| If I were to ask you to identify the most | | | | significant of these consequences is disruptions in |
| significant medical breakthrough in the past 150 | | | | sanitation and personal hygiene, consequences |
| years, how would you answer? For most of us | | | | that transport us back to a time when lack of |
| we immediately think of high-profile medical | | | | sanitation was a leading cause of disease and |
| advances, such as the discovery of penicillin and | | | | death. Don't take my opinion on it, believe the |
| antibiotics, or the invention of the X-ray, the | | | | 11,000 readers of the British Medical Journal. |
| realization that we are products of a basic | | | | So, how should a reasonable person prepare for a |
| structure called DNA, the elimination of major | | | | disruption in structures and infrastructures that |
| disease processes such as smallpox, plague, and | | | | support our system of sanitation? Here are three |
| others, or the incredible life-saving virtues of | | | | things you should be thinking about to prepare for |
| automatic de-fibrillation, transplants, and so on. In | | | | the big one should it wash up on your shores: |
| fact, if you were to Google 'Nobel Prize Winning | | | | 1) Clean Water. You must have clean water for |
| Medical Advances' you will find a host of incredible | | | | drinking, washing and cleaning during a prolonged |
| achievements, all that have improved longevity | | | | disruption in infrastructure. Most experts agree |
| and quality of life. | | | | that the average person requires two gallons a |
| And yet, none of them win the prize for being | | | | day of water for cleaning and drinking. This |
| the most significant medical advancement of the | | | | includes water for washing as well as removing |
| past 150 years. The winner may surprise you... | | | | waste, (don't forget that most toilets require 3 |
| The British Medical Journal recently surveyed | | | | gallons to flush). We recommend that you keep a |
| more than 11,000 readers, mostly physicians, and | | | | minimum of 7 days water storage for your |
| asked them the exact same question I just | | | | family, (7 days times 2 gallons times the number |
| asked you: What was the most significant medical | | | | of people in your family). A 30-day supply is even |
| breakthrough in the past 150 years? The winner: | | | | better. |
| Sanitation. | | | | 2) Emergency Preparedness Kit. Individuals, |
| Perhaps the Indianapolis Star said it best, "How | | | | families and businesses should keep Emergency |
| can it be that seemingly mundane, homely | | | | Preparedness Kits and Disaster Survival Equipment |
| sanitation -- including sewage, reliably clean water, | | | | on hand that include the necessary sanitation, |
| decent housing -- could possibly earn more votes | | | | hygiene, and survival tools and equipment to help |
| than Nobel Prise-winning advances? Because the | | | | you maintain a safe quality of living should you be |
| best measure of a medical advance is not its | | | | required to live 'off the grid' for an extended |
| complexity, but what it does for the length and | | | | period of time. Most standard Emergency |
| quality of our lives." | | | | Preparedness Kits include toilets, toilet bags, |
| Proper sanitation and hygiene eliminated deadly | | | | antibacterial gels, sanitation wipes, soaps and other |
| diseases such as cholera and infection, and paved | | | | sanitation/hygiene necessities. |
| the way for the creation of a large and | | | | 3) Non-perishable Food. Keep in mind, a |
| sophisticated network of structures and | | | | component of proper sanitation and hygiene is |
| infrastructures that have revolutionized our lives. | | | | food that does not spoil and expose us to the |
| Today we simply turn on the faucet or flush the | | | | risk of deadly food-borne diseases. The best |
| commode and viola' we have water to drink and | | | | foods for long-term storage and emergency |
| waste water to flush. Today we benefit from a | | | | preparedness are those that are 'ready to eat' |
| public health system that stands as a constant | | | | and do not require refrigeration, such as |
| watch dog to ensure that our sanitation, living and | | | | dehydrated foods, military Meals Ready To Eat, |
| hygiene needs are met. | | | | canned meats, power bars, etc. As before, we |
| But what if I were to remove all these | | | | recommend a minimum 7 day supply of nutritious, |
| conveniences. No running water. No flushing toilets. | | | | healthy, high protein foods in your supply. |
| No structures, institutions or infrastructure for you | | | | Remember Occam's Razor: the simplest |
| to rely upon for sanitation and proper hygiene. | | | | explanation is almost always the best. It wasn't |
| What would your life look like? | | | | the incredibly complex medical advances that won |
| The hidden danger in natural and man-made | | | | the day, it was simple sanitation and hygiene, two |
| disasters is not so much in the actual events, | | | | things that are well within your control and ability |
| (which is usually what gets all the news), but in | | | | to prepare for. |
| the consequences of those events. The most | | | | Stay informed. Stay prepared. Stay safe. |