Posted on 03/13/2006 10:10:32 AM PST by blam
What You Should Do to Prepare for an Epidemic
Stock Up on Essentials and Have an 'Outbreak Plan'
How To Protect Yourself
Bird Flu
How Would You Know If You Had Avian Flu?
A Bit of Context on the Bird Flu Threat
How To Protect Yourself
By LARA SETRAKIAN
March 12, 2006 — Will there be an outbreak of avian flu that threatens humans? Many experts disagree on when or if a human pandemic will occur, but do say there is a chance that the virus could mutate, leading to widespread infection. In that case, the best thing you and your family can do right now is to prepare for that possibility.
Here's what you need to know to help keep yourself healthy.
Stock up on Essentials
If there is an avian flu pandemic, you'll want to minimize your chance of catching it by staying indoors; you might even be required to stay home if the government asks that people remain in quarantine or "shelter in place." Stocking up today on at least seven days' worth of essentials such as water, nonperishable food, emergency and medical supplies will help you get through an extended time at home if an outbreak happens. Once you've purchased these items, store them in a place where you will not be tempted to dip into them for everyday use. See the checklist below for guidelines on what and how much you need.
Have an Outbreak Plan
It may feel odd or uncomfortable to talk to family members and loved ones about the worst-case pandemic scenario. But if that scenario strikes, you'll all be much better off if you have a plan decided on and ready. Talk with your friends and family about how you'd respond to an epidemic. Figure out how you would care for them and what your first response and responsibilities would be; this is an especially important conversation to have with those with special care needs. Get involved with local groups and community efforts aimed at preparing for a pandemic. If your community has no program in place yet, find out how you and your neighbors can get one started.
Pick up the Habits of Healthy Behavior
The habits that can help keep you healthy in an outbreak are the same good health habits that can keep you from catching the common cold: maintain a balanced diet, exercise regularly and get sufficient rest. Particularly in a flu outbreak situation, it will be important to wash your hands thoroughly and often, reminding loved ones — especially children — to do the same. Be diligent about covering coughs and sneezes with tissues, teaching any children in your family to do the same. Also teach children to stay away from others as much as possible if they are sick and stay home from work or school if you are sick.
Know Your Emergency Contacts and Information Compile the phone numbers you'd need in case of the emergency, keeping the list somewhere safe and visible. Make sure everyone in your household knows where to find it. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, you should include information for:
Local and out-of-town personal emergency contacts
Hospitals near your work, home and school
Family physician
Your state public health department (full list at www.cdc.gov/other.htm#states)
Pharmacy
Employer contact and emergency information
School contact and emergency information
Religious/spiritual organization
Also, know your essential health information such as blood type, allergies, past or current medical conditions, and current medications and their dosages. Make a list of that essential information for all the members of your household. Keep that list safe and make sure everyone in your household knows where it is.
HHS has sample sheets that you can print out and fill in with all your essential contact and health information.
http://www.pandemicflu.gov/planguide/InformationSheet.pdf
What Else Will I Need
Make sure you have:
Food and nonperishable items, such as ready-to-eat canned meats, fruits, vegetables, and soups, protein or fruit bars, dry cereal or granola, peanut butter or nuts, dried fruit, crackers, canned juices, bottled water, canned or jarred baby food and formula, and pet food.
Medical and practical items, such as prescriptions drugs and medical supplies such as glucose and blood-pressure monitoring equipment, soap and water, or alcohol-based hand wash, medicines for fever, such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen, thermometer, anti-diarrheal medication, vitamins, fluids with electrolytes, cleansing agent/soap, flashlight, batteries, portable radio, manual can opener, garbage bags and tissues, toilet paper, and disposable diapers.
Source: the Department of Health and Human Services
I'm sure there will be plenty of places opened by looters. Maybe they will help you at the check out counter.
I have heard/read various opinion on whether the small pox vaccines given to school kids back in the 1960s have any residual effect. Some say there is some marginal good carried over.
However, I know the Russians developed differnet strains of small pox and some weapoized versions have no defense.
I remember watching the chaos of Katrina in New Orleans on the news, and there was one little segment where they interviewed two sisters in their 70's that lived together, and the reporter breathlessly asked them how they survive for a couple of weeks before the cavalry arrived to save them, and they said in a matter-of-fact manner that they always had a month's food and water stored up just for such an occasion and that they had plenty to eat and drink. They weren't worried in the least. I just busted when I heard them let the wind out of that young reporter's sail.
