Prepare: Swine Flu Preparedness At Home

Whether it is the swine flu or some other variant, let's get prepared at home for whatever may happen. My daughter happened to get a cold this weekend, and with the Labor Day holiday, it was a way to simulate a "bug in" scenario with the flu being the "man made disaster".

My daughter started feeling bad on Friday night. She had a runny nose and sneezed several times while watching television. We took her temperature and were relieved to find she did not have a fever.

We put her to bed early, but first, she took a dose of OTC (over the counter cold medicine for her age), brushed her teeth and gargled well.

The next day, we stripped her bedding as well as all the bedding in the house. It was washed thoroughly in hot water with plenty of detergent naturally. We sprayed down her bed mattress with Lysol and I dusted the carpets well with baking soda, baby powder and corn starch and vacuumed. This will not kill germs, but will help remove built in odors and may trap some dirt in the carpet.

We have water resistant covers on every mattress. These can be cleaned as well and should be before,during and after a virus makes its appearance.

While awake, my daughter carried a tissue or paper napkin at all times. Into this she coughed, sneezed, etc. The paper was then disposed in the toilet. Never leave them around on surfaces or in the trash can - the virus germs must be removed from the home. She washed her hands several times a day with warm water and soap.

The other children kept their distance from the sick child and were given separate activities and meal times to avoid sharing of dishes, cups or utensils by accident.Kids will be kids. All surfaces were sprayed regularly with Lysol to kill the virus.

My daughter was still hungry despite being sick. Her top request was for "smooth" things to eat; her throat hurt. We served several different kinds of soup, applesauce, and warm drinks. This was a problem because we were running out of variety early on.

We try not to overdose children on over the counter medications in our home. Instead, she took plenty of elderberry and zinc lozenges, elderberry syrup and natural cough drops. She also regularly took peppermint candy.

She was given two hot showers a day. In the shower we put a few drops of oil of lavender, peppermint, oregano and eucalyptus.

Finally, we made sure she had plenty of rest and stayed in bed. That meant lots of distractions like books, games and videos. We did her outside out back for fresh air and sunshine though, just know crazy activity or exerting play.

So keep these things in mind:

Have plenty of clean bedding on hand.
Keep plenty of cleaning supplies available.
Stock over the counter medications (multiple bottles) as well as alternative remedies.
Stock lots of comfort foods for sick people. Buying a few cases of different soups can be a lifesaver.
Have plenty of activities line up for the home bound.

It was a good drill, but Dad is tired this week. I can only imagine how hard it must be in a real pandemic.

Prepare: What? Swine Flu Again?

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius offers a warning after a special panel presented a grim report, saying among other things that a "plausible scenario" for the United States later this year is wide-scale infections, possibly 30,000 to 90,000 deaths, mostly among young children and young adults, and perhaps as many as 300,000 sick enough to require intensive care unit treatment at hospitals. - news this morning.

In the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), the government has to come up with a way to remove the local population from possibly witnessing the aliens landing. They concoct a horrible nerve gas release as the cause which naturally results in panic and pandemonium and the desired effect. Everybody scammed, aliens arrived, no press.

I can't help but wonder what reason the government has for trying so hard to scare us with swine flu this year. No, I don't think the government has our best interests at heart and is trying to prevent another 1918 Spanish Influenza outbreak. If the government was so concerned about our health and safety, the TSA would be profiling every potential terrorist based upon past perpetrators and would leave grandma in her wheelchair alone.

Nope, swine flu scare tactics are another classic "Hey look! It's Elvis!" distraction courtesy of Uncle Sam. They have a lot to distract us from..

- 10 trillion dollars plus in debt in 10 years or less. Even the most conservative economic commentators warn that the United States government spending debt will be 75-80% of our Gross Domestic Product. Soon, the U.S. will owe more than its worth. I can hear Mr. Potter now, "You're worth more dead than alive! Ha-ha-ha!".


