Managing to stay clean and healthy in the wild might be hard, especially when it comes to dire situations. However, it is necessary for you and your group to sustain your vigor to stay alive and live long enough to look for help. Whether your sanitation issues are for family campouts or survival calls, we’ve got some tips for you to cover.
Tips on How to Stay Clean and Healthy in the Wild
Camping or hiking might be fun, but that’s not to say everything is safe out there. Is it just a bug bite or simple rash on your children’s skin? Is it harmless or deadly? Even though you’ll find yourself enjoying in the wilderness, you must be alert at all times for any scenario that might happen.
Before Camping
- Get vaccinated. Don’t be scared of those shots! Vaccinations can prevent you from getting ill with all the germs and bacteria found in the wild. Get vaccinations like for typhoid, rabies, tetanus, measles, and mumps.
- Have a checklist of your first aid kit. Always prepare before camping. Make sure you can bring necessary first aid kits. You have to be careful about animal bites, burns, scratches, or staking. These are among the following items to pack: ○ soap
○ alcohol/sanitizers
○ bandages, plasters or gauze
○ ointments and creams
○ sunscreen and chapsticks
○ Medication for headaches, stomach aches, pain relievers, etc.
○ Tweezers, scissors, or pocket knife
- Prepare safe food or snacks for camping. According to the Department of Homeland Security, some foods you might want to stock during an emergency situation include crackers, protein bars, peanut butter, or dried fruits. And this is also true for camping survival. If you can’t hunt or fish at the moment, you should have enough supplies to last at least three days.
During Camping
Wash your hands. Washing of the hands can signify proper health and hygiene purposes. You can prevent skin infections, flu, or stomach aches by just cleaning your hands. Wash your fingers and the little nooks between it, your nails, and the back of your palm. Always do this before, during, and after preparing food; after touching animals; after swimming; and handling some soiled items. Tips: Have your soap cover in a pouch to avoid getting it soiled. Also, to save your soap, you can shave it to small rectangular pieces and use it wisely per day. If you ran out of soap, you could use alcohol or sanitizer gels.- Brushing your teeth. A little fact: Don’t you know that gum infections can lead to fatal diseases? That’s true. Not only you have to keep your pearls white, but it’s actually to fight bacteria growing in your mouth. If you’re out of toothpaste, you can dilute salt to rinse your mouth. Willow bush is also a perfect source of toothpaste. It’s wildly familiar in the woods or parks, so, there’s no need to worry about finding one.
- Bring protective gears with you. Enjoying outdoor hobbies with your family or friends is excellent. But bring helmets, gloves, and life jackets with you. We know it’s all fun and games until someone is seriously injured. Talk to the park officials and rangers about the area you’ll be staying. Do they have a map? Locate the area where there are poisonous plants or animals and stay away! Wear long and thick pants as well.
- Don’t feed the animals, they say. Never attempt to get close to an animal and avoid giving them food. A deer might seem harmless and cute, but it can attack you when it feels threatened. Just observe them from afar. Rabies is prevalent in the outdoors. Keep an eye on bats, squirrels, or other wild animals. If you have food, keep it sealed in a container.
- Make sure the water is safe. If you’re taking a bath or are planning to drink from lakes and rivers, you have to know whether it’s safe or not. Do not drink if you’re unsure. To sterilize the water, you can boil it for 15 minutes. Other ways of purifying the waters are through purification tablets, filters, or bleaching. Ask the park if they sell any of these in their shop.
- Apply sunscreen or bug repellant lotions. The searing heat of the sun can burn your skin. Therefore, you might need creams for that. You can prevent getting sun diseases like rashes, irritation, or cancer. Also, with bug bites – you can avoid getting mosquitoes to bite you by spraying yourself with repellants. The best herbs for DIY bug sprays are citronella, onions, and leeks.
After Camping
- Take medications if possible with your doctor. After being in the wilds for a long time, your energy might be drained. It’s best to take medications accordingly as suggested by your doctor – it can be Vitamin C or anti-malaria tablets.
- Take a nice, long bath. Since you are now back to civilization, get a good soak and cleaning. Wash away the dirt and feel clean water trickling from your skin.
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