The Solitary Man’s Refuge (29 page)
Read The Solitary Man’s Refuge Online
Authors: Ron Foster
Most of us can be dehydrated on a daily basis. We
just don’t drink enough water….and the Diet Coke doesn't
count! Water is essential to good health. Dehydration can
occur when the total fluid loss is just 5%!
Mild to moderate dehydration is likely to cause:
•
Dry sticky mouth
•
Sleepiness or tiredness — children are likely
to be less active than usual
•
Thirst
•
Decreased urine output — fewer than six wet
diapers a day for infants and eight hours or more without
urination for older children and teens
•
Few or no tears when crying
•
Muscle weakness
•
Headache
•
Dizziness or lightheadedness
cause:
•
Extreme thirst
•
Extreme fussiness or sleepiness in infants
and children; irritability and confusion in adults
•
Very dry mouth, skin and mucous
membranes
•
Lack of sweating
•
Little or no urination — any urine that is
produced will be dark yellow or amber
•
Sunken eyes
•
Shriveled and dry skin that lacks elasticity
and doesn't "bounce back" when pinched into a fold
•
In infants, sunken fontanels — the soft spots
on the top of a baby's head
•
Low blood pressure
•
Rapid heartbeat
•
Fever
•
In the most serious cases, delirium or
unconsciousness.
Unfortunately, thirst isn't always a reliable gauge of
the body's need for water, especially in children and older
adults. A better barometer is the color of your urine: Clear
or light-colored urine means you're well hydrated, whereas
a dark yellow or amber color usually signals dehydration.
Mayo Clinic
Immediately start getting fluids down the person. In
hospitals they use solutions to replace lost fluids. You can
use a formula that is similar for reducing the severity of
dehydration by
having present in a solution the salts
that are lost
during a sickness which include a fever,
diarrhea or vomiting which would deplete the body of
necessary fluids to keep hydrated. It is dangerous to be
dehydrated to the point of symptoms occurring, especially
in children.
dehydration!
It would be wise to have the formulas put together,
(or at least have the supplies) on hand and use it during
the illness, especially if no help is available. Just getting
small sips down the person to PREVENT dehydration
would be better than trying to fix it. These usually have salt
in them to replace salts lost and balance electrolytes. The
salts in the solution allow the cells to more readily absorb
fluids.
If someone has two or more of the signs of
dehydration, it is important to restore fluids as soon as
possible. A simple oral dehydration solution can be made
by mixing the following ingredients and putting in separate
bags then in a first aid kit for immediate use when needed.
•
¼ tsp real salt
•
¼ tsp no salt
(potassium chloride)
•
¼ tsp baking
2 ½ tsp sugar
Mix into 4 cups of
water. Give the person small
sips of the solution every five
minutes, even if he vomits,
until he begins to urinate normally. The drink can be given
with fruit juices as a flavoring.
the water in which rice or barley has been cooked.
(Lana said that we need to use all four items in this
rehydration formula to balance our electrolytes. She got
this formula from a nurse at the LDS hospital.)
Them” by Lana Richardson with her permission, pp. 19-22
Note:
This rehydration formula can also be used to
PREVENT dehydration when water is scarce. Put it in the
water you do have. Your cells will absorb the water more
readily with salts present and reduce the onset of
becoming dehydrated rather than fluids being “flushed”
through your kidneys.
Prevention is always better than
the cure!
World Health Organization Website:
WILL SAVE MILLIONS OF LIVES
reduced.
The new formula Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS),
released by the World Health Organization (WHO), will
save millions of lives and reduce the severity of illness of
those suffering from acute diarrhea. ORS is a sodium and
glucose solution that is widely used to treat children with
acute diarrhea, a serious killer of children under five
worldwide. The new formula ORS will reduce the severity
of diarrhea and vomiting, the number of hospitalizations,
the need for costly intravenous (IV) fluid treatment and the
length of illness.
The use of ORS is responsible for saving the lives
of millions of children worldwide. This inexpensive and
readily available intervention reduces death and suffering
from dehydration caused by diarrhea. Since WHO adopted
ORS in 1978 as its primary tool to fight diarrhea, the
mortality rate for children suffering from acute diarrhea has
fallen from 5 million to 1.3 million deaths annually.
Note: These statements have not been reviewed by
the Food & Drug Administration. These products are not
intended to prevent, diagnose, treat, or cure any disease.
“What the hell is ¼ tsp no salt (potassium chloride)?
That makes no sense to me. Think fast. If I say,
“potassium,” what’s the first thing that comes to mind? I
think from my high school days it was bananas or
something somebody said about being good for muscles.”
remarked Michael.
“Some people have found that potassium chloride,
which is a salt substitute (such as the brand No Salt), is an
acceptable alternative to its sodium-touting cousin...
Well… Unfortunately, I must say that raw potassium
chloride may not be the tastiest spice in the grocer’s aisle
or on your pantry shelf to the uninitiated. (Though some
people I have been around get used to it and love it!)
However, when you use it in your cooking, the bitter, tangy
taste does often subside. And most people find that after a
week or two with less salt in the diet, the penchant for all
things salty is gone so that’s a good thing.
