannot be overstated as they pose a great threat to one’s existence. That is why it is important that we work together to make our environments to clean and livable. The adverse health effects of poor sanitation can be damaging to your health and wellbeing.
Taking out time regularly to clean our surroundings and get rid of waste the right way would go a long way in keeping our communities clean and free from the effects of poor sanitation.
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Collins Nwokolo is a human physiologist, writer and health enthusiast. He loves writing helpful articles on health and fitness, which he enjoys sharing with everyone.
