For you guys in the middle of this storm nightmare, some water guidelines

[nadinbrzezinski]

Edited on Fri Jun-13-08 03:37 AM by nadinbrzezinski
we need you to stay safe

Here are some guidelines, as a former disaster Tech... for the Mexican Red Cross

From now on BOIL any water you drink.

You should assume that your water supplies are not truly clean and safe... and yes many things happen to the water delivery system

This is a major disaster, so use only what you need, and if you need to wash dishes... fill a container, use some soap and use the water from the container to rinse... been done in places around the world for ever

Hate to break it up but showers will be a luxury right now.

But, if you get water out of the water supply BOIL IT for ten minutes before you even think of drinking it....

And in these cases diarrhea is not that rair either... if you can get any of the baby rehydration formulas, they work, if not use this formula

Emergency Diarrhea Rehydration formula:
1 liter (litre or quart) of water, one handful of sugar, one 3-finger pinch of salt.

http://www.oes.org/page2/11162~Oral_rehydration_therapy...

Forgot to add the drinking guidelines

In the first 4 to 6 hours based on body weight:


Up to 5 kg (11 lb) : 200 – 400 ml ( 1- 2 cups)
5-10 kg (11-22 lb) : 400 – 600 ml ( 2- 3 cups)
10-15 kg (22-33 lb): 600 – 800 ml ( 3- 4 cups)
15-20 kg (33–44 lb): 800 – 1000 ml ( 4- 4 cups) (4 cups is approximately 1 liter)
20-30 kg (44-66 lb): 1000 – 1500 ml ( 4- 6 cups)
30-40 kg (66-88 lb): 1500 – 2000 ml ( 6- 8 cups)
40 plus kg (88 lb) : 2000 - 4000 ml ( 8-16 cups) (2 to 4 liters)

Sorry, knew this by heart.... and do not use sports drinks, they are really wrong on the ratios

And for god sakes make sure you use boiled water!

And most importantly KEEP SAFE and GO TO HIGH GROUND if you are ordered to do so

[Bobbieo]

1. nadin - You are, indeed, a life saver!! Thank you for your consideration of those in jeopardy.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. Believe it or not just doing my job

I took an oath when I became a first responder at 18 with the red cross, still take it seriously

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. Added to my journal so I can repost as necessary

[calimary]

22. I bookmarked this and emailed it to myself so I have it there, too.

Thanks for posting this!

You're bound to have helped somebody with it.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. Added to my journal so I can repost as necessary

[Trillo]

5. That rehydration recipe seems easy to remember.

The Merck Manual has a slightly different Oral Rehydration solution, certainly harder to remember:

1 L of water to
3.5 g NaCl,
2.9 g trisodium citrate (or 2.5 g NaHCO3),
1.5 g KCL, and
20 g glucose

http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec19/ch276/ch276c.html#sec19-ch276-ch276c-821

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. Add a banana for the potassium

that ORS is the damn thing we used at the ER and evacuation centers. It was easy to teach it to people who truly didn't have the education... or for that matter a scale.

I worked with a very poor population in Mexico

;-)

[Kali]

6. How did you become involved w/ Mexican Red Cross?

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. I grew up in Mexico City, and at 18 I took the first responder course

then took the First Aid course for ambulance folks

And when I moved to the States I went down to TJ and did this. For ten years I paid my way through a bunch of courses, including EMT and helped establish the Paramedic course

I also did a lot of the early training in mountain rescue, paramedic school, confined space and vehicle rescue. Since I read a lot into disasters I became the default person for it and it became real in 1997 during the floods. After that they believed me, finally, that we had to train folks and train folks on how to set centers, and do logistics and all that happy horse.

I left after ten years due to internal politics, and truth be told, I miss it... not that I could do this any longer, at least field work

My dad survived the holocaust, so I also saw that service as paying back for the country opening its doors after that.

[Kali]

25. Cool!

Sounds like you have had some interesting life experiences.

[nadinbrzezinski]

27. Yep, some I'd like to forget, like getting shot at

war on drugs, I can vouch is a real war with no front...

