Posted on 06/30/2011 6:41:48 AM PDT by blam
The Four Most Likely Ways You Can Die If The SHTF
Tess Pennington
June 30th, 2011
Ready Nutrition
The subject of survival in a long term disaster goes beyond having stockpiles of beans, bullets and band-aids. Those that do survive during a long term emergency will no doubt be tried and tested with a great many things. One of those trying scenarios is dealing with death.
Zombie attacks seem to be a prevalent theme for preppers to prepare for. In fact, the CDC has even posted a preparedness article on how to ward off zombie attacks. While I believe these zombies will likely take the form of substance abusers, mental patients, chronically ill or diseased, and desperate individuals whose basic needs have not been met, they will die out in the first few months of an onset of a major disaster, and there presence will rarely be an issue in a long term situation.
In reality, a majority of those that will die during a long-term disaster will be from illnesses brought on by acute respiratory infections due to cramped living conditions, poor water conditions (or lack of), or bacterial infections from wounds. If we survive a major disaster, America would become a third world country and the aftermath of such a scenario will be similar to those living in Africa, Ethiopia and India.
Illness Due to Poor Water Conditions
Typically, any diseases that are brought on by lack of sanitation and hygiene are controllable and preventable. In a disaster where water sources are compromised, people within a 50 mile radius could be adversely impacted by illness and disease if just one person incorrectly handles water or incorrectly disposes of waste. Contaminated water, poor sanitation and/or lack of hygeine leads to diseases such as Hepatitis A, viral gastroenteritis, cholera, Shigellosis, typhoid, Diphtheria and polio. If these diseases affect enough people, an epidemic will ensue.
Dehydration and diarrhea are also water-related matters to contend with. Those without adequate water conditions and/or are suffering from disease brought on by poor water conditions could quickly dehydrate. These types of illnesses typically affect at-risk populations such as children, the sick and the elderly. Young children in particular are at high risk for diarrhea and other food- and waterborne illnesses because of limited pre-existing immunity and behavioral factors such as frequent hand-to-mouth contact. The greatest risk to an infant with diarrhea and vomiting is dehydration. In addition, fever or increased ambient temperature increases fluid losses and speeds dehydration. Having knowledge beforehand on how to properly clean drinking water and food, and the symptomatology and treatment of these types of diseases can prevent further outbreaks from occurring.
Recommended preparedness items: water filtration systems, water purification tablets, chlorine granules, bleach, electrolyte or rehydration powders, anti-diarrea medicines.
Malnutrition
Malnutrition from either improper water conditions or from lack of nutrients is also a large killer amongst those in impoverished communities. Medical experts say there is a symbiotic relationship between malnutrition and diarreah. Malnutrition increases the severity of diarrhea while diarrhea can cause malnutrition. Either way, prevention for both of these health issues is key.
Those that are malnourished are more suseptible to illness and disease. Individuals who are malnourished will also be vitamin deficient and their health is likely to regress further. Those who survive from malnutrition are permanently affected by this disease and may suffer from recurring sickness, faltering growth, poor brain development, increased tooth decay, reduced strength and work capacity, and increased chance of chronic diseases in adulthood. Adult women with this condition will give birth to underweight babies.
Recommended preparedness items: dietary supplements, vitamin powders, seeds for sprouting or seeds for fresh vegetables and fruits, survival bars, knowledge of alternative means to attain vitamins
Acute Respiratory Infections
Upper respiratory infections (URI) will also be a leading cause of death in a long term disaster. Upper respiratory infections include: colds, flu, sore throat, coughs and bronchitis can usually be cured with additional liquids, rest and nourishment. Allowing the illness to exacerbate will lead to secondary infections such as bacterial pneumonia. The germs from pneumonia are easily spread from an infected person to others by coughing or sneezing or through close contact. A major concern about respiratory infections is that there are many drug resistant strands of viruses, bacterias and diseases (including tuberculosis), that regular medicine will not cure. In a long term disaster situation, many could perish.
To properly prepare for this type of medical situation, learn about the more prevalent viruses and bacterias in your country and how to prevent them in order to provide a healthy living environment in a long term situation.
Not only are URI’s a concern but other air-borne diseases such as tuberculosis will likely fester during a long term scenario. In regular non-SHTF times, treatment for tuberculosis requires 6-12 months of medication. In a long term emergency, chances of surviving tuberculosis are slim. The best way to prevent tuberculosis is adequate nutrition, vitamin D and living in a properly ventilated shelter.
Survival groups that have multiple people living under one roof will only increase the likelihood of passing air-borne infections and diseases to one another. In addition, those in an at-risk group (elderly, immuno-deficient, infants) are more likely to catch illnesses. If a survival group is sharing a home, an infirmary or sick room should be prepared for those who have fallen ill. Isolating the person who is ill will limit exposure to the other members of the group. Adequate nutrition, water, rest, good sanitary practices and ventilation of the home is essential in curbing this.
Recommended preparedness items: decongestants, expectorants, upper respiratory medicines, antibiotics (for secondary and bacterial infections), knowledge on medicinal herbs, prepare a sick room at your survival homestead
Infections From Wounds
Open injuries have the potential for serious bacterial wound infections, including gas gangrene and tetanus, and these in turn may lead to long term disabilities, chronic wound or bone infection, and death. Anitibiotics will be few and far between and will be more precious than gold. Without proper medicines, antiseptic and knowledge on proper medical procedures, many will die of bacterial infections. Learning medical skills, gaining knowledge on natural medicines and alternative medical antiseptic (i.e., Dakin’s Solution) before a disaster occurs could help people survive from wound infections. Also, ensuring the area that you treat medical emergencies is clean and as sterile as possible may also prevent bacterial infections.
