What You Can Do To Guard Yourself Against A Scary Health Threat

Good health is the most valuable thing anyone can have.

And all types of illnesses threaten our health on a daily basis.

Here’s how you can defend yourself against one dangerous health threat.

One of the most frightening crises that can devastate a population is a pandemic.

The first thing that may come is a deadly virus like Ebola or one of the antibiotic-resistant superbugs that have been cropping up.

However, something as commonplace as the flu can do considerable damage.

Roughly 36,000 people die every year as a result of the flu, which is more than double the yearly murder rate in the United States.

While the flu poses a threat as it can spread rapidly, it can be even more deadly in a SHTF situation where hygiene and sanitation become an issue and regular public services may not be fully operational.

Nearly 200,000 people are hospitalized each year for the flu.

During a SHTF emergency, hospitalization and death numbers could skyrocket.

Some notable flu pandemics were the Spanish flu of 1918 (killed 50-100 million people), the Asian flu of 1957 and 1968 (killed a combined 2-6 million people), and recently the swine flu of 2009 (killed 575,000 people).

Governments take the threat of flu pandemics incredibly seriously, as evidenced by the panic over the bird flu, which rarely transmits to humans, but is still very lethal.

Here are some strategies to minimize the exposure and impact of a flu pandemic.

First, don’t compromise cleanliness.

Poor hygiene and sanitation are the easiest ways to catch and transmit a communicable illness like the flu.

In a SHTF scenario, you must make a concerted effort to keep your home or your bug-out location clean.

Next, have a sick room for anyone who contracts the flu.

This room should have a healthy stock of first-aid supplies, towels, linens, and cleaning supplies nearby.

Having one designated sick room makes it easier to contain the exposure to other people in your household.

Furthermore, try to have one designated caregiver for anyone who is sick.

That lowers the chances of multiple people in your household getting infected.

Also, limit your contact with crowded public spaces during the height of flu season.

If you can, do your shopping during off hours so you’re not in the middle of a mad rush at the store.

Next, have a plan in place if someone in your household takes a turn for the worse.

It may be morbid to think about, but you’ll want to think about it now because you may be too stricken with grief at the time to act rationally.

Finally, if the flu outbreak rises to the level of a pandemic, you’ll want to have oxygen masks handy, and perhaps even a hazmat suit.

In the face of a true emergency, you’d rather be over-prepared than underprepared.

History has shown that the flu can be a nasty illness that does significant damage.

A lot of health advances have been made since the Spanish flu wiped out 3-5% of the world’s population at the time, but this shouldn’t lull us into a false sense of security.

The threat of a pandemic is still very real.