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Perennials For Your Prepper Garden

There is a large problem for city preppers; they can’t plant gardens because their home owner’s association prohibits it. We found a way around it that lets you have your Prepper Garden, and eat it too!

For Your Prepper Garden article cover image

Creating a mini forest in your garden or at the back of your home is not a bad idea, and it allows you to plant everything you need. Interestingly, you don’t need a lot of land space to plant most of these perennials as all you need is a little creativity, and you are good to go.

Perennials For Prepper Gardens

However, you may want to check some of the seeds you throw out as it is best to sprinkle edible weeds and trees so you can enjoy them when the time is right. A lot of them do not only taste great, but they do have health benefits when consumed or used otherwise. So, not sure which plants to add to your garden? Here are a few ideas you can consider…

Great For Consumption

These plants are great for adding to your favorite dishes, or you can use them to create some delicious servings for yourself and your family. A lot of these also have health benefits:

Artichokes – When steamed, Artichoke petals, as well as the hearts, can be used to create a delicious dip or sauce for your salads and other meals.

Asparagus – There are so many ways to eat Asparagus, thus, planting them is a great choice as they can even serve you for a long time. Doesn’t it sound like it can eat as is? Well, yes, it can. Eating the plant raw is one of the best ways of getting the most of the nutrients compared to when heated. You can even add to your salads.

Dandelions – Dandelions serve a lot of purposes to include complementing your dishes and granting amazing health benefits. The leaves can be used to make a sumptuous salad, while the blossoms can be used for making wines or jelly. I know it seems like a strange item for a prepper garden, but the French brought them over to us for a reason – they are almost a superfood!

Hosta – All varieties of Hostas are edible, but the most common is the Montanas. After harvesting, cooking over low flames in a little honey and soy sauce, or virgin oil will leave your tastebuds desiring more. You can also cut and add it to your salads.

Rosemary – Rosemary has a satisfying flavor and is great to add to any meal you are preparing. Whether you want to let the leaves remain whole or you want to grind, you can use them to marinate your meats or add to your pot while cooking. It helps to lift the flavor of your dish.

Scallions – Scallions can be eaten raw or slightly cooked and help to bring out a great aroma in your meals. When cooking, add Scallions whole or chopped as a last-minute ingredient for your sauce. You can also add it to your salads fresh after harvesting.

Parsley – Parsley is great for cooking or even to use as a garnish. You can add it to your eggs, soups, frittatas, pizza, or bread. Interestingly, you can also add Parsley to your smoothies for flavor in addition to the nutrients it provides (rich in vitamins A & C).

Thyme – Thyme is great for cooking, especially when freshly harvested. It helps to bring a great taste and aroma to your dish, whether meat, soup, or sauce (both leaves and stem can be used). Also, you can use dried thyme to make tea or infused water.

Lavender – This flower not only has a great aroma and beautifies your space, but it tastes great and is a great choice to add to your salad. You can eat it raw or have it slightly heated. The plant also has a lot of health benefits and should be a staple in your prepper garden.

Chives – Chives are a great vegetable to add to your dish, also, to be used as a decorative or garnish element. It helps to provide a fresh taste to your meal, whether soups, sauces, salads, stir-fries, or mashed potatoes. If you are looking to add a taste of onion to your dish, Chives are a great substitute.

Great For Medicinal Benefits

These backyard garden plants are all edible, but not only do they taste great, but they are also rich in medicinal benefits. When considering a plant-rich background, here are a few plants you can add…

Comfrey – If you have sore muscles, especially after working out, you can apply a comfrey-infused salve to the area. It has also been given the nickname “knit bone” as it is great in providing fast healing benefits to wounds.

Raspberry – Raspberries are rich in multi-functional antioxidants and are known as antioxidant powerhouses. They have been proven to provide anti-aging elements as well as reduce the chances of developing cancer, inflammation, heart disease, and diabetes. It is also great with weight loss and reducing the risks of obesity.

Blueberry – Not all fruits are low in calories, but Blueberries are an exception and, besides, are high in nutrients. It also possesses lots of antioxidants that help to reduce DNA damage, prevent aging and cancer, lowers blood pressure, and cholesterol levels in your blood.