With that said, I agree with you, except I would add one other adjective to describe the willfully ignorant. They think they are too civilized and ENLIGHTENED to see the need to prepare to take care of themselves and family in case of a resonably likely emergency. NYC, Los Angeles, and most large cities are full of them, although there's always exceptions, but for the most part those who have been reared in rural areas have not become as interdependent and tied to the grid as those so totally dependent upon their daily lives continuing to run smoothly. Some folks just have to learn the hard way.
Yup. The same crowd that was dependent on the government after Katrina will be the same ones who will be unprepared for a pandemic and will feel justified to rampage and take what they need because the government left them alone without any help. I'm well armed and will not be over-run by any mob.
Trident.....you are right on...here is how the disease will work...
you catch it like a cold/flu..that is human contact..it can live for up to a week on somethings...a cough/airplane..or hand mucus exchange..it takes a week to ten days to incubate...then it swells your throat and at that point you need a respirator...but the hospitals only have 30 -50 of those...so you end up bleeding internally to death in the majority of cases...elderly and sickly will be at the most risk....the other people will either be taking care of the sick..or panicking...IMHO...and I also believe that the people we need the most..police..Doctors...Nurses...utility workers ..will be sick and or be afraid to go to work..so all of that substructure you will need to survive will be gone..don't assume you will get a hospital bed with a respirator...the important people will get those...there will be fights...thieves...gangs...murders...until the dying stops...so you need to be able to survive during this time...by any means you think possible....pretty scary huh?
I think your garden birds are okay, like sparrows and finches and the like.
I'll see if i can get a list of affected birds and post it. In the meanwhile, I'm just being careful not to touch any dead birds I might find unless I have gloves on. I find a couple every year, usually stupid ones that fly into the glass doors.
Back in 1918 the mode of transportation was the train...or horse...maybe a car....now its planes...and to spread an infectious disease is very easy when it can be spread in less than 24 hours worldwide....the question is not if...its when
My wife's grandad use to tell us the story many times how his family took the wagon and went to town for supplies only once a month, but during the 1917-18 Spanish flu outbreak, it took his dad going to the trainstation only one time to get some cattle, and he returned home and a week later came down with it and died. Her grandad was around 10 years old at the time and he came down with it too and was in bed for months and had to learn to walk again when he finally got his strength.
What you said.
I entirely agree. Katrina was an illustration that there are feral humans who will take advantage of any breakdown of law and order and normalcy to resport to mayhem. Anyone who doesn't see this needs to open both eyes and splash cold water on them.
It is not racial. There are plenty of feral humans in every color.
Have you all heard anyone talking about this or buying any supplies as recommended...other than here on FR? I haven't heard one word from anyone.
Very aptly put. Worth repeating.
Not much on FR. Most info my wife and I get is what we read from numerous internet news and medical sites and other media. Most personal acquaintances, friends, and family don't even want it brought up for general discussion. Most want to remain in denial and hope it goes away.
Not us, we want to know if something is developing that could affect us, so we can reasonably prepare for it. 9/11, hurricanes, tornadoes, and other events in our lives have shown us how the population reacts when bad things happen. We prefer not to be caught by surprise in the chaos. Hope for the best, but be safe and be prepared. - OB1
Ask the federal for lots more tax dollars to study the problem is the first item on my bird flu preparation list. We just must have mo money.
Another thing I just thought of - addicts. Whether legitmate (""), meth, weed, etc, alcohol - what will people do without their fix?
We got a lot of meth and weed addicts around here. The marijuana smokers won't kill people, but I don't know about the meth heads. They'll probably kill each other first, then break into houses looking for anything they can find.
Regarding other people, we're kind of hermits...but friends who I communicate with, most of them are somewhat at least concerned. AFAIK, most people I know well are doing at least a little stocking up.
Blam - I know you've been reading up on this for months, as I have. What I find incredible is people who obviously have done no reading up and make fact free assertions. There's another thread this afternoon with people saying stuff which is just plain ignorance.
Why don't they educate themselves?
I think some people are very afraid of death and so any potential danger must be pooh-poohed in order to make the boogey man go away. And so people who are serious about it have to be ridiculed.
It used to be a requirement for travel across borders. You got a yellow card. I got a "free" one at the Laredo "international" gravel airstrip in 1959 from the public health guys. But the customs weenies stuck me $25 for disturbing their nap by not giving advance notice that I was arriving from Mexico. Everything was a lot simpler and more fun then. LOL.
Boy, do we have a lot of those here. They knock themselves out usually and then wake up minutes later and fly away.
On the preparation side, we have about three months worth of food stashed. Everyone here in Texas is pretty well armed so stealing will not be an option. Even the NO folks are beginning to find that out.
Yup. I just usually ignore them or talk right past them.
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