HYGIENE PROTOCOLS

[jimLE]

only way i'll travel after a shtf situation,is if i HAVE to bug out..other then that,and just like bigpaul. i'll be staying close to home.but yet.i'll be staying closer then 1 mile..on account there's to many ppl in my area.

 

[bigpaul]

I just said 2 miles cos its a mile to the farm shop and 2 miles is half way to the next village .

 

[kdallah]

I already use , borax, washing soda, laundry soap, white vinegar, bleach, and laundry soap and I find that covers my household needs. Personal need are a bit more extensive and still developing. I think I will take a look at those pool chlorine tabs, good storage idea.

 

[Brent S]

I already use , borax, washing soda, laundry soap, white vinegar, bleach, and laundry soap and I find that covers my household needs. Personal need are a bit more extensive and still developing. I think I will take a look at those pool chlorine tabs, good storage idea.

I picked up some bleach tablets at my local Walmart recently. They do say for cleaning solution only, so have other things in them and probably wouldn't be the best for adding to water for purification. At least they will store well long term.

 

[Maverick]

I've mention this before elsewhere, hygiene should also include the tetanus shot given that most places include the diphtheria (Td) and pertussis (whooping cough) as a combo vaccine in the tetanus shot (Tdap), the whole point to hygiene is prevention Tdap should be part of the hygiene prep!

 

[Silent Bob]

Posted earlier in Medical and How to section is a good military pamphlet on hygiene. Its a Army-Navy-AF manual on field sanitation and hygiene. A great resource to have at your bug out location.

I second (Maverick's suggestion) the recommendation of tetanus, also preppers should consider getting the Meningococcal vaccine (due to overcrowded conditions after SHTF), the Hepatitis B series, Polio Vaccine, and Yellow Fever (to get that one, just tell them you are traveling down past Mexico). Also I'd get a good titer done on Measles and Mumps, good to have a revaccine, as we saw recently with the Disneyland Measles outbreak.

I know their are some who don't believe in vaccines, but following SHTF, many of those who are not vaccinated will be susceptible, great to have the stock of MRE's, etc...that we build upon, only to fall victim to those things we can't see.

 

[Gazrok]

I know their are some who don't believe in vaccines

Depends on the vaccine.

I'm all for the ones you mentioned, but completely against the flu vaccine. (for many reasons)

 

[bigpaul]

I don't trust vaccines, don't know what they put in the stuff.

 

[Maverick]

I totally understand the concerns regarding vaccinations though we shouldn't run with the venue of paranoia, we are starting to see the results of kids (and adults) that have refused to be vaccinated, most of the mistrust is solely based on pseudoscience not facts, the only vaccine I won't get is the flu shot for the fact there isn't enough time to thoroughly test the vaccine.

 

[Gazrok]

My problems with the flu shot:

1) We have no idea what else could be going in that shot. With distrust of government at an all-time high, and this being the most common vaccine, it makes sense anything with an ulterior motive would be best delivered this way.

2) All it really does is give me a mild flu for the whole damn season. I'd rather have 3 days of hell and be done with it. (I got one many years ago, and this is what happened, so haven't since).

3) I'm not a high risk category for it, so nope.

 

[Danil54grl]

Learn how to make Lye soap the old fashioned way from ashes. . . it will kill off a lot of the germs. . . even take off your own skin if not ripened long enough.

 

[Brent S]

My problems with the flu shot:

1) We have no idea what else could be going in that shot. With distrust of government at an all-time high, and this being the most common vaccine, it makes sense anything with an ulterior motive would be best delivered this way.

2) All it really does is give me a mild flu for the whole damn season. I'd rather have 3 days of hell and be done with it. (I got one many years ago, and this is what happened, so haven't since).

3) I'm not a high risk category for it, so nope.

I'm still a fan of the flu shot. I agree that I'm not completely trusting of our government, but I think he rewards outweigh the risks. I am not in an at risk category either, but do work with the public, so get it each year.
I think it was probably just random chance that you had symptoms after getting the shot, as you can't get the flu from it. Still, anything you put inside your body does have potential risk.

