I have been searching through all the posts but cannot find anything that deals with proper hygiene. All the books I have on wilderness survival dont have anything on keeping clean and being hygiene concious on the trail or in the city when the SHTF. The military stresses being clean but is that only for appearance sakes? Anyhow would it be smart to pack soap, shampoo, razors in my emergency kit? Can anybody give shed some light on this? Thanks!

Hygiene is very important when in the field. This is why the Army stresses it, along with the discipline involved.

You don't need to bathe daily when in the wild, but basic cleaning such as hands. face etc are important. Keeping clean socks along with clean and dry socks and boots are mandatory. In the cold dirty socks allow your feet to become cold easier, and the rest of the time dirty and wet feet will cause foot problems that will make athletes foot look like nothing. I also recommend changing underwear often. You don't want rashes or irritations in the fun areas. That is for males and females.

I also recommend that you brush your teeth and other little things like that. It not only prevents tooth problems, a clean feeling is always good for morale.

My hygiene items in my pack are razor and shaving cream (I do not shave daily when in the field), toothbrush and toothpaste, soap, wash cloth, and deodorant. I do not take shampoo. When taking a field bath or bathing in a stream, a bar of soap works just as well. Here is the biggest issue. Do not use soap and deodorant that is scented. It will draw predatory animals that are not scared of humans, or even other humans if you are trying to remain hidden.

I also recommend washing and drying socks whenever spending the evening somewhere. When traveling by foot it is recommended that you stop, check your feet and put on fresh socks a couple of times a day whether you feel any irritation or not. Normally by the time you feel irritation it is too late and you have laid yourself up for a couple of days at minimum. In a survival situation foot problems can get you killed. Be sure to have a blister kit included in your first aid kit in your pack and I also have a dozen pair of socks with me as well as an extra pair of shoes or boots. Foot problems can get you killed when trying to survive in the wild.

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I kinda figured that it was a smart thing to do but didnt really know. I will stock my emergency kit with the items you sugggested. Thanks for the info.

I remember reading "Guadalcanal Diary" as a young kid. The GI's were always having to deal with jungle rot and the like. If the point of prepping is to survive and reconstitute civilization, I think it's pretty important to be civilized and clean.

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I don't ever want to ignore basic hygiene, so my BOB always has the basics in it. Soap, toothpaste, toothbrush are just common everyday items. I pack a safety razor with a couple packs of blades. Blades can be turned in the razor to extract maximum life. I always carry colloidal silver for antiseptic/antibiotic purposes and it can be used as a mouth rinse to kill bad breath and as a deodorant.