Strawberry – Strawberries have a lot of antioxidant benefits that help to reduce stress, inflammation, and harmful cholesterol levels (LDL – bad). Eating Strawberries will help to improve vascular function and blood lipid profile. You can also consume this plant in a variety of ways.

Horehound – Horehounds are edible plants that are great for improving digestion and appetite. It also helps with bloating, diarrhea, gas, constipation, indigestion, liver, and gall bladder complaints. Horehound is also beneficial and helpful in treating asthma, bronchitis, whooping cough, tuberculosis, and other breathing problems.

Mint – Mint is rich in nutrients, and aside from tasting great, it helps to improve brain function, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), and your immune system against colds and touches of flu. Adding Mint to your diet will also help to relieve indigestion, breastfeeding pains, and is a great substitute to lower the chances of bad breath.

Oregano – Oregano is a known natural antibiotic that may help in reducing cholesterol levels, treating yeast infections, inflammation, and pain. It also possesses properties that may help with preventing cancer and is said to have high antioxidant levels.

Mullein – Do you have a terrible cough or whooping cough? Consuming some Mullein will help a lot. It is also great for treating bronchitis, hoarseness, colds, allergies, tuberculosis, and sore throat. Mullein can also help with migraines, colic, joint pains, diarrhea, and gastrointestinal bleeding.

Bee Balm – Sipping on Bee Balm will help to treat colds and flu, improve your digestive tract as well as treat indigestion. The plant possesses soothing properties that may help with eliminating nausea, bloating, anxiety, and help to relax you.

Chinese Chives – This plant has a lot of health benefits and is said to possess anticancer effects to help prevent and treat various types of cancer. It also has beneficial elements to help against heart defects, depression, preterm birth, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and other congenital heart defects. Chinese Chives are also great for improving cognitive function.

Yarrow – Yarrow is great for reducing bleeding caused by wounds as well as help to reduce heavy menstrual bleeding. Consuming this plant will also help to lower high blood pressure, tone varicose veins, and relieve GI ailments for cerebral and coronary thrombosis. You can also use Yarrow to help induce sweating.

Sage – Sage has a lot of antioxidants, which is great for lowering “bad” LDL cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, improving oral health, brain, and memory function. The plant is also great for easing menopause symptoms.

Echinacea – When steeped, Echinacea is great for fighting flu and colds, improving blood sugar and blood pressure levels, managing anxiety, reducing inflammation, and improving healthy cell growth. This is important for your prepper garden as we saw with the coronavirus and how these kinds of meds were wiped off the shelves!

Lemon Balm – If you are looking for an effective way to relieve stress, anxiety, indigestion, and nausea, then consuming some Lemon Balm is a great choice. The plant has properties to help you boost cognitive function, improve sleep apnea, and treat common health issues like colds and flu.

Motherwort – Motherwort could be considered the healing element of the heart as it is great for most heart conditions to include irregular heartbeat, heart failure, and other conditions affecting the heart. It is also great for relieving menstrual cramps, treating intestinal gas, and hyperthyroidism.

Arnica – For those who work out a lot, you may want to have this plant at your disposal. It is great for treating sprains, wounds, joint pain, bruises, and muscle aches. The plant can also be used to treat inflammation caused by swelling (from broken bones) and insect bites.

Skullcap – Take a few sips of Skullcap tea, and your insomnia will be gone. That is what makes it perfect for a prepper garden. Aside from helping with sleeping problems, it is also great for reducing and treating anxiety, risk of strokes, and paralysis caused by stroke. It is great for treating colds and flu, reducing high cholesterol, reducing artery-hardening, and much more. Other known benefits include helping with skin infection, allergies, rabies, and nervous tension.

Hyssop – Hyssop is great for reducing or treating digestive and intestinal problems like gallbladder and liver conditions, intestinal pain, and gas, as well as colic and loss of appetite. You can also consume Hyssop to treat respiratory problems like colds, infections, sore throat, and asthma.

If this list seems overwhelming, think about this; plant a few each year. I use my dehydrator to help me preserve my herbs for future use and you can too! Blend the edible with the flowering herbs and you will build your prepper garden in no time! If you need to know more about gardening, check out our sister site: Try To Garden.

