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Outdoor Clothing for Survival Fitness

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Being fit and active is important in the current climate, but not everyone is as keen as working out in the gym as some people. While the thought of going to the gym is important for many people, there are other people who find the idea of wearing spandex and staring at the walls while running on the same spot totally unappealing.

It is important to know that there are plenty of other ways to get regular exercise in your life and going on walks, hikes and adventure breaks may be exactly what you are looking for.

There are plenty of benefits to getting your exercise in this manner compared to what a gym has to offer. For one, you can take all of the family, including your dogs if you so desire. All you need is a tent and there is nothing stopping you from taking all of your family away with you to benefit in the fresh air and healthy lifestyle that comes when you get out in the wild. For those people that find the gym to be a little bit too dull, this is definitely the best type of way to get fit.

You may not be too keen on the traditional gym clothing that is worn by many people but you can make your hiking or trekking adventures more enjoyable by picking up proper equipment. There is no need to spend a lot of money and many of your current items of clothing will be just be fine but it is possible to enhance the adventure experience with one or two items of clothing.

It is recommended to wear layers as opposed to overly heavy or warm items of clothing. As the day progresses or as your body temperature rises and falls, you are likely to experience a range of different temperatures. Being flexible is important when you are out in the open.

One area where it is important to focus on is with footwear. There are a number of things that hikers, walkers and adventurers need from their choice of footwear. Strength and stability is an obvious choice. The underfoot conditions are not always reliable and it can be easy to roll over your ankle or stumble and trip. Having reliable shoes will provide the platform for an enjoyable day out while minimizing the risk of suffering injuries.

It is also important to look out for footwear that are watertight (unless you will be hiking near water, and then you should probably opt for sandals). If your feet get wet, you may be uncomfortable and this can greatly reduce the level of enjoyment and pleasure you take from your adventure. Reliable footwear is definitely a major factor of having fun while out in the wild.

Alert! H7N9 Potential Pandemic! Alert!

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Tuesday when I reported the news I put this at the bottom of the news page from the CDC. After further information has come out I wanted to do an “oped” on what we can do to prepare ourselves and our family’s to keep us safe, or at the very least to make us all aware of the current situation.

Many of us tend to think of the flu as something we only get in the winter months. When we are indoors more and don’t open our doors and windows as much, well nothing could be further from the truth. This virus is deadly with a kill rate of up to 50%.

We need to get prepared to take care of ourselves and our family’s NOW before the panic starts and there will be shortages of supplies like the ones I am going to suggest. Will this prevent this H7N9? No, sadly it wont but it may help us to prevent it from spending if we do come in contact with someone who has it.

What you need to Know Via CDC web site

It was revealed late this week by researchers at the University of Hong Kong that the H7N9 bird flu virus which has infected 131 people (and killed 36) can be transmitted not only by close contact but by airborne exposure.

Their study, published this week in the journal Science, indicates ferrets were passing the virus cage to cage. Additionally, inoculated ferrets were infected before the appearance of most clinical symptoms, demonstrating there may be more cases than have been detected or reported.

Additionally, tests were conducted using pigs, a major host of influenza viruses. These tests also definitively showed that they could also get infected with H7N9, leading to the belief that H7N9 may combine with pig viruses to generate new variants. A particularly important, though unreported aspect of the entire H7N9 topic is that severe cases are reported to be hemmoraghic. What this means is that those infected could experience, among a myriad of other symptoms, excessive internal bleeding, liver or kidney failure similar to dengue, tick-borne encephalitis, and Ebola.

Readers are reminded that while reported infection numbers are still relatively low, H7N9 clearly has world health authorities seriously spooked. So much so, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the CDC this week published a 1 BILLION dollar cost plus Federal Solicitation for the purposes of emergency experimentation with H7N9 Flu vaccines and emergency experimental antiviral treatments.

The Solicitation specifically references “preparation for a possible large scale national H7N9 influenza vaccination program.”

Further still, the CDC is considering using the two oil-in-water emulsion adjuvants in its stockpile with an H7N9 vaccine in order to increase effectiveness. Of particular note here is that the CDC has never before allowed the use of adjuvants in either the seasonal or pandemic influenza vaccines as their use has been tied to onset of Narcolepsy, as was the case with their H1N1 vaccine.

And something you can be assured of is that if a nationwide H7N9 vaccination program is implemented, this will no doubt be made mandatory for school-aged children given the close proximity of students in a school setting.

