We over-prepare for the glamorous and the "sexy".
We under-prepare for the mundane and boring. Being under-prepared for the boring can kill you.
The video at the head of this essay plods along. In some places it is boring. Diarrhea is boring. Chemistry is boring. Institutional memory is boring. History is boring. Logistics are boring.
My readers
I suspect that most of my readers are in our 50s, 60s and 70s . We are more fragile than we care to admit. The issues discussed in the video killed tens of thousands men in their prime and it incapacitated millions of those men. Many of those men worked in fields or factories 60 hours a week. They were tough men. And they were absolutely hammered into the dirt by bad water and sanitation.
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Shigella Dysenteriae, just one of the dozens of bacteria that can give you diarrhea |
May I simply suggest that it would be a simple prep to carry a gallon (or more) of clean water in your vehicle and to have the means to filter/sanitize local water should the need arise? And don't just buy it and pitch it behind the seat of your truck. Buy TWO of them and try them out on some local water so you are not shocked by how it tastes.
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| Clostridioides difficile is notable for the foul stench of the "output" |
And then...think about Oral Rehydration Solution for when you or a loved-one does get the Johnny-trots. Most "sports electrolyte" drinks don't have enough salt and have too much sugar. You can get close if you take 3/4-scoop of powdered Gatorade and add 1/4 teaspoon of table salt per quart(liter) of water. You need the salt. Your body will not allow your body to retain water if it knocks your cation:anion:water equilibrium out of balance.
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| The case for having a response-plan for diarrhea is that there are situations when contact with raw sewage is unavoidable. Some of those situations, like flooding, can expose very large numbers of people, possibly enough to overwhelm local medical resources |
I am not trying to play "doctor" here. My goal is to keep you out of the ditch long enough for you to get to the doctor. Even though dehydration and raging diarrhea is sufficient reason to call 911 and get an ambulance ride...how many of you are actually going to make that call? Right. I thought so. None of us.
You are going to try to finish what you are doing, take one final trip to the latrine, put three folded-up towels on the seat of your F-150/Silverado/RAM and then drive yourself to the E-Room.
Hydration is crucial when you are working outside in the heat - humidity of the day. I've found out the hard way (passed out pushing a lawn mower but recovered my senses less than a minute later). Day was just beginning but I was not drinking anything prior to starting and that (I think) what was did the trick. I should have began drinking water at home before beginning. Embarrassing to say the least but a harmless lesson. And yes - i began pushing the mower again after resting and drinking water in the shade. No hospital ER - I just went home, took a bath and drank more water.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post sir. I look forward to the replies.
I found that as I have aged that my hunger and thirst are blunted. I don't get as hungry as I did in my 20 nor do I feel thirst as acutely.
DeleteThat is where taking a break every hour is important. I carry a wristwatch and a phone with a timer in my pocket. The wristwatch is so I can see how close I am to the end of the hour. I will take a break if I have finished up a task at 55 minutes and it is a clean break-point.
Decent ceramic hand pumped water filters are cheap, and here in the midwest it is easy to find water (if not clean water) to filter for drinking.
ReplyDeleteYou can easily carry water (or gatorade/sports drinks) in many compartments in your car. around the spare tire, in body panels, etc). That gallon need not be all in one bottle either.
Just remember to pre-filter the surface water before running through the microfilter ceramic.
DeleteDouble paper coffee filters work pretty well. Otherwise your microfilter pores of that ceramic will be clogged quickly.
Same with microfilter fiber filters like lifestraw and such but they have a blow it clear option.
Michael the anonymous
Ahem, Dodge 1500... it has the pleather seats to ease the cleanup!
ReplyDeleteI'm fairly frugal. My formula for rehydration is simply a couple of tablespoons of sugar, 1 tablespoon Morton Lite Salt and 1 tablespoon table salt. Morton Lite Salt is a 50/50 mixture of sodium chloride and potassium chloride. Sugar is included not for nutrition but because it results in an isotonic mixture that optimizes absorption of water by the intestines. You've probably already got sugar and table salt stocked, so just adding a couple of bottles of Morton Lite salt should get you set to make many gallons of rehydration drink for only a few bucks. For further research, look at what the WHO recommends for a recipe for rehydration salts.
ReplyDeleteBTW, Joe, I'm fairly local to you and really enjoy your blog!!
Thank you for this common sense thrifty info
DeleteModern vehicles have a lot of cup holders. Every cup holder holds a water bottle. My five passenger vehicle has seven holders. Five water bottles ride shotgun plus whatever we are currently drinking. That is 100 ounces out of 128 in a gallon right there. The acronym POWER includes water in the engine and water in the vehicle. Good for the vehicle and the occupants.
ReplyDeleteModern techno/society has made worse like Typhus and Cholera foreign and unknown to mush of our society. Diseases that killed MILLIONS over the centuries. And we are one major SHTF away from them returning. Too few people know how to avoid contracting such maladies and even fewer know how to treat them without modern antibiotics. And old school treatments were not very effective. Our modern society is wonderful...but very fragile.
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