Excited for your prepper garden? Check out these other posts:

What To Keep In Your Medic Bag – with free printable

Emergencies come in so many forms and one of the most critical occurrences are medical emergencies. When it pops up, you tend to start panicking a little bit before you start acting. However, it is important to have your tools on hand when it happens, as this will help to reduce the stress you push yourself into.

As such, it is important always to have a medical kit should anything happen. But, what should you have in the kit to start with? There is a general criterion that can help you get your medic bag together and ensure you have everything you need to have.

The phrase “Think ABC – Airway, Breathing, Circulation. This will help you to analyze the patient and know if they are breathing properly or whether their airway is clear. It will also allow you to understand whether or not they are bleeding and if it is in control. Being able to determine the solutions to these issues will help you to understand what steps you need to take after.

What To Keep In Your Medical Bag

When packing your bags, here are a few ways to help organize the important items…

General Items

Safety First – Before you start any medical assessment or treatment, you need to think of safety first. To do this, you will need gloves, sanitizers, and safety glasses. If you are wondering what all these are needed for, then you should take a look at what happened in 2020 – the Coronavirus pandemic. With the virus spreading in multiple ways, it is important to clean up and have protective gear before treating affected patients. It is paramount that you start with YOUR protection when looking at items for your medic bag.

Assessment Gears – After equipping yourself with the necessary protective gear, you need to assess what the patient is going through. A thermometer check is important to see whether the patient is running a temperature or not. If they are, you could pull for any instant ice pack you have to cool them down to do the other necessary assessment and work. Also, you will need to record all the details should you have to take them to a hospital. This will enable medical professionals to know exactly what was happening and the next steps to take.

Workplace Tools – You can never tell what exactly is happening in the case of an emergency, so having somewhere to work and what to work with is important.

You don’t want to have the patient on the ground, so it is important to have a base like a shower curtain, tarp, or towel so you can have a clean and safe ground to work on.

Also, trauma shears might come in handy because you may have to cut through pieces of clothing to get to the heart of the problem. A sharpie pen is also critical to have.

Treatment Tools – After you have prepared the working area, geared yourself, and do the necessary assessment, you may have to perform mild treatments. Having peroxide, rubbing alcohol, and painkillers will help to stabilize the seriousness of the emergency.

After adding the above items to your medic bag, you are probably wondering what the ABCs of the kit should be. We have assessed the necessary tools used in a medical procedure and have identified the following…

The A’s: Airway Items for Your Medic Bag

Flashlight – Medical emergencies don’t always happen during the day, so you will need this tool to help you get through the impossibilities of the night.

Esophageal Airway Pack – Making sure their airway is not blocked is important as you will want them to have enough oxygen going to their system. This pack will help you determine what is going on in their passageway. This pack consists of different tools that will come in handy.

Tweezers – Do you need to pull something out that is causing a clog? You may never know, but we have seen these tools come in handy on so many occasions.

Dental Kit – The mouth is a vital part of assessing a medical emergency, so having an efficient dental kit is important.

The B’s: Breathing Items for Your Medic Bag

Stethoscope – Make sure your patient is still breathing. If you are unable to detect a pulse movement, a stethoscope will help you get a more defined answer to your quest.

Benadryl – This is a multi-purpose drug that can be used in many different ways and for different reasons. Whether it is to ease any allergies the patient is experiencing, slight cold issues, or itching.

Epi-Pens – This injector should be on hand as most times, people have near-fatal allergic reactions from elements such as insect bites, drugs, or food, and they need emergency aid. Epinephrine will help to reduce any deeper problems this reaction may cause to the patient.

The C’s: Circulation Items for Your Medic Bag

This is where your kit gets a little more critical, as you will need some creams, drugs, and other items to attend to any medical emergencies. For these items, you may need to add…

Tourniquets – Losing blood in an accident is dangerous and can be fatal for the patient. As such, having a tourniquet will help to stop extensive bleeding to attend to inflicted wounds.

Clot Reducers – You want to have an item that will help with reducing the chances of excessive bleeding and clotting.

Bandages – Bandages of all types are needed in your kit from a minor cut to sprains and even a brace to support possible broken limbs while the patient is being transported to the hospital. Going for high-quality bandages is better as they hold and secure wounds much better.

SAM (Structural Aluminum Malleable) Style Splint – This tool is critical to helping the patient keep bones and soft internal tissue injuries immobilized to prevent further damages.

