Sanitation

Hygiene is not a luxury. It is one of the most important things in life and can determine how long you will survive. When things go crazy, your ability to stay healthy and clean will make all the difference in how well you do during a crisis.

While there are many things that you should do every day for good hygiene, there are also some things that we take for granted but which become more important when a disaster occurs.

This article will look at some of these elements and show how they can make all the difference when something unfortunate happens or any other time during an emergency or natural disaster

Why Hygiene Is Important For Preppers

Hygiene is the practice of keeping clean and preventing the spread of disease. Although I’m sure, you already know that it’s still important to understand why hygiene is so important for preppers.

Hygiene helps prevent disease. When not properly hygienic, we are more likely to become sick with an illness such as a cold or flu.

This can be harmful if you have another medical condition, such as diabetes or asthma. It can also hinder your ability to perform daily tasks like going to work or school, cooking meals, taking care of your sick family members, and protecting yourself in case you have medications or aid that will help you in times of sickness.

Hygiene keeps us healthy by preventing infection from spreading from one person’s body onto someone else’s body via touching (or sharing) objects like forks/knives/spoons etc., coughing on people around us, or sneezing near them.

Learning hygiene ensures that you can stay as healthy as possible for as long as possible, ultimately enabling you to lead a longer life.

 

Different Hygiene Tips for Preppers

Hygiene and sanitation is not a joke. These terms cover many topics that this article cannot even cover. But it surely will give you a solid introduction to it.

Whether you are a seasoned prepper or an amateur, these tips must be learned. Even if you know them, there is no harm in refreshing your memory!

Let’s look at different sanitation and hygiene tips that can be used in times of need. Let’s get started.

Lice and Ticks

Lice and ticks are common. You might not know it yet, but you have lice and ticks. They don’t discriminate based on your prepper status or where you live—they’ll hitch a ride wherever they can find one, which is often on your head or body.

Although their presence may seem insignificant at first (because no one likes to scratch their heads), these tiny pests can carry diseases that can cause serious health issues for those infected.

Lice and ticks aren’t the easiest creatures to get rid of once they’ve taken up residence in your hair follicles or clothing fibers.

They’re also very hard to detect because they can be hidden so well by dense hair, thick clothing fabric, and even by sitting comfortably in cozy nests made of beloved stuffed animals that have been collecting dust when not in use!

Lice &ticks may also make it difficult for you to think straight as they can cause skin irritations. People may also tend to stay away from you, as these tiny critters can jump from host to host, resulting in a spread in your prepper community.

When it comes to lice and ticks, prevention is key! You should always wash your hair with permethrin shampoo as soon as you get home from camping or hiking in an area known for having lice or ticks present.

Permethrin is an insecticide that kills these pests once sprayed over your body; it does not damage skin or fabrics when used correctly according to label instructions, so don’t worry about using too much!

Teeth Issues

There are several reasons why dental care is important. First, your teeth help you chew and eat, which is a very important part of life.

Second, your teeth also help you smile. When people see you smile at them and notice that your teeth are not in good shape, they will not be as friendly towards you as they would have been if your teeth were healthy looking.

Thirdly, bad breath can make others avoid being around you due to the fact that their noses may pick up on the odor from afar.

Fourthly, tooth decay can lead to gum disease and other oral health issues like cavities or even infections like gingivitis (inflammation of periodontal pockets). If left untreated, these conditions could result in tooth loss.

Regular dental visits will ensure that all problems with our mouth are spotted early so that treatment can begin immediately before any damage occurs – meaning no more toothaches and worrying about cavities.

Cold and Influenza

Imagine the following scenario: You’ve just spent your first night in your new bugout location. It’s cold, so you light a fire to warm up. You start coughing and sneezing; then, before you know it, you’re sick with the flu.

A common misconception about the flu is that it’s an airborne virus; however, this isn’t true—the flu is transmitted through direct contact h an infected person or their bodily fluids (e.g., saliva) via coughing/sneezing or touching something contaminated by those bodily fluids (e.g., hand railings or door handles).

The best way to avoid getting sick is by practicing good hygiene and sanitation habits at all times: wash your hands after using the bathroom and before preparing food; cover your mouth when sneezing/coughing; stay away from people who are obviously ill (you’ll know them when you see them); etcetera ad nauseam…

Cold symptoms include things like runny nose, sore throat, coughs, and chills—so if any of these occur after being exposed to someone who has a cold/flu then rest assured that taking antibiotics won’t help much because most colds aren’t bacterial infections anyway!

