Camp Hygiene
Your Mom always told you to wash your hands. Well, Mom was right. Nothing ruins a great camping trip faster than coming down with a cold or stomach virus. Germs are a constant and growing threat worldwide. Some of those germs are waiting in the outdoors but more of them are carried by people and passed to other people. Some things that can keep you safe from contracting something or contaminating someone else are:

• Hand washing does more than any other single technique to prevent person-to-person transmission of germs. Keep your nails short and clean. Dry with an absorbent cloth to remove germs not removed by washing.
  
• Use a biodegradable soap or hand sanitizer when washing your hands while camping.
  
• Do not share personal utensils, water bottles, etc. Do not reach into food bags with your hands.
  
• Keep anyone with the slightest indications of a cold, flu or skin infection out of the camp kitchen.
  
• Wash and disinfect camp kitchen gear daily. An iodine based product, such as Potable Aqua, adequately disinfects water for rinsing kitchen gear, using less time and less fuel than boiling.
  
• When "nature calls", select a place that is at least 200 feet from a water source. Choose a place with 1. heavy soil as opposed to light soil, 2. dry ground as opposed to wet ground and 3. flat terrain as opposed to a slope. Dig a hole 6 to 12 inches deep and then bury it.