PREPARING FOR A PANDEMIC

I’ve spent a good deal of time on the Flu discussion boards this past week and it is evident that a number of people are attempting to prepare themselves for TEOTWAWKI (The End Of The World As We Know It). People are stockpiling a year’s worth of food or more, trying to acquire anti-viral medications, and are planning on isolating themselves for the duration.

While I do not plan to go that far, I won’t criticize those that do. Everybody has to make their own determination as to what they feel they must do to protect themselves. If heading for the hills, or barricading yourself in your home with a shotgun and a closet full of dehydrated foods increases your comfort level, then by all means, do so.

For most of us, these are not practical preparations. Few of us have an isolated cabin in the woods to bug out to. Most of us couldn’t purchase and store a years worth of food in our homes if we had to. There are practical limits to what we can do.

What then are prudent preparations?

In order to figure that out, we must first look at the likely ramifications of a pandemic.

Our best model is the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918. It killed (depending on whom you believe) between 20 and 100 million people over the span of 2 years. It came in 3 waves, the first relatively mild, the second wave a few months later was horrific, followed by a third, less virulent wave the following year.

Isolation and quarantine were used to combat this pandemic, and yes, some people did starve to death in their homes. Social isolation has been suggested as a precautionary measure by our own government, and plans are being worked out to close schools at the first sign of a pandemic in our country. Many businesses may close. There could even be disruptions in food deliveries and essential services.

FEMA now recommends that all American Families keep a 2-week supply of food, water, and prescription medicines in their homes in the event of a disaster. Up until Katrina devastated New Orleans, their recommendation was for 72 hours. As we all now know, that was completely inadequate.

At a minimum, we all should strive for this level of preparedness. Even if a pandemic does not fulminate, there are other disasters that could befall us. Hurricanes, earthquakes, and terrorist attacks to name a few.

Personally, in the face of a pandemic, I believe that having 30 to 60 days worth of supplies would be prudent. During the height of a pandemic, do you really want to expose yourself unnecessarily by going to the grocery store? And of course, even if you are willing to risk it, there could be disruptions in deliveries and long lines to endure.

A couple of hundred dollars worth of canned goods (heat and eat) stored in your basement or closet would seem to be cheap insurance. With it, you won’t starve to death, although after your 20th can of ravioli, you might die of boredom.

Water storage is, for most of us, more problematic. At a gallon a day per person, a family of four would have to store 120 gallons of water to last a month. Do it if you can, but at a minimum, you should have enough water for a week.

Prescription medicines are difficult for many of us to stockpile. Insurance programs often limit the quantity you can obtain to a 30 day supply. If you are dependant upon certain meds, talk to your doctor, and try to get an extra Rx. You may have to pay for it yourself, but it could save your life.

Beyond that, there are a few items I would recommend that every family keep on hand.

Bleach : Unscented. Can be diluted 10:1 or even 50:1 and used as a disinfectant. It can also be used to treat suspect water. At about $1 a gallon, it makes sense to keep a couple of extra gallons on hand. Get a couple of spray bottles (or recycle empties).

Antiseptic Hand Soap: Frequent hand washing is your best protection against the Flu. Antibacterial liquid hand soap should be at every sink. We should all wash our hands several times each day, even in normal times. During a pandemic, it should become an obsession.

Hand Sanitizer : Every surface you touch could have the flu virus on it. Touch a door knob, or the handlebar of a grocery cart, and then touch your face, and you are risking infection. Get small pocket-sized bottles for everyone in your house, and make sure they use it. Larger bottles can be purchased to refill the small bottles. This stuff is cheap, I purchased several bottles at a Dollar Store the other day, and it could save your life.

N95 Masks : This is controversial, but I’ll throw it in because they are relatively cheap. Some experts doubt that masks do much good. The flu virus is incredibly small and can easily pass through the fibers of most masks. But the virus is usually contained inside a water droplet (cough or sneeze), and these masks can generally filter those. I picked up a case of 25 at the Home Depot the other day for $16.99.

Latex gloves : A box of these can be purchased for around $7.00. If you have a latex allergy, get the vinyl ones instead. They can be used when dealing with a sick family member, or when outside the home. They will (hopefully) serve as a constant reminder not to touch your face with your hands.

First Aid Kit : Every home should have one. Better to create one yourself (cheaper, too), but commercial ones can be had for $20 to $30.

Misc Items : Manual can opener, toilet paper, paper towels, extra garbage bags, flashlights, a battery operated radio. AND EXTRA BATTERIES.

There are, of course, many other things you could do to prepare, but I feel these are the absolute minimum preparations we all should make. Total cost? Well, for a family of 4, it can probably be done for $300.00.

The Avian flu, if it does turn into a pandemic, may not hit us here for months. If $300 is too much to spend all at once, you may still have time to stock up, a little at a time.

While it may seem a daunting task, these sorts of preparations can be done in stages. Start with laying in a 72-hour supply. Then increase that to a one-week supply. Then shoot for 2 weeks. The point being, any preparation you make is better than no preparation at all.

For those of you who are reading this and think that these recommendations are far too little, I would not disagree. Remember, these are minimum recommendations.

My advice, stock up now. Avoid the rush.