Hygiene protocols

[NorthernRaider]

HYGIENE PROTOCOLS
© 2011Northern Raider

If you think the greatest risk to your groups continued existence is going to be starvation or violence then you will be very much off the mark, it will more likely be a failure of your hygiene protocols that kill off most of you and the bulk of the country’s population. Sanitation failure, bugs, food poisoning, rodents, disease (common ones more so than exotic ones) will kill more than any other reason.

If you need to be paranoid about anything post collapse then it should be hygiene, hygiene in the home, hygiene in the kitchen, hygiene when coming into contact with strangers or late arriving group members.
In a crisis for example economic collapse you will need to consider the following protocols.

Patrols to fill in and disinfect all pools / ponds/ puddles that are not used by the group over a large around the retreat.
No footwear or clothes that have been used in patrolling/ foraging / agricultural work / cesspit digging to be allowed anywhere near the kitchen or food prep / storage areas.
Anyone on kitchen / food prep duties who leaves the work area must wash again before re-entering the work area, especially if going for personal ablutions.
All toilet habits must finish with a good wash with an anti-bacterial hand cleanser.
No one with so much as a sniffle to be allowed near the kitchen / food prep storage areas during the first 6 months of the crisis.
All visitors / late arrivals to be quarantined for at least 10 days during first 6 months of crisis
All suspicious food sources (old tins etc) to be treated with absolute caution (food taster volunteers!)
Cleaning within the home / retreat is to be of a standard that would satisfy conditions for an operating theatre or strive to be as hygienic as possible.
Washing and cleaning of clothes, crockery etc that ensures sterilisation be adopted every day during the first year of the crisis.
All waste foods that are not being recycled / composted to be buried in a way that rodents and animals cannot dig them up.
All rodents like squirrels, and scavenging types of wildlife to be eradicated within a 500 yard radius of the home / retreat if possible.
All cesspits to be limed and filled in every two weeks
All used bandages, dressings, nappies, sanitary products to be treated as though they are lethal and must be incinerated.
All water for consumption and personal hygiene MUST be boiled or chemically treated; never assume anything about the quality of water.
All fruit and vegetables must be washed with clean water.

The above suggestions are by no means complete and it’s your own responsibility to ensure that high levels of hygiene are maintained.
An outbreak of flu is an inconvenience to you now whilst you are healthy, but post collapse it will kill your young, your weak and old folk, Imagine what an outbreak of dysentery or gastro enteritis will do to your groups integrity, Measles, mumps, TB are going to crucify those who don't maintain their health and hygiene protocols.
Please don't forget that post collapse most forms of wildlife will be a risk to your group especially if rabies travels down the channel tunnel. The hairy tailed tree rat (grey squirrel) is as big a disease carrier as the brown rat, and don't forget feral dogs and cats they will have been feeding of all sorts of unpleasant carrion.
Post collapse most cute furry things are not to be trusted and should be incinerated.

HYGIENE MATERIALS LIST

LAUNDRY
• Bleach
• Laundry Detergent
• Comfort Softener
• Stain Remover

KITCHEN
• All Purpose Cleaner
• Fairy liquid
• Disinfectant
• Floor cleaning concentrated liquid
• __ Bleach
• Glass Cleaner
• Nylon Scourers
• General Purpose Cleanser
• ___ Hand sanitizer
• ___ Water Filter Elements
• ___ Paper towels
• ___ Glass Cleaner
BATHROOM
• Bath Soap
• Deodorant
• Baby Lotion
• Razors
• Shaving Cream
• Shampoo
• Toothpaste
• Conditioner
• ___ Baby Wipes
• ___ Toilet Paper

[Skvez]

Hygiene is important and with the increased stress and probably reduced nutrition of a post-event our immune systems will suffer but this reads like you're afraid you're going to die if you get a speck of dirt on you.

Cleaning the home to the standard of an operating theatre!? You've got to be joking, who has the time or resources to do this today before TSHTF let alone after? The golden horde will be able to find you from the smell of bleach

[Lightspeed]

(27 July 2012, 16:42)Skvez Wrote: Hygiene is important and with the increased stress and probably reduced nutrition of a post-event our immune systems will suffer but this reads like you're afraid you're going to die if you get a speck of dirt on you.

Cleaning the home to the standard of an operating theatre!? You've got to be joking, who has the time or resources to do this today before TSHTF let alone after? The golden horde will be able to find you from the smell of bleach

Skvez has got a point here, and its maybe something we should consider in our prepping.

Too much cleaning is actually bad for you.

On a trans African rally I took part in many years ago, there was one car that adopted a stringent hygene regime. Hands washed all the time, all fruit completely scrubbed before being eaten, only taking cooked meals at recognizably western managed hotels etc..... And who do you think had the shits the whole time.....of couse it was these guys.

