Health
Access to first aid equipment and medical supplies is crucial for any disaster scenario. Ensuring you have a sufficient medical product can be a game changer. Health preparation also includes sanitation supplies in general and medication for those who require it. Find out if your local municipality has a disaster plan for those needing medication. You may be surprised with your findings. If they don't and you don't know where to start, we can help!
Medical Supply Information
Natural disasters can cause unexpected injury. Preparing a medical kit for you and others is a basic need for any disaster outcome. During the height of a crisis, it may be necessary to get extremely close to others to save their lives. Ensuring you have gloves, masks, and even eye protection can ensure bodily fluids don’t transmit and pass infection/disease. Antiseptics are important to prevent infection and to keep an area sterile. Medical or trauma shears to remove clothing that may be interfering with wound access or causing difficulty keeping a wound clean is good to have on hand. Emergency bandages are needed to assist with stopping the flow of blood caused by major trauma injuries and can also be used for dressing wounds, pressure applications, and as a closure apparatus. Burn cream or other similar products may also be used in your medical kit. You ultimately want to be able to clean a wound, stop blood loss, and provide a constant sterile environment for healing or to hold out until medical professionals arrive to get further assistance. Following that up with a form of pain relief product may also not be a bad idea. If from your disaster prep analysis you determine medical access would not be quick to arrive in your situation, make sure you prepare a more robust medical supply.
Medication Preparation Information
Many people depend on daily medication. Nearly half of Americans take at least one prescription medication; 1 in 4 take three or more. A large-scale natural disaster, such as a hurricane, or other emergencies could make it difficult to find an open pharmacy let alone get a prescription filled. You and your family may need to rely on a prepared emergency supply. Keep an up-to-date list of all prescription medications, including dosage amounts and the names of their generic equivalents, your medical supply needs, and known allergies. Don't let medications in your emergency supply kit expire.
Sanitation Preparation Information
When encountering a disaster, proper sanitation is a critical component of preparedness. Frequently, there are more deaths following a disaster due to poor sanitation, than lives lost in the event. The earthquake in Haiti is a good example as it had a terrible cholera outbreak, killing thousands and hospitalizing hundreds of thousands. It is always a good idea to keep at least a year of basic sanitation items stored in your home. You can make it through almost any disaster with this amount, as well as saving money by stocking up on essentials when items are on sale. Tracking your usage of supplies and marking containers to record how long things last can help keep your items at their maximum duration of usage. Be sure to rotate your supplies to ensure they are kept fresh and nothing is wasted.