Supplies for Combatting This Pandemic

1. Medical Grade Skin Cleaner – In theory flu viruses can be transmitted 3 ways: Air, body fluids and direct contact. One of the best things we can do is to wash our hands and often. One thing that hospitals use is Chlorhexidine Gluconate, or HIBICLENS (brand name) This is used as a surgical scrub, health care personnel also use it for hand cleaning and a per-operative skin prep as well as a skin wound cleaner. The cleaner bonds to the skin to help create a persistent antimicrobial effect. It can be purchased from Amazon at the following link or you may can find it other places. Hibiclens Liquid is the one I ultimately found.

2. N95 Surgical/Filtration Mask – This will be useful for reducing person to person infection. The mask are currently inexpensive and readily available.

3. Disposable Scrubs 

4. Disposable Shoes

5. Disposable Caps

The last three (3) items I would encourage you to get in addition to the first two (2) just in case you are the one having to care for the sick individual.

A trash can with lid and trash bags to be placed just outside the quarantine room will also be helpful in containing the contaminated items. This way you will be able to remove the disposable items place them in the trash and cover.

Next go to lavatory and wash your hands using Hibiclens Liquid with warm water. A good rule of thumb is to sing the alphabet twice all the way through. This will ensure you are washing you hands long enough.

You may also want to have disposable utensils, plates and cups. It is important that you keep contact with all items limited to the sick room. The less you have to be around this flu the better it will be for all. Use brown bottle Lysol or Lysol concentrate on ever washable surface in your home. What you can not wash –  use Lysol Spray.

The CDC is preparing for a full blown pandemic. Don’t take chances.

Did You Know You Can Use Bananas for Skin Irritants and First Aid?

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Who doesn’t love bananas? I always try to have some bananas around, as the whole family seems to like them as a snack, enhancement for otherwise boring cereals, etc. And what Southerner doesn’t enjoy an occasional treat of banana pudding? Or a strawberry-banana slushy for breakfast on a hot, humid summer’s morning. Or an angel food cake slice with fresh strawberries, bananas, and freshly-whipped real cream…I’m salivating.

I read somewhere on a natural blog site that banana peels could be used to help heal wounds and “boo-boos”. You use the inside part of a freshly-peeled banana peel and hold it against the wounds or boo-boo for a few minutes – how long is entirely up to you, but I found that just 4-5 minutes was useful. Like a lot of things, when I read it, I thought, “well, that’s nice; though I’m skeptical”.

Well, I had opportunity recently to test this out, and, to my great surprise, I believe it actually was noticeably beneficial!

You see, we were at our bug out location, and the black flies (a.k.a., “buffalo gnats”) ate me alive. The DH pretty much escaped this torture; he claims it is because he was willing to spray his “outerwear” with Sawyer insecticidal spray, which I was not. I think it’ because he has vinegar running through his veins, but, hey! I love him, anyway! ; )

Well, for whatever explanation, the black flies feasted on me. Now, it wasn’t enough that they were all over the place OUTSIDE, but the DH decided he needed to leave the door of our travel trailer hanging wide open, screen door and all. Not once, but several times. Yelling, “close the dang door!” had little effect, other than to be met with, “I’m comin’ in” yelled back, and then the perfunctory, “well, come in faster then…”…you know how it is. A few decades together and you learn how to talk to one another…well, anyway…

I had never heard of black flies before this incident, and did not know they are locally known as “buffalo gnats“. But they are flies, and very nasty ones, at that. We’re just getting to know the differences between critters on the BOL, on top of a mountain in another state, and the critters we are familiar with in our “city location”. Don’t worry – we’ll figure it out – if they don’t totally devour us first, but, then, it won’t matter, will it?!

Well, after I killed all the black flies he let in, and having been already  half-eaten by the little beasties because I had no clue, I ate a banana and applied the inside of the freshly-peeled banana to several places of bites; it was weird, sitting on banana peels, tucking them into the backs of my knees and holding them there. You know how bananas get brown and black spots if left lying around, uneaten for a few days? Well, when you hold them against your flesh, they do this in a matter of minutes!

But, here’s the thing – the itching, swelling, burning from the bites was actually RELIEVED rather quickly as these peels were held against the bites! Now, the relief lasted just a few hours, but, the point is, banana peel actually gave relief, if only temporarily. Did it help heal any more quickly? I have no idea. I’ve never been bitten by black flies before.

I still treated them with antibiotic ointments later, alcohol swabs, etc. , so I don’t have a point of reference on healing. I can tell you that two weeks later, the bumps are still quite visible, though the flesh is healed.