As the saying goed, you gotta eat a bit of shit before you die..... maybe we should be prepping our personal immune systems to deal with the poor hygene and sanitation that will prevail after an event?

[bigpaul]

(27 July 2012, 17:51)Lightspeed Wrote:

(27 July 2012, 16:42)Skvez Wrote: Hygiene is important and with the increased stress and probably reduced nutrition of a post-event our immune systems will suffer but this reads like you're afraid you're going to die if you get a speck of dirt on you.

Cleaning the home to the standard of an operating theatre!? You've got to be joking, who has the time or resources to do this today before TSHTF let alone after? The golden horde will be able to find you from the smell of bleach

Skvez has got a point here, and its maybe something we should consider in our prepping.

Too much cleaning is actually bad for you.

On a trans African rally I took part in many years ago, there was one car that adopted a stringent hygene regime. Hands washed all the time, all fruit completely scrubbed before being eaten, only taking cooked meals at recognizably western managed hotels etc..... And who do you think had the shits the whole time.....of couse it was these guys.

As the saying goed, you gotta eat a bit of shit before you die..... maybe we should be prepping our personal immune systems to deal with the poor hygene and sanitation that will prevail after an event?

i think its"eat a peck of DIRT before you die" i was recently VERY ill with "the trots" , it happened very quickly and lasted for 12 days( almost non stop) and i dont think it was because i was particularly dirty or because i didnt wash my hands enough, it was just that this particular "bug" was in this area(about an 8 mile radius of where i live) and lots of people were affected, because it was a virus anti biotics were not prescribed and i just had to wait it out until it had run its course.

[NorthernRaider]

Feel free to hygiene which ever way you like, I honestly dont give a toss, but if your in my group you do it my way, simples
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sto...e-19019129

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http://www.smallholder.co.uk/uk_national..._/?ref=rss

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1...break.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/f...elons-link

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...-food.html

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-...eak-183591

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep...uk-250-ill

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/health...break.html

[Nemesis]

I agree it would be hard to get to operating theatre hygiene standard and maintain that standard over time with no renewable supplies, but like most things a thread like this which we could say "raises the bar" of hygiene prepping can only be a good thing, even if we can’t reach the standard asked we should be quite safe due to trying to get to this level.

There a things missing from the list (face mask & disposable gloves) and over time we can add to it, I hope this thread grows and takes a turn in the right direction, because it is very important.

[Paul]

Group hygiene is vital, we all know that.
To me it's all about the numbers and accomodation.

Communial living in large numbers moves hygiene into a whole new game.
Without suitable premises, large group hygiene is usually pathetic.
Refugee camp standards, very third world.

Communial living really sucks in the field unless you can exert strong leadership and standards.
The problem is strong leadership and standards aren't generally well accepted by the masses.

I wouldn't like to be part of a large group for this reason.

My ideal number for survival post TEOTWAWKI?
Probably no more than 6, a balanced group of men and women.
The priority for me would be shelter.
Not some debris hut or canvas tilt, proper accomodation.
Then you stand a good chance of establishing safe hygiene standards.

[preservefreak]

Keeping the whole house scrupulously clean will be very difficult after a collapse but there are some easy things that can be done to help:

make a definite separation of inside and outside the house. Outdoor boots and clothes should not be brought in the house and everyone coming in should wash their hands.

In the kitchen everyone coming in should wash their hands and any surface that's touched raw meat should be cleaned and then sanitized (sprayed down with a mix of water and either bleach or spirit alcohol. I keep a spray bottle just for this, they are excellent tools)

I agree that where possible no one who is ill should come into the kitchen. I also agree that pets should be absolutely barred from the kitchen and unless they never leave they house they shouldn't be let back in.

Where ever possible let washed plates, cutlery and pots air dry. Tea towels gather grime and microbes, you don't want to be wiping them back onto your clean plates.

When I say wash their hands I mean either wash in hot soapy water or wash with hot water and then apply hand sanitizer.

[bigpaul]

the trouble with killing EVERY microbe and bug by dousing it in chemicals is firstly there are good as well as bad microbes and secondly you have to get a miniscule dose of the microbe or bug for your immune system to kick in.

[NorthernRaider]

Protocols will vary depending on circumstance and time and type of disaster.

EG1 Pandemic that leaves millions dead and millions more infected, with unburied bodies laying all over, and you allow dogs and cats to come inside. People are no given specific duties to prevent cross contamination, IE the same people patroling, putting rubbish out etc also work in the kitchen. BIG hygiene issues I reckon

EG2 same circumstances but no animals kept indoors, all local vermin killed as they appear, all bodies limed at least and all local stagnant pools of water treated. kitchen staff do not do waste duty or patroling, LITTLE problems.

I prefer to aim high then lower my sights when it comes to hygiene its easier to ease off from a strict regime, than to try and recover from a poor regime.