The best way to prevent such illnesses is by keeping yourself clean and letting people who have them wear masks. After the COVID-19 pandemic, it won’t take too much convincing to get them to wear one!

Important Things to Do As a Prepper

The life of a prepper is not easy. You need to make sure that you are ready for any and all scenarios.

Whether they be some of the common problems that have been discussed before, or something else, you need to be prepared for any and all eventualities.

This section will take a look at some things that a prepper should always do in order to ensure a hygienic lifestyle.

Protective Masks

If you live in an area with poor air quality and contaminated water, or if you’re planning to bug out to a location that may have these issues, it is vital that you wear a protective mask at all times.

Masks can keep you safe from harmful diseases and chemicals by filtering out airborne particles like dust and smoke.

If you don’t have access to gas masks or other types of protective gear that filter out contaminants, we recommend investing in N95 masks.

These are the most affordable option for preppers on a budget—they can be purchased for less than $5 each through Amazon Prime or ebay.

Sterilizing Water

If you’re prepping for a disaster, one of your first priorities is to make sure that you have access to as much clean drinking water as possible. There are a few ways that you can accomplish this task.

  • You can use sterilizing tablets to purify your water (i.e., iodine or chlorine dioxide tablets). These usually come in packs of 50 or 100 and cost less than $10 per pack on Amazon, so it’s not too expensive to stock up if you think there’s going to be an emergency that requires a lot of drinking water.
  • You can boil the water before using it. This is probably the most common method used by preppers because it’s relatively easy and inexpensive; however, some people believe that boiling leaves minerals out of the water, which may negatively impact its taste and health benefits over time (although this is debatable).
  • You can get a filter for your faucet at Home Depot/Lowes/etc… or another place where plumbing supplies are sold (there are many kinds available), but these aren’t nearly as effective at filtering out bacteria as other methods listed above.

Regardless of the method you choose, you should make sure to always sterilize water. Whether it be used for drinking or cleaning wounds, you should make sure that the water you use is free from all sorts of bacteria and contaminants that can harm your life and the life of the people around you.

Sterilizing Food

If you want to make sure your food is safe for eating, sterilization is the best way to do it. Sterilization is a process that kills all living things on or around an item, so it can safely be eaten. You can sterilize food in two ways: by boiling or using chemical solutions (which are more expensive).

Boiled Food

The easiest and cheapest way to sterilize your food is by boiling it. To boil water, simply put the desired amount in a pot, cover it with its lid and boil over high heat until done.

It’s important that you don’t let the water boil away because this will cause problems like scorching or burning whatever you are cooking–so keep an eye on your pot!

Another good thing about boiling food is that utensils used during this process cannot come into contact with any harmful germs either because they have already been killed by the high temperature.

Chemical Solutions

If you aren’t comfortable using chemicals such as bleach, then one alternative could be hydrogen peroxide solution which has antibacterial properties similar but not quite as strong as those found within bleach itself; however, these do not kill viruses, so if used properly, there shouldn’t be any problem keeping them safe from microbial contamination either way.

An important part of hygiene and sanitation is the quality of food you put in your stomach. You need to make sure that it is clean and that all germs and contaminants are gone before you consume it.

This section covered the top three ways of doing so. As a prepper, you should choose one, so you and the people around you can eat clean and risk-free food.

Illnesses That Can Be Contracted Without Proper Hygiene

Here are just a few of them that are commonly lurking in unfiltered water:

  • Giardia: Many people tend to become infected with this microscopic parasite via drinking from streams, lakes, or water that hasn’t been properly treated. The symptoms are not pleasant by any means and include nausea, stomach cramps and pains, diarrhea, gas, and dehydration.

Thankfully, this  can easily be filtered out of the water with something as simple as our Personal Water Filter

  • E. coli: This common kind of bacteria can also be easily extracted from water by using a top-notch water filter. If you’ve ever had — or heard — of traveler’s diarrhea, you can thank E. coli for that. Another E.coli strain can cause extremely severe diarrhea, fever and vomiting, in some cases, can even be fatal. 
  • Campylobacter: The lesser evil of the three, these bacteria can cause stomach cramps, fever, and diarrhea. In most cases, accidentally consuming campylobacter can be handled at home, but you may need medical intervention if the pain becomes unbearable and you become dehydrated.  

