rendered animal fat soap

Personal hygiene in a survival situation is about as exciting as visiting your in-laws but it is just as important in the bush as it is at home. You have to keep yourself clean to stay healthy and avoid infections. Being clean is a moral booster and step one of first aid Taking a bath can be difficult if you do not have access to water but you can take an air bath. Just remove all of your clothes and lay in the sun for 1 hour. While you are taking an air bathturn your clothes inside out, shake them, and place them in the sun too.If you do have water you can take a bath by making soap, using sand, or with ashes. Render some animal fat by heating it up until it is liquefied and strain the floaters off the top. Mix ashes from your fire with the animal fat. The ashes contain lye. You can use the soap in its liquid state or wait until it hardens and use it as bar soap. Even if you don't make soap you can still clean up in the water and should take the time whenever practical.Another important thing is brushing your teeth, you definitely do not want a cavity in the bush. To brush your teeth use a piece of cloth and rub it on your teeth to remove plaque build up. An alternative method is to make a chewing stick. Making a chewing stick is nothing more than finding a green stick as thick as a pencil and chewing the end for a while then brush between your teeth. If you do get a cavity in the bush you can temporarily fill the hole with cotton, tobacco, candle wax, or ginger root.Your feet are almost the most important part of your anatomy in a survival situation so you must take exceptional care of them. Break your boots in before wearing them in a bug out mission, always put dry socks on as soon as they get wet, and leave blisters intact.Remember to stay as clean as you can and you will avoid a good majority of the problems that plague people with poor hygiene. Something that is simple to take care of at home such as athlete's foot will quickly turn into a nightmare in the bush.