Sick Room: Supplies For & Preparation of One

Lists for First Aid Kits, Over-The-Counter (OTC)Medicines to keep on hand,Masks & Protective Gear info,How-To Information for home care of family members and lots more.
Post Reply
Readymom
Site Admin
Posts: 4658
Joined: Tue Nov 21, 2006 2:42 pm

Sick Room: Supplies For & Preparation of One

Post by Readymom »

Kit to store in the bedroom
  • Food-jars of baby food
  • Ensure
  • Water-bottled drinking water
  • Extra blankets/pillows/sheets/towels/washcloths (to wet for forehead
  • Dishpan in which to toss items that can be bleached later
  • Phone/list of important phone numbers
  • Lollipops/hard candy (to get taste out of mouth & help dry mouth)
  • Saltines
  • boxed chicken broth (pourable kind)
  • Cough drops
  • Masks (to keep from breathing on others who may have to enter the room)
  • Can of Lysol/antibacterial wipes
  • Paper towels for messes
  • Jello Cups (pre-made from store)
  • Sprite/ginger ale/ginger tea- for upset stomaches
  • A coffee maker in the bedroom could be used to make hot water for instant soups

Medicine-
  • Acetominiphen
  • Ibuprofenvicks
  • Vapor Rub
  • quaifenisen (sp?)
  • disposable thermometers
  • Pepto-Bismol
  • oral rehydration salts
  • cough suppressant
  • rubbing alcohol
  • pencil & paper (for making notes to self on dosage quantities & times
  • plastic spoons for eating
  • Dosing cups/spoons for liquid meds
  • Meds in liquid form
  • Benadryl-effective sleep aid. Make sure to get plain Benadryl w/out Tylenol
Hygiene-
  • couple rolls toilet paper
  • cottonelle personal wipes
  • bedpan ( remember that they likely will be highly infectious.)
  • plastic sheets (cheap shower curtains)
  • toothbrush
  • hydrogen peroxide
  • trash bags
  • several smaller buckets w/lids
  • straws
  • PediaLyte/generic grocery store
Recovery Items:
  • Headphones/CD player or IPod/music/extra batteries
  • TV w/ Remote control
  • Magazines/books
Last edited by Readymom on Sat May 04, 2013 2:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: formatting
Readymom
Site Admin
Posts: 4658
Joined: Tue Nov 21, 2006 2:42 pm

Preparing a Sick Room

Post by Readymom »

Image

Setting up a sick room
* Link Unavailable. This site is no longer active and available to view on line. But the info was good and we wanted to keep sharing it!

The text below is from a discussion thread Originally posted at Fluwikie

I have a room on top of the garage that has a separate entrance from the street. A flight of stairs from this entrance goes up to the landing where there is a bathroom (shower) immediately next to this bedroom. At the bottom of the stairs there is another door to the garage through which at the back you can exit to a small yard that is not part of the main garden. This whole setup is connected to the main house via a hallway and another door.

The reason why I explain all this is that I want to demonstrate how to design the space to create different levels of infection control, including a one-way system if someone is sick and a carer has to go in and out of the room and disinfect properly before returning to the main part of the house.

The carer goes in through the internal door from the main house, closes that door, and uses the hallway as changing area to put on whatever PPE needed. This may be some old clothes covered with apron, shower cap, gloves and mask. Also either disposable shoe covers or change into wellies (rubber boots).

For higher level of protection, I would use long-sleeve surgical gowns (these can be home-made) that tie at the back plus plastic apron. Use duct tape to seal the wrists of the gloves. Use two pairs of gloves if available.

It is important before entering the room to make sure that the other set of doors are closed ie at any point, there is at least one closed door between the patient area and the living quarters. If you don't have 2 sets of doors, use plastic sheets to create an additional barrier.

The room that I have is long and so it can be separated into two areas. The patient can sleep on a bed at the far end. This area is semi-partitioned with the use of plastic sheet/shower curtain. Behind this, next to the bed, you would need to put basins for disinfection and all the paraphernalia that one would normally need if someone is ill/bored.

The big challenge in this case is toilet facilities. Because the bathroom in this case is on the outside, I want to reserve that for cleaning/disinfection purposes. I tried to come up with different ideas to safely deal with waste, and the best so far is to get a chemical toilet from caravan companies. The neat(!) thing about this is that it has an enclosed compartment that receives waste. You can disconnect the lower portion as a fully enclosed container. If you put in disinfectant eg bleach ahead of time, then removing and disposing of that waste is not going to be hazardous.

