Hygiene, Sanitation and Water Treatment
From WildWiki
Contents |
Hygiene, Water Treatment and Washing Practices
Diarrhea is one of the most common illnesses on a wilderness course. The pristine character of the wilderness can lure students into thinking the water is pure and good hygiene unnecessary. Students need to be aware that their health and the health of the group of depends upon preventing the spread of disease through food and water.
Educational Goals:
The development of sound hygiene habits should be our first priority. Students need to know the basic mechanisms of disease transfer and techniques for maintaining good health on an expedition. Various methods of water disinfection should be included in the instruction.
Key Points
Personal Hygiene
This is a critical skill and an essential part of good expeditionary behavior. Students (and staff) who do not model these procedures impeccably put the entire expedition at risk.
Hand washing must be a daily habit. Clean your hands after relieving yourself and before preparing or eating a meal. Remember, soap is just a lubricant- it is the friction of scrubbing your hands together that removes harmful bacteria and germs. Students should scrub hands for as long as it takes to sing the “happy birthday” song. In the absence of soap, sand makes an excellent substitute.
If you choose to bathe with soap, you should get wet, and then move at least 200 feet from water before lathering up. Use water carried in a pot to rinse off. This procedure allows biodegradable soap to break down and filter through the soil before reaching any body of water.
Other important personal hygiene points:
1) The Fecal-Oral Pathway: explain to students to importance of washing to avoid the transmission of food borne illnesses that can put the entire group under for several days.
2) Keep nails trimmed and clean.
3) Do not share lip balm, water bottles, eating utensils, food or toothbrushes with anyone you wouldn’t french kiss.
Kitchen and Food Hygiene
The major carriers of food-borne illnesses are contaminated food and utensils. Have clean, healthy people prepare the food. Use group cooking utensils rather than your personal spoon when making meals. Boil utensils regularly and plan food amounts so you don’t have leftovers. Pour food from the bag rather than reaching in with your hands. Bacteria grows best at temperatures between 45 and 140 degrees F. It can reach dangerous levels quickly. Heat and cold usually destroy the bacteria, but will not necessarily kill the toxins they produce. When setting up camp, model good hygiene by setting up a hand washing station immediately and using it frequently. On courses with cook groups, instructors should monitor student camps and insist that they have a hand washing station established.
Water Disinfection
All natural water sources may be contaminated. The protozoa giardia is present in many Uintas water drainages and some Wabikimi water sources.
Giardia and amoebae are killed in 2-3 minutes at 140 degrees F while diarrhea-producing bacteria and viruses die at 131 degrees F. Therefore, hot drink water does not have to reach a rolling boil (or 212 degrees F) to be safe to drink. The lower boiling point of water at the altitudes found in the Uintas will not affect disinfection. Filters remove protozoa (giardia, amoebas) but not viruses, and often need regular cleaning to be efficient.
Recent data in the medical literature indicates that very cold water requires even longer contact times than we thought to kill giardia cysts. The latest conservative recommendations for 1 potable aqua tablet in a liter of water at 41 degrees F are 60 min, at 59 degrees F 30 minutes and at 86 degrees F 15 minutes.
Teaching Considerations
It must be made clear that proper hygiene is an expectation – not an option. Telling students about the “mung” isn’t enough. The course needs to observe their instructors modeling hygienic habits at all times.
Hygiene tips should be included in your sanitation and food preparation instruction. For emphasis, give hygiene almost as a much attention as food identification and basic cooking skills.
Tent groups and other instructors practicing lax hygiene habits should receive timely and specific feedback. Sharing personal eating utensils is a sign that good hygiene has not become a habit. It is our responsibility to continue to promote these habits and not become frustrated by a lack of compliance.
Sanitation and Waste Disposal
For many students, this course is the first time they will have had to deal with getting rid of their own waste. Proper disposal is critical to protect both themselves and the environment from human contamination.
Educational Goals
Within a day of getting dropped-off students should have both an understanding of how decompositions works and of how to dispose of human waste in the wilderness. As the course progresses, students must demonstrate the skills and judgement to manage human and kitchen wastes in all environments encountered
Key Points
Effects of Improper Wastes Disposal
Improperly buried or spread waste can contaminate water and infect humans with protozoans such as giardia, bacteria such as campylobacter, and viruses such as hepatitis. Health concerns aside, waste that has been dealt with improperly can have a negative impact on the experience of other backcountry visitors and on the environment. Seeing and smelling unburied feces is offensive, but unfortunately not at all uncommon.
Decomposition
Organic material is decomposed by sunlight and bacteria. Feces can be broken down by bacteria in humus soil if there is adequate oxygen, moisture and heat, however in most of the environments we will be traveling through decomposition is slow at best. Nonetheless, burying feces is the best way to avoid accidental contamination.
Proper Waste Disposal
Explain and demonstrate proper waste disposal. Your general guidelines should indicate which technique is appropriate for your current location. As you change locations add new information. In general, Choose a site that is at least 200 feet from water and away from areas of human interest, such as campsites, trails, or climbing routes. Take care to avoid places that collect or drain water after a storm.
Catholes are the recommended technique for feces disposal. Dig a hole approximately six-to-eight inches deep and six inches wide to serve as a personal latrine. After you make your deposit, use a stick to mix your feces with soil, then fill in the hole and disguise the spot thoroughly. Spread catholes over a wide area and encourage folks to stroll far away from camp (don’t wait until your desperate). Wash your hands thoroughly after defecating to avoid the spread of disease. When available use outhouses. Their use may be required by law in some areas.
Wash Water
Leftover food and wastewater need to be disposed of carefully to avoid contaminating water sources and feeding wildlife. Animals that habitually eat human food scraps often become nuisances or even hazards. Pack out solid food scraps. Scatter dishwater away from camps, lakes, or streams.
Natural Toilet Paper
On wilderness we have employed natural toilet paper for years and we advocate its use in most situations. When done correctly, this method is as sanitary as regular toilet paper, but without the impact problems. Popular types of natural toilet paper include smooth stones, leaves, spruce cones, sticks, and snow. Warn students that some vegetation can be irritating, use it at their own risk.
Urination
Urinate away from camp on surfaces that will not be damaged by animals digging in search of salt. Be sensitive to the group’s comfort when it comes to urinating around camp or other people.
Teaching Considerations
To put apprehensive students at ease, you should use a relaxed, matter-of-fact tone and sense of humor when teaching this material. Show them a sample disposal site, dig a model cat hole, and exhibit samples of readily available natural toilet paper. This instruction needs to take place on the first day in the field. Your introduction does not have to be comprehensive, but should be complete enough to establish sound waste disposal habits immediately.
Proper hygiene, particularly the need for adequate hand washing, must be included in the first class. Explain that changes in regularity and stool characteristics are normal and expected because of the wilderness diet, physical activity, and hydration. Encourage students to heed nature’s call and not hold it in. Humorous demonstrations and illuminating anecdotes may help relax first time users of a wilderness toilet, but be aware that profanity and graphic explanations may be offended.
Leadership Opportunities
On the first night when sanitation is introduced, you usually only have time for a few quick comments. When there is more time, however, make an effort to open up the topic for a discussion on personal responsibility and choice. Our goal is to provide our students with guidelines rather than rules, and to get them taking responsibility for their actions. Sanitation is just one place to plant this seed.
