Urban Survival Primer Part 4

Defense against enemies not easily seen or recognized.

If you live or work in an Urban environment and you don't scrub and wash your hands similar to Howard Hughes, you should be.

Dare I say that most illnesses could be tackled well with proper handwashing and whatnot. This is lost to people now who worship at the Altar of Medicine and Pharmacology. No amount of antibiotics will kill the flu. Having a flu shot is questionable and at this point in time, I consider them to be a cash cow and terror instrument of the Pharmaceutical Industry and Government entities like the CDC.

When there was a "shortage" of flu vaccine a couple/few years ago, funny thing happened, most people thought they couldn't get a shot so they didn't even try and the flu season was very mild. You can get the flu from the shot. When they tell you that you can get, "Mild, flu-like symptoms" from the shot, that's the "scientific" way of telling you that you have the flu. It might be lessened, but it's still the flu. To paraphrase from the Bible: "Let him who hath understanding reckon the lie of man, for if you receive a flu shot and then get 'flu-like symptoms,' that's because you just got the flu."

People at the CDC along with the drug companies would rather climb a greased telephone pole to tell a lie than stand on the ground and tell the truth. You cannot control a populace through fear if there is nothing to fear and you don't make any money at it either.

SO... Purell is an alcohol-based gel hand sanitizer. Get a few 8 ounce bottles (pump dispenser) and some of the much smaller 0.5 ounce bottles (squeeze bottle) that are pocket-sized. 50.5% is a "majority" and after having used many public restrooms in my life, I would say that a "majority" of people don't wash their hands after they go to the restroom.

If you wash your hands and use things like Purell in a non-OCD like manner, but diligently, you would be amazed at the colds and flus you don't catch. Your genitals might not be dirty but the other guy who just took a squirt might have herpes for all you know. My wife works in the healthcare industry. Valtrex is an incredibly popular medication. Go look it up and see why doctors prescribe that to people and then go play The Game of Life with the chance you won’t run into one of these people that don’t wash their hands.

I really don't know if Herpes virus is killed by antibacterial soap and substances like Purell, but I damned well know it isn't killed by ignoring it.
Don’t touch anything in a public restroom that you don’t have to.

There are several types of public restrooms. Obviously, if you are in a restroom that is so filthy you feel sorry for the bottoms of your shoes, you should limit your contact with anything other than yourself.

There are:

Restrooms without trash receptacles next to the door. After you wash your hands, remove a towel from the dispenser and use that to shut the water off to the sink where you were washing your hands. Then get another paper towel and finish drying your hands. Then get another towel to open the door with and if there is no trashcan next to the door, drop it right on the floor. You can also use a paper towel to flush a toilet or a urinal before you wash your hands, your choice.

Restrooms without paper towels that instead rely on air dryers for your hands are sentencing you to touching other people’s genitals by proxy, people that don’t wash their hands after they are finished using the restroom. So, you have to have a couple restaurant napkins or paper towels in your pocket for those situations as well. You may feel free to deposit them on the floor as well.

I would remind you that “paranoid” and "paranoia" is something that many people will scream when they read something like this, this is because most people don't wash their hands after they perform ass-wiping duties so why should you listen to a dirty sonofabitch like that anyway?

I'm not telling you to wash your food in Dial antibacterial hand soap or Purell, I'm just telling you to be an adult and wash your hands when you go to the restroom, before you eat, and in areas where dirty bastards touch things.

Purell is also an excellent firestarter in a pinch. This is not so much a lifesaving measure in an Urban area, but in the winter, if you were stuck in an area of the city due to natural or unnatural disaster, it could save your life. Here is a very easy way to get a little bit of heat in an emergency - don't do it in a building!

Assemble a windbreak area from various city debris and get an old coffee can or whatever metal can you can muster. Find some combustible materials and place it in the can - saturate it with non-Aloe Vera Purell, you want the straight clear gel Purell. And, using the waterproof matches that I didn't mention above that you should always have on your person, light it up and don't breathe the fumes and don't do it in a confined area, either. Just for emergencies. Better method for out in the wilds if you are lost and cold but I figured I would mention it anyway because Purell burns fiercely and can perform double-duty in an emergency.