Holiday hygiene guidelines can help hikers avoid diarrhea on a trip

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

The way you wash up at a camp site can help you avoid traveler's diarrhea.
Wilderness travel can be a memorable experience - broadening the mind and challenging your fitness. Unfortunately, camping and hiking can also be made miserable by traveler's diarrhea. Indeed, nearly half of those on the great Appalachian Trail complain of traveler's diarrhea. Poor holiday hygiene is probably a major factor and effective hand and dishwashing play a major role, according to a new study from microbiologists in Bristol, UK.

Many travel and expedition companies recommend a three bowl system for expedition washing up - one for washing, one for rinsing and one for disinfecting. In fact this study shows there's a better way of keeping down the bacteria that cause traveler's diarrhea. Try this - use detergent to remove most food residue and grease in the first bowl, wash the dishes with bleach till visibly clean in the second bowl, and rinse them in the third. This new approach to holiday hygiene could stop your trip from being spoiled by traveler's diarrhea.

Source
Wilderness and Environmental Medicine