PREPARING against a financial/catastrophic crisis - SURVIVAL TIPS

[tygerkittn]

When the discussion turned to shelf life, especially concerning medications, I remembered about a link that I came across that touched on that. In this article http://www.oism.org/ddp/medkit.htm (this may have been DPFan's research; I can't remember...I just printed it out)

It stated that Outdated tetracycline can cause kidney damage.

The article is much more valuable than that. It's "Doctors for Disaster Preparedness" and is a detailed list that several physicians put together of suggestions for a basic medical kit for a 10-20 person shelter.

I was thrilled to come across this gem; I've dealt with a lot of serious medical conditions in my family for years, but am not formally trained; This is something that I could not have put together without medical advice.

This is yet another lesson from Katrina...what happened to the medical facilities during the storm? Remember the hospital that was euthenizing patients because they'd lost hope of being rescued themselves? I was born there; so were most of my kids. So much for trusting in the availability and functionality of the hospitals in a crisis...

It is encouraging, though, to see a group of professional physicians that are as concerned about this subject as we are.

I have a friend who is a physician that I'm going to ask to review this document. He's very busy, but when he gets back to me with it I'll share any comments he has too. As stated in the article, every physician would make a different list.

Abigail

Yes, the article I read about the shelf life of medicines was primarily about over the counter stuff. I(t's safe, just maybe not as effective past the date.
I just love how all these articles tell you to stock up on antibiotics! Do you forge the prescription? Rob the drugstore? I've never had a doctor that would give you prescriptions you don't need for storage. I don't even know if that's legal, or at least ethical. I stocked up on some OTC stuff that's supposed to be a substitute for antibiotics. I think I have most of the other stuff(not the surgical stuff, though!)

[Abigail]

Yes, the article I read about the shelf life of medicines was primarily about over the counter stuff. I(t's safe, just maybe not as effective past the date.
I just love how all these articles tell you to stock up on antibiotics! Do you forge the prescription? Rob the drugstore? I've never had a doctor that would give you prescriptions you don't need for storage. I don't even know if that's legal, or at least ethical. I stocked up on some OTC stuff that's supposed to be a substitute for antibiotics. I think I have most of the other stuff(not the surgical stuff, though!)


:idunno I don't know either about the willingness of most physicians to do this for their patients. I would presume that if you have a longterm relationship with a primary physician who knows you and your family very well, you would stand a much better chance of getting scripts for at least some broad-spectrum antibiotics. You'd be lucky to be able to get narcotic painkillers. The only way I can think of is when you ARE prescribed pain meds, try to "suck it up" and make do on tylenol and KEEP your prescription. I'll ask my friend about the ethics and legalities about issuing scripts like these...maybe it's possible with certain classes of meds.

I've always been worried about this issue; I have a daughter on anti-rejection meds for life due to transplant surgery. The insurance companies won't let you have more than about a month in advance, and drugs like I'm referring to can run into the thousands monthly, that we'd have to advance in cash in order to stockpile. Our situation isn't unique.

Abigail

[waitin]

Please pray for me , because my husband absolutely refuses to store any food or water and thinks we are crazy. He is by far the most stubborn person you could know! I started to store a little, but he almost gets panicky if he sees it (a neat freak ). I did store some water and rotate it but he throws it out when he runs across it. He can be like our enemy, roaming about, just looking to "find something".

[Waiting2go]

Yes, the article I read about the shelf life of medicines was primarily about over the counter stuff. I(t's safe, just maybe not as effective past the date.
I just love how all these articles tell you to stock up on antibiotics! Do you forge the prescription? Rob the drugstore? I've never had a doctor that would give you prescriptions you don't need for storage. I don't even know if that's legal, or at least ethical. I stocked up on some OTC stuff that's supposed to be a substitute for antibiotics. I think I have most of the other stuff(not the surgical stuff, though!)

Which OTC stuff works as a substitute for antibiotics? I'd like to stock up on it.

[Zimmeth]

So how are fathers and mother's going to pay for all those school loans that their kids were supposively going to college with?