That is the one folks usually go.. but, but, you were in an ambulance....

:-)

I still miss it... oh well... need to go print an email to myself to send to my US Senator, we are up to the same games again

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. kick

[KitchenWitch]

10. K&R

And thanks again.

[underseasurveyor]

11. Nadine you are truly a gem

kind n thoughtful and thankfully well versed on disaster assistance.

THANK YOU
give it up for Nadine y'all :applause:

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. kick

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. I'd be remiss, if you cannot boil water, add a few drops of plain old

clorox to a litter,

Yes, it has a somewhat icky taste but will keep the bugs away

Oh and when you go home... I am betting you will be told by your local Health Department how to use it to clean your homes up, if need be

I hate the smell, but I love the stuff to keep my water safe

[Kali]

26. yep

major 3rd generation clorox fanatic here! I recently fount the bottom "disk" of a brown glass clorox bottle from ? the 40's, 50's ? - when did it start being packaged in the white plastic bottles?

[mcctatas]

14. Thank you....

I hope it's okay, I just emailed a copy of your post to my friends and family in town (I took off your screen name etc.) Our city website has a bunch of links to disaster info but none of them were working earlier so your post is a lifesaver!

[nadinbrzezinski]

15. You welcome... and add the little line about clorox as well

it gets rid of them nasties if they cannot boil water. Though wait twenty minutes, or the smell can gag a maggot, even if it is only a few drops

Oh and if you overdo the clorox, diarrhea is a common side effect

[mcctatas]

16. Lucky for me I love the smell of clorox....

My mom is always telling me that the "holes" in my brain are from sniffing bleach and not MS like my nuerologist claims. I only use it when I clean, that's why my whites are so bright;)

[Hekate]

17. Just added this to my disaster prep file, although I'm far away from the midwest

Thanks as always, Nadine.

Hekate

:kick:

[lutefisk]

18. Here's another tip: that water backing up in the basement isn't all water.

Tread carefully and be careful what you touch after bailing/pumping out the basement. Been carrying buckets of "Dubya" water out of the basement for the past 8 hours, and it is ... gross.

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. Make sure to disinfect yourself with some clorox and soap

and you may want to throw away those clothes

[lutefisk]

20. Thanks for the advice. I am concerned that many people aren't aware of the dangers.

This isn't exactly New Orleans level disaster, and people aren't taking the health risks seriously. I was shocked watching the local news (Green Bay/ Fox Valley) and seeing all the children (and adults) playing and wading in the rain/street sewer backup water. The streets were flooded, and people just waded right in. Kind of surprising, considering people don't even swim in the local lake and river due to health concerns.

[nadinbrzezinski]

21. Actually it is to a point... been looking at maps and all that all evening

and I am not surprised, that people are getting that stupid.

As long as they don't start drinking it.. yes seen it too

It is up to the health authorities to start doing it locally, and the cops

Yep, we had some of our cops arrest folks for doing that... after health officials told them to do such and gave them the authority to do that.

By the way, the NG is having a little problem with heavy equipment... since it is in ... Iraq

Since you are on the ground where you are, how extensive is the damage by the way?

[lutefisk]

23. In my city, three-quarters of all streets were underwater today.

I was focused on keeping water out of my home most of the day, so didn't really know what was going on around town or the rest of the state until later in the evening. It really is pretty bad around the state. In my city, we had around 6 inches of rain today, after almost 5 inches just a few days ago. Here are two links to the states major papers with some interesting reports and photos:

http://www.jsonline.com/

http://www.madison.com/

[mcctatas]

24. I saw that on the news too...

Jeezus, what were those parents thinking? Even if there is no contamination, the water came up around our house VERY quickly, who's to say it couldn't happen again? My kids had to settle for watching it off of our top floor balcony...

[dana_b]

28. good for you

for posting this!!

yesterday SwampRat told someone to go and fill their bathtub because the water was creeping up the side of their house. I hope he/she heeded his advice.

[nadinbrzezinski]

29. Just doing my job, really

I am going to start blushing here

[underseasurveyor]

30. kick

[nadinbrzezinski]

31. PSA kick