The reason why it is better to partition the room, apart from the privacy issue, is that if the carer is to stay in for any length of time, any barrier would improve protection.

Any article/clothing from the room is to be disinfected with bleach. The easiest way for laundry is to get the biggest bucket you can find and fill it to half with diluted bleach. You can keep it just outside the room, in this case in the bathroom, so that the stuff goes straight in soon as you leave the room. That way, you are only handling contaminated laundry when still fully protected.

Before leaving the room, the carer should wash and disinfect the outer pair of gloves, remove and dispose of them, spray disinfectant on the inner gloves before opening the door. Once outside, close door immediately. Just outside the room, you can put a tray with a folded bath-towel or large cloth soaked with bleach. As the carer leaves, he should step on this and rub the bottom of the wellies vigorously. If using disposable shoe covers, step on the bleach, remove the covers and dispose of them.

Wash and disinfect remaining gloves. Take off apron and put immediately into wastebin, making sure that the bin closes completely. Take off gown and put into laundry bleach bucket. Wash and disinfect gloves again.

Now the carer is ready to leave. In this instance, he can exit through the garage door, making sure to touch only the door handles and nothing else. These can be disinfected later.

Walk through the garage and out the back. On the outside, prepare a shallow basin of bleach as footbath and plastic flip-flops (sandals). If wearing wellies, step into the basin and take off the wellies. Step out and put on flip-flops. Wash and disinfect gloves again. Take off glove, wash and disinfect hands.

Take off and dispose of mask and cap, taking care to not touch the outside of mask.
Wash and disinfect hands.

If you want to be extra careful, and if you live in a warm climate, consider getting a camping shower, which is just a bag filled with that you can hang up and use. You can shower right outside, change, before re-entering house from a different door.
If weather does not permit, then put on a big bathrobe to go in the house, making sure that you change your footwear again just as you enter. Go straight to the bathroom and shower completely.

This is just an example using my own house. Many elements can be varied but I think these considerations might be important:

1. Try to get a 2-door or 2 barrier setup

2. Contaminated laundry should be handled minimally and put into disinfectant asap.

3. Pay a lot of attention to disposal of body waste. The ideal situation is if you have ensuite facilities for the patient's sole use. No other disinfection/washing activities should go on here. If using bedpan or other open containers, make sure it always contains bleach even before use, cover as much as possible, even if only with a cloth, dispose asap wearing maximum protection.

4. If the area is quite near to the living areas of the rest of the family, consider putting in a powerful extractor fan which is always on. However, the direction of extraction in relation to where the carer is likely to spend most time inside the room is important. Make sure the airflow is from the carer/house to patient to extractor.

5. To increase the effectiveness of this one-way airflow, consider using draught-protectors under doors. These are just strips of rubber that allows air to go one-way only.

6. If there is no bathroom right next door that can be used for the carer's disinfection, put basins of soapy water and bleach right outside for disinfection. Put waste bin and laundry bucket here as well. This area should be frequently cleaned and disinfected and should be used either not at all or as little as possible by anyone else in the family. The carer should again put on a bathrobe that covers the body as much as possible before walking through the rest of the house to shower.

BTW one of the reasons why I wrote this thread is to show the number of items that you may want to get ahead of time, such as plastic sheets. These and duct tape are always going to be handy. But the extra buckets, basins, etc need to be counted up as well. Other details to think through include stuff like how you're going to get that water into and out of the laundry bucket if the bathroom is some ways off and the whole thing is too heavy to lug around the house.

You should also keep a list of important phone numbers near the phone. You might know your mom's number buy heart, but a 103 degree fever could make remembering it a challenge. I certainly wouldn't remember my doctor's!

For those who are unable to self-quarantine (essential services) and have to sleep in their own home, should an area be designated for their use (near exit/entrance) and isolated from the rest of the household? Something to consider: It might be a good idea to have two copies of 'tracking' info as mentioned immediately above, one in the isolation area and one outside so you can refer to it when not actually providing care. New info could be added right after you leave the isolation area. BTW I've decided to make two physical copies of all of my prep plans (including the ones on my computer) and keep them in two different places- this might be especially important for those who will try to self-medicate if they become ill- a glass of spilled juice could erase your recommended dosages, etc. I wouldn't want to have to trust someone's life to my memory, especially if I'm tired and worried.