[tygerkittn]

Which OTC stuff works as a substitute for antibiotics? I'd like to stock up on it.

andrographis, the reviews are pretty good, not at this link, this was just the best deal, but the reviews on some of the more expensive bottles claimed it even helped hepatitis. The instructions say take it for 10 days, just like a course of some antibiotics, you can stop taking it for 10 days and then take it another ten if necessary.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GFWELC/ref=rcx_subs_dp/102-2221671-6816932

and colloidal silver, you can get that anywhere, some say it works and say it doesn't, and there's one other but I can't remember it, I'll have to check my buying history, I'll edit to add it when I do.
Here's the edit, it's quercetin, the first review mentions it's use as an antibiotic
http://www.vitacost.com/NSI-Quercetin-Bromelain/pd_section-pr#ProductReviews
Triphala is good for stomach upset, and astralagus for the immune system, those are all the herbs I've stocked up on.

Waitin' I'll be praying that your husband will have a change of heart. Maybe you could rent a storage thingy? It's not ideal to have your stuff off site, but it's better than nothing. I think prayer is the best bet, though. My husband wasn't against it, but he was just indulging me, so I stocked up here and there, not a whole lot, until last December, then he suddenly said he thought it was a good idea, so I really went at it then!

[Abigail]

Please pray for me , because my husband absolutely refuses to store any food or water and thinks we are crazy. He is by far the most stubborn person you could know! I started to store a little, but he almost gets panicky if he sees it (a neat freak ). I did store some water and rotate it but he throws it out when he runs across it. He can be like our enemy, roaming about, just looking to "find something".


Maybe the next best thing would be to save $$$$ in cash...I've yet to hear of a husband who would have a problem with THAT!!:pound

Abigail

[Purplelinny]

Do you know of a website that you can download coupons?
There are loads - you have to be members of the couple of sites that I was going to post. The following forum is a discussion board that is related to the website that I mentioned earlier and has some good pointers...
http://www.terismessageboard.com/

I won't steer you toward one area of the site for the coupons, because there is a whole lot of worthwhile info all over that site, from which samples to apply for to the best rebate offers. (I personally do not do the rebates as I consider them too much hassle).

Some stores will not accept Internet printed coupons as there has been a lot of fraud with copies etc. I have never had one turned down yet though.

To encourage some who may not be interested in coupons, get this... today I went to CVS and picked up 2 x Ragu, 2 x Hellmans, 2 x Skippy, 2 x Dove choc and 3 x Colgate for nothing. Zip, zilch, nada, nothing :hat

I had used $22 in Extra Care Bucks that I got last time and coupons from the newspapers. AND, I got $14 in Extra Care Bucks back to spend on my next trip.

Then I went to Kroger and got 2 cases of Ozarka (48 botttles) and 6 packs of Hunts Snack Puddings for $7.66. The puddings were basically free with coupons and a coupla Kroger checkout catalinas from the previous visit.

Then I went to Food Town and... well, you get the idea. I came home with the back of my car full of groceries and it cost $27. And I have a Dodge Magnum and that's a BIG trunk :heh

dh is so proud of me :yay

It is possible to work these deals out for yourself if you have a good memory of what coupons you have and can trawl through the weekly ads (all of which are available online). I usually rely on a listmaker to do the hardwork for me, but sometimes I work out the deals for myself.

[Purplelinny]

Please pray for me , because my husband absolutely refuses to store any food or water and thinks we are crazy. He is by far the most stubborn person you could know! I started to store a little, but he almost gets panicky if he sees it (a neat freak ). I did store some water and rotate it but he throws it out when he runs across it. He can be like our enemy, roaming about, just looking to "find something".
Will remember you and dh in prayer. That is quite sad :hug

Maybe you could try the 'but they were such a great bargain, they were practically giving it away' type line..? as long as it's not a stretch!

I am blessed to have plenty of pantry space and additional storage - dh calls the hall closet the 'Armageddon room'. He didn't used to take me seriously, but after hurricane Rita and times that we have been financially strapped and have relied on the stockpile, he is now on board.

Some people store their stockpile in the strangest of places (I have a line I can't cross - I'm kinda OCD/neat freak too). Maybe with a bit of thought you could reorganize some areas to accommodate more without it looking untidy?

Also, if it really is a case of it needing to 'look tidy', consider some of those can organizers. There are some here;
http://search.shopgetorganized.com/search.aspx?keyword=Kitchen&leftnav=1

If *FREE* appeals to him, look in the CVS ads - if you have it in your area - and often you will see deals where you buy a product and get the same amount back in Extra Care Bucks, making it free! Who is going to pass up freebies?! It might be a gentle way in to the stockpiling - it becomes addictive!

Let us know how you go :wave

[RRuth]

Since we've been having all these discussions about PREPAREDNESS, I had decided to make FRIDAY my official day to sort through my cabinets, rearrange the pantry and take inventory...