Recommended preparedness items: stock up on maxi pads for wound absorption, gauze, celox, antibiotics, suture needles and other basic first aid supplies
Additionally, consider developing the following skills: basic first aid class, sign up for EMT classes in your community, an off-grid medical care class such as those offered by onPoint Tactical. Also, consider investing in books such as When There is No Doctor and When There is No Dentist
Also look into making your own antiseptics utilizing alcohol distillation, such as the custom made units from LNL Protekt.
These illnesses (provided above) have impacted countries all over the world. These illness and conditions, coupled with unsanitary living conditions such as substandard sanitation, inadequate food and water supplies and poor hygiene, make disaster-affected people especially vulnerable to disease. These illnesses will affect us no matter what part of the world we live in, what socio-economic status we currently hold, and no matter how prepared we think we are.
Understanding what can happen and being prepared when it does is absolutely essential. The last thing we want to do when a serious condition arises is to panic. Preparing your supplies, developing your skills and educating the rest of your family and preparedness group on how to prevent, identify and counteract these serious conditions will provide a significant boost to your ability to survive if the worst happens.
Recommended Reading:
Patriot Nurse: 5 Diseases that Will Explode WTSHTF
Prevention and Management of Wound Infections
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Emergencies
Thanks. Excellent info that I've been wondering about.
I have a big pressure cooker for canning. I bought smaller ones at yard sales (like madd dawg) for making stills of all sorts.
Funny...
In the zombie flicks, the zombie hoards came after the living to eat their brains, and subsequently turn them into zombies too.
It’s now being used allegorically to represent the urban hoards who stream out of the cities in search of food and water and attack those in the ‘burbs or the countryside who have said food and water.
I presume the notion is that for survival purposes after an apocalypse, desperate and doomed people essentially are “zombies”: Many will kill to stave off death, even temporarily and if they are doomed anyway; AND it may be moral to kill them to protect those who are not doomed, if they pose a direct threat AND their infectious conditions or possible propensity towards violence may well make them functionally “zombies.”
Wow, that has so many meanings around here.
“Going Amish”, in the literal sense, is what most will have to do to survive.
“Going Amish”, in the FReeper sense, is what the urban hoards will do when they try to ravage the countryside after the grid is down and their welfare checks stop.
Brain dead people will come out of the woodwork and expect YOU to care for them.
And they will most likely try to take it from you if you don’t provide it willingly.
"n modern times, zombies became a popular subject in horror fiction, largely because of the success of George A. Romero's 1968 film Night of the Living Dead [2] and they have appeared as plot devices in various books, films and in television shows. Zombie fiction is now a sizeable sub-genre of horror, usually describing a breakdown of civilization occurring when most of the population become flesh-eating zombies – a zombie apocalypse. The monsters are usually hungry for human flesh, often specifically brains. Sometimes they are victims of a fictional pandemic illness causing the dead to reanimate or the living to behave this way, but often no cause is given in the story."
My teenage son is a type 1 diabetic and needs insulin to survive.
I hate reading SHTF articles.
Question for the group —
I get tons of Spam from ‘online pharmacies’ which promise cheap prices, and none of that ‘prescription’ nonsense...
Does anyone have any experience with these, or similar, and can point me to one that’s reasonably reputable and reliable??
My situation is that I get my meds from/through the VA, and their system is set up to deliver only what’s needed, when needed - with no provision for ‘emergency stocks’... (I’ve pointed out the FEMA guidelines to the pharmacists at the VA, and they just shrug...)
So, if I want to build up an emergency stock of my necessary meds (cardiac and COPD), I’ll have to get them ‘on the economy’, which would require my Primary Care provider to write me scrips, and she, being a good VA functionary, is reluctant to do so...
So I’m thinking that I am probably going to have to go to ‘alternate sources’, and that’s why I’m asking y’all for advice on a starting place, rather than relying on trial-and-error...
I can relate although I am type II and have it under control with glucophage. My wife requires morphine for her intense back pain (failed fusion).
I have a 120 day supply but unfortunately you can only get morphine in 30 day increments. So, she never has more than a 30 day supply. If the SHTF 2 days before her doctor appointment, she has a 2 day supply. :-(
That’s when I go rogue.
Luckily, I live in a place that will probably be vaporized quickly in the beginning.
I took a course of tetracycline many years ago and had non-stop diarrhea the entire time, and for 5 weeks after. I mean like 10 times a day.
Finally had to go to an acupuncturist to cure it.
I have bad to extremely bad reactions to most pharm meds I’ve taken. That’s one reason I became an herbalist.
Grow poppies. Seriously, you should. The right kind of seeds are available by searching around the internet, at at least a few years ago. Often people who grow them will share poppy seeds.
Freepmail me for more info.
The more we become accustomed to calling the urban hoards zombies, the easier it will be for people to shoot them.
And how do you FEEEEEEL about that, Stuart?
Very perceptive of you.
You can post for me from now on. ;^)
and you’re willing to share the design?
What happens, happens. We can’t live forever.
It would be fun though, to use up all my ammunition shooting zombies.
LOL right you are, we are prepared for that!
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