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“I’m not as well prepared as I thought.”

Neither am I, though I do have a good knowledge base, having studied various aspects of nuclear civilian defense a while back.

Here’s another good site: http://www.ddponline.org/civil-defense-perspectives/american-lives-two-for-a-penny.html from which the following information appears:

Life-saving Facts (from Brodsky, 2008 draft)

Blast: A blast wave travels about 5 seconds per mile in air, and 1 second per mile in ground, so a rumble in the ground is felt first. A person 10 miles from the detonation may have about 40 seconds from the flash to drop and cover. Protect your eyes. A truck bomb in Nairobi killed 213, injured 4,500, and blinded 150 with flying glass.

Heat: While thermal radiation travels with the speed of light, it lasts several seconds; you can decrease burns by decreasing the duration of exposure. Move into a shadow, or cover!

Fallout: A fallout cloud may take many hours to arrive. Unless evacuating, use the time to prepare shelter. Stay calm.

Inhaled Radionuclides: If caught outdoors in radioactive dust, cover your mouth with a dry cloth while breathing through the mouth. A man’s cotton handkerchief with four folds (16 layers) will remove 94.2% of particles of the size that could reach the lungs; three layers of toilet paper will remove 88.9%.

Decontaminate Yourself. If uninjured, do not inundate medical facilities to check for radioactivity or be decontaminated. Wash or dust off and remove clothing.

Know Your Units. Distinguish total dose from dose rate, and be prepared to convert rads/hr into rads/min by dividing by 60, or rads/sec by dividing by 3,600. Many life-saving actions can be completed within seconds. Old radiation protection standards are in rads and rems; the newer SI units are confusing and potentially dangerous. If a reading in sieverts (Sv) is taken to be in rem, then 1 Sv might be mistaken for 1 rem instead of 100 rem. Appendix F discusses “Scientific Advantages and Absurdities of SI Units in Radiation Protection.”

Topical Iodine. Brodsky quotes a 1989 paper by Miller (see CDP, July 1990), which suggested applying 8 cc of tincture of iodine to the abdomen to block thyroid uptake of radioactive iodine. Cresson Kearny found this to be impractical (CDP, September 1990). Guy E. Abraham summarized information on the bioavailability of iodine applied to the skin (Original Internist, June 2008, http://optimox.com). Note that 88% evaporates from the skin within 3 days, hence the need for an occlusive dressing. The part that is absorbed forms a skin depot, and bioavailability is gradual. Oral KI is much better!”

The main website at which that one appears is the one with the “Nuclear War Survival Skills” download is available is http://www.oism.org/, with the sub-site being a 5-year archive of the newsletter “Civil Defense Perspectives” at http://www.oism.org/s32p27.htm

Here’s another interesting post about saving burn victims from dehydration:

“Cholera and Dehydration Instructions from Fighting Chance Newsletter, March 1988, Vol. 1 # 12. Complete set of fighting chance newsletters, all back issues available in 8 DVD civil defense set from Fighting Chance Civil Defense 8 DVD Set.

On the Medical Preparation video tape (now included with the 8 DVD set of civil defense materials), Dr. Jane Orient teaches that fluid replacement is the most valuable life-saving measure which can be implemented for victims of burns and some life-threatening diseases. She gives a kitchen formula for an oral fluid replacement solution which can be used in time of crisis.

Dr. Orient suggests one teaspoon of Lite Salt (the Morton mixture of iodized potassium chloride and sodium chloride in a blue cylindrical container), one-third teaspoon of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), ten teaspoons of table sugar (sucrose), and one quart of water.

Burn victims need to drink about four to eight quarts of this solution in the first eight hours, four to eight quarts in the next sixteen hours, and as much as tolerable thereafter.

Twenty-five pounds of sugar, one pound of baking soda, five eleven ounce containers of Lite Salt, one teaspoon, and one copy of this formula fits perfectly in a four gallon plastic bucket with air-tight lid. The baking soda fits exactly into a one pint (one-half quart) canning jar. Put everything in the bucket and then pour full with the sugar.

The lives of at least ten people can be saved by this kit.” Cholera and Dehydration Instructions from Fighting Chance Newsletter, March 1988, Vol. 1 # 12. Complete set of fighting chance newsletters, all back issues available in 8 DVD civil defense set from Fighting Chance Civil Defense 8 DVD Set.

Burn victims need to drink about four to eight quarts of this solution in the first eight hours, four to eight quarts in the next sixteen hours, and as much as tolerable thereafter.

The lives of at least ten people can be saved by this kit.

Cholera and Dehydration Instructions from Fighting Chance Newsletter, March 1988, Vol. 1 # 12. Complete set of fighting chance newsletters, all back issues available in 8 DVD civil defense set from Fighting Chance Civil Defense 8 DVD Set.

Burn victims need to drink about four to eight quarts of this solution in the first eight hours, four to eight quarts in the next sixteen hours, and as much as tolerable thereafter.

The lives of at least ten people can be saved by this kit. http://www.oism.org/s32p1868.htm