Emergency Preparedness

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by rivet-rivet

We don't live too far from a nuclear power plant, so the county distributed iodine tablets to folks living in the area of the reactor, in case of a release to atmosphere from the power plant.

Don't wait until a release. Take your iodine tablets, use iodized salt, whatever it takes to top off your iodine levels all the time. Iodine free radicals, including radioative iodine free radicals, build up in your body if you're deficient, but if you've got an excess, the excess is flushed out of your system. But what's flushed out is the last dose received, not the first.

So in order for the iodine tablets to work, you've got to already be "full" of the safe stuff so all the extra radioactive stuff "spills over." If you're not already full when the release occurs, the radioactive stuff will get into your system and stay there, and the stuff you take as a treatment will be flushed out instead. Lessons learned from Chernobyl.

I don't live all that far from Waterford 3, so that's a lesson I took to heart.

[rivet-rivet]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

Don't wait until a release.

So in order for the iodine tablets to work, you've got to already be "full" of the safe stuff so all the extra radioactive stuff "spills over." If you're not already full when the release occurs, the radioactive stuff will get into your system and stay there, and the stuff you take as a treatment will be flushed out instead. Lessons learned from Chernobyl.

Did not know, Thanks!

[Lily&Me]

Good thing for all of us who travel to know.

What a wealth of knowledge and experience we have here.

We may not live by a nuclear reactor but could certainly travel near one, and have a number of times.

Most of us grew up hearing the iodized salt mantra, and daily use meeting normal dietary needs. Never heard of iodine supplements protecting from nuclear fallout.

Need to add iodine tablets to the bug-out bag. Where does one purchase iodine tablets?


Maggie

[Lily&Me]

We have so many southerners on this forum, want to post a little something here about southern hospitality and current disaster relief efforts in hard-hit areas of Illinois.....

Our local TV station has been carrying a story today about a New Orleans man and his wife who came up here Tuesday with a couple of what can only be called cast iron "vats". You could bathe a pony in one of these.

Filled, they contain 700-800 servings of food, and he is stirring with what looks like a purpose-built, long handled, oval shovel.

This man is standing outside, in the cold and rain, cooking under an awning.....jambalaya, red beans & rice, chili, etc., for tornado victims and relief workers.

Much of the ingredients are being donated locally, and he says he will continue to cook as long as the ingredients keep coming.


Maggie

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by doug&maggie

Need to add iodine tablets to the bug-out bag. Where does one purchase iodine tablets?

All varieties of Centrum, except Centrum Specialist Prenatal, contain 100% of the minimum daily requirement of iodine. That, combined with idodized salt and other natural sources such as yogurt, will help ensure that you've up to par. Most other multivitamins contain no iodine, or only trace amounts.

If you want iodine tablets as a supplement during emergencies, you can get potassium iodide tablets at almost any pharmacy, such as CVS.

But please allow me to backtrack slightly… I misspoke (miswrote?) in my previous post. You need to be up to par on your iodine intake, but don't routinely take the tablets you may have been issued for emergency use. They contain enough iodine to cause thyroid cancer if you take them for long periods of time. Your body does expel the excess, but not instantly, so it is possible that if you take megadoses every day, you'll overdose.

Wait for an emergency, and take the first emergency dose as soon as you hear of a release. Potassium iodide is hazardous to your health in the long-term, but still safer than the radioative iodine.

[Lily&Me]

Thanks, Protag.

Will be checking these out with my friendly, local, Walgreens pharmacist.



Maggie

[rivet-rivet]

We use idozided salt daily. Will buy Centrum, too. We can see the top of the reactor from our home and hear the hum at night when it's quiet.

Good discussion!

[Lily&Me]

We use iodized salt daily, too, even in our sea salt grinder as you can buy iodized sea salt.

We also take multi-vits, but I have to seek and find ones without Vitamin K, due to medication issues.

It has been a good discussion.

Thanks to everyone.

The collective brain trust here is phenomenal.



Maggie

[Silver Hawk]

The number one absolutely need to have item is clean drinking water. Extra case of water bottles from Costco ain't gonna do it. (assuming with trailer) The amount carried can be tripled by buy a collapsible military water bag from Coleman's. They lay flat when empty and can be rolled up. Come in 70 or 140 galleon that fit easily in back of TV. I built a wooden cover in the bottom of my bed for it (30" wide) and I don't know it's there. Lets me boondock with solar -no hookups.

