Hand Sanitiser and hygiene while trekking

Hand Sanitiser and hygiene while trekking Kokoda

I cannot stress the importance of your own hygiene while trekking Kokoda, traveling or any other group outdoor activity.

One person gets a bug from poor hygiene and it can rip through the whole group in a flash with a mixture of cross contamination sources being drink bottles, touching and serving utensils to name but a few.

Before eating any food clean your hands, after every toilet stop clean your hands (that includes you blokes who stop for a quick leak, ladies and me for that matter don’t wont to be introduced into your manly hood), after shaking hands clean your hands, after changing footwear clean your hands and most importantly before filling your water bladders clean your hands as some parts of your fingers always seem to get in the way!

A regular cleaning of your hands gets you half way there to being healthy for a trip.

Buy yourself the 70ml bottles of sanitiser and purchase a clip that goes over the lid so you can hang this from your pants, belt or backpack. Aqium make these and can be purchased at some chemists or online stores such as EBay, expect to pay less than $5.

I use a daily probiotic when traveling overseas to boost my stomach defenses to the strange environment you are about to introduce it to. You body always goes into some sort of shock when traveling and the signs of this will vary from person to person so a regime of good eating and a healthy lifestyle (no alcohol before your trips and limit the amount after) will result in a better holiday and experience for yourself.

Find out what sort of menus your are expect to be consuming when your traveling and ensure your dietary requirements can be met i.e. vegetarian, food allergies and so on. Trail eating/exposing your body to some of the foods you expect to encounter in the weeks leading up to your trip. Avoid the urge to eat spicy foods while traveling as our ideas of hot and spicy vary to many of cultures and people around the world.

Processed foods are unavoidable when traveling in remote areas but take advantage of the fresh fruit and vegetables that may be available to you during your trip. Rule of thumb though if you can’t peel it or it’s not cooked then avoid eating it, only if you can be sure of the sources of fertilizer used you may risk cleaning fresh foods in treated and clean water for an extended period and consuming.

Avoid eating raw meat (e.g. tartar) or raw fish (e.g. oysters), cold, stale foods, ham, sausage, salads, oily or fatty foods (e.g. potato salad with mayonnaise, egg sandwiches), ice cubes, ice cream and sherbet, open chilled beverages from non-industrial sources and foods packed in plastic or foil, such as cut fruit.

Follow these straight forward and simple tips and you will have a healthier and more memorable holiday.