I really want to write about my new bike/ car lite, but in light of the world health organization moving this outbreak to a 5 out of 6, I thought I'd address the issue in terms of our family's preparedness.
As anyone who reads this blog knows, I am a prepper. There was a time I was a preppie but that has been many years ago.
In the last year we have made many preparations, and continue to fill in the gaps for what we think will be hard times with peak oil. However these preparations also work for natural disaster, and pandemic.
Over the last year I've blogged about first aid, alternative cooking and heating, food storage and several other areas.
Is there anything I'm adding or doing differently? Well, as a community leader I've downloaded and printed out some materials from .gov sites to hand out, and I will again publicly speak about food storage. But for my own preparations, I have picked up a few things: disinfectant wipes, nose tissues, and ginger ail. I had not really focused my preparations with disposable items in mind, but for this particular situation, I think it could be important. The Ginger Ail is because that is what our family wants when ill. It's all about comfort. We have chicken and chicken stock and turkey soup and even soda crackers, but we hadn't stocked was what we serve to the bed bound.
My prayers are that all are well and that this is of short durations and limited affect.
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6 comments:
I've been focusing on what preps we need specifically for this pandemic. Most of it we already have but I added a few things. More tissues is a good idea. I was prepping for us to avoid getting it but not for if we did get it.
Christy, what have you done about avoiding it?
When the big Bird Flu scare hit the global media, a study was set up in South Korea to trial various methods of building flu immunity among poultry flocks. The best preventative substance they found was... kimchi, the pickled hot pepper/garlic/cabbage mixture that families traditionally made in large batches and stored in underground crocks. When kimchi was fed to chickens, they developed superior flu resistance.
It makes good sense: lacto-fermented veggies, garlic, and hot peppers are all known to have immune-system-boosting properties. Ginger, another common additive, acts as an anti-nausea and anti-inflammatory treatment. The lack of high-fructose corn syrup and refined sugar in kimchi is important too-- refined sugars, especially corn sweetener, can depress the immune system.
While kimchi is a very potent mixture that may not run to everyone's taste, I'd suggest you find/make your own equivalent concoctions and store/eat them in quantity!
Verde,
Prepping should likely take things like this swine flu outbreak into consideration. Because if food and civil order come unglued - so will effective community health. Individuals may do well, but managing disease outbreaks will be less effective than today.
What happened in Mexico to set the stage for this widespread issue - they failed to treat initial cases, turned away sick people to keep doctors and EMS from getting sick, failed to report the initial cases (February and March), failed to track reports of illness or fatalities (last Saturday may have been 200 dead, not the 20 reported then), and failed to treat members of families of those that died or were sick (which is the way you stop an outbreak!) - these could happen anywhere, any time civil order loses coherence.
MaineCelt - thanks for reminding me about garlic, and lacto-fermentation boosting immune response.
Thank you MaineCelt and BradK for your insightful additions.
I used to be a preppie, then I was a punker, now I am a prepper, too. I think there's a song in there. Unplugged, of course.
Lacto fermentation is about the best health boost of all. Nothing like it to scare away all manner of bugs. This time of year you can lacto ferment most spring greens, young carrots- I guess you could ferment pea pods, too. And there's always the kefir boost for your wonderful milk.
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