- 10 percent unemployment, and growing. Many job seekers have given up. They are off the unemployment rolls. Many out of work have exhausted their benefits and they too are now off the unemployment rolls. Many who have jobs have either had their hours cut or their pay or both. They don't count in any employment survey. Many new jobs are contract only (1099), have no benefits or only pay if the employee brings the company revenue - I received a call like that five minutes ago. These "workers" are considered the same as the employee with two paychecks a month, full benefits and a 401K to the government.

I think there is closer to 15-17% unemployment when everything is taken into consideration. And like I said, it is going to get worse. The word "jobless recovery" has entered the room. Everyone stand up and introduce themselves.

- Unaccountable government. Whether it be unelected czars (where are we? 19th century Russia) running every department in the federal government or representatives ignoring their constituents on health care, immigration and jobs, the government has given their bosses (us) the finger and will do what they think is best regardless of the outcome to the people who pay their salaries. Thank goodness we are all losing our jobs. We won't have the taxes any longer to support their hair brained schemes.


But forget about the distractions. What about this swine flu? Is it for real? Yes and no. Yes there is a swine flu virus, but there are also dozens of other flu bugs out there which thousands of people get each year and some actually die from.

Is there a real threat from swine flu? Sure, there is from every flu bug. However, this one already surfaced this past spring and while there were some fatalities, there was not a pandemic that the UN, WHO and government wanted us to believe.

Is there a possibility the swine flu will have mutated and come back stronger and different than in the spring? Of course, which raises the question: Why does the government want us to take their new, rushed to market vaccine, if the bug may be worse than before? Won't the vaccine be less effective?

Is there a possibility that the swine flu could make more people sick and effect everything in our lives? Work, services, school and so on? Sure, but again, do you really think the government cares that much about grandma getting the flu, kids going to school or parents staying home and not on the roads going to work? Elderly health care, public schools and roads cost money, don't they?

A crisis like swine flu is good for government. Cities and states can declare disasters and get lots of federal emergency funding. Enough to prop up their starved governments and pass out some raises to unionized government workers. The federal government can finally push some unpopular pet projects like mandatory health screening, travel restrictions, national ID, and restrictions on pesky Constitutional liberties.

Swine flu is good for government. Fear of the unknown is good for government. Fear of a little flu bug is good for a whole bunch of people, just not you or me.

If there is swine flu pandemic, do the usual. Get the supplies and make plans you need from Preparing for Swine Flu posted this past spring. Wash hands, stay home from school and work if sick, keep the kids away from sick kids, etc.

But most of all, read between the lines. Why the panic over swine flu from the government? Hmmmm...

Prepare: Swine Flu Now Pandemic

The World Health Organization finally got around to it and declared the swine flu to be pandemic. Maybe they were waiting for school to get out. But we knew this already didn't we?

This flu bug is not as serious as the famous 1918 outbreak was. For instance, we bathe more frequently, have access to anti-biotics, know more about hygeine than we did then as well as some common sense things like "stay away from sick people".

But at the same time, we are dumber than we were then..

- We are so afraid of offending someone these days, we no longer make mandatory health checks part of our immigration policy like we used to. Fact is, we have no immigration policy other than "Come on in, the back and front doors are wide open". Facts are facts. Other countries have different health care standards than we do in the U.S. and sometimes that means a history of infrequent or no immunizations. This puts our population at risk. Other countries carefully screen visitors and immigrants for health risks - we should too. [Note for the politically correct in the audience: My wife is from another country, immigrated here as a young woman and English her second language. Stuff your multi-cultural nonsense, I gave at the office].

- We gently react to health risks rather than prepare for the worse. Our schools and places of work send out "Head Lice Awareness" and "Swine Flu Outbreak" notices rather than have mandatory and enforced policies of "No sick children at school or sick employees at work at any time". Having volunteered at kid's school how some brain dead parent can send their Johnny with green snot all over his face and a fever of 101 is beyond me. Take a sick day at work, call grandma, hire a sitter, do anything but try thinking about other people instead of your tennis game, OK?

