How an Average Person can Prepare for a Pandemic

The Apartment Prepper ^ | 4/24/14 | aptprepper

[Kartographer]

What is a pandemic? According to Flu.gov, a pandemic is defined as a global outbreak of disease. It’s not determined by the number of deaths, but by how quickly it spreads.

Do they happen? Pandemics do happen, as in three outbreaks of flu pandemic in the 20th century:

Spanish flu killed $40-50 million in 1918 Asian flu in 1957 killed 2 million people 1 million deaths from Hong Kong flu in 1968 What are the chances?

I don’t have a crystal ball, and there is really no way to predict when and how a pandemic can happen. Certain “tells” would be:

A new virus emerges, which means people would have little or no immunity to it The virus is easily spread to others Virus starts affecting various countries around the globe at the same time. This is not hard to imagine, given the speed of air travel. Outbreaks come in waves.

[GGpaX4DumpedTea]

Some things to consider. Vitamin C, in the form of sodium ascorbate...buy in bulk, as crystals. Typically a quarter teaspoon is about 1 gm (1,000 mg). Be prepared to take to bowel tolerance. Enough vitamin C could squelch MERS. Intravenous vitamin C would likely stop MERS in its tracks. Find a doctor who will administer IV-C in case you might need him.

Iodine...preferably Lugol’s Iodine Solution, 5%. Take 3 to 5 drops a day in water. Best on an empty stomach. Also supplement selenium, 200 mcg (micrograms) a day. If water supplies are interrupted, you can take water from a lake or stream, filter it, and treat it with iodine, several drops per liter of water. Use either Lugol’s iodine or SSKI (saturated solution of potassium iodide.

Iodine, either Lugol’s or SSKI, may be used externally on any kind of abrasion or cut. Very antiseptic. 60 + years ago doctors’ routinely used iodine to swab wounds, and your mother probably had some in her medicine chest.

Colloidal Silver is another good thing to have available. Very antiseptic. May be used both internally and externally. Buy your colloids from a reputable source. One company sells a ‘Meso-‘ brand, 20 ppm, and it is good stuff. Price is reasonable if you buy it by the gallon.

These are just a few things to stimulate your thinking and your research as you prepare for what might be coming.

[Kartographer]

http://rehydrate.org/solutions/homemade.htm

The following traditional remedies make highly effective oral rehydration solutions and are suitable drinks to prevent a child from losing too much liquid during diarrhoea:
Breastmilk
Gruels (diluted mixtures of cooked cereals and water)
Carrot Soup
Rice water - Congee
A very suitable and effective simple solution for rehydrating a child can also be made by using salt and sugar, if these ingredients are available.

If possible, add 1/2 cup orange juice or some mashed banana to improve the taste and provide some potassium.

Molasses and other forms of raw sugar can be used instead of white sugar, and these contain more potassium than white sugar.

If none of these drinks is available, other alternatives are:
Fresh fruit juice
Weak tea
Green coconut water

Preppers’PING!!

[Polynikes]

This is a fairly good presentation of a pandemic. The main characters may be somewhat foolish but overall a generally good presentation. Make note of the cascading effects such as there are only 5-6K who man the nuke plants which provide power to a significant portion of the power grid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwymCRaIbSU

[Scrambler Bob]

M4L

[Marcella]

I have Gatorade powder packets stored and would use that for adults to replace electrolytes. If I had children, I'd store Pedialyte powder for them.

If diarrhea hit in an emergency situation, I want to be able to grab something, add water, and drink. Don't want to have to make up a remedy then, wasting time - just mix and drink.

Also have anti-diarrheal pills but that doesn't replace electrolytes so would keep drinking the powder/water mix after taking the pill(s). Plus, the diarrhea is due to something and if that is bacterial, don't want to stop the bad stuff getting out. If the diarrhea persists for a long time, then, of course, use the pills. What I'm saying, is, don't use the pills too quickly after diarrhea starts but do drink the electrolyte mix.

[BobL]

“Spanish flu killed $40-50 million in 1918”

I was going to have some fun with this typo, but someone else beat me to the punch...and did much better than I would have.

Anyway, the need for water is questionable until the pandemic is starts to get widespread. I would say that having a means to store fresh water, and then purify it (or purify rainwater) is sufficient for a pandemic and many other bad things. It’s likely that municipal water will be around well into a pandemic. So, if it starts to spread...then get ready, if it spreads big, then get to work opening your taps.

