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the RULE of 3: when you or others around you are SICK

WHAT IF?

Playing the game of “What if?” can start to seem pretty real when you see it up close and personal, especially if it’s going on in your own house. Here’s our current scenario – Influenza Outbreak: a widespread influenza outbreak during the winter leads to a health crises. What do you do to protect your household, care for anyone in your house who is sick (while protecting the others), and reduce health care strain. What if you have a vulnerable person in your house?

So – let’s talk about this. It’s pretty close to home – what with Covid still fresh in all our minds. It’s especially fresh in my friend Karen’s mind – she was diagnosed recently with Whooping Cough, also known as pertussis (also known as the 100 day cough) which is highly contagious and apparently going around in Alberta just now. Who knew? Symptoms don’t show up for 5-10 days after exposure, and start out looking like a common cold, so you could easily be spreading the disease without even knowing you have it. Which is probably exactly how she caught it. It can cause serious and even deadly complications in young children and vulnerable people, so its best if you stay away from others if you’ve got symptoms, but who really even knows what the symptoms are? I’ve actually never even known anyone who had it.

I have a good friend with a child who’s received a transplant. I have a cousin who has received a transplant. These people who I love, take medication every day of their lives to suppress their natural immune system, so that their bodies won’t fight off and destroy the new organ that is keeping them alive. From the outside, they do not look any different than you and me, but to come into contact with illnesses that for you or me may be innocuous or uncomfortable at worst can be very serious for some – and may actually kill them.

Their situations make me much more aware of being healthy around them. And make me want to be more responsible in public.

📌

 Reviewing the Rule of Three: AIR, SHELTER, WATER AND FOOD – the big one for me in this scenario is definitely AIR since it is very hard to catch one’s breath – so I’m told. If you have asthma or other lung issues, it can be downright scary, and the LAST thing you want to do is pass it on to someone with young children.

Staying home is the responsible thing to do when you’re sick but how many do? Hopefully Covid made us a little more responsible about that. Wearing a mask in public if you have to go out is not as weird as it used to be – that goodness, so I’d hope if you knew you were sick, you’d wear one out of respect for everyone else you might come into contact with. Since the beginning symptoms of Pertussis are identical to those of a common cold, courtesy implies that if you think you’re coming down with a cold, you’d cover your mouth, cough into your elbow, wash your hands frequently, use hand sanitizer and follow all the other usual protocols we learned.

It goes without saying that those preventative measures would be implemented for one’s own protection, but also to prevent you spreading the disease if you were sick.

And the last area of focus is FOOD. I know several people who live in apartments and rely on public transit to get around, including going to a grocery store. For some, if you’re not feeling well, going out to buy groceries suddenly becomes a much bigger job than it used to be. But . . . . what if you had a good supply of food on hand? What if you had at least an extra week or two worth in your pantry? What kind of peace of mind would that give you with one less thing to worry about? Especially if you’re not able to work, and are not getting paid.

And what if you’re well enough but several people you know are down with the flu? and it seems like such a bad one? You still have to go to work, and still have to get groceries. How you do protect yourself?

These kinds of scenarios are not obscure. They are very real, highly likely and happen ALL the time. Just because it isn’t happening to you right now, doesn’t mean you might not suddenly find yourself in that situation as easily as anyone else might? Why not you?

The question is then: What would you do? What have you already done to prepare for such a scenario?

Do you have a couple of weeks or more of shelf stable food on hand to at least take that worry away?
Do you have a little money set aside to buy prescription medication if necessary? to cover some bills if you have to miss work for several days and don’t have coverage?
Do you have some common over the counter medications on hand? Advill? Tylenol? etc.
Do you have a friend or relative in mind who you could call on to help you if needed?
Have you made yourself available to others who might need help in a similar situation?
Do you have emergency numbers handy if you need them?
Is your phone usually charged?

What are some other things that you can prepare for JUST IN CASE?

I’d like to hear your thoughts or experiences on this subject. Feel free to comment below.

Warmly,

Cindy Suelzle

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Rule of THREE

When considering any emergency, I find it helpful to consider the RULE OF THREE to prioritize my means and my energies. 
*We can live up to 3 minutes without air.
*In extreme weather, we’ll be in trouble within 3 hours without shelter.
*We can go up to 3 days without water.
*Our bodies will start shutting down long before 3 weeks without food.
Variables include age, weight, health, activity level, environmental conditions and type of food of course. 

