How to Stay Healthy in a Natural Disaster

It has been a virtual impossibility over the part few months not to turn into yet another media account of a horrific natural disaster hitting the United States or some other part of the world.

As a medical practitioner with over 30 years of clinical experience I can attest to the old medical adage of "no emergencies ever occur in an emergency room" is as true as it gets. All emergency room staff are prepared for emergencies, and can spin of a dime when disaster slams though the doors. While no one is suggesting that level of training for your family is necessary you and your family should not look like the cast of a cheesy remake of "The Towering Inferno" if a disaster hits.

Natural disasters reach their havoc on people with little or no warning. Some hit close to home and others ACTUALLY hit home. Dealing with a "direct hit" is daunting task for the healthiest among us. However, add into the mix living with a chronic disease and the challenge accelerates tremendously.

Natural disasters are one of the "great equalizers" of medical care. Floods, hurricanes, earthquakes other forms of natures' furies do not care about gender, age, religion, or other social issues when they strike. They are an equal opportunity headache that often times turns into heartache.

If you have a chronic medical illness or care for someone with one (and that should add up to nearly the entire world) one the best things you can be is be prepared. This article is going to walk you through some preparedness issues to consider to help you and your loved ones cope when disaster strikes.

Things You'll Need

• Medical Disaster Kit Information and Supplies.
• Extra "emergency" supply of all prescription and regularly taken over-the-counter medications.
• Medical Information List.
• Ample supply of hand sanitizer
• Other documents as needed.

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Instructions

• 1

  Make a medical disaster kit and plan. The best time to make a kit is to do it today before any disaster hits. Making a disaster kit is simple, inexpensive, and the smart thing to do. Ever since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 "disaster preparedness" kits and companies have exploded in the commercial market. A sane, safe and inexpensive way to make your own that is by following the guidelines set by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Go to http://www.fema.gov/areyouready/ and download the disaster kit plan that best meets your individual needs and concerns. This information is not only FREE but allows you to develop a personalized kit that you become familiar with.

• 2

  If you take medications for chronic illnesses make sure you have at least a two week supply of EXTRA medications on hand at all times. Check with your health insurance company to see if they will provide additional coverage for prescription medications that you can store away. You can also inquire about how to access their "vacation" medication refill program since many carries will allow you to refill certain medications early if you are going to be traveling or away for a prolonged period of time. Remember insurance companies want you to stay on your medications and well. Also, once you have your "emergency" medication supply be sure to rotate them out every month or so to avoid any prescription from out dating.

• 3

  Make a neatly type written list with your name and identification information along with any serious food, drug or other allergies. This list should also include your medical condition, the name and contact information of the health care provider managing this condition, and all past operations and current medications with accurate dosing. Be specific as possible. You may want to consider asking your pharmacist to print out extra labels of all your medications to place on the list. Update this list on a regular basis.

• 4

  If you have a living will and/or medical proxy in place it is wise to keep copies of those documents with your medical disaster list.

• 5

  The major goal of surviving of natural disaster with a chronic medical condition is to keep your condition as stable as humanly possible. Do as much of your basic health care plan and regimen as you can under your circumstances daily. A disaster is not a "holiday" to stop taking your high blood pressure medications or to forget to check your blood sugar to cite two common examples. Stay on course the best you can.

• 6

  One of the most effective ways to stay as healthy as possible in a disaster is to stay hydrated, wash your hands, and do not consume any suspicious liquids or solids.

• 7

  Once again the single most important things you can do to prevent the spread of illness is to wash your hands. Become the "Lady Macbeth" of your tribe. Wash your hands, inspect the hands of the people in your charge, and never let up on keeping hands as clean as possible.

• 8

  All the kits, plans, and tools in the world do not substitute for effective talking and education. Sit down with your family and discuss what to do in the event of a disaster, what each person's role responsibility will be, and where the disaster kit(s) are kept. Make this a real family meeting. Do NOT do it on the fly as the kids are out the door or your partner is running to work. At this meeting all cell phones and other devices are TURNED OFF and not just to vibrate. The world will spin just nicely with you and your family "unplugged" from the universe for an hour.

• 9

  Create a watch phrase that is the "property" of your family. The watch phrase word, or code is a trigger for immediate attention to the family leader(s) and activation of your disaster plan. This phrase, word, or code is never used jokingly or in any other fashion.

• 10

  Now go wash your hands, get the basic information you need, and set up a family meeting today.