The problems related to personal hygiene in ancient Egypt were not greatly different than in any other ancient or modern developing civilization. It is ironic that the problems were only made more complex and difficult to solve by the side effects of the two important physical realities that made life possible. These were the incessant heat of the sun and the abundant waters of the river Nile. While the constant sunshine was a great benefit, for it provided heat and light and was incidentally a source of vitamin D, it dried or burned the skin and also encouraged the breeding of insects that could transmit disease. The Nile was not only directly responsible for the fertility of the land, as well as providing the most important source of water for drinking and bathing, it also functioned as an all-too-handy waste removal system. The unintentional result of the two “assets” was a continued cycle of disease transmission.

When the prehistoric hunter-gatherers lived a nomadic life and constantly moved from place to place, they regularly abandoned temporary sites that were no longer habitable. In the process they left behind accumulated human and animal waste and garbage that was alive with vermin, parasites, and the consequent disease-breeding potential that they represent. When people began to establish permanent settlements and villages in the Nile valley, this regular process of cleansing by relocation by and large came to an end. Life in settlements brought with it conditions that encouraged the transmission of disease and the proliferation of parasites. For most of the population during the span of Egyptian history permanent housing usually meant conditions of constant crowding, poor ventilation, and little or no sanitary facilities as we know them today.