India: Tourists are often surprised to learn that toilet paper is not easily accessible here. While you may find toilet paper in hotels and some stores in tourist spots, most homes and public places don't have them stocked. The people of this culture use water to clean themselves when necessary.
Toilet paper is not standard use in India. Rather, squat toilets are the standard type of toilet and it is expected that you will clean yourself afterward using water from a hand bidet sprayer, butterfly jet, hand shower or even a bucket of water.
France, Portugal, Italy, Japan, Argentina, Venezuela, and Spain: Instead of toilet paper, people from these countries (most of them from Europe) usually have a bidet in their washrooms. A bidet like a toilet, but also includes a spout that streams water like a water fountain to rinse you clean.
Australians use about 88 toilet paper rolls per person, or slightly less than two rolls a week, over the course of the year, according to data from German market research company Statista.
They make all the sense in the world - the bidet shooting a stream of water at our private bits to wash them after we relieve ourselves. But, like in the US and UK, bidets aren't commonly used here in Australia. We've never developed a culture of using them, instead opting for multi-ply toilet paper instead.
Unlike Westerners, Indians use their hands and water to clean their bottoms. First, they touch the excreta with their fingers and then they clean those fingers subsequently. At one level, this highlights the particular emphasis that the Indian psyche gives to the removal of impure substances from the body.
In India, as right across Asia, the left hand is for wiping your bottom, cleaning your feet and other unsavoury functions (you also put on and take off your shoes with your left hand), while the right hand is for eating, shaking hands and so on.
Wiping buttocks by hand
In the Republic of Sudan, a Muslim country in eastern Africa 10,000 kilometers away from Japan, it is common to wash hands before 5 daily prayers, after a meal and during excretion. During excretion, the left hand is used to wipe the buttocks.
How often should one have a shower in India? It depends on the place where you are staying in India and also the weather at that time. In colder regions where you don't sweat a lot and the weather is dry, you don't need to bathe everyday. Almost every Indian takes bath atleast once in a day including myself.
Some apply on a daily basis. But they will use soap and shampoo. My family is from South India (Tamil Nadu) and we do use shampoo and soap. We do, however, put coconut oil in our hair, but that's more for styling it than to clean it!
In India and the Indian subcontinent, over 95% of the population use water for cleansing the anal area after defecating. The cleaning of hands with soap/ liquid soap after this cleansing process is very important. In urban areas and newer settlements, bidet showers are widely used.
To touch someone on the top of their head is considered rude and insensitive. This is especially the case with babies, children, elderly, religious leaders or statues of deities. To show the utmost respect towards a religious leader, statue of a deity or an elder, one will touch the feet of the person or the statue.
Squat toilets are common in many Asian countries, including China and India. They are also widespread in Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Myanmar, Iran and Iraq. They can be found in nations like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Singapore.
While you may think nothing of holding your partner's hand in public, or even hugging or kissing them, it's not appropriate in India. Indian society is conservative, particularly the older generation. Such personal acts are associated with sex and can be considered obscene in public.
Ayurveda recommends washing your hair every three or four days if you have a Vata hair type. You can limit your hair wash to once a week if your scalp and hair are extremely dry.
Due to the country's vast population growth and its limited accessibility to water, people have limited access to sanitation and hygiene in India. Nearly half of Indians defecate into the environment, which pollutes water and leads to the number one cause of diarrhea-associated deaths in children.
Water and cleanliness
Taking a bath is an important daily ritual in the Hindu faith. It's believed that bathing cleans the body but also the mind and soul.
We as Muslims clean our private parts with water after using the toileto be purified from filth and dirt.
However, urinating standing is makruh tanzih if there isn't a need to do so and it is fine if one experiences a debility such as inappropriate place or there is no clean place for him to sit and urinate.
✓ Always wipe from front to back
This is by far the most important and undeniably true approach to wiping after peeing. Doing so avoids the risk of urinary tract infections caused by bringing in bacteria from the rear.
Should guys wipe after they pee? While most men are content with shaking after they pee, it's a good idea to make a small wipe or dab to ensure that there is no remaining urine. This will help keep your urethra and your undies clean!
Gently wash your penis each day. Carefully pull back and clean underneath the foreskin, as well as the tip of your penis (the glans) using only water and a very gentle soap. Don't scrub this sensitive area. It is fine to use soap, but using too much could irritate your penis.