To seal off a room: There is a great zipper door unit at Home Depot which contractors use to seal off rooms in houses. It is probably 8 feet long and gets taped into the center of a sheet of plastic which you tape to a door frame and then you slit the plastic as you unzip the zipper. I bought several thinking that with 6mm. plastic sheeting it can create a barrier. A second one can make a changing chamber outside a sick room.

YOu need to wear goggles if you are within a close distance of someone shedding virus. The best ones are the clear ones with unvented sides. Those with small vents are not a problem but if you want to be extra careful, especially if there is a risk of being splashed then tape over the vents. Swim or ski goggles will also do the job. However, it's important to make sure that these do not affect the fit of the mask. A useful hint is that if your goggles are fogging up (on the outside), the mask is not working properly.

Bleach: for normal household bleach, which is approx 5%, use 1:100 (10ml in 1L of water) for general cleaning and disinfection. For body fluids, waste, and spillages, use 1:10 (10ml in 100 ml of water). Bleach needs to be made up each day, otherwise it degrades very quickly. Now that can add up to a lot of bleach over a few months. Instead of buying bottles, you can buy bleach tablets. These come in packets of 10 where each one makes 1L of bleach, which can then be diluted as above. I don't know if it's sold in the US but in the UK it costs only £1.00 for a packet. Remember that bleach is corrosive to hands but the fumes are quite toxic if you breathe a lot of it. Make sure there is plenty of ventilation.

The best alternative to bleach is Virkon. This is non-toxic, does not give out fumes, and not corrosive for surfaces so that you can use it for wood and metal.It is frequently used a-n-i-m-a-l-s. Just follow the dilution instructions on the package.

Citric acid is also useful and easy to obtain (from food product shops or people who sell chemicals to make bath-soap). It is safe to use on clothes etc and even on your body if you ever need decontamination. (You could also use Virkon at a pinch but do not use bleach.)

Having said all that about disinfectants, it is important to remember good old soap and water is the first line. Washing with soap especially under running water removes a significant amount of any contamination. You should always do that before disinfecting.

Bedding: Make sure you cover the mattress COMPLETELY with a plastic sheet. What you want is to make sure that the whole thing can be wiped clean every day. The normal mattress covers are useless because they do not go all the way round and often the surface cannot be wiped. Also get waterproof covers for pillows and duvet covers.

Floors: Carpets are useless in this situation because they cannot be cleaned/disinfected thoroughly. The best thing to do is again to cover it and tack it down with plastic sheet. (Are you counting the # of plastic sheets and roles of duct tape needed yet?) Make sure everything is secure ‘cause loose edges can cause serious accidents.

Curtains: Replace fabric curtains with wipe-clean (yes) plastic or blinds.
This might seem a lot of trouble but it is worth the effort because anything that catches dirt and is difficult to disinfect will raise your hazard level and also add to your angst. Remember that this whole setup won't be used unless someone is suspected to have bird flu, in which case you will be so stressed out that mistakes will be very likely. So anything that you can do or plan ahead of time will reduce that and allow you to concentrate on helping the person to get well.

Going back to toilets again. Depending on how your system is plumbed, (and if you are like me you don't know anything about it), it might be better to assume that the system is contaminated if someone in the house is sick. If you live in an apartment so that your plumbing is connected to others' then just assume that it is contaminated. Again the best thing to use is bleach. Remember in this instance you are not worried about the water in the tank but rather the stuff in the toilet bowl so make sure that you put some in there.

In addition, to reduce splashing, always close the lid before flushing. During SARS when people were actually infected by such routes in HOng Kong, gentlemen were advised to use the facilities sitting down!

Some bathrooms or sometimes even kitchens have floor drains to remove any accidental spillage. A huge outbreak of SARS (300+ people infected, 35 died, most of them from one apartment tower block) was caused by waste back-flow or back-log in the system and when people turn on extractor fans to shower, tiny contaminated aerosols were sucked into the room air. The solution to that is again to put a small amount of bleach into the drain, wait 5 minutes and then flush. Do this several times a day.

Ventilation: The gold standard for an isolation room is the negative pressure room. This is basically a room that has a very powerful extraction system (6 air change per hour minimum) directed away from the rest of the house and ducted outside at a point that is far away from adjacent buildings or windows. To achieve a proper negative pressure, the air supply rate must be substantially less than the exhaust rate. Without the help of an engineer, this can be simplified to mean that the air supply inlet should be reasonably small eg under the door.