Antibiotic Cream/ Disinfectant Spray with Bactine – Reducing the chances of developing bacteria of infection is important, so having antibiotic creams is important.

Self-adhesive Water-proof Bandage – This item is similar to that which is used to wrap a horse’s ankle. It sticks on its own, provides firmness, and does not soak.

Electrical Tape – You might be wondering why to have this in a medical kit. Well, it works on all surfaces and does not soak easily.

Sterile Water – Before you treat a wound, you need to ensure you clean the area properly to remove any potential dirt or bacteria which may have been picked up. You can also give it to the patient to drink.

Aspirin – Aspirin is important as medical emergencies do involve heart attacks, and this drug is effective in helping. However, not everyone can take aspirin, so making checks before administering is important.

Peroxide/Rubbing Alcohol – Aside from cleaning, it can also be used as a source of preventing infections and ridding wounds of potential bacteria contraction.

Glucometer; Glucose – The medical emergency may involve fainting or low energy, and a little glucose will help to revive. The glucometer will help you in assessing the status of a patient’s blood sugar levels as well as other details.

We made a list for you to print out –

There might be a few other items you wish to add to your kit, so we have a few blanks on the second page of our checklist for you. Every home and office should have an emergency medical kit on hand because no one knows when the unexpected will strike. Amidst all…stay safe!

Get your FREE checklist HERE:

FIRST-AID-KIT-CHECKLIST Download

First Aid Items for Your Pandemic Survival Kit

The ready-made kits that you can buy at the store or online are packed with the essential items needed during a regular first aid emergency. They are not prepared for pandemics, so you’ll need to make sure that your kit has what will come in handy during a viral health situation like bird flu or Ebola. Your pandemic survival kit has to be properly stocked.

Every first aid kit should have at least the basics when you buy it – but you can build onto that kit by adding what it’s lacking. You can find some first aid kits that are made explicitly for pandemic use – or you can just create it yourself by adding items one or two at a time.

The Best Things to Have in Your First Aid Kit During a Pandemic

You want to start by making sure your kit has at least a week’s supply of the prescription medications that every family member uses regularly. Don’t forget to add medicines to treat allergic reactions since this can spring up without warning.

Your kit should also have a list of numbers that you can reach out to in case of an emergency. You’ll need a flashlight and fresh batteries in the kit. These items are necessities because you don’t want to try to administer first aid treatment to someone when you’re in the dark.

In the kit, you need sterile dressings that are big enough to cover large wounds. But you also want to have a hardy supply of bandages in assorted sizes. Plus, you’ll need medical tape to put on the dressings so they’ll stay in place.

Antibiotic ointment, hydrocortisone ointment, and alcohol wipes are staples that should be in every kit. Pain medication should be the kit as well. You’ll want a thermal blanket to use to protect the injured from cold, to cover them from bad weather, or to wrap around them if they’re in shock from the injury.

Are you ready to give mouth to mouth?

You’ll want a lip protector in case you have to give CPR to someone. During a pandemic, you may not know if the person you’re treating is disease or virus-free, so you’ll need to protect yourself as you’re giving CPR.

For that same reason, you’ll need a supply of gloves, facemasks, biohazard bags, and a way to protect your clothing from being contaminated in your pandemic survival kit. There should be a pair of scissors in the kit that are strong enough to cut through clothing.

You’ll want to have a regular thermometer as well as a supply of disposable thermometers in the kit. If someone could have been exposed to the virus, they should have their own to use instead of sharing. Tweezers should also be in your kit.

You’ll need a supply of anti-diarrhea medicine to treat that ailment along with medications that can ease nausea. Don’t forget to plan for dental emergencies in your kit. Have a supply of topical gel to relieve toothaches.

You can find supplies that can help you temporarily pack a cavity to relieve pain, too. Most importantly, if you’re dealing with a disease where fevers are an issue, invest in fever reducers and items to help you keep hydration levels stable.

Hate piecing it all together yourself?

You are not alone – a lot of people would rather just buy a kit and be done with it. Our favorite place to shop? MediTac.

The best part? They have a FREE SHIPPING offer going on right now for all orders over $50.

