Hiking Hygiene for Women

Hiking hygiene for women means dealing with body fluids.

Yuck, right?

Not so fast!

Let's take a moment to appreciate those body fluids.

SWEAT is the body's mechanism for safely dumping excess heat you generate during exercise. It doesn't start to smell until bacteria already living on your body (skin normal flora, filling up all of the cracks and crevices on your epidermis) go to work on it.

Sweating hard on a regular basis during exercise is great for flushing out toxins via the sweat, and it gets the lymphatic channels moving, too - important for a healthy immune system.

So do you REALLY want to wear an antiperspirant on the trail?

URINE is the way you let go of the substances your body doesn't need.

Urine comes from a sterile environment (your kidneys and bladder), and should not have an offensive odor. If it does, you might have a urinary tract infection. Keep on eye on this: burning sensations during urination, fever, cloudy urine .... definitely symptoms you want to bring to a health care provider.

You could try standing up when you pee, using a waxed cardboard shoe shaped device,

Another option: A plastic funnel.

One more option: a disposable paper funnel.

BLOOD, the body's river of life, delivers oxygen to trillions of cells. It carries away waste products, too: carbon dioxide to the lungs, toxic nitrogen compounds to the kidney (see above), toxins to the liver, infectious organisms to the lymph nodes....Wow!

Menstrual blood is definitely a hiking hygiene concern for women.

This body fluid is released in relatively small amounts (compared with your total blood volume) when a chemical messenger (hormone) tells the cells lining the uterus to slough off because there's no fertilized egg this month.

Menstrual blood should not have an offensive odor unless there's an infection in the reproductive tract. I am not saying it will be odorless, just that you shouldn't smell ammonia or other strong odors.

Your monthly cycle ties your body to the phases of the moon, to fertility, to your feelings about your body - and most importantly from a biology standpoint, this cycle guarantees the continuation of the human species. All good reasons to honor the cycle, not dread it.

Women sometimes wonder about the odor of menstrual blood attracting bears or other predators. Any truth to this worry about hiking hygiene for women? The Journal of Wildlife Management published some research results in 1991 you might want to read. To bottom line it for you, NO - bears seem to prefer your food to used "feminine hygiene" products. Smart bears!!

(An aside: I always giggle when I take a trip down "that" aisle at the store and see "feminine protection" plastered on the boxes. I sort of expect a knight on his horse to charge out when I open the flap. Sadly, it hasn't happened yet...)

Need some tips on how to handle the "monthly issues" while on the trail, as well as other female hiker hygiene tips? Hop on over here.

TEARS!

If you're crying on the trail, you are either overcome with emotion during a spectacular sunset, OR you need these tips for improving your hiking techniques!

So do I sound like I'm a big fan of body fluids?

I am!

I try to work with my body, not against it, when I'm on the trail. I'd encourage to do the same.

To get you started, here are a few specific "hiking hygiene for women" scenarios, with some suggested solutions, just for you!

Hiking hygiene for women can get sticky (pun intended), but there's lot's more information for you here.