Pandemic: How To Get Your Family Prepared

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Preparing for a pandemic

If a major pandemic swept the globe would you be prepared? Has your family taken the necessary steps to prepare for total isolation during a time when “shelter in place” becomes a reality? Do you have activities in place to help combat toddler boredom?

Surviving at home for weeks or even months with small children could prove to be the biggest challenge of your life. Top that with the constant fear of the pandemic hitting your household and you’re bound to get a little panicky.

But, there’s hope!

Preparing for a pandemic doesn’t have to be so hard or scary for that matter as long as your taking the right steps to ensure your survival.

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What is a pandemic vs epidemic

According to Wikipedia, a pandemic is defined “as a disease epidemic that has spread across a large region, for instance, multiple continents, or worldwide.”

An epidemic is when a disease has spread through a community, population or region at the same time.

So the difference being only the area that has been effected by the disease.

You might be familiar with the smallpox outbreak, the Black Death that killed an estimated 75-200 million people or the most recent 2019 Coronavirus outbreak.

What is Coronavirus (also known as COVID-19)

According to WebMD, it is a “disease caused by a coronavirus, a common virus that can cause what doctors call a respiratory tract infection. It can affect your upper respiratory tract (sinuses, nose, and throat) or lower respiratory tract (windpipe and lungs)”.

What are the symptoms of the Coronavirus disease?

Coronavirus symptoms or COVID-19 are;

Fever

Cough

Fatigue

Shortness of breath

Sore throat

Headache

Chills

Vomiting

Stuffy nose

Diarrhea

How to prepare for a pandemic outbreak?

1. Be prepared to treat yourself at home

This might sound ok if you have to treat a scrape wound but what if you have a more pressing injury or illness? STAY HOME UNLESS IT’S %100 NECESSARY TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL.

During any kind of pandemic hospitals are the last place you will want to go, why? Because that is where all the sick people go and you want to avoid getting sick because it could become fatal.

That means making sure you have the necessary supplies (if possible) at home to combat any scenario you could think of. Be prepared to treat common injuries at home such as; cuts, scrapes, swelling, sprains, strains, cold and flu as well as any other injury you can weather at home.

2. Stock up on the necessities

Here is a list of supplies you may want to stock up on. The trick to not overwhelming yourself is to by ahead of time, looking out for sales and coupons and to keep your supply organized.

N95 face mask

Antibacterial soap

Bleach and/or disinfectant cleaner

Bandages

Hand sanitizer

Toilet paper

Prescription medication-at least a 30 day supply, if possible

Motrin- for adults and children

Aspirin

Tylenol- for adults and children

Decongestant- for adults and children

Nasal spray- for adults and children

Cough drops

Cough syrup- for adults and children

Anti diarrhea medicine

Tea

Antibiotic Ointment

Cortisone cream

First Aid Kit

Gauze

Thermometers

Scissors

Tweezers

Vitamins- for adults and children

Food- at least a two week supply but better to have more

Probiotics

Rubbing alcohol

Sports drink powder-that have electrolytes

Laundry detergent

Dish soap

Hydrogen peroxide

3. Stock up on shelf-stable foods

You will want to have at least a 2 week supply of food at all times but 1 month or more is preferred.

Rice

Beans

Canned fruits

Canned veggies

Nuts

Crackers

Pasta sauce

Pasta

Peanut butter

Flour

Sugar

Tea

Seasonings

Vinegar

Honey

Oatmeal

Dried milk

Seeds

Popcorn

Instant potatoes

Macaroni and cheese

Ramon noodles

Bottled water

Juices

Coffee

Apple sauce

Canned chili

Granola/protein bars

Dried fruit

Seafood pouches

Canned chicken

Jerky

Soups

Cereal

4. Make a plan for childcare

During a pandemic it’s likely to happen that schools and daycares will close for any given time. Do you have sitters in place that are willing to help care for your children if you have to go to work?

Remember, while a good portion of workers will not be going to work during a pandemic. People with jobs that are deemed a “necessity” still have to go in.

Jobs like; hospital workers, doctors offices, grocery store workers and delivery workers, restaurant workers, even some manufactures that are making “necessary equipment”

If you have a “necessary” job then you will still need to go to work.

5. Make a daily schedule

In the event you and your children will be home for an extended period of time, its important to gain some normalcy. Especially during such a trying and fearful time.

Come up with a daily learning curriculum and activities as well as chores and tasks your children need to complete.

If schools do close early then they may send out a curriculum online for your children to complete. It’s important to ensure they are still doing their school work so they do not fall behind.

6. Practice good health

It’s so important to make sure you are doing everything you can to give your immune system a boost during a pandemic to help minimize the chance you get the pandemic disease.

Take your vitamins, eat healthy meals, get enough exercise, drink plenty of water and keep stress to a minimum.

You are probably so tired of always being told to eat healthy and drink water and blah blah blah. But it’s for good reason! Nothing will help boost your immune system like these things.

Having a healthy immune system means you have a lesser chance of getting sick!

Tip of the day: Practice self-care to improve your mental well being. In order to get less stress, you need to make sure you are taking care of your mental health.

How to prevent the spread of a pandemic

A pandemic disease is also known as pandemic flu or pandemic influenza can spread very rapidly from person to person. Think about the coronavirus outbreak of 2019-2020. It started in China and within a couple of short months spread throughout the entire globe.

It can spread fast and without remorse. So it’s vital that we do our part to make sure we survive without spreading the disease to more people.

Heres what you can do to help put a stop to a pandemic disease.

1. Stay inside allowing no visitors in or out of your house.

2. Wash your hands frequently

3. Cough or sneeze into your arm, or with a tissue and then wash your hands

4. Wash frequently touched surfaces often with an disinfectant cleaner

5. Sanitize all kids toys

6. Wash kids hands often

7. When coming back from a public place, shower immediately without touching anything and wash your clothes right away. If you can’t wash your clothes right away, hang them in direct sunlight to kill the disease.

8. Do not touch your face or ears. Germs need an opening to enter your body. So avoid touching your nose, mouth, eyes, and ears.

9. Don’t eat or drink off other people, including your kids.

10. Wear a face mask when going in public.

11. Wear gloves when going in public, especially if your going to touch something like a gasoline hose.

12. Keep yourself healthy to prevent your self from getting sick and spreading the disease.

Final thoughts on these pandemic tips

It’s human nature to fear the word “pandemics” or “outbreak”, it’s just a natural human response. But being prepared for this will help lower your fear levels so you can try and make this hard time more “normal” and less scary for you and your children.

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