You know we need to talk to that wise woman on
the hill Catherine. She told me
the simplest formula is 3
Tablespoons of sugar, and 1 teaspoon of salt,
dissolved in 1 quart of potable water
.” Donald said,
clearing up the matter.
Incoming
Donald’s trip into town to get to his moms place was
pretty uneventful. He really had no idea what to expect out
on the road. Lots of trucks and a few cars broke down on
the highway but most drivers had gotten themselves pulled
over to the side of the road ok on their own when the
geomagnetic storm had fried there onboard computers. He
did notice, however, that several vehicles appeared to
have been moved out of the road way with a wrecker or
pushed to the side by a fire engine or something. That
meant state or local infrastructure was most likely still
functioning in some form or fashion the last few days he
had been gone. Very light traffic, he had maybe only seen
10 moving cars in the last 20 miles or so he had travelled.
No hitchhikers though, that surprised him but not really
because it had been over a week and a half since the
geomagnetic storm had hit. Most likely folks just got off the
highway in some form or fashion and were either still trying
to get to their destination or had long since arrived at what
ever support group they had chosen to ride this disaster
out. Most likely, Donald figured, they would have cops
directing traffic at the main intersections coming into town.
I imagine someone in government has already thought
about salvaging those broke down trucks’ cargos because
the doors had been open on a few and it didn’t appear
they had been looted, just unloaded.
mused as he pulled into his Mom’s driveway.
“I am so glad you’re home, Donald. I have been so
worried about you since you been gone.” Donald’s Mom
said as she came out the side door and hugged him as he
exited the vehicle.
“I missed you too, Mom, everything as well as can
be expected around here?” Donald asked after returning
the hug and began walking towards the houses side door.
“Not really, I think you were right about having to
leave from here soon. Some people in the area have been
shooting guns in the nearby neighborhoods most every
night since you left. Sounded like a bad New Year's gang
banger party and I have only heard the police sirens a few
times around here. No way to call the police anyway even
if you needed to and had someone beating down your
door trying to get in. Are we leaving soon?” Betty asked,
quite flustered and worried as she glanced around the
backyards facing her home while gripping a small tear gas
dispenser for protection.
“We are going to leave soon but I had not set a date
on just when, as of yet. Tell me more about what’s going
on. You hear any kind of news or announcements while I
have been gone?” Donald asked, knowing she probably
had not because he had told her specifically not to go out
for any reason while he was gone.
“No, not a word; my radio does not work. I talked to
the neighbor once when I saw them out and they are
staying close to home also after they almost got hurt in a
mob trying to buy groceries. It’s getting bad just like you
said it would, Donald.” His Mom told him worriedly.
“I will check it out on my way to downtown
tomorrow. I am going to see if my boss showed up at his
government office or is not even bothering to come in.
Most likely it will be a wasted trip and no one will be there
at all. If no one is there, I will make one more plea to
Janice to bugout and leave in the next day or so
depending on what I find out.” Donald replied and thanked
his Mom for the glass of warm lemonade she offered to
him.
“I was going to put all the boxes by the door for you
to load in the cars but Janice said to leave it spread out
through the house. She came by and checked on me this
morning. That was so nice of her. She told me that her
sister had moved in with her mom for now and she had
shared some food with them. We didn’t talk about if they
are leaving or not, I guess neither one of us wanted to
bring that subject up. I think if they do go, they will go to
Ramer and the rest of their kinfolk.” Betty said filling her
own glass with tepid lemonade.
“Well, I guess it will be just you and me then.
Lowbuck is leaving out in a couple days and I got Michael
and Amy guarding the food stores in my prep shed until we
get back. I guess I haven’t told you yet about our little
neighborly agreement. You see it takes community or
some kind of support group to survive long term. I offered
to share preps, but not adopt the two of them in exchange
for some mutually shared assistance. Michael and Amy
know I will stretch what I got to the limit to help them and
then we will have to make some other arrangements so
don’t worry yourself over that. I think we all are going to do
just fine after getting into the routine of being more selfsufficient over the coming months. We got plenty of stored
food for that transition.” Donald said hopefully.
but doesn’t want to decide just yet.” Betty offered.
“We shall see. I hope she does; we need the extra
preps and help. Her sister always turned her nose up at us
prepping and now Janice has to decide to giveaway some
of her food to her and her Mom. We each had a whole
personal years worth we accumulated over the years but
now we will soon be reduced in a couple months to a box
of traps and a .22 to survive much longer. Food
procurement is going to be a 24/7 thing and it will get more
dangerous and difficult before it gets any better.
Unfortunately, it only gets better as the population reduces
that is competing for the same resources. We probably
already got zombies wandering around. By that zombie
label I mean mindless ravenous people wandering the
earth in search of food. Horrible sights are on the horizon
of walking skeletons that starvation has yet to claim and
it’s going to be pitiful. No, we are not staying around here
for that and I don’t see any other choice for us but to settle
in and try to defend ourselves a little patch of ground. It will
level off eventually, transport is moving somewhat but the
city is not the place for me to be hanging around.” Donald
remarked assuredly.