Even so, I will commit to this statement: I am now convinced that fresh banana peel held to a wound or boo-boo does, in fact, help relieve pain, discomfort, and may even be beneficial in reducing swelling of an insect bite.  At least, it did for me with black fly bites.

How To Lower Your Blood Pressure Before You Are Poked

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How To Lower Blood Pressure Immediately Before A Test

Blood tests are part of a physician’s routine to make sure that you’re healthy. Also, many testing centers are set up specifically to screen for any trouble before it becomes a bigger issue. At these locations, you simply visit a doctor on staff to receive an order for your desired test, then get the results sent right to your doorstep.

However, if you struggle with hemophobia, or the fear of blood, even the thought of having your blood drawn could make your palms get sweaty, and cause your imagination to run wild. Here are some tips to help you stay calm when you’re getting your blood drawn.

1. Know What You’re Being Tested For

If you know that you feel nervous about getting blood drawn, discuss the idea in advance, and ask what the test will screen for. Once you’re more aware of the benefits of receiving the test, you can start to move beyond any irrational fears.

2. Consider Doing It on A Different Day Than a Physical

Tell your doctor immediately if you don’t want to schedule blood work on the same day as a physical. If your fear of blood is very severe, it can lead to low blood pressure, and even fainting spells, so it’s understandable that you might need some time to prepare for it.

3. Make An Early Appointment

Try to plan your blood work on a day where it can be your main responsibility, and make an early appointment. By getting it done in the morning, you’ll put it behind you without letting your fear ruin the rest of the day.

4. Emphasize Small Talk

When it’s time to go through with your blood test, keeping up a conversation with the technician or nurse can make a difference. Even if you’re just talking about something as basic as the weather, the conversation diverts your mind from dwelling on what’s ahead.

5. Regulate Your Breathing

It’s a simple technique, but one that can help your body stay relaxed even while you’re being bombarded with emotions that make you want to tense up. Ask to be given a verbal cue when the needle is about to go in, as well (or just let them surprise you completely to avoid tensing up).

While everything is being prepared, resist the curiosity to look at all the tools. This will only give your mind the chance to concoct all sorts of scenarios that are probably not based in reality.

6. Don’t Look At The Needle

That sight can cause even people who aren’t normally afraid of blood to become squeamish. Fixing your gaze on a blank area of the wall is preferable to watching what’s going on, and should help you stay level headed.

7. Get the Most Bang For Your Buck

The field of phlebotomy has come a long way. In the past, technicians might have to draw blood on several different occasions, and not be able to give you results until several weeks later. Now, things are different.

Nature Communications is a journal which recently introduced a new device called a V-Chip. Once it becomes widely used, it’ll perform routine tests in a nearly hassle-free way. It’s able to do up to 50 tests at once, and only requires a single drop of blood as a sample, rather than a whole vial. In the near future, you might be able to opt for using the V-Chip instead of going through the traditional laboratory process.

All phobias require you to engage in a mental battle. However, by taking a few small steps to control your fears, you can get the upper hand, and give yourself the chance to become aware of health issues, too.

10 Ways to Improve Your Immune System

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As we grow older we need to optimize all chances at improving our immune system. This is all the more important when resources are limited and access to health/disease care is expensive – there I show you my prejudices. I’m not that enthralled at our current models of so-called health care, especially for those of us with chronic conditions.

So if you have a chronic condition, or you just want to avoid getting one, what can you do?

