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Staying Healthy in an Emergency

When germs attack...

Emergencies are a great opportunity for diseases to set in. Often, emergency situations have large groups of people living together (shelters), sometimes in closely-confined areas (Shelter in Place), and many times without temperature control (power outages). Germs just love that kind of an environment: large groups living together mean more people to infect; closely-confined areas mean less work for germs to pass from one person to another; and less temperature control means that a person's immune system can be weakened from temperature fluctuations.

So what's a disaster victim to do?

Even though germs love emergencies, there's a lot you can do to keep them at bay:

• WASH YOUR HANDS! Washing your hands regularly is still the best way to prevent the spread of germs. Some tips:
  • Always use soap. Use warm, running water whenever it's available.
  • Scrub your hands for at least 15 seconds. That's about as long as it takes to sing "Happy Birthday" twice through.
  • Wash your hands especially before eating and after using the bathroom.
  • Use lotion, especially during the winter. Dry, cracked skin on your hands provides a way for germs to get into your body.
  • Using instant "hand sanitizers" is a good alternative -- but you should still wash your hands at the next opportunity!
• Eat healthy foods.
• Drink plenty of fluids.
• Get plenty of rest. This can be difficult during a stressful disaster situation, but get as much rest as you can.
  • Limit your intake of caffeine during the day so that you can rest better at night.
• Wear layers. Adding or removing layers of clothing allows you to better control your body temperature. Remember that swings in body temperature weaken your immune system.

A slightly more personal problem:

Okay, the power's out, the water isn't running... and you really need to go to the bathroom! The toilet isn't working, and you can't just leave that anywhere, because it wouldn't be sanitary. What the heck do you do? Believe it or not, there are solutions. They generally involve buckets. Read on:

• First, check to see if you can get water from the faucets. If it's just your toilet that isn't getting water (for instance, if the toilet's pipes froze but the rest of your pipes are fine), you can fill the toilet's tank by hand and it will still flush.
  1. Fill the bucket in the sink.
  2. Take the lid off the toilet tank.
  3. Pour the water from the bucket into the tank until the float is all the way up.
  4. Flush.
  5. Refill the tank using the bucket for next time, and have the bucket full for the time after that.
• Your bucket should have a tight-fitting lid on it, just in case you can't fill your toilet by hand. That bucket can serve as a portable toilet in a pinch.
  • Empty the bucket into a larger garbage can after use.
  • If possible, line both the bucket and the garbage can with a plastic bag.
  • After use, sprinkle a household disinfectant (like chlorine bleach) over the waste to remove some of the odor and germs.
  • Seal the lid tightly between uses to cut down on the smell.
• You may want to consider purchasing an emergency chemical toilet or a composting toilet in case of an emergency, especially if water outages are common in your area.
• If your children are potty-training, keep a potty-chair with your emergency supply kit. Children will be more comfortable with familiar-looking things in an emergency.

Additional Resources

The National Disaster Education Coalition Guide - The Guide's appendix contains good information on emergency sanitation.

Staying Healthy During a Crisis, a guide by Healthy Childcare.

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the CDC. Information on different diseases, how they attack, and how you can fight them off.

The National Institutes of Health, the US government's behavioral and medical research center.

Virtual Hospital list of links to topics on preventing disease and staying healthy.