I have a serious, life-threatening medical condition. I have not had a really proper shower in over two years. Yes, I wash up at the beach and at public restrooms, but that is not sufficient to my needs. Germ control is far more important to me than whether or not I look a little smudged.
The key to staying clean enough to stay out of the ER is 1) Try to avoid exposure to germs (this is why I don't typically dig through trash cans for recyclables and I stick to picking up what I can find curbside and in bushes) and 2) I carry spray peroxide and hand sanitizer at all times and use them through-out the day to keep my hands clean and, if necessary, spray my clothes or backpack or whatever (like if someone sneezes or coughs near my stuff).
You can get spray peroxide at Walmart or CVS Pharmacy. Walmart is far cheaper. It is under $2 at Walmart and over $3 at CVS Pharmacy. (I think it is more than twice as expensive at CVS Pharmacy, though I have bought one at CVS Pharmacy on occasion when that was the cheaper option because getting to Walmart would have required a bus pass.) I am including the CVS Pharmacy link so you can see what it actually looks like. It is in a brown bottle with a white spray attachment.
You can get peroxide refill bottles for roughly $1 at Walmart, Target, dollar stores (like The 99 Cent Store and Dollar Tree), and Ralph's. Most other stores charge a whole lot more than that, like $2 - $7 for the exact same stuff. (I think it was $7 at a convenience store. I almost never go to convenience stores. I can't afford them.) Peroxide is affordable on the street if you buy the 32 ounce refill and get it for roughly $1. It is well worth that dollar to stay clean and out of the ER, but it is a hardship to routinely pay more for that. (I do sometimes pay $1.50 at Albertson's, but I try like hell to never pay more than that.)
You can get small (8 ounce) bottles of hand sanitizer at dollar stores. You can get bigger (up to 32 ounces) ones that are comparable in price per ounce at Target. You can also find this stuff at Walmart, CVS Pharmacy, grocery stores, etc, but it is usually more money per ounce than I want to spend. I get a big one these days at Target because I have three adults in my group. If you are one person, I highly recommend you buy smaller bottles so you aren't lugging around so much weight and something so big.
Keep in mind that both of these should be kept out of your eyes. If you overuse peroxide, it can leave your hands burned. Washing with salt water is a good way to help heal your hands if you overdo it with the peroxide. (If you are in San Diego County, you can go to the beach and dunk your hands in the ocean every day for a few days until it is all better.) Peroxide is a bleach substitute, so it can and will fade some materials that come into contact with it (clothes, back pack, etc). If you use hand sanitizer and then handle something like a plastic bread wrapper or soda bottle before the hand sanitizer has fully dried, you can get ink stains on your skin because it contains alcohol and printing on plastic can come off on your hands.
It is important that peroxide remain in the brown bottles they sell it in. When exposed to light, it rapidly decomposes into water and oxygen, at which point it doesn't do much for you. Be careful with the peroxide refill bottles. Some have a good seal and some don't. Those that have a poor seal can spill all over your stuff if it gets tipped over inside your bag, even if it has the lid properly tightened.
Spray peroxide is a disinfectant and breaks down blood. So that means you can spray scrapes and cuts to keep them from becoming infected (thought it tends to hurt/burn). However, if you are cut badly enough to be bleeding, keep in mind that peroxide will interfere with the clotting process. If you are bleeding only a little, disinfecting it may be worthwhile. But if you are bleeding enough that you really need to find a way to stop the bleeding, do not spray with peroxide. On the upside, it can help get blood stains out of material (though, because of my medical condition, if I bleed on something, I typically throw it out and replace it just as soon as I can arrange to do so).
The key to staying clean enough to stay out of the ER is 1) Try to avoid exposure to germs (this is why I don't typically dig through trash cans for recyclables and I stick to picking up what I can find curbside and in bushes) and 2) I carry spray peroxide and hand sanitizer at all times and use them through-out the day to keep my hands clean and, if necessary, spray my clothes or backpack or whatever (like if someone sneezes or coughs near my stuff).
You can get spray peroxide at Walmart or CVS Pharmacy. Walmart is far cheaper. It is under $2 at Walmart and over $3 at CVS Pharmacy. (I think it is more than twice as expensive at CVS Pharmacy, though I have bought one at CVS Pharmacy on occasion when that was the cheaper option because getting to Walmart would have required a bus pass.) I am including the CVS Pharmacy link so you can see what it actually looks like. It is in a brown bottle with a white spray attachment.
You can get peroxide refill bottles for roughly $1 at Walmart, Target, dollar stores (like The 99 Cent Store and Dollar Tree), and Ralph's. Most other stores charge a whole lot more than that, like $2 - $7 for the exact same stuff. (I think it was $7 at a convenience store. I almost never go to convenience stores. I can't afford them.) Peroxide is affordable on the street if you buy the 32 ounce refill and get it for roughly $1. It is well worth that dollar to stay clean and out of the ER, but it is a hardship to routinely pay more for that. (I do sometimes pay $1.50 at Albertson's, but I try like hell to never pay more than that.)
You can get small (8 ounce) bottles of hand sanitizer at dollar stores. You can get bigger (up to 32 ounces) ones that are comparable in price per ounce at Target. You can also find this stuff at Walmart, CVS Pharmacy, grocery stores, etc, but it is usually more money per ounce than I want to spend. I get a big one these days at Target because I have three adults in my group. If you are one person, I highly recommend you buy smaller bottles so you aren't lugging around so much weight and something so big.
Keep in mind that both of these should be kept out of your eyes. If you overuse peroxide, it can leave your hands burned. Washing with salt water is a good way to help heal your hands if you overdo it with the peroxide. (If you are in San Diego County, you can go to the beach and dunk your hands in the ocean every day for a few days until it is all better.) Peroxide is a bleach substitute, so it can and will fade some materials that come into contact with it (clothes, back pack, etc). If you use hand sanitizer and then handle something like a plastic bread wrapper or soda bottle before the hand sanitizer has fully dried, you can get ink stains on your skin because it contains alcohol and printing on plastic can come off on your hands.
It is important that peroxide remain in the brown bottles they sell it in. When exposed to light, it rapidly decomposes into water and oxygen, at which point it doesn't do much for you. Be careful with the peroxide refill bottles. Some have a good seal and some don't. Those that have a poor seal can spill all over your stuff if it gets tipped over inside your bag, even if it has the lid properly tightened.
Spray peroxide is a disinfectant and breaks down blood. So that means you can spray scrapes and cuts to keep them from becoming infected (thought it tends to hurt/burn). However, if you are cut badly enough to be bleeding, keep in mind that peroxide will interfere with the clotting process. If you are bleeding only a little, disinfecting it may be worthwhile. But if you are bleeding enough that you really need to find a way to stop the bleeding, do not spray with peroxide. On the upside, it can help get blood stains out of material (though, because of my medical condition, if I bleed on something, I typically throw it out and replace it just as soon as I can arrange to do so).