Sanitation needs during an emergency are often the unplanned emergency and play an important role in developing emergency preparedness plans. Sanitation is an issue that can create unnecessary challenges in emergency situations where response teams are not able to reach you promptly. In many instances, your toilet and shower are highly likely to be unusable in an emergency like an earthquake or flood. Being without power and/or water can pose cleanliness and sanitation issues, so every household should be prepared to meet their own sanitation needs just like they are prepared with food and water. Unfortunately, people often stop at emergency food and water and forget about other important aspects of life that will impact their experience in an emergency.
Water
Personal Hygiene Tips
It is important to take hygiene seriously during an emergency like an earthquake, flood, or extreme weather event as this helps us stay healthy and safe. When water is scarce or contaminated, we need to use safe water for bathing, brushing teeth, washing hands, and doing first aid.
Bathing and Hand Washing
Do not bathe or wash your hands in water that is contaminated, whether that is tap water or a river, lake, or other body of water. Always check with your local health authorities in the event of an emergency to ensure you have the correct information about what water is usable in your area.
Always wash your hands thoroughly in water that has been boiled or disinfected. Wash for at least twenty seconds. If there is no clean tap water, you can use a large water jug and a container to fill with safe water to create a handwashing station.
Brushing Teeth
Even the small amount of water used to brush your teeth must be clean. Ensure your tap water is safe to use, or take steps to disinfect it.
First Aid
Ensure that any wounds or rashes do not come into contact with contaminated water. Wash any open wounds with safe water, and cover them with a waterproof bandage. This will reduce the risk of infection or prolonged healing. As with washing any part of your body in an emergency, only use safe water to wash areas you are treating or preparing to cover with a bandage, and to clean your first aid supplies if needed.
Be Cautious
No matter what the emergency scenario you find yourself in, be cautious with your water usage and ensure you know what water is safe to use. Check with your local health authority often as the situation may change. When dealing with an emergency, we want to do our best to prevent more issues occurring, and proper hygiene and sanitation is an important way to mitigate risks.
Toilets and Germs
Sanitation includes personal hygiene and human waste disposal. Proper hygiene ensures we maintain our health during times when we have limited access to our normal routines. Even if we have food and water, without sanitation we can experience short- and long-term physical health issues. We need to be able to use the toilet and to protect ourselves from germs.
When your toilet is not working, it is necessary to have an alternative. At Total Prepare, we offer a Complete Toilet Set that includes:
- 1 x 5 Gallon Bucket (black)
- 1 x Toilet Seat/Cover
- 1 x EcoGel (10 stick packs, each treats 1 gallon of waste)
- 1 x Toilet Liners (10 pack)
- 1 x Biohazard Bag
- 1 x Nitrile Gloves (pair)
- 1 x Hand Sanitizer (2 oz)
- 1 x Toilet Paper Roll
The 5 gallon bucket serves as your toilet once you set it up with the toilet seat on top, and a toilet liner inside with one packet of Eco Gel. The Eco Gel helps to change liquid waste to a gel. The toilet seat has a convenient lid so you can close up the toilet between uses. Each packet of Eco Gel will gel around 1 gallon of liquid waste, at which point you can seal up the contents in the liner and place it in the Biohazard Bag for safe disposal at a later time. Your municipality should provide instructions about biohazardous waste disposal during an emergency.
Storing your Complete Toilet Set before the emergency is easy, as all of the included components fit conveniently in the bucket. You will likely want to stock up on some additional toilet paper, as we all know how quickly toilet paper flies off the shelves in a crisis!
It’s essential to have hand sanitizer in your go bag and emergency kits. Good quality hand sanitizers containing 60-95% alcohol will kill most germs and bacteria. They are easy to use and good for when you’re on the go, but do not replace the need to wash your hands properly with clean water and soap.
Personal Hygiene and Wellness
Even if we are sheltering in place or have to leave our homes to seek help in an emergency, maintaining a good level of personal hygiene is essential to prevent infection, stay healthy, and feel good about ourselves.
At Total Prepare, many of our emergency kits come with a hygiene kit, but you may have extra of these supplies at home that you can add to your own kit! The Total Prepare Hygiene Kit includes:
- Toothbrushes
- Toothpaste
- Razor
- Soap
- Shampoo
- Shaving Cream
- Sanitary Pads
- Face Cloth
Consider what essential products you use to keep yourself clean and healthy, and put small versions of those in your emergency kit. You can also include some of your medications and vitamins in your hygiene kit for easy access.
When you’re preparing yourself for an emergency, don’t stop at food and water! Prepare for your basic sanitation needs including an emergency toilet, toilet paper, hand sanitizer, water, soap, toothbrush, medications, and more. Check out Total Prepare’s sanitation products on our website here: Sanitation. If you need advice or don’t see what you’re looking for, send us an email at hello@totalprepare.ca or call us at 1-888-832-1733.