As I said before but is worth repeating, if you want to put in an extractor fan, you must make sure that you are creating the most direct and smoothest airflow that goes from door to carer to patient to extraction system. Mis-alignments can result in unexpected turbulent flow so that the point of maximum virus accumulation becomes unpredictable. The air is passed through a HEPA filter to the outside. There must of course be no other window or opening, so that air only enters through the doorway (under the door).

For most people this will not be possible. The next best alternative is to have windows open. A small oscillating fan to create a gentle breeze is helpful. If you live in a really cold area so that you can't keep a window open then any small extraction system that you can put in will help.

Some stand-alone domestic air filter/purifiers have HEPA filters which theorectically can help reduce the virus load. In actual practice, however, many have filters that need changing or cleaning. It is possible to have significant virus deposit on these filters so that cleaning is probably more dangerous than not having the machine.

However I have found an air purifier by Sharp which claims that the machine can destroy viruses in the air including H5N1. It emits positive and negatively charged ions which supposedly attach to the coating of the virus and inactivates it. Sharp quotes a study by John Oxford's lab using a sample of H5N1. The other thing about this machine is that you are not passing the air through the machine so the amount of virus contamination on the filter would be a lot less. I don't know how well it works since there is no independent corroboration, but I have been using it for my study and the air quality is definitely a lot better than the other machines that I have tried. http://www.noticias.info/asp/aspcomunic ... ?nid=72321
Last edited by Readymom on Wed Dec 27, 2006 4:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
Readymom
Site Admin
Posts: 4658
Joined: Tue Nov 21, 2006 2:42 pm

Disinfection of Households Items

Post by Readymom »

From April 2003 Designed by the Information Services Department Printed by the Printing Department Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government¦

"Atypical Pneumonia Guidelines on Disinfection of Households Items in Frequent Contact with Occupants"
* Link Unavailable. This site is no longer active and available to view on line. But the info was good and we wanted to keep sharing it!

Sitting Area/Bedrooms
  • Door knobs/window handles/ buttons/switches
  • Sofa
  • Telephones/intercom/computer keyboards and mouses Dining Area
  • Tables/chairs
  • Floors
  • Eating utensils Kitchen and Toilet
  • Water taps/shower heads
  • Door knobs/window handles/ buttons/switches
  • Water closets and cistern handles/ seat and cover flaps


Cleaning and Disinfection Procedures (Also applies to general workplaces)

Furniture
  • Step 1
    • Wipe thoroughly with a 1:99 solution of diluted household bleach (mix 1 part household bleach with 99 parts water).
    • For areas that are dirty, use a stronger solution of bleach at the ratio of 1:49.

    Step 2
    • Wipe dry
Walls
  • Step 1
    • Wipe thoroughly with a 1:99 diluted household bleach solution.
    • For dirty areas, use a stronger 1:49 bleach solution.
    Step 2
    • Wipe dry.
Carpet
[*] Surfaces (e.g. tables)
[*] Children's toys
[*] Floors
[*] Bath-tubs and wash-basins
[*] Drain outlets

Mopping floors
  • Step 1
    • Sweep litter before mopping
    .
    Step 2
  • Mop thoroughly with a 1:99 diluted household bleach solution.
  • For areas that are dirty, use a stronger 1:49 bleach solution.
    Step 3
    • Clean and mop dry.
Toilet bowls
  • Step 1
    • Clean with a toilet brush and a 1:99 diluted household bleach solution.
    Step 2
    • Flush.
Bath-tub and basins
  • Step 1
    • Clean with an ordinary brush and a 1:99 diluted household bleach solution.
    Step 2
    • Rinse with water. Drain outlets
    • Pour a teaspoonful of 1:99 diluted household bleach solution down the drain outlet.
    • After 5 minutes, pour clean water down the drain outlet.
General Cleaning and Disinfection Tools
  • Broom
  • Bleach • Mop
  • Appropriate protective clothing
  • Brush
  • Face mask
  • Bucket
  • Rubber gloves
  • Towel Points to Note
  • Clean and disinfect your home at least once a day.
- Pay attention when cleaning electrical switches or computer equipment. Inspection Tips
- Pay special attention to the following:
[*]Ensure soil and waste pipes function properly. Repair any defects or leaks immediately.
[*] Look for signs of pest infestation (e.g. rodent droppings, cockroaches, stagnant water) and if present, clean immediately. If necessary, seek help from the management company.
[*] Keep carpets clean by vacuuming daily and regular dry cleaning.
[*] Ensure ventilation systems are clean and well maintained. Clean air filters regularly. For any enquiries, please contact the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department Hotline on 2868 0000. Health Advice


