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The special needs of babies and pets By Anna May Kinney Self-Sufficiency Series – Article #5 Emergency planning for babies Everyone who has ever raised a child knows that a baby has special needs. While we don’t all have little ones in our lives, most of us have grandchildren, nieces, nephews or neighbors with small children and during an emergency, when people reach out to help each other, any of us could find ourselves caring for a baby or young child. Start by placing a current picture of your baby inside your backpack with other valuable papers, such as your baby’s birth certificate, medical records, and a list of any health problems or special needs your child may have. Remember when packing your family’s water supply to add enough for mixing formula, baby cereal and for the extra cleanup in caring for baby. Pack some mild dish soap, a bottlebrush and whatever you need to guarantee clean bottles. Bottles filled with a little cold water, shook and dumped will clean faster and with less hot water than bottles left dirty to dry out. Like I mentioned in the first section on making 72 hour kits, families with small children or babies who would find it difficult to carry a baby and manage a toddler or two, should consider purchasing a couple of those suitcases on wheels, even older children wearing their own backpacks could pull one of these along. Babies and toddlers need their own specialized emergency supplies, which you can pack in an individual backpack or along with group supplies in a larger suitcase. Seeing that a baby grows from size to size so fast, these kits need to be updated monthly and when it comes to diapers it can get a bit confusing. Many moms are going back to cloth diapers, if you have enough cloth diapers that you can spare a three day’s supply packed away that’s great, but if you must buy disposable diapers for such an emergency then go the next size up, by doing this you always have a diaper that will fit if an emergency happens and you can rotate monthly so no disposable goes to waste. When refreshing your kit, use the last disposables in there for when you are traveling, visiting or on a shopping trip. If you’re a breastfeeding mom, bring all the supplies you’ll need like a pump, pads, bottles for when you just can’t nurse and any personal supplies you’ll need. Make sure to pack a few cans of formula, a brand you have tested out on your baby and know he will eat. This may sound weird as you intend to breastfeed your baby, but in an emergency situation you need to prepare for anything that might happen, that might mean an accident that would make you unable to breast feed for a day or two. Don’t forget a diaper pail or a selection of plastic bags for the disposal of soiled diapers, baby wipes, and pack extra of these for the rest of the family for when soap and water are limited. Some antibacterial hand wipes are also a must. Include a few pair of thin latex gloves that can help when dealing with injuries, and a messy clean up. In a waterproof container have any medications your baby may need, teething gel, thermometer, a suction bulb to clear nasal passages, extra pacifiers and sunscreen (even in cold climate, exposure to sunlit snow can create serious sunburns). A few other things you should pack: He’ll need extra pajamas, undershirts, bibs, washcloths, towels, tissues, toilet paper, diaper rash ointment, baby lotion, and don’t forget his favorite toys. To warm milk, water and cook baby cereal or meals you’ll need a portable stove, fuel, matches and camping utensils (a camping store has a vast supplies of this stuff to choose from). Using a thermos bottle will help keep hot water available between lighting up the portable stove. Keeping your baby dry and warm is important so you’ll want to have a few receiving and emergency blankets. The latter can be wrapped around both of you, holding in as much as 80% of your body heat. Emergency planning for pets While we would never think of leaving a helpless child behind when evacuating, many fail to realize just how dependent our animal companions are. An animal’s chance of survival is very thin if he’s been left to tend for himself, not to mention the emotional impact this makes on him. So when making your family emergency plan, also decide if you will be able to take your pets along or have to board them with family, friends or a shelter. And who in the family will be in charge of collecting them. If you’re plans are to stay in a motel/hotel check ahead to find pet friendly places you can go to. Talk with family members or friends and see if any of them would take your pets for a short time during an emergency. What ever you do don’t leave any of your pets behind. Whether it’s an earthquake, hurricane or tornado, our animal friends seem to sense something is about to happen way before we humans know anything. This feeling of danger can make your pet act in an uncharacteristic way. Animals who have never run away, or gotten lost, are more prone to run off in fear, often looking for a place to hide out till the danger is past. Even if your dog is use to being outside off leash, when