Sloppiness Means Diarrhea: Finding Most Effective Washing-Up in Wilderness

Newswise — There may be no running water, but that's no excuse not to wash your dishes. A new study has examined different washing-up methods, deciding which reduces the most bacteria, thus preventing illness. The study is published in the latest Wilderness and Environmental Medicine.

Diarrhea is a common illness of wilderness travelers, occurring in about one third of expedition participants. When water is usually collected from rivers and toilets are holes in the ground, many opportunities arise that cause a miserable case of diarrhea. Even with consistent use of water disinfection, Appalachian Trail hikers had a 45 percent diarrhea rate, implying that poor hygiene is a major contributing factor.

Maintaining good hygiene includes hand and dish washing. Most UK-based expedition and travel companies use a system of washing eating utensils that involves three bowls. The utensils are generally washed in the first bowl until visibly clean, rinsed in the second bowl, and disinfected in the third bowl.

In this study, 18 different 3-bowl systems were tested, but only 10 proved adequate. The best system was an alternative to the one commonly used. In it, a person removes most food residue and grease with detergent in bowl one and then washes the dishes with bleach until visibly clean in bowl two. Then, if safe water can be used in a suitably cleaned bowl three, the utensils can be rinsed to remove disinfectant residue.

To read the entire study, click here: http://www.allenpress.com/pdf/weme_17_209_94_102.pdf

Wilderness and Environmental Medicine is a peer-reviewed quarterly medical journal published by the Wilderness Medical Society. For more information, visit http://www.wms.org.