[*] Maintain good body immunity.[/b]
  • Eat a proper diet, exercise regularly, get adequate rest, reduce stress. Don't smoke.
[*] Maintain good personal hygiene.[/b]
  • Wash hands frequently using liquid soap. Use disposable towels or a hand dryer to dry-hands.
  • Cover the nose and mouth when sneezing or coughing.
  • Wash hands after coughing, sneezing or wiping the nose.
  • Wash hands before touching the eyes, nose and mouth.
  • Do not share towels.
  • Do not share eating utensils – use serving spoons and chopsticks.
  • Maintain good indoor ventilation
Readymom
Site Admin
Posts: 4658
Joined: Tue Nov 21, 2006 2:42 pm

Home built isolation unit

Post by Readymom »

Image

Below is an excerpt from PlanForPandemic, by Fla_Med. It is a collaborative effort between himself and 'Corky' (also a member of PlanForPandemc.

Negative Pressure Room
* Link Unavailable. This site is no longer active and available to view on line. But the info was good and we wanted to keep sharing it!

When dealing with a patient with a highly infectious disease, placing them in a negative pressure isolation ward is considered the `gold standard' as far as protecting others from contracting the disease. Hospitals spend hundreds of thousands of dollars creating these isolation rooms, and early in a pandemic, will certainly try to keep all H5N1 patients sequestered in them to protect the staff.
Readymom
Site Admin
Posts: 4658
Joined: Tue Nov 21, 2006 2:42 pm

Laundry & Linen

Post by Readymom »

San Francisco Department of Public Health
Draft Template - 09.07.06

Laundry and Linen
* Link Unavailable. This site is no longer active and available to view on line. But the info was good and we wanted to keep sharing it!

10. Laundry and Linen

10.1 Frequency to change linen and laundry may be adjusted based on supplies and available personnel.

10.2 Bring only as much clean linen as needed for use for the shift into the room.

10.3 Wear gloves, gown, and a minimum of N95 if available when directly handling soiled linen and laundry (e.g. bedding, towels, personal clothing). When supplies are limited, consider using re-usable utility gloves, plastic apron and surgical/procedure masks as mentioned in respective heading (see (Appendix C).

10.4 Do not shake or otherwise agitate soiled linen and laundry in a manner that might aerosolize infectious particles.

10.5 Wash and heat dry laundry in the usual manner.

10.6 Wash hands with soap and water or use hand sanitizer if hands are not visibly soiled after removing gloves, gown and N95 that have been in contact with soiled linen and laundry.
Readymom
Site Admin
Posts: 4658
Joined: Tue Nov 21, 2006 2:42 pm

Dishes, Glasses, Cups & Eating Utensils

Post by Readymom »

San Francisco Department of Public Health
Draft Template - 09.07.06

Dishes, Glasses, Cups & Eating Utensils
* Link Unavailable. This site is no longer active and available to view on line. But the info was good and we wanted to keep sharing it!

9. Dishes, Glasses, Cups & Eating Utensils

9.1 Wear disposable golves (clean, non-sterils gloves are adequate) if available when handling used patient trays, dishes and utensils. If supplies are limited, use re-usable utility gloves and disinfect by soaking them in 1:10 bleach solution for 20 min. after use.

9.2 Wash reusable dishes and utensils in dishwasher with recommended water temperature and detergent.
Readymom
Site Admin
Posts: 4658
Joined: Tue Nov 21, 2006 2:42 pm

Post by Readymom »

Image

Originally posted by (Juliem) at Pandemic Flu Information Forum:

Cleaning & Sanitizing Sick Room Supplies
* Link Unavailable. This site is no longer active and available to view on line. But the info was good and we wanted to keep sharing it!

I'm preparing to SIP with ten other people. I'm assuming that 5 of us will get the flu, at least.

Assuming hot water won't be available, I bought cheap white sheets and pillowcases for the sick room, so that they're easily disinfected by soaking in chlorine bleach and water. Also got cheap cotton blankets from the local resale shop. Again, easily bleached.

