Identify a 'Flu Buddy.' Pair Up to Help 'Vulnerable' During Pandemic.

Single parents and adults living alone are especially vulnerable during pandemics. All your stockpiles and "Emergency Preparedness" won't help if you're too sick to care for yourself or your children, but not sick enough to go to hospital - or if the hospitals are already full. The best recommendation is "Get a Flu Buddy" - someone to check up on you to see if you're sick, help out if you need it, and take the lead to get you to hospital if you desperately need medical care.

If single parents, or adults living alone, get sick with the flu, "you won't be sick enough, likely, to go to hospital, but you are not necessarily going to be well enough to go to the drugstore to buy some Tylenol, you're not going to be well enough to check if you need to be driven to the emergency. You won't be well enough to do that.

"We cannot overwhelm our system by having everybody call 911 and say: 'I'm really sick, I need to go the hospital' when you don't. You need to organize, in your community, who is going to be your flu buddy," she said.

SOURCE: www.ottawacitizen.com...
Canadians urged to identify a 'flu buddy'

Hopefully most ATS members already have stockpiled food, water, herbs, vitamins and prescription meds, and made all the other recommended emergency preparations.

But we all need back-up. A "Flu Buddy" is essential - even if you leave town to hide out in the boonies 'til the dust settles.

Hospitals will be overwhelmed, and only the most acutely ill will qualify for admission. Everyone else will be on their own - even if they're too sick to take care of themselves and their business properly.

Maybe some ATS members can help organize their communities to ensure that everyone has a Flu Buddy.

As informative and caring as this thread is, your post has single-handedly scared me more about the whole flue problem than any I’ve read yet.

I know it wasn’t your intention, but, you succeeded.

Peace and Good Luck!

I’ll be watching this thread to see what comes of it.

S&F - I think....

Peace

Originally posted by silo13
As informative and caring as this thread is, your post has single-handedly scared me more about the whole flue problem than any I’ve read yet.

I know it wasn’t your intention, but, you succeeded.

Well...

A little scared is good.

But don't panic. Get prepared!

..and thanks for the s&f.

-sofi

Need I remind everybody about the competent, timely responce by our government to the Katrina disaster?

If you think that a nationwide epidemic will be handled smoothly you should check your temperature. Preparation and planning to look after yourselves is the key.

A few simple steps will have you in good shape and it goes beyond the flu and will cover natural disasters etc.

Originally posted by FredT
Need I remind everybody about the competent, timely responce by our government to the Katrina disaster?

If you think that a nationwide epidemic will be handled smoothly you should check your temperature. Preparation and planning to look after yourselves is the key.

A few simple steps will have you in good shape and it goes beyond the flu and will cover natural disasters etc.

Well said.

Thanks.

...Our governments have made it quite clear that we are on our own in a pandemic, if not any other major emergency. The resources simply do not exist to care for everyone. In Canada, the key phrase is now "Citizen Preparedness" (or something like that).

It IS possible to plan and prepare, and as Fred says, there are just a "few simple steps." ATS is full of links to 'Emergency Preparedness' plans.

"Find a Flu Buddy" is a new recommendation - and it's a good one.

nice thread, and a nice reminder to all to be sure to check up on your loved ones if things do get bad.

Great Initiative! - S&F

I have some friends who are living alone here in the big city far away from their families, and therefore we have promised eachother to check in with one another every day if things gets worse with a second wave this fall.

By keeping tight contact by phone or email our small network of friends would know immediately if someone get sick and are in the need of food or medicine etc.

It's a hell to be serious ill with high fever & heavy flu alone with no food/soup in the pantry or medicine at home!

Been there! done that! - in a foreign country, on top of that!

reply to post by FredT
yes Fred you are so right in general but tell me what will help you all your preparedness once you have gotten the swine flu virus already? i dont think any preparedness would help you much since it will be solely up to your immune system and lungs to fight the virus and there is little detail that having a strong immune system will not save you but rather kill you bcz exactly the strong immune system kills many young people probably thru so called cytokine storm in your lungs and you die drowning. Simple but scary, isnt it?