  1. Spend some time in the sun to optimize your vitamin D. For years doctors have pushed the message about avoiding the sun to cut skin cancer levels. However now we also know that there is a strong evidence that low levels of vitamin D INCREASE the likelihood of cancer. So do be sensible and avoid getting sun burned, but do get some sun.
  2. Stabilize your blood sugar levels. This is a vastly unacknowledged factor in ill health. Yes, most of us know that unstable blood sugars are bad for people with diabetes, but they are also bad for everyone if they occur on a regular basis. For a comprehensive discussion on their importance read this article.
  3. Where possible eat herbs regularly. Bioflavenols and polyphenols are important to our general health as they provide important co-factors needed for good immune function. We need to stop thinking in terms of magic bullets to fix us when we are ill. Eat a range of fresh herbs and vegetables. What is easy to grow in your area will depend on your climate. Where I am I can grow garlic, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, lemon balm, lemon verbena, and a range of mints. Use herbs frequently in your cooking.
  4. Undertake some regular exercise. There are far too many of us whose greatest exercise is to walk from chair to car to shop to car to chair. How many people get down on their hands and knees and scrub their floors? Or climb a ladder to clean our their gutters, or walk to the local shop, or personally dig their gardens. I would like to think that preppers undertake regular incidental exercise such as these, but if you aren’t then start.
  5. Eat enough quality protein to keep you healthy and replenish your stores that heal and provide energy. The general advice is to eat 1-2 grams per kilo of lean body mass. However that becomes complicated to work out so think in terms of a palm sized quantity of grass fed protein or fish three times a day.
  6. Improve your omega 3/omega 6 ratios. What this means is that we eat too much of the wrong sort of fat. We need to eat fish, lots of fish and if that is not possible for budget reasons then have some krill oil (preferable) or ordinary fish oil. Avoid vegetable oils except for coconut oil and olive oils.
  7. Laugh lots and make time for play. Medical research has shown that laughter improves our immune system.
  8. Do something creative that you enjoy, that’s another activity shown to improve your immune system, though I’ve currently mislaid my list of references for this.
  9. Deal with your unfinished business. There is a lot of research to show that bad stuff from our past can haunt us, either literally through bad memories and PTSD or through repressing them so they are reflected in poor immune function. Holocaust survivors who told their stories were shown to have improved immune systems compared to those who chose not to.
  10. Prepare for your future. When we are comfortable we have done as much as we can to look after ourselves then we are much less worried than if we are just aware and yet do nothing.

Most Common Health Problems for Senior Citizens

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It is an unfortunate reality that many seasoned citizens have to deal with more health issues that range from the nagging to the debilitating. For the older prepper in a survival situation these ailment can become a serious detriment.

Let’s take a look at some common ailments:

No doubt there are many more and varying degrees of severity among those listed above. I am no doctor and proclaim no advanced knowledge of any of the above. I have high blood pressure myself which I take medication for and my 13 year old son has type-1 diabetes.

If you are a senior citizen/older prepper with health problems you likely know your health issues and conditions better than anyone else. Think of some common sense means which would allow you to deal with those conditions during a power outage/emergency situation. Here are a few examples:

Vision – If vision is corrected via eye glasses or contact lenses you have to ask yourself – “Self, what would the situation be if I lost/broke my glasses or contacts?” If you’re like me and would find it an absolute disaster to not have glasses – then you need to prepare for that. Spare glasses can be purchased very inexpensively.

I have a total of 3 pairs of current prescription glasses. If you wear contacts try to stock up on a few months (at least) of contacts. If your prescription changes keep any older glasses/contacts as they are likely better than nothing.

Joint Aches/Mobility Issues – One of my first thoughts is someone that lives their life in a wheel chair and a disaster strikes. While traversing their home/property their wheelchair breaks. A difficult situation just got REALLY bad. Whether it be a cane, walker or wheelchair that helps you get around – have a spare on hand.

On Amazon.com there are many varieties of equipment available to help those that require assistance getting around. Many of these can be purchased with Free Shipping.

Joint aches is another large category and cannot be covered as it should be. Whatever makes the pain better or manageable – stock up on extra supplies.

Sores – There are numerous types of sores and just as many locations for them. At a minimum triple antibiotic cream/ointment should be stored.  If you are at risk for frequent sores discuss prevention and treatment with a doctor. Always ask if there are multiple methods as well. Sometimes one treatment method may not work where another will.

Diabetes – This is one of the toughest issues and is very close to my heart as my 13 year old son has Type-1 diabetes. Regardless if one is suffering from Type-1 or Type-2 diabetes – a short term disaster/survival situation does not have to be critical to life as long as medication is available. Relative to Type-1 diabetes which requires a supply of insulin to stay alive – keep extra on hand. In addition to insulin – glucose meters, syringes, pump supplies, etc. need to be kept on hand.

Here are a few links related to emergency preparedness and diabetes:

High Blood Pressure – Many people live a normal life with high blood pressure. The problem is that normal life often ends premature due to complications from the condition. In a survival situation unless the high blood pressure is critically high – missing medication should not be life threatening. It is advisable to stock extra medication.

There is evidence that natural remedies are available in lieu of medical prescriptions. Some examples include Coenzyme Q10, fish oil, garlic, hawthorn, and magnesium.

I highly recommend a  book that recently came out – The Doom and Bloom(tm) Survival Medicine Handbook: Keep your loved ones healthy in every disaster, from wildfires to a complete societal collapse. A long title and even longer book. It is packed with medical information specifically geared towards emergency preparedness.