So with these priorities in mind – whether considering emergency scenarios – especially without POWER or fresh running WATER (both of which could go on several days), do you have plan in place? . . . .
I live in Edmonton, Alberta and in the winter we can experience some pretty severe cold weather from time to time.  To be without power during those times can be deadly, and yet it is precisely those times that we may have problems with our furnaces. Furnaces are not going to quit in the summer when they’re not being used, they’re going to quit in the winter when they’re being used daily, especially when it’s bitter cold outside. (sigh . . . . I know right?)

And if you don’t have heat in the winter, you will soon have a water problem as well. Regardless of the time of year, our water supply is precious yet volatile, always susceptible to restriction or contamination. It is worth protecting and having a clean supply on hand.

Rule of 3

AIR
– not likely to be a problem UNLESS we need to provide an alternate source of heat, at which time improper ventilation becomes a concern.  Carbon Monoxide is produced any time you burn fuel: in vehicles, stoves, lanterns, grills, fireplaces, gas ranges and furnaces.  It is a very real, very scary thing – which can kill. 
*NEVER bring in an outdoor heat source or cooking stove. NEVER EVER.  Those are not meant for indoors. 
link to my post THE NIGHT WE NEARLY WENT TO SLEEP FOREVER
https://backyardcityhomestead.com/2018/12/13/the-night-we-nearly-went-to-sleep-forever/

SHELTER
– This should give us pause to consider the circumstances of the many people without houses right now.  Every day I hear about another death or two in the ‘tent cities’ in Edmonton. People just trying to stay warm in the most difficult situation.
But if we’re sheltering in place during an extended power outage, there are things we need to take care of.  With no heat, it will take only hours for the inside of your house to be the same temperature as the outside.  If we don’t have an alternate source (fireplace or wood stove), we’ll need to leave the house in a short amount of time.  Hopefully we’ve got a place in mind that we can go.  We do – Right? And of course dressing for the weather is imperative.

Assuming we have a wood stove, lighting it when its really cold is not so easy.  The low temperature in our chimney will force the cold air down creating a blockage – that prevents the smoke from escaping.  Time to figure out how to light the fire and have it draw properly. 
Assuming that we’ve mastered that, we may find it a good idea to have everyone sleep in the room with the heat source.  We have a Carbon Monoxide detector right? One that is battery run and fully charged.  Right?
Dressing for the weather is important IN the house too – sweaters, slippers, blankets . . .

WATER

– If we have to leave our home because of no heat, we must ensure the water is turned off and the lines are drained.  Water will freeze in only hours and burst water pipes will cause terrible destruction.  (don’t ask me how I know this)
But even if we’re sheltering in place, there may be parts of our home that are at risk of freezing.  It may be advisable to shut the water off anyway.  We have another source of water in the house – Right? 

If we only have one area that is warm, bring containers of water into that area to prevent them from freezing. 

FOOD

We have more flexibility with this than anything else.  For the short term, open up a can of pork and beans or make yourself a sandwich.  (You have a hand operated can opener – Right?)  Eat up some leftovers in the fridge – it could be lost within a day or two.

If the power outage goes on for more than a few days – your frozen food is in jeopardy.  When its bitter cold, setting it all outside is an option – but that’s a terrible job!  If the weather isn’t cold enough, we better be able to cook – or we’ll lose a lot!  But that sounds like an arduous job too, and not very practical. I strongly advise AGAINST having your freezer contain the bulk of your food storage.  Not a good idea at all, and this is exactly why.  Having said that – I too have a freezer, and I use it. But depending on it alone for your food storage is a terrible idea.

Having some Meals in a Jar (MIJ) on hand will be a life saver if we have the ability to cook a one pot meal.  They are nutritious, delicious, easy to prepare, and provide variety to meals that we’ll be glad to have.  All we need is a pot, some water and a heat source.  15-20 minutes for most meals. 

Instant freeze dried meals-in-a-pouch provide tasty and nutritious hearty meals with nothing more than added water.  Excellent resource to have in your pantry or food storage.  If you have the ability to heat the water, then all the better.

Always consider the RULE OF THREE and use it to measure every emergency when coming up with a game plan. 

Warmly,

Cindy Suelzle