3 Coronavirus Tips for the Prepper in You
A couple of years ago, I wrote a blog about “Apocalypse Insurance.” With major concerns in the media about the Coronavirus, I thought it would be relevant to discuss actions you can take today to protect you and your family.
But first let’s look at the difference between the Coronavirus and the flu:
Corona Virus:
*Fever
*Cough
*Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
*Symptoms appear 2-14 days after exposure
Flu:
*Fever
*Cough
*Muscle Aches
*Fatigue and weakness
*Chills and sweats
*Congestion
*Sore throat
Our entire office started to get sick last Friday, thankfully our symptoms match the Flu virus. Although it really sucked to get sick, we are all starting to feel better. Later in this blog, I’m going to have Melissa discuss how to best protect yourself from the Flu and the Coronavirus and a couple of homemade remedies to sanitize your home and workplace.
Ok, moving on:
- Be sure to have an emergency cash fund at home (not in the bank). If it gets really bad, you may not be able to get cash from the bank.
- Have at least 2 weeks supply of food, essentials, and medicine at home. All retail stores operate on a just in time order and delivery. If there is a panic run at the grocery store, the shelves will be empty. A friend went to Costco yesterday and where there were usually many pallets of water at the back of the store, it was empty!
- Other things I discussed a couple of years ago included: having a bug out property- not near anyone else, proper shelter, and self-defense. I don’t think we are at that level of concern yet.
I’ll turn it over to Melissa now…
Melissa here. I want to share some valuable tips from an article written by Phoenix based Naturopathic Doctor, Andrea Purcell:
“What should you do?At this point in time, more benefit is gotten by going about your day, in a proper hygienic fashion. Your first line of defense starts with you. The best way for you to help combat the spread of Coronavirus is by practicing basic prevention techniques just like you do when trying to avoid the flu:
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
- Avoid touching your mouth, nose, and eyes (this is the primary avenue of infection) – The average person touches their face 90x per day.
- Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue and throw it away. Coughing into your arm or sleeve only causes the viral respiratory droplets to land on your clothing that can then be passed to others
- Stay home when you are feeling sick
- Stay away from others who are sick
- Clean and disinfect frequently used objects and surfaces
- Avoiding handshakes, give hugs or fist-bumps instead
- Avoiding touching door handles, and door knobs, light switches, and gasoline pumps. Glove up beforehand or apply hand sanitizer afterward.
- Disinfectant wipes in vehicles
- Keep hand sanitizer at every entrance to your home, in your vehicle, and on your person.(I have a few recipes for DIY hand sanitizer that you can make at home). See below
DIY non-toxic hand sanitizer
This is easy to make and better than exposing yourself to toxic chemicals in the commercially made versions. You will be killing >95% bacteria, viruses and fungus with these at home options.
Essential oils that work well include: Tea tree, cinnamon, lemon, orange, lavender, lemon grass, and rosemary. You can use whatever oils you like best and swap out the oils in my recipes.
I am including 2 recipes here one for a liquid spray and another for a gel version:
Liquid sanitizer
2 oz. spray bottle
2 tablespoons alcohol > 60%
10 Drops lemon essential oil
10 drops orange essential oil
1 teaspoon vegetable glycerin
Fill rest of bottle with distilled water
Shake well and ready to use
Gel sanitizer
2 oz. squeeze bottle
Fill 1/3 of bottle with vodka OR Alcohol >60%
15 drops tea tree essential Oil
15 drops lavender essential Oil
Fill rest of bottle with aloe Vera gel (this should be commercially made aloe Vera 96-99% pure used for body not edible)
Shake well and use”
Thanks for the tips, Dr. Purcell!
-Bob