Originally posted by blocked4tellingtheTruth
reply to post by FredT

 

yes Fred you are so right in general but tell me what will help you all your preparedness once you have gotten the swine flu virus already? i dont think any preparedness would help you much since it will be solely up to your immune system and lungs to fight the virus and there is little detail that having a strong immune system will not save you but rather kill you bcz exactly the strong immune system kills many young people probably thru so called cytokine storm in your lungs and you die drowning. Simple but scary, isnt it?

I may have had it. I was not tested since I didn't go to a hospital. I had some herb stuff I took and it disappeared in two days.

Recently I switched my house lighting over to full spectrum lighting. It's just a theory, of course, but full spectrum lighting is thought by some to help with natural immunity. Anyhow, I have two cats that don't get out much and I figure they could benefit, too.

Originally posted by blocked4tellingtheTruth
reply to post by FredT

 

y thru so called cytokine storm in your lungs and you die drowning. Simple but scary, isnt it?

Natural protection could be by immune modulators. Some doctors believe this, especially those not involved in pushing a vaccine.

So flu is seen by some as a seasonal disorder. During the winter months not enough UVB light penetrates the atmosphere making it difficult to produce natural Vitamin D in the human body. Vitamin D acts as an immune modulator and would limit a cytokine storm effect, some feel.

Originally posted by son of total newbie

So flu is seen by some as a seasonal disorder. During the winter months not enough UVB light penetrates the atmosphere making it difficult to produce natural Vitamin D in the human body. Vitamin D acts as an immune modulator and would limit a cytokine storm effect, some feel.

Seasonal flu is seasonal - pandemic flu breaks the rules.

But still, Vitamin D is a good call - go with lots of Omega oils (3, 6 etc).

And don't forget to find a Flu Buddy!

That nasty chest cough I had last spring returned 2 weeks ago when I caught some kind of flu-type bug again. Then, when I was feeling better on Monday, I over-exerted with some lifting and digging and exhausted myself - then I was exposed to some unavoidable major psychological stress.

Whammo. The 3 majic factors:

1. Infection
2. Physical over-exertion
3. Psychological stress.

...So I've spent the last week living on my nitro to treat an extended episode of heart arrhythmia (pulse way too fast, often skipping every 2nd to 4th beat, some angina).

I'll be okay - I know what to do. But I knew better than to get myself in this position!

Everyone please,

1. Minimize your exposure
2. Pay attention to your limitations: just STOP if your body says stop.
3. Avoid stress; if you can't, be aware that it might kick back on you in a major way if you're already sick and physically stressed.

and...

GET A FLU BUDDY!

So Sofi: just to be clear, are you suggesting we all get a flu buddy?

I hope this turns out to be lesser than we are being led to belive when it is all said and done but I don't count on that.
We have been putting back food for a while now so sustenance should not be an issue for my family (I hope).

I had not thought about those who live alone. I suppose I will need to speak to my mother as her health is kinda bad and she lives alone.

Obs

Excellent thread and suggestions... Also, if you are able to drop off a little bag at their front door it would be very helpful! For example, you could put in some cans of chicken soup, Gatorade, bottled water, tea bags, a few crackers or any other items of comfort and it would mean the world to an ill person. I've done this for elderly neighbors in the past and it worked out really well (in those situations I went in their house though, and fixed up a plate for them; this situation is very different!).

Thank you!
-fmf

This shouldn't just be done "if things get really bad," either. It's a very nice, responsible thing to do to check in on those you know live alone or are vulnerable every now and then. Unless the person is a known recluse and has stated they wish to be left alone, that is. I'm not suggesting that you should be nosy or a pest, but for example, if you know that across the street from you lives a little old lady and you haven't seen any activity in a couple days at her house, pay a visit. My wife used to check in on an elderly lady we knew when we lived in Arizona. She'd bake some cookies or a treat and just drive over to drop it off, many time ending up staying and visiting for a while. You'll find that most people really appreciate just knowing somebody cares.

Also, as a note to parents of little children, make sure you have an emergency plan in case a parent does need to go to the hospital. This is absolutely vital if you live clear across the country from your closest family member. It takes such a huge amount of stress off your shoulders to have a couple other families in the neighborhood who you've made friends with and are willing to watch your little ones for a while if an emergency happens. (Be sure to return the offer and let them know they can also count on you if needed to watch their kids, too!)