As adults, we have countless responsibilities, and it's so easy to forget the "little things" like properly taking care of ourselves.
But Dr. Jen Caudle pointed out on TikTok that sometimes even when we think we're taking care of ourselves, we may not be doing it correctly.
The family physician and med school professor explained that it was becoming increasingly common for her to examine patients who had five key body parts that were not properly cleaned or which had obviously not been cleaned for a while.
The first body part Caudle cited was the belly button.l.lm
"That's right, a lot of guys don't wash their belly button at all."
"Guys, it gets gross! Please wash your belly button."
The old adage 'Keep your ears clean' made an appearance in Caudle's second point.
"The top of the ear, the back, and also the lobe. I want you to specifically wash that area."
"If you rub your ear, you smell it and it's gross, you haven't washed it recently."
The third point suggests we might not be washing our hands as well as we thought, either.
"Scrub underneath your fingernails. This is where a lot of dirt and grossness gets trapped, and we don't often think about it!"
You can watch the video here:
@drjencaudle You’re Not Washing These Enough! 🤢 #bath #bathe #shower #wash #loofah #bodywash #loofahsponge #loofahtiktok #washtiktok #tiktoktaughtme #fyp #fypシ
Caudle's final two points involved lower points on the body, including our legs and toes.
Caudle clarified:
"Yes, you actually need to wash your legs. I'm not talking about letting that soap run down your legs in the shower. I'm talking about washing!"
"Also, get in between those toes. You want to make sure you're preventing infections of many sorts. Make sure you're deliberately washing your toes!"
The video quickly garnered attention with 1.6 million views, more than 195 thousand likes, and more than 3,600 comments.
Some were disgusted that a video like this even needed to exist.
@drjencaudle/TikTok
@drjencaudle/TikTok
@drjencaudle/TikTok
@drjencaudle/TikTok
@drjencaudle/TikTok
@drjencaudle/TikTok
Others were relieved that they were already washing well.
@drjencaudle/TikTok
@drjencaudle/TikTok
@drjencaudle/TikTok
@drjencaudle/TikTok
@drjencaudle/TikTok
@drjencaudle/TikTok
Bathing is one of those tasks we all assume we have figured out now that we're grown, but like most things, there's always room for improvement.