Hello, true believers!
Today we are going to talk about an always fun topic: preparing for a planet-wide pandemic.
Before the pandemic
As always, most of what you can do to get through a pandemic happens BEFORE the actual pandemic happens (boy, that was an awesome sentence). Preparing yourself ahead of time is half the battle.
Some areas to cover:
Food & Water
During a pandemic, stores may be closed and out of supplies and you may not be able to trust the local water supply. For this reason, you should store at least 2 weeks worth of water. You should have at least 4L/day/person in your family (this comes to 56L/person in your family).
You’ll also need at least 2 weeks of food stored. You’ll want high-calorie, high-nutrient, non-perishable items. Items that will last long and give you the most bang for your buck. For more information read this article on Emergency Food Planning – Risk Management.
You should have a food & water store for any potential emergency, as has been discussed ad nauseum on this site. 2 weeks is a good minimum, but feel free to store more if space and resources allow.
Health & Medication
During a pandemic, stores may be closed, and even if they’re open you may not want to frequent them or other areas where many people pass through. So you’ll want to have a stores of essential medications and health-related items, such as:
multi-vitamins
pain relievers
medicine for stomach aches
cold medicine
extra percsription drugs for anyone in the family who needs them
extra special items if anyone in the family needs them: allergy medications, asthma medications, extra glasses/contacts, etc.
Have a first aid kit on hand. For more information read this article on creating your own first aid kit.
An Action Plan
Create an action plan with the members of your family. How would you handle a pandemic? Does every member know the proper steps to take? How would you handle it if someone got sick? etc.
Feel free to extend this plan to trusted members in your community. Our great strength as humans, besides our intelligence, is our social bonds.
Oh shoot… it’s a pandemic
So that strain of pig-monkey-hamster flu has mutated into a full blown pandemic. Okay, no reason to panic. Well, okay, there’s probably plenty reason to panic, but you Sir/Ma’am must keep your head! You’ve prepared, now it’s just a matter of lying low and not getting infected. Some tips:
Stay away from sick people! Duh. Avoid close contact with anyone infected. If you’re infected, avoid contact with others to protect them.
Stay at home as much as possible- if it is possible to get time off of work or to keep the kids home from school, do it. During a serious pandemic, schools will probably be closed anyway.
Wash your hands as often as possible with soap and water. Most of the bacteria and viruses you come in contact with are through your hands, so doing this will decrease your chances of infection.
Avoid touching your face. Most infections happen when someone touches something infected, then touches their eyes, mouth or nose. If you follow this and the previous step, you should greatly reduce your chances of infection.
Live a healthy lifestyle! A strong immune system will help you survive an infection. Eat healthy. Exercise. Get adequate sleep. Stop sniffing bathsalts. Whatever it is you need to do.
The main thing to remember is that a pandemic is generally spread by people, so if things get bad the main thing is avoiding contact with those jerks as much as possible. Stock up beforehand and have a plan, so you can isolate yourself when need be. Boost your immune system with healthy living, to improve your chances should you get infected. If you do these things you’ll be in the best position to get through such a scenario.
Post by John Miler
Self-sufficiency and Preparedness solutions recommended for you:
Backyard Liberty (Obama’s hidden agenda: more than just your guns…)
Food for Freedom (If I want my family to survive, I need my own food reserve)
Blackout USA (EMP survival and preparedness guide)