 

[Maverick]

The Wife and kids get the flu shot and none of them had any adverse reaction me on the other hand errors on the side of caution, by the time the strain is ident and the vaccine produced there isn't a lot of time for testing and in many cases the strain has already mutated though I do get the pneumococcal pneumonia vaccination (PPSV23) I don't believe the flu shot itself has caused one to get the flu, it is more likely they got the flu from a different strain or they already had the bug when the shot was administered thus giving the impression the shot caused the flu.

 

[MahoganyEclipse]

I use the original ivory soap (no fragrance) it can also be use for laundry in fact, ivory soap should be one of the soaps normally stocked with preppers for multiple reasons, price isn't bad, I picked up 4oz bars 16 pack for around $4.00usd

I would except for those of us with extremely dry skin conditions would wither up like a leaf and blow away in our dry, desert heat. Also, constantly scratching dry, itchy skin often results in bloody scratches, would could introduce problems in their own if proper hygiene wasn't observed.
Instead, I stock up on Olay beauty bars and lotions with extra moisturizing added to them.

 

[Silent Bob]

I hate to admit it, but I've raided the aisles of Walmart, CVS and Walgreens. I take of advantage of sale items as they become available, a whole rack is dedicated to personal hygiene stuff. Fragrance versus Non-fragrance soaps, shampoos. I have stocked up even with Head/Shoulders and other medicated dandruff shampoos. Not to mention, I have several cases of Nix and Rid, in case we have a nit lice problem. Gone are the days that we can delouse with DDT, so I've got some other more body friendly insecticides in case of a louse born infestation.

If preppers have not considered this issue, I'd make every effort to store some in your preps.

 

[Maverick]

I hate to admit it, but I've raided the aisles of Walmart, CVS and Walgreens. I take of advantage of sale items as they become available, a whole rack is dedicated to personal hygiene stuff. Fragrance versus Non-fragrance soaps, shampoos. I have stocked up even with Head/Shoulders and other medicated dandruff shampoos. Not to mention, I have several cases of Nix and Rid, in case we have a nit lice problem. Gone are the days that we can delouse with DDT, so I've got some other more body friendly insecticides in case of a louse born infestation.

If preppers have not considered this issue, I'd make every effort to store some in your preps.

Come to think of it Lice has been a problem through the ages regardless of wealth and the one thing I completely didn't take into consideration good grief. Thanks Bob

 

[Silent Bob]

Its really sad to think that we have to think about lice, but then the Army had actual public health and vet teams charged to delouse civilians and POW's during the first Gulf War and Invasion of Iraq in 03. So I would guess if your one of those conspiracy theorist where their will be FEMA concentration camps, then I wouldn't pass the idea that they would also have a plan to delouse people. Sad, if we do, because it brings back pictures of some old Nazi concentration camps doing the same thing.

However, in a TSHTF environment, and showering and laundering of clothes being on the low end of priority scale, it would be a good idea to have a monitoring plan, a preventive plan and an active delousing plan integrated with your prep material to deal with it.

 

[Brent S]

This got me thinking about more over there counter meds. Things like fungus (jock itch or athletes foot, etc) these may not kill you but could make you really uncomfortable. I'll check there pharmacy aisles the next time I'm at Wally World.

 

[Maverick]

Speaking of hygiene, the one bar of soap that should be part of everyone's hygiene kit is fels-naptha, I've used it for years for various things, it can be used from clothes soap to hand soap to medical needs. Practically everybody still caries this 120+ year soap. FYI, store it in the garage or bucket with lid the scent like mothballs is over powering in confined spaces!

 

[Silent Earth]

Speaking of hygiene, the one bar of soap that should be part of everyone's hygiene kit is fels-naptha, I've used it for years for various things, it can be used from clothes soap to hand soap to medical needs. Practically everybody still caries this 120+ year soap. FYI, store it in the garage or bucket with lid the scent like mothballs is over powering in confined spaces!

Is that what we over here call Coal Tar Soap?