[Lily&Me]

Yep. Without water, we can't live.

Something that holds 70-140 gallons would be great for boondocking but hard for many of us to manage in an emergency situation.

We got a 1/2 gallon collapsible bottle, within which we can purify water with the little tablets we recently obtained.

1 tablet per quart + 30 minutes = potable water. Voila!


Maggie

[Lily&Me]

I recently saw an emergency kit list somewhere else, that included all the things we collectively came up with.....except for heavy work gloves.

These would be indispensable after any natural disaster, at least one pair per person.

We have added these to our list.


Maggie

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by doug&maggie

Yep. Without water, we can't live.

We got a 1/2 gallon collapsible bottle, within which we can purify water with the little tablets we recently obtained.

1 tablet per quart + 30 minutes = potable water. Voila!

Just so we're clear, those tablets don't purify water. They kill microbes. The dead microbes are still in the water afterwards, and so are any chemicals that were in the water, so you can't really say the water is pure unless you filter the water as well. There is no substitute for a granular activated carbon filter. Several companies make hand-pumped GAC filters, and my home hurricane kit (hunker-down kit) has one. Katadyn makes excellent hand-pumped filters. My Interstate has a GAC filter that screws onto the faucet I fill my tank from, so I don't need the hand pump for my bug-out kit, just for my hunker-down kit.

[Lily&Me]

Hmmm. Need to add one of those filters, too.


Maggie

[dznf0g]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

Just so we're clear, those tablets don't purify water. They kill microbes. The dead microbes are still in the water afterwards, and so are any chemicals that were in the water, so you can't really say the water is pure unless you filter the water as well. There is no substitute for a granular activated carbon filter. Several companies make hand-pumped GAC filters, and my home hurricane kit (hunker-down kit) has one. Katadyn makes excellent hand-pumped filters. My Interstate has a GAC filter that screws onto the faucet I fill my tank from, so I don't need the hand pump for my bug-out kit, just for my hunker-down kit.

I have both the Katadyne hand filter as well as the MSR. I like the MSR MUCH better. Katadyne filters are expensive and require frequent replacement. The MSR is ceramic clay and easily cleanable. It does not have a charcoal stage, but you could always add one as a pre-filter. I use mine in wilderness situations, where chemical contamination is usually not an issue. I do use a Katadyne BASECAMP for large quantities of camp water...but I'll run through $90 in filters for a 6 day trip for 6 - 8 people...and being a gravity feed....it clog up after 40 - 60 liters.

[rmkrum]

Consider studying for and getting a Ham Radio license, at minimum Technician. Does not need knowledge of Morse code anymore.
Hand-held Radio is immediately going to work when cell towers go down.
I carry both handhelds and heavier radios, and the Airstream has a complete radio station built in. “Be Prepared” is not just the Boy Scout motto, it’s a darn fine idea. And yes, the radios are in my “Bail-out Bag” with plenty of fresh batteries at all times.

[Lily&Me]

This article on survival kits in the Mother Earth News newsletter this morning...

https://www.motherearthnews.com/home...A27B#readmore1


Maggie

[Lily&Me]

This article in the CNN app this morning, on the best Bug-Out Bags.

https://www.cnn.com/cnn-underscored/...pp&cid=ios_app

We’d like to think we would never need them, but it seems that at least once every week there is a natural disaster somewhere.

Over the weekend, tornadoes near Nashville, TN.

Maggie

[Boxite]

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

This article in the CNN app this morning, on the best Bug-Out Bags.

https://www.cnn.com/cnn-underscored/...pp&cid=ios_app

We’d like to think we would never need them, but it seems that at least once every week there is a natural disaster somewhere.

Over the weekend, tornadoes near Nashville, TN.

Maggie

I make my own, and include prescription and general meds. Get a good, general durable (storable) antibiotic from your doctor for inclusion.

[Lily&Me]

Me, too, but I thought this was a good opportunity to bring the issue to the forefront, again.

I have carried a broad spectrum antibiotic for years, in addition to a good First Aid kit…in case of a tooth abscess, sinus infection, dirty wound, bladder infection, etc., but have only needed it once, for an ear infection.

These days, there seems to be some sort of medical clinic in almost every town, but they aren’t always open every day, and one could be miles away from anything in the event of an emergency and unable to get in…and untreated sepsis will kill you.

And stay up to date on your tetanus shot.

Maggie