- We have plenty of money in both the public and private sector for stupid programs and non-educational training, but half the time the restrooms in our schools, businesses or public buildings have neither soap or paper towels. No wonder we are so sick.

- We have loaded our food products up with antibiotics and growth hormones and now our children are becoming drugged out freaks of nature immune to proper medications. I am no tree hugging hippee, but I know to eat foods as natural as possible and avoid the factory processed garbage found in most restaurants and grocery stores.

You can tell I am fired up about the swine flu. Hey, I have young children and make lots of sacrifices so they are healthy, fed and well prepared for life. A pandemic can be avoided, I just wish people would wise up and quit making things worse for the rest of us.

SHTF: Swine Flu Scenarios

The news headlines are clear: Swine Flu Spreading

No questions there. Cases are popping up all over the U.S., in Israel, New Zealand, Scotland and many other places. So far, the fatalities have been limited to Mexico.

In 1918, the world saw the first flu virus pandemic with the Spanish Influenza breakout that year. The virus first manifested itself in the spring of 1918, went nearly dormant in the summer and then exploded in the autumn.

Could it happen again?

Some say what happened in 1918 could not happen in 2009 because we have a better healthcare system, instant communication, a nationwide health apparatus (the CDC) designed to deal with communicable diseases, and improved hygene practices.

It is for these reasons and others, I think that a 1918 type viral outbreak could be worse.

First, the U.S. healthcare system is already overtaxed. With so many people using the emergency room for primary care, an outbreak would quickly overwhelm the system. In addition, costs have closed several hospitals and clinics already.

Yes, we have instant communication, but that same medium propagates rumors that much faster. Some joker could spread a story on the Internet that the virus is being spread at a certain location, or city or through a product and watch the people panic.

The CDC may have good doctors and workers on staff, but since it is in the best interest of the nation not to have panic, what is to prevent them from burying the story about what is really happening? Ever read the Stand by Stephen King?

And what about hygiene? A friend reports that nearly every illness gets spread through his children's elementary school like wildfire partially due to poor hygiene practices. Both natives and new immigrants to our country all have different ideas about "clean" constitutes. One may bathe every day and another once a week and so on. And despite the governments warnings the flu is spreading faster every day.

Here is something else to consider. In 1918, a large portion of the country lived in rural and semi-rural areas. Many were never effected by the Spanish Influenza due to their proximity from the virus. Compare that to today where millions are sequestered in packed cities, housed in massive apartment buildings, are packed like sardines in overcrowded schools and occupying high rise building offices sharing each others germs passed conveniently through central air and heating systems.

Imagine this scenario:
Child goes to inner city school where another child has been exposed to the virus and left at school by parents who both have to work. Infected child spreads the flu to one hundred other children who take it back to their apartment buildings and city homes. Within twenty four hours, thousands have been exposed who then take the flu onto mass transit buses and trains spreading the illness around even more. Office and factory workers share the virus and the ripples grow larger and larger.

As workers and children get sick, critical care and public safety workers succumb to the flu and start missing work. City services like garbage and traffic go unattended. Electricity and water service become spotty which further exaserbates the problem. Within a week, thousands pack cars and suitcases and head out of the city "until things blow over". The roads and interstates are packed. Cars full of the sick began flooding into smaller nearby towns and quickly overwhelm health care facilities.

Small towns begin to quarantine themselves. The government declares curfews and looting begins in unprotected areas. Things start to unravel..

Could it happen? It has before. Look at Medieval Europe when the Black Death spread across the continent. Whole towns and villages were emptied in a few months.

Best get prepared and think of the worse case scenario before things go downhill. Do you have food and water stocked? Cash on hand? Gasoline in the car? Plenty of OTC medicines, disinfectants, and cleaning products?

Hopefully, this flu bug will move on and never become anything more than an annoying spring bug. But is best to have a pandemic plan ready just in case.

Swine Flu Guide Available Online