Posted on 08/20/2010 11:28:27 AM PDT by djf
As part of ongoing efforts of some FReepers to help people prepare, I figured this is good info.
Let's start with a simple question:
What is the biggest cause of infant mortality worldwide?
A) Accidents B) Malaria C) Aids D) None of the above
The answer is D. None of the above.
The worldwide number one cause of death in infants is diarrhea. This causes dehydration and can lead to convulsions, kidney failure, blindness, and coma.
Diarrhea is also a very significant problem in adults, especially in third world countries where access to potable, clean water supplies is limited or nonexistent.
The culprit? A disease, a bacteria, that has probably over the history of man killed way, way more than all who have ever died in wars or famines. Vibrio cholerae, or cholera
Do not FOR A SECOND think that it can't or won't happen in the US. A one week general power outage no matter what the cause, and you would start to see these things.
Now there are effective antibiotic treatments for cholera, it responds very well to tetracycline, for example. But there is a cheaper and more accessible method that has come into use over the last few decades that has saved literally probably 100 million lives. It is ORT, or Oral Rehydration Therapy.
Thing is if you keep the body from getting dehydrated, your own immune system and bowels will be able to overcome the cholera infection. Oral rehydration therapy effectively allows/helps you to live long enough to get rid of the bug!
And it's easy to make! But to be effective, it MUST be made at the proper ratio. Anything else, missing ingredients or improper ratios will just go through you like, well, crap through a goose! And you won't get better, you might even get worse.
You need:
1 Litre (abt 5 cups) of clean, sterile water. If you have any doubts about the water, simply boil it and let it cool before using.
1 level teaspoon of salt.
8 level teaspoons of sugar
Mix all ingredients and make sure it's all dissolved.
From the articles I've been reading, it seems that the best approach is to try to administer about 1 cup per hour for as long as it takes to get some improvements. Be ready to be persistent the first few times because vomiting is one of the things that go along with cholera/dehydration.
I am not sure, but some of the national drugstore/retail outfits may have pre-packaged ORT you can buy.
So that's about it! Any FReepers who have additional info about ORT mixing/using/availability, please post away!
Immodium AD in my bug out bag. Bad stuff if you can’t keep in fluids.
Or you could buy those little Gatorade packets and mix them into twice the recommended amount of water.
Get prepared now!
I just released Rev.G of my Preparedness Manual is available at:
http://www.mediafire.com/?ars5bsi2p6foery
PING!!!!
The gatorade packs might even be better, because they have potassium in them. You don’t want to run out of potassium, that could cause cardiac arrest...
But in a pinch, ORT has been used worldwide. And very effectively!
Quite true. But now is the time to lay in a few packets of the Gatorade as it's currently pretty inexpensive and available. It's also ready to store long term as it is. That's a few bonus points in my mind.
After the SHTF you most likely won't be able to find any at all.
bfl
My mom used to use water, salt, sugar, and a tiny bit of mint flavoring when we were sick as kids, and it did the trick. The flavoring (pick one!) made the drink more palatable to a kid.
Just talked to a friend that returned from Haiti. She went from plane to hospital. Dehydrated to the point of ridiculous low potassium levels. She thinks its something parasitic.
Good to know!
Good Advice
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2MRIwdGsM0
The salt substitute is good because most salt substitutes are Potassium Chloride instead of sodium chloride. The recommendations are if you have it to use the salt/salt substitute at a 2:1 ration
Sounds like Flagyl in her future. Not fun.
Or stockpile potable water. 80-100 gallons, mileage may vary. This will buy you time to find a more permenant solution (I have stream & springs on my property, both potable, but I still stockpile just in case). One of my test samples has gone four years in storage with no contamination, with no treatment (well water stored in Wal-Mart 7 gallon jugs stacked in first floor storage area).
I have about 100 gallons stashed. I basically never throw out plastic containers, they get washed and rinsed and filled with tapwater.
I use the Morton’s lite salt, I keep the dry ingredients separate and in the car, I also carry a small mix in my personal kit.
I have seen people collapse and even die from heat problems in the army, and have seen some problems with dehydration issues in civilian life.
I keep it in the house just for this very survival situation of diarrhea that is described.
I always look for cheap, simple, and long shelf life, for survival solutions.
I’ve stored several dozens of these dosages in small, snack size zip-loc bags. On the bag, I wrote the amount of water required. It’s a good idea to keep several of these in Bug Out Bags/72 Hour Kits, first aid kids, and as part of camping/outdoor gear.
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