Hygiene and sanitation are incredibly important in any survival situation.

If you have been in a situation where your life depends on being able to stay clean and sanitary, then you know how important it is to keep yourself and the people around you as clean as possible.

This section will take a look at some of the common illnesses that can wreak havoc on your life if you are unfortunate enough to contract them.

Respiratory Infections

Respiratory infections are a serious concern for preppers, and not just because they’re annoying and can keep you from getting enough rest.

The truth is that airborne pathogens like the flu virus spread easily when people cough or sneeze on others (or touch surfaces that have been contaminated with infected droplets), so it’s important to reduce your risk of infection by keeping surfaces clean and disinfected.

That means covering your mouth when coughing or sneezing into your arm instead of directly onto others, avoiding touching your eyes or nose after touching contaminated surfaces—basically all those things we learned in elementary school!

The best way to protect yourself from respiratory infections is through good hygiene habits: bathing regularly; keeping fingernails short; trimming nose hairs using tweezers (and disposing of them properly); turning off fans when you leave a room; wearing surgical masks if necessary; also wearing gloves whenever possible (even if it feels weird).

Finally, don’t forget about hand washing! You always want to make sure that you’re cleaning up thoroughly after using the bathroom (especially before preparing food) and handling raw meat products like chicken breasts or beef steaks before cooking them.

Typhoid Fever

Typhoid fever is caused by the Salmonella Typhi bacterium. It manifests as a high fever, weakness, and stomach pains. In most cases, it can be treated with antibiotics and prevented by washing hands with soap and water.

However, if you are planning to survive in an environment where there are no medical facilities available to treat typhoid fever, then it would be best for you to learn how to prevent yourself from getting infected or spreading it to others.

The first step towards preventing contracting Typhoid Fever is ensuring that your hands are clean before handling food or cooking utensils that will be used for preparing meals for yourself and other people who live under the same roof as you do (including family members).

Hepatitis A

Hepatitis A is an infection of the liver caused by a virus. It can be transmitted through contact with an infected person’s feces (often from contaminated food or water) or from consuming raw shellfish that were harvested in contaminated waters.

Symptoms may include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, and jaundice.

Although it’s not contagious until symptoms appear (which can take up to 7weeks), you can get vaccinated against hepatitis A if you’re traveling to areas where it’s common or living in close quarters with others who are at risk for contracting the disease. If you’re exposed to someone who has hepatitis A symptoms—or has had direct contact with their bodily fluids since they appeared—you should get tested immediately.

Vaccination is the only viable solution to protect yourself from the virus. You should also avoid shellfish, which may already be difficult to get your hands on in a prepping scenario. The illness can leave you extremely weak, and you need to make sure that you don’t contract it.

Cholera

Cholera is an acute diarrheal illness caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholera. Contaminated water is the most common means of transmission.

Cholera can also be acquired through direct contact with infected persons, especially those who are sick. Vibrio cholerae has a short incubation period (1–3 days) and produces an enterotoxin that causes acute inflammation of both the small intestine and large intestine, leading to profuse, watery diarrhea that may be so severe that it may lead to death within hours if treatment is not initiated immediately.

The traditional treatment for cholera includes oral rehydration salts (ORS), which provide fluids and electrolytes lost through diarrhea; antibiotics to treat infections caused by Vibrio cholerae; intravenous fluids for severe dehydration; antiemetics such as prochlorperazine may help control nausea and vomiting from cholera.

You really don’t want this illness, as it will take weeks for you to get back to full health. This is not beneficial for you or your family, regardless of the fact that you are in a prepping scenario or not. If you suspect you have cholera, you need to get the right treatment as soon as possible.

Safe?

In the wild, if you collect rainwater in a clean container, it’s generally regarded as safe. The same goes for snow that you’ve melted. H2O in the wilderness is also almost always safe if you’ve collected it via transpiration. Safe

If you collect the water by any other means, though, whether that be from a stream, lake, pond, river, etc., it should most definitely be filtered and/or purified. Unsafe

What’s the Difference Between Purification and Filtration?

Although many individuals tend to use these two terms interchangeably, they are not the same when it comes to decontaminating H2O. While both, of course, are better than doing nothing at all, water purifiers provide the most protection.