there’s an approaching storm or he seems to be a bit fidgety or nervous, kind of clinging to you, keep him on a leash whenever taking him out doors. If you have a small pet such as a hamster, mouse, reptile or fish you need to do the same as you would do for a dog or cat, just pack their emergency kits with what food and supplies they will need to survive for a minimum of 3 days. Remember to tighten and secure latches on small rodent, reptile and birdcages. If you must evacuate and have to leave a large aquarium behind, place it on something steady on a higher floor if there’s fear of flooding, for all other emergencies set it on the floor, place pillows around it for protection, and a piece of plywood over the top slanted so air can still get in and out. Have an emergency battery run filtration system so your fish will be all right if the power is off for a couple of days. If your pet has reacted badly in the past to thunder and other storms, there’s a greater chance he’ll get panicky during an emergency, may even bite or scratch, so it might be wise to keep a mild sedative on hand for such emergencies. As soon as one sees a change in their animal’s behavior they should confine them to one room in the house, or if they are use to being crated at night or for trips, place them inside their crate/cage, this will relax them helping them to feel more secure. Even if you are not evacuating right away, place your cat into a pet carrier so he can’t run off and hide. Cats are often left behind, because even when they have not gotten outside, they are so great at hiding that at the last minute people can’t find them. Just like you have emergency backpacks for each member of the family, buy a small child’s backpack for your pets. Large dogs can actually wear one containing some of the lighter stuff they’ll need for 72 hours. Backpacks for small breed dogs can be attached to their crates or pet carriers or carried by a family member. Start by keeping a good picture of your pet in your backpack, this will speed up recovery in the case you are separated during an emergency. In their backpacks, place their medical/vaccination records in a waterproof container, medications and a pet first aid kit. They’ll need 2-3 quarts of water, (you can carry that) dry and wet food, water/food bowls, a cat litter/pan, a few towels in a plastic bag and can opener. Write down the name & phone number of your veterinarian and another in the an area you maybe evacuating to, what they normally eat, and their feeding schedule in case you have to leave them with a stranger for a day or two, and if they have any emotional or health conditions to watch out for. By following a few simple steps you should help guarantee that when the emergency is over, every member of your family will be together alive and healthy. |
Finishing our emergency kits and special needs By Anna May Kinney Self Sufficiency Series, Article 4 It’s time to expand on what we need to put into our emergency kits. By now everyone has packed two quarts/litres of water for each person in their family/group. The next step is making sure you have enough water for hygiene and food preparation. The experts say that this should amount to two more quarts/litres a day for each person. (Small children and babies will need as much as adults, and even more when it comes to hygiene.) You’ll need personal care products, such as sanitary napkins, toilet paper, soap, toothbrushes and anything you’d need to get through three days. Add to this a package of garbage bags for sanitation, and twist ties to keep them tightly shut. I’ve added a small stack of newspapers, placed and sealed in a good plastic bag and a five-gallon pail with good lid, also for sanitation. Most people have no idea what to do in an urban situation where there’s either no toilet or no extra water to flush. By all means you do NOT want to use the toilet and just leave it not flushed for three days. Unlike a wilderness camping trip, there’s no place to dig a hole and bury the evidence, so what do you do with human waste? This is where the newspaper and five-gallon pail (better known in the North as a honey bucket) come in handy. When you have to “go” empty the bladder first into the honey bucket. Men have an easier time with this, but for women it’s better to do what we do when asked for a sample in the doctor’s office. For this reason, I always keep a good wide mouth jar for such an emergency; it can be discretely used and dumped into the five-gallon pail. SO much easier and tidier than straddling a pail (especially if you have pants to drop.) Next, take a couple of sheets of newspaper, squat over them and do your business. IF by any act of God you forgot the toilet paper, the extra newspaper can also be used for this purpose. Next fold it up into a neat little package and deposit it into a large garbage bag, close tightly with a strong tie and keep outside till it can be safely disposed of. If your situation goes on too long or you have too many people sharing a bucket it may need to be dumped. Often this can safely be done in a wooded area, or even a back yard away from the house, or in a city environment in a rain/sewer