Dangerous Side Effects of Supplements

Claims that certain supplements can cure anything and keep you healthy and wise have boosted the vitamin business to billions of dollars per year. Most people today want to stay young and avoid diseases and have bought into the idea of supplements to enhance their health. Side effects of supplements aren’t something they often think much about.

Side effects of supplements article cover image

Health food stores in America abound with shelves laden with goods that promise miracles for your health. But there are certain dangers involved in surreptitiously ingesting vitamin supplements. Some risk occurs if you’re taking other medications that the supplements might have an adverse reaction to.

The Dangers of Vitamin Supplements

Some people think that “natural” is safe, but that isn’t always true. Some supplements that might endanger your health are:

Weight loss supplements that contain “theophylline.” Theophylline is taken from a black tea extract and bitter orange. It’s sometimes prescribed for asthma but can cause seizures and irregular heartbeat.
Aristolochia. An herb supplement that sometimes causes cancer or kidney failure.
Bitter orange. This is a weight loss supplement that may cause seizures.
Kava. It can be the source of liver failure.
Pennyroyal. An herb that has been linked to nerve damage and liver and kidney failure.
Comfrey. An herb that sometimes causes liver damage.
Lobelia. An herb that can cause tremors, dizziness, breathing difficulties, and low blood pressure.
Androstenedione. It can increase cancer risk and decrease good HDL cholesterol.

Despite possible side effects, there are many instances when supplements are effective. For example, if you’re a vegetarian, senior citizen, or a woman who’s menopausal or post-menopausal, you may not get all the vitamins you need.

Dangerous Side Effects of Supplements hand full of vitamins

People on a severe diet plan, smokers, heavy drinkers, and pregnant women may also need extra vitamins to supplement their diets because many vitamins are difficult to absorb. Gastric surgery people have a list that their doctors recommend for them.

It’s always best to consult a health professional if you suspect that your body needs dietary supplements. Also, check with the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) to see if there are current bans on a particular supplement. The side effects of supplements can be serious if you don’t know what to look for.

Best Supplements for Immune System : Vitamins to Look At

During stressful situations, your immune system will naturally become stressed, and this can make you more vulnerable to infection. It’s essential to stock up on vitamins that will help your immune system stay in tip-top shape. We came up with a list of the Best Supplements for Immune System stability and strength.

Best Supplements for Immune System article cover image of a hand holding pills

Let’s just look at vitamin C as it is commonly known for its immune-boosting effects. Keeping a supply of it onhand can help you stave off illness. Whenever you got a cold or the flu, you may have heard your mom (and doctor) warn you to drink plenty of fluids and get extra vitamin C. That’s because this particular vitamin can help boost your immune system.

Stock Up on Vitamins to Boost Your Immune System

It’s preferable that instead of waiting until you’re already sick, you bulk up on vitamin C beforehand – to stave off any foreign invaders ahead of time. You can find vitamin C naturally in oranges and other citrus fruit.

Aside from boosting your body’s natural defense system, taking regular doses of vitamin C helps your body heal from minor cuts and wounds. Your tissues benefit from the intake of vitamin C as well, as do your teeth and gums.

This unique vitamin contributes to your absorption of other vitamins within your body, so a deficiency in vitamin C can have prohibited other nutrients from helping your health. Each organ needs specific vitamins to stay healthy and to function correctly. Vitamin C helps those other nutrients get carried out to the organs and tissues that need them most.

Best Supplements for Immune System : Vitamins to Look At citrus fruit for vitamin c

Your muscles need vitamin C to stay healthy and flexible, which can help lessen some of the pain you may suffer from now – or in the future. It helps your joint muscles retain their resiliency so that they can bend adequately with a good amount of pressure placed on them.

Vitamin C is also known to be an antioxidant, which helps eliminate free radicals within your body. This simply means that it can help prevent you from developing some types of cancer. Can you see how this made our list of the Best Supplements for Immune System yet?

It can also get rid of toxic byproducts that can be produced from fat metabolism.

Because of its ability to neutralize the toxic byproducts, vitamin C is now known to help prevent heart disease.

It promotes healthy blood flow, which can help fight against atherosclerosis. The healthier your heart is, the longer you may live! Vitamin C can be purchased in pill form that you can get from your local grocery store or as a supplement online.