[grania]

If there’s a threat of a pandemic, authorities will have the authority to force people into quarantine facilities. It’ll be up to authorities to determine when people get out of quarantine. It will not be a healthy place to be for those who had some symptoms but didn’t actually have the disease.

[SgtHooper]

Anymore, hospitals are like daycares—damned if ya do and damned if ya don’t.

[SgtHooper]

Being as prepared as you are, makes it less likely you’ll need to be ruthless. Those who are much less or not at all prepared, will likely be ruthless first on there own immediate “friends” or acquaintances. It’s also likely that since you will be able to sustains your group through at least the first month, you will have a good idea if ruthlessness needs to be applied. Your group will provide sufficient input to help make that decision.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

“•There is no treatment yet, though the CDC is discussing developing a vaccine.”

There is always a treatment.

Black Elderberry prevents viruses from multiplying.

Sambucus and Sambucal are two brands.

[Marcella]

Kart, when we had 3 or 4 patients here die (5 had it) of H1N1 at the beginning of that outbreak this winter season, I put myself in quarantine since I can't take the flu shot. My town had the first patients who died from that in this country. Also, the last person in the country who died of it, pretty sure she was the last one, a young woman in her 20s, was in a town 25 miles from me. Later, someone on FR posted a very negative comment about my doing that - like I was afraid and laughable because I did that.

When you don't know the amount of the danger (those deaths were 5 miles from me), it's better to take precautions, especially if you are older. I did not get sick with even a cold this winter. After I started going out, I still kept my hands from my face while out and washed them well when I returned home.

With MERS, the CDC is still working, some of them in the middle east right now, trying to trace how people who were not around camels or bats, contracted the disease. We do know now it can be passed from person to person. The man just identified as having it but without symptoms (don't think he has symptoms), met twice for business with the man in Indiana. He shook hands twice with the diseased man and had facial close ups with this diseased man.

The CDC is stressing to keep social contact to a minimum and stand away from the person with whom you are talking if you must have social contact. At this time, there is not an emergency situation to do this. But, personally, if I lived in a city where flights come in from the middle east, I would surely do the keeping hands away from face when out and washing them when I returned home. I would avoid public restrooms. We know now, in this country, there are people walking around who have it but no symptoms.

I want to stress that taking sterile procedures for your body is not laughable nor a result of fear. I do not get afraid, I take reasonable action to protect myself. Pay no attention to anyone you know who might think you are ridiculous to stay as sterile as possible if you live in a city where flights land from the middle east.

One story: In 2009, there was a bad flu, I think it was H1N1 again (or the bad one before that), and my husband had a large melanoma on an upper arm and we had to go into Houston to MD Anderson cancer center several times in the middle of this outbreak. MD Anderson Cancer Center is very large and it was like everyone there was in a hospital isolation room - there were hand sanitizer units out in the open, many of them, you couldn't miss them, and we used those just like everyone there was using them. We spent hours there at a time, and used those numerous times before we left there. Every cancer patient in a wheelchair had on a mask. Workers had on masks. No one stood close to anyone, including us. Prominent signs were in every rest room to wash before leaving. Every eating place had a sanitizing center to use before and after eating.

Was MD Anderson Cancer Center afraid or laughable for taking these precautions? Of course they were not. If MERS shows up in your state, take reasonable precautions to keep as sterile as possible.

[republicanbred]

I agree 100%!

[republicanbred]

And black licorice does as well. Not the candy, the real stuff.

[left that other site]

I am already engaged in avoiding all possible carriers of MERS.

Most are easy to spot as they usually wear funny hats. Especially the women.

[Red Boots]

I think that I recall that they tested the remaining smallpox immunity in the population a few years ago - soon after 9-11 when everyone was worried about bioterrorism, and they found that more people retained more immunity than they had thought. Anyone else remember that?

[ealgeone]

I’m stocking up on Procythia! :)

[MHGinTN]

Will they circle the black rock they worship, then spread out over the world to ‘let allah’ take his toll?

[SisterK]

For those on a budget, electrolytes can be found dirt cheap in the feed store. Since it is geared for a 1500 pound horse, a pinch in a gallon of water will do.

[greeneyes]

Amen to that. Precautions for us older people are always good. An oz of Prvention is worth a pound of cure.

[greeneyes]

Prvention = Prevention