A filter relies on a physical barrier, such as charcoal, to remove the undesirables out of the water. With the right filter, you can remove life-threatening bacteria and parasites. 

What you won’t be able to take out of your water with a filter, however, is viruses

When you purify your water, you are also working to remove all the bad stuff, but you’re doing so by using safe chemical methods, such as adding a little iodine or chlorine. When you do this method, you can remove not only bacteria and parasites but also viruses that are too tiny to be removed by your filter. 

As a general rule of thumb, purifying your H2O is the way to go! But if you don’t have the necessary chemicals and you become dehydrated, it’s much better to use a good quality filter than nothing at all.

Boiling is probably the most common and effective way of purifying water.

It works well in most scenarios, at home or out in the field; except if the water is heavily contaminated with chemical or radioactive particulates.

Boiling water kills bacteria and harmful pathogens, but will not remove heavy chemicals. Sustain a rolling boil for at least five minutes to be certain that you have killed anything that might harm you.

Purification tablets

Most of them are iodine-based, and you simply add one tablet to a certain volume of water, wait as the tablet dissolves, and are left with clean drinking water.

The slight downside to these is that they can leave your water with a distinct and unpleasant taste. This is probably not your biggest concern in a survival scenario, but can certainly affect your level of comfort – which is especially important if you have children.

Survival Straw
Main benefit of a survival straw: Instant clean water

Main downside of a survival straw: Not reliable for heavily-soiled water

Main benefit of distillation: Best method for saltwater or heavily-contaminated water

Main downside of distillation: Takes a long time

Distillation is one of the safest ways of purifying water, but it requires special gear or a little ingenuity.

To make a solar still:

  • Dig a hole about 2ft deep and 3ft in diameter in direct sunlight. Do this in the morning to conserve energy and produce less sweat.
  • Place a container in the center, this will be your drinking container.
  • Fill the hole with any source liquid you can find. Sea water, bog water, vegetation, even urine!
  • Cover the whole with a sheet of transparent plastic and secure the edges with dirt and rocks. Place a small amount of dirt or small rock in the center to make a cone shape directly over your container.
  • Over the course of the day, the heat from the sun will cause any liquid in your hole to evaporate, and water vapor will collect on the plastic. It will run down the cone shape and eventually drip into your container.

Make a water filter out of nature
21 Easy Homemade Water Filter Plans (sunrisespecialty.com)

 

Symptoms of Dehydration

Thirst isn’t always a reliable early indicator of the body’s need for water. Many people, particularly older adults, don’t feel thirsty until they’re already dehydrated. That’s why it’s important to increase water intake during hot weather or when you’re ill.

The signs and symptoms of dehydration also may differ by age.

Infant or young child

  • Dry mouth and tongue
  • No tears when crying
  • No wet diapers for three hours
  • Sunken eyes, cheeks
  • Sunken soft spot on top of skull
  • Listlessness or irritability

Adult

  • Extreme thirst
  • Less frequent urination
  • Dark-colored urine
  • Fatigue
  • Dizziness
  • Confusion

Emergency Sanitation & Hygienic Supplies:

  • Medium-sized plastic bucket with tight lid – Use this to store your kit, and as a latrine if necessary.
  • Box of 1-gallon Ziploc bags for protecting and storing clean supplies.
  • Heavy-duty plastic garbage bags and ties for waste.
  • Baby wipes.
  • Hand sanitizer.
  • Disinfectant cleaner (anti-bacterial cleaning spray).
  • Toothpaste, toothbrush.
  • Washcloths and towels.
  • Toilet paper.
  • Fine-tooth comb, brush.
  • Razor, shaving cream.
  • Lip balm.
  • Insect repellent.
  • Feminine supplies.
  • A small shovel for digging a latrine.
  • Contact lens solution.

Conclusion

As a prepper, you should be aware of the importance of hygiene and sanitation. These two topics are not only beneficial to the survival of your group but also essential for maintaining the quality of life during difficult times.

There may be situations where clean water is scarce, or there is no electricity; these situations call for knowing how to keep yourself and others clean at all times.

A well-prepared individual should consider all aspects of sanitation, including food preparation and disposal, as well as personal care products like soap/shampoo/deodorant, etc. As a prepper, you should be all over the situation, so you don’t get sick from illnesses that you could have possibly avoided.