You can also find it in oranges, strawberries, and cantaloupe. In vegetables, you can find it in tomatoes, broccoli, and cabbage. If you’re not into fruits and vegetables, then it’s recommended that you drink a glass of orange juice every day. Get your daily dose of vitamin C and give your body the boost it needs to stay healthy!

Best Supplements for Immune System variety of pills that work well together

Vitamin C, though, isn’t the only vitamin that will help you, and many scientists believe that vitamin C works in connection with other vitamins but isn’t as effective alone. It actually helps your body absorb iron better!

Why Iron Is Important for Your Health

An iron deficiency isn’t apparent to spot, but it can wreak havoc on your overall health, leaving you feeling sluggish and tired without an apparent explanation. Restless leg syndrome, anemia, dyspnea, and an odd disorder called pica are all a result of having a low iron count. We have to have it in our list of the Best Supplements for Immune System strength.

Restless leg syndrome causes uncomfortable feelings in your legs when you’re at rest and trying to sleep. It can cause insomnia because as you’re trying to fall into a slumber, your legs are still feeling like they need to get up and walk or move around.

Some people who suffer from this have reported that they experience involuntary movements with their legs when they’re at rest or an annoying tingling sensation that drives them to give up on getting rest, so they get up and move around to make it go away.

The restlessness they feel usually can only subside when they move their legs around to wear them out. Although the exact cause of restless leg syndrome isn’t known, those who suffer say that an increase in iron helped alleviate the problem.

Anemia is another condition that’s caused by an iron deficiency. Anemia is when iron levels are low for an extended period without relief, which makes red blood cell production ineffective. This disorder causes chronic fatigue and weakness for the person suffering from it.

It can also cause dyspnea, which is shortness of breath. The low iron levels cause oxygen not to flow freely, therefore sapping you of energy. You can also experience heart palpitations and increased sweat production, and it can even lead to heart failure if left untreated!

Pica is an odd disorder seen in people with a low iron count. Pica is a term used for those who crave unusual items that are considered not edible. Low iron causes your body to want iron. Sometimes, this can result in people eating paper, buttons, and chalk – and in some cases – soil!

Pica can result in other hazardous conditions that may result from eating unhealthy items. Eating soil, for example, can cause a person to contract bacteria or microscopic worms. This behavior can sometimes be treated simply by consuming extra iron.

Low iron can cause excessive bleeding in menstruating women or women who shouldn’t be menstruating at that time. The blood is thinned to the point that blood clotting becomes a little more complicated, and you could essentially lose other nutrients that your body needs.

If you think you’re low on iron, have your doctor run a simple blood test to find out if you’re anemic. You don’t want to take too much iron – just enough to get your levels back to a normal, healthy state. If you need to take it or want to stock up on it, we love THIS brand on Amazon.

More of the Best Supplements for Immune System Strength

Selenium is a mineral that’s been shown in studies to help boost the immune system and prevent disease.

Vitamin D is something your body naturally produces when it’s exposed to sunlight. But if you’re stuck indoors during a pandemic, you’ll likely need a supplement. Vitamin D supplements can be added to your storage to keep your immune system healthy and help you to fight illness.

Vitamin E is an antioxidant that helps your body fight stress. It is especially helpful in increasing your body’s ability to produce antibodies when it comes into contact with a virus.

More of the Best Supplements for Immune System Strength

Zinc is a mineral that’s been found to help boost your immune system. Zinc is one you only need to begin taking if you feel that you’re becoming ill. It can help your body produce more white blood cells and shorten infection time.

Both vitamin B2 and vitamin B6 are known for improving the immune system’s ability to fight infection. Most vitamin B supplements contain both of these and additional forms of the vitamin as well.

Echinacea is an herbal formula that is a natural antiviral and antibiotic. Having this on hand is useful at the first sign that you’re ill. You don’t want to use this to prevent illness.

Much of your immunity lies within your gut through beneficial bacteria. Unfortunately, the antibacterial products and medications that are common can also cause you to have reduced resistance. Taking a daily probiotic can help you have a more robust immune system to fight off infections naturally.

Garlic is also a natural antibiotic and antiviral that helps to reduce inflammation in your body. Eating fresh garlic is the best, but you can store herbal supplements contain garlic in your emergency supplies.