Thought about gowns, too. Hospital gowns are expensive, so I bought a ton of white t-shirts in XL and DH is not tossing out any of his old ones. We'll be able to use those for bedclothes for those of us who are sick, as well as caregivers being able to use them to cover their clothes when going in the room.

We're saving all plastic grocery sacks, to use for shoe covers when going in & out of the sick room. Will have a trash can just outside doorway to dispose of shoe covers, & toss in the T-shirts before washing.

Got some cheap used shower curtains, too. We'll hang them in the doorways of sick rooms. Good physical barriers to spread of virus. Easy to take down & disinfect; and we don't want to close sick room doors because then we won't be able to hear the sick person if they need something. And you don't want them coming out...that's for sure.
Readymom
Site Admin
Posts: 4658
Joined: Tue Nov 21, 2006 2:42 pm

Pandemic Flu-General Information & Supply Guides

Post by Readymom »

Image

Supplement Your Medical Stockpile
* Link Unavailable. This site is no longer active and available to view on line. But the info was good and we wanted to keep sharing it!

Original Post by (Sunshine) at PlanforPandemic:

There were a few things I thought of that you might want to supplement your medical stockpile with.

[snip] ... Everyone thinks of diarrhea but they don't think of laxatives. Some folks won't be eating right or getting the exercise they need and being constipated isn't fun. Plan ahead with fiber tablets or fiber powder, and then also lax. tabs for when it's needed.

Crutches - everyone will be doing different things than their used to, and a sprained ankle, broken leg could be a possibility. If you look at a set of crutches, they are a small engineering miracle. Go to the Goodwill or thrift store and buy you a set and stick them in your attic.

Silverdene or some other very good burn creme. With lanterns, open cook fires and who knows what else as a possibility, that translates to a high probability of a burn. Anyone that's ever had a bad burn will tell you that it's a miserable experience. This is a prescription but if you call your Dr's office and tell them you'll be camping and would like it for your pack, they'll probably just call it in for you.

Goggles or something to cover your eyes with. There's not much sense in getting a N95 face mask and not covering your eyes if you're going for protection.

More motrin and Tylenol than you think you could EVER need.

I also include in any medical store a separate store of sugar and salt, and the recipe for making a homemade electrolyte drink. Dehydration is a huge killer and will really kill you fast. Get more than you think you'd need as the human body can actually live off of an electrolyte solution for a while if you've run out of food. The brain and cells need both of those, and while I won't go into an explanation here, you have to have BOTH of those in a combination.

While you didn't have any prescription meds on your list, I would just consult with your Dr. the next time you're in on some things that you can get from him in terms of a script for this purpose. If you're not comfortable with that, I understand, but some folks have a pretty good relationship and their docs are open to it. Ask for a script for nausea, antibiotic, Silverdene, Tamiflu (if you don't have it already!), Epi-pen, etc.

You should have a back up supply of maintenance medication. Minimum of 3 months worth! Tell your Dr. it's for a back up in case of job loss, traveling, disaster preps - whatever - that you want to have it ahead of time since you know your well being is dependent on having those meds available. You'll most likely have to pay out of pocket for them, but building up a cashe could be a huge thing, especially for those that would literally die without a certain med. (Out of control blood pressure, asthma, whatever.) Rotate out the oldest first so you stay relatively fresh with your stored meds.

Some other things you've not got listed are knowledge based aids. Hoping that you'll remember everything to do to aid a person desperately ill is hard, so go ahead now and amass a small library of medical based layman aids. It will probably take at least 5 books to cover what you need: broken bones, infection, burns, bites (dogs will be starving, who knows), obstetrics (ha, ha, you think it won't be you but if you're in child bearing years that's when Murphy's Law of "when everything happens" will happen.) Look for aids that cover pediatrics as well as general med as pediatric medicine can be different in some areas. Knowledge is power, and the texts available to you could become invaluable in a crisis. I highly recommend Dr. Wooten's book on Bird Flu Preparedness, and there's several other things such as "Where there is no doctor" and "Where there is no dentist" (I don't know about you, but I have horrible teeth.) There are many available and if cost is a factor, visit a used book store or even a campus book store. Just make sure the terminology and direction are on a general basis - if they're talking about an anatomy part that you've never heard of and of using a clamp