gutter/drain. Do NOT use the bucket for feces. Everybody needs to have at least one change of cloths, footwear, blanket, sleeping bag and a whistle to attract attention. Families need to pack a few basic tools such as a hammer, wrench, screwdriver with multi heads, pliers and work gloves. While it’s recommended that families pack candles, matches and a lighter, what I do to provide light when there’s no power is much safer. After purchasing couple of sets of solar garden lights, ones that have a hook at top for hanging, put them out most every day, keep the batteries charged, bring them in at dusk and to save the batteries for when they are needed they can be easily removed. Mine are lined up in front of my television set, oldest on the right etc. At night I take a couple of these lights, they go in the bathroom, hallway, my bedroom and the kitchen, the rest of the batteries are there for emergencies. These lights give off a lot more light then most people would believe, they can light up a good sized area for their small size, and the best part is if you have to go through a power failure for a few days, they do not need a lot of sun to recharge. You can also buy extra batteries, and once the first are charged, put the lights outside the next day with another set of batteries in them, and just keep rotating. I have two of these lights sitting on each side of the bathroom mirror and for most things the light they offer is enough not to have to turn the electricity on. This is also what’s used in my basement during a severe storm. They are easy to use and no danger of fire. Other things a family will need are: a portable stove and whatever kind of fuel it uses, but always remember that no matter if it is charcoal or propane, you can never use these stoves indoors. They must only be used where there is plenty of ventilation like in an open driveway, backyard or on a patio deck and never run a generator inside a garage, basement or home. Special needs As we age, many of us have special health considerations, whether it’s just the gradual decline of our eye sight, incontinence or that we can’t eat without having our false teeth. Each of these things has to be addressed so we are prepared if we find ourselves away from our homes and supplies. If you or your spouse has a disability and lives in an independent private home, contact your city or county government's emergency information management office. Many local offices keep lists of people with disabilities so they can be located quickly in a sudden emergency. You should also keep a list of what medications you take daily and any special support equipment you need to maintain health, and discuss these things with your closest neighbors. If you are dependent on dialysis or other life sustaining treatment, know the location and availability of more than one facility, and plan an alternative route for getting there. If you have a severe allergy, chronic- medical condition, or have a special medical need you might consider wearing a Medic Alert bracelet. Diabetics need extra insulin, syringes, needles, insulin pens, a small container to store used needles and syringes. It’s best to keep frozen water in small containers, plastic bottles or ice packs your freezer in have ready a small cooler in which to pack your insulin and keep it cool for time when there’s no power or if you must evacuate. You’ll also need blood glucose testing equipment with batteries and a recording book. It’s also important for Diabetics to have appropriate food and water to maintain healthy blood sugar levels. Make a list of all food or drug allergies and all the medications you are taking. Keep this list with you and a copy should go to any family member who might be responsible for you during an emergency. On the list of medications, specify what the drug is taken for, also include the generic name, daily dosage, and contact information and name of the prescribing physician. Prepare the same type of list for each child or senior parent you have with a disability or special need, make these list available to other caregivers, to schools and inside their emergency kits. The visually impaired need to pack: An extra pair of prescription glasses Vision aids such as magnifiers, binoculars or an electronic travel aid An extra white cane Talking or Braille clock Large print timepiece with extra batteries A whistle or noisemaker Writing pads, pens, pencils for communicating Other emergency things to pack for special needs: Latex-free gloves for potential care givers Spare deep cycle battery for motorized wheelchair or scooter and a can of seal-in-air to repair a flat tire. A lightweight manual wheelchair for backup Spare catheters (if applicable) Whatever is needed to keep life sustaining equipment operating during a power outage. Specific supplies that are for your own special needs. Most city and state offices of civil defense offer pamphlets to help those with special needs or those caring for them. There are also sections for the general public on how to help a person with a disability or special need. Prepackaged kits can be obtained from the Red Cross and other emergency agencies. | | |
