6 Ways to maintain your personal hygiene while on a trek

While trekking, we trekkers always try to maintain our hygiene level as we maintain it in cities, but sometimes it turns out to be difficult to keep it or we don't know how to...

So, I present here 6 ways to maintain your hygiene level properly up in the mountains so that you can feel fresh and safe from all kinds of germs or bacteria.

1)Take a sponge bath

 

Take a cotton towel and some water to clean up your body so that you feel fresh and clean before getting ready for the trek. Also, clean your feet thoroughly to avoid them smelling due to sweat and dust.

Avoid the use of wet wipes for cleaning yourself as they are nonbiodegradable and it takes them around 100 years to decompose. Eventually harming the environment

Fig8.1 Cotton towel on mountain grass

 

 

 

2)Maintaining Oral hygiene

 

 Dry brushing is preferred in the mountains meaning that you use only the toothbrush and some water without any toothpaste to clean your teeth. It helps in removing plaque and helps you maintain oral hygiene. You can also use an antiseptic mouth wash like Listerine if you are not carrying a toothbrush.

 

Fig8.2 Antiseptic mouth wash (Listerine)

     
            

 

 

 

 

 

 

3)Change your Socks and undergarments every day

 

Changing your undergarments is most important as your genital area is very sensitive and they should be cleaned properly. Also changing your socks and cleaning your feet thoroughly with some water prevents harmful bacteria from growing due to sweat and temperature differences.

Also, you should put some antibacterial talc in your shoes to prevent excess sweat and smell.

 

4)Cut fingernails and toenails before the trek

While trekking you go through a lot of terrains and each of them has different styles of climbing so due to this dust tends to stick between your nails and your skin. So, to keep them clean it is preferred to keep them short. 

Otherwise, you may intake dirt while eating because using a sanitizer or washing hands with soap does not remove dirt from your nails.

                         

 

 5)Use toilet paper, instead of water.

Up the mountain on tent sites, you don't get proper toilets. You have to do it in dry pits followed by covering them with mud.

So it is preferred to use toilet paper for cleaning instead of water as the water slows down the decomposition of fecal matter and makes it smell bad.

Fig8.3 Toilet paper on mountain

6)Always carry a sanitizer with yourself

Carrying a small bottle of sanitizer is considered a sign of a hygienic person. On the mountains, you don’t get water everywhere to clean your hands before you eat. So, always carry a sanitizer with yourself and use it before you eat is you don't want to get sick after eating with dirty hands after a long climb.

So, I hope these 6 methods help you maintain yourself up the mountain and you trek in your best health and shape. 

Happy Wandering 🙂