As a survivalist you may encounter situations where you need to leave an area in an emergency. Weather conditions may be such that you have no time to make proper preparations. Therefore when you are traveling there are certain water and food safety issues that you must address.

One important point you will want to keep firmly in your mind is if the locals aren't drinking the water then you certainly do not want to either. Other then this fact it becomes very difficult to determine the safety of the local water supplies across our country. This becomes even worse in times of emergencies. In general, I would say it is better to rely upon the bottled water when in doubt.

Unfortunately, just drinking the bottled water is not always enough to curb the health hazards associated with local water supplies. Were the vegetables that you ate washed in the same local tap water that you dare not drink? If they were you just may not feel the greatest in a few hours. The Latin American's have a habit of dousing their salads with the juice of a lime which may possibly kill much of the bacteria from the local wash water used. I have applied this theory to a salad and found that I was lucky enough for it to work. There just may be some merit to this concept.

If you use ice cubes are in a drink that you purchase locally you may be finding that you are the same boat as many tourist to third world countries. The ice cubes may not have been made from purified water. Best that you order your drink without the benefit of ice. Make certain that you when you brush your teeth that you use bottled water and not the local's tap water. Bathing and showering should present no particular problem.

If you have to eat in the local establishments beware. Use common sense as it probably will be not be any cleaner within the kitchen area of the restaurant then in the dining portion. Remember, in emergencies they may not have refrigeration so meat would not receive the proper temperature storage that it should. It would generally be best if you could prepare your own meals with your BOB foods stored in the BOV.

My wife is a firm believer in the hand sanitizer gel. She keeps a container in the bug out van all the time and uses it before we have any meals. We eat out everywhere and so far have been healthy during any of our trips. It is often not the food but the bacteria contained on our hands that has previously handled dirty money etc that tend to get us sick. You can cut the chances of becoming ill in half by merely washing your hands often.

Many times you can watch what the local residences responses are to certain things. Observe carefully what they do when eating. Perhaps they may refuse to drink any of the milk. Maybe they bring with soup spoons of their own with them.

In conclusion, if you really desire to be safe in and emergency simply do not drink the water nor eat the local foods. If you planned your survival packages properly you should be able to eat very well from your packaged foods using your iodine pills to purify your water. Wash your fresh foods in the iodine-water that you have made. Use your survival training and you should be able to continue a healthy life.