You may get most of what you need by taking a multivitamin daily. Vitamins can help make up for any nutrition you’re missing from your daily diet. This is especially important if you primarily depend on canned foods for your meals in times of duress.

Pandemic Preparedness: Meeting Your Family’s Hygiene Necessities

After food and water, hygiene products are the next items that disappear from shelves when a pandemic strikes. So your odds of getting what you have to have during a time when needs are elevated are slim. It pays to know what Family’s Hygiene Necessities for a Pandemic Preparedness would or should look like.

Pandemic Preparedness article cover image

You want to prepare now so that you don’t have to fight crowds. Plus, you want to make sure you can stay isolated from them so that you won’t bring any illness back to your own home.

Cover Your Family’s Hygiene Necessities for a Pandemic Isolation Period

What Do You Need?

You’ll want to figure out how much of each hygiene product your family goes through by adding up what you usually go through in a year. Then multiply that by at least two years.

Hygiene items can store that long, so even if the pandemic doesn’t last that long, you won’t have wasted the expense of buying the items. You’ll need to stock up on toilet paper.

Toilet Paper

If the Covid-19 panic buying taught us anything, it was the fact that TP is king. There were Facebook groups dedicated to a “where is it now” concept to help people find what they needed. Add in all the TP memes talking about how TP was used to make moonshine, or it was replacing poker chips?

It became pretty clear that this baby is important to have. The best rule of thumb for Pandemic Preparedness is to figure two rolls per family member per week with extra rolls figured in for the event of an illness that could require more usage.

Teeth

For toothpaste, think that a family of four would need two tubes of toothpaste per month. Dental floss should be figured at one container per month per person. Toothbrushes should be replaced more often during a pandemic because of the higher chance of you having to deal with germs.

A good rule of thumb is to change toothbrushes every four weeks – sooner if anyone in the family has an illness. In between time? Throw them in your dishwasher each week for a quick clean. Toothpaste?

This isn’t so critical as you can even resort to baking soda in a pinch or worst-case scenario? Just brush with water. You really want to get the “scum” off your teeth and prevent plaque build-up.

Soap

You’ll need bar soap. If you currently use liquid hand soap, it’s more cost-effective to plan to use bar soap during a pandemic. However, since pandemics are spread through viruses and germs, you’ll want to make sure that you have a hearty supply of hand sanitizer to use during the length of the isolation period.

There are those of us that like to make our own – I have an oatmeal honey sensitive skin bar that I make and love for my daughter’s skin, but prefer the Eucalyptus soap recipe for myself that I found HERE.

make your own soap for Pandemic Preparedness

Deodorant

While this doesn’t seem like a top priority for pandemic preparedness, everyone in the family – except for infants and small children – will need deodorant. Using the solids is more cost-effective than the spray-on kind. Figure a container per person that uses it per month. It doesn’t really pay to stock up on 5-10 years’ worth of this, it degrades pretty fast.

Feminine Hygiene Items

Feminine products should be figured at the current use, but always store extras in case of additional needs. If you use condoms for intimacy, you’ll want to pack a supply of those as well to keep those little swimmers in check. If you don’t?

You may find a bonus family member in about nine months. There are already jokes about the Covid-19 pandemic babies being called “Quaranteens” a dozen years from now. A few tampons should also go in your first aid kit – professional sports medicine docs use them for nose injuries!

tampons are also good for the first aid kit when looking at Pandemic Preparedness

Razors

You’ll need to pack in storage a supply of razors for both men and women as well as an amount of shaving cream. The shampoo is something you can also store up, but in a pinch, hand soap can be used to wash hair if you don’t have enough shampoo.

Basic Skin and Nail Care

You never know when a problem will strike, and Pandemic Preparedness needs to take that into account. Is it the middle of winter? Lotions for dry skin should also be on your store list. Also, add Chapstick to prevent cracked lips from occurring. Q-tips and nail clippers for each person should also be stored for use.

You’ll want separate nail clippers to help keep nail fungus and other bacteria or viruses at bay. A Great DIY Home Manicure Starts with a Manicure Kit has a great list of basic supplies.

It goes beyond saying that if you have infants, you’ll want to store up diapers and baby wipes. Now you’ll want to be careful on the diaper sizing since babies can outgrow diapers. So buy these in size increments to allow for that.

Category: First Aid