Bird Flu / Swine Flu / SARS and other Flu Pandemics - How to survive.

This is serious stuff this year and probably for years to come.  To stay up current on Flu Pandemic information go to Flu.gov or the CDC website

At the bottom of the page you will be able to find additional reading info that we recommend.

Below is our strategy and how we intend to deal with any Flu Pandemic and the materials we might use to survive an outbreak of Swine Flu, SARS, Bird Flu or whatever nastiness is lurking around to try and kill me or my family.

While some diseases and plagues get transmitted from human to human some like the black plague can be passed from rats to humans or there are plenty of diseases that can be contracted from mosquitoes and roaches.  I think that if the shit hits the fan it is just as important to have a surplus of bug and rodent repellent as it is to keep yourself and your shelter clean.  Make sure you have reusable traps, lots of bug spray and make sure you always stay current with your shots.  Light long sleeves and long pants always help too.  It is impossible to completely avoid all rodents and insects no matter how hard we try but just keep in mind the threat if disease does break out.

When tragedies happen and food and water run short most people don’t die due to lack of water or food, most die from disease, infections and all sort of nasty illnesses so when a crisis happens it makes sense try and stay sanitary and keep things as clean as possible.  Bleach goes a long way in helping to make this happen.  You can not only use Bleach to clean surfaces, dishes and clothing but you can also use bleach to make clean drinking water.  If there has been on outbreak try and avoid contact with others or whatever it may be that is spreading the outbreak.  Whenever possible use masks and sterile gloves that you can throw away or better yet…burn.  Hand sanitizer is a nice addition as well.

Some of the most recent outbreak and these are very likely to stay around for some time.  It’s only a matter of time before one of these or their more contagious friends spreads like wildfire through the world.  You better be prepared...  Just b/c you come in contact with a virus doesn't mean you have to let it grab hold.  Below is some advice from a doctor much smart than I am.

Flu Prevention - Advice from a doctor

If you must expose yourself to any sort of outbreak there are steps you can take to combat the germs you might encounter.

 

TAKE PRECAUTIONS AND STAY WELL.

Dr. Vinay Goyal is an MBBS,DRM,DNB (Intensivist and Thyroid specialist) having clinical experience of over 20 years. He has worked in institutions like Hinduja Hospital, Bombay Hospital, Saifee Hospital, Tata Memorial etc.

The following message, given by him, makes a lot of sense and is important for all of you to know.

The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible not coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is.

While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, not fully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced (instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu):

1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).

2. "Hands-off-the-face" approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat, bath or slap).

3. *Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't trust salt). *H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.

4. Similar to 3 above, *clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. *Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Sutra Neti (very good Yoga asanas to clean nasal cavities), but *blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.*

5. *Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (citrus fruits).

*If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.

6.* Drink as much of warm liquids as you can. *Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.

Be Prepared...

The best way to not catch the flu is to cut off all outside contact but how likely is that really?  If for some reason you do decide to hole up in your home or somewhere away from others then you will need to prepare accordingly.  Have you ever seen or read the book "Into the Wild"?  That's what happens when you aren't prepared...

In a situation like this, if you decide to bunker down in your home, your water is unlikely to get turned off so your ability to get fresh clean water should be okay.  (I always have some extra around anyways.)  You should also still have electricity so being able to prepare food should be okay too.  The obvious thing to do if there is an outbreak is to hunker down in one family members home.  If someone might have been exposed then they need to go live in one of the other family homes until you are certain they were or were not exposed.  Collect all your resources and gather at the most isolated home.  Your main concern is stay not getting infected and that means no contact with ANYONE else unless your life depends on it. If someone does have to leave the house they should not be allowed back inside until they spend a few days in quarantine.   You can’t catch whatever it is that’s going around if you are never exposed and germs don’t live forever.  You best bet it to try and have enough sanitation equip as discussed about.  If you do have to expose yourself there are certain precautions you should take.  Face masks, gloves, and protective wear are keys to surviving contact.  You can get everything you need to survive below.

The next thing you need to worry about is case of some sort of pandemic is food for the duration of the time that you need to be isolated in your home.  Generally you will be safe will two months of isolation. (Most people will have died by then.) The nice things about the different types of food we offer are the super long shelf life.  The Mountain House Freeze dried meals are my favorite.  (Most of the meals actually taste really good.)

What makes the Mountain House food so good besides the taste is the fact that the shelf life is anywhere from 25-30 years when stored properly.  This means for a thousand dollars you should be able to by 2 months worth of survival food for 4 people.  We also offer MRE’s which are great because you really only need one.  If space is a problem then we also have high protein high calorie bars to help you survive when the swine flu / bird flu / or SARS comes to wipe us out.

We have all the survival equipment you need to survive which ever crisis you encounter.  We have collected all the equipment in one convenient location for your shopping needs.  Sometimes you just don’t have the time to do the research and find the best products so we have done that for you.  Below are my favorite items for when any pandemic but you can find a more complete list of our products in our survival supply store.