Protecting Life: Basic Sanitation

            I watched a really good movie the other day where a man was helping a village fight a cholera epidemic, and I had to think that eventually in a TSHTF scenario, we will have to face diseases like this again. Immediately I began research about this bacteria, how to identify it, how it’s spread, how to treat its victims, and how to kill it. Cholera is a bacteria that is initially spread through the water supply. It kills its victims by creating multiple organ failure due to severe dehydration. About half of its victims will die, but full recovery can be accomplished with rapid and aggressive rehydration, which is not as easy as it sounds. There are ratios involved with fluid replacement so you do not accidently turn your blood into something as watery as kool-aid, but that goes WAY beyond the scope of this blog. The good news is that cholera is avoidable in most situations by ALWAYS FOLLOWING BASIC SANITATION RULES!

            Boiling water prior to ingesting it can kill many bacteria found in water; the CDC recommends maintaining a rolling boil for a minimum of 1 minute to kill cholera but that even seems too short an amount of time in my opinion. Chlorine bleach is also an option, but consult the CDC website for ratios of bleach to amount of water, and also waiting times if you choose to treat your water in this manner. Of course the first step in using either process is to have the ability to either boil or bleach your water. Since I have stated before that “two is one, and one is none,” how many different methods of water purification do you currently have? Is it time to update your gear, or add to what you currently have?

            I have not really touched on first aid in this blog since the legalities could be a real pain. I will state that anything I write is to simply suggest something, or to get you thinking about how you would handle a situation. I have a lot of first aid training personally, and could probably handle several small-scale emergencies and traumas without much of a panic. I do suggest taking an EMT class or other first aid training that’s available in your area since this knowledge is always useful even in regular life without being in survival mode.

If TSHTF, be prepared for conditions to become unsanitary very quickly. Proper hand-washing, being diligent with how your prepare food and drinking water will save your life. Also, learn the guidelines for protecting your ground water, and other water supplies. Rotting animals will taint water with nasty microbes which will make others deathly ill. Have a way to protect yourself and your family; this includes the ability to make a fire large enough to boil large pots of water. Finally, learn how to and teach your family to conserve as much water as possible. Using grey water has surged in popularity as a sustainable practice, and things like this could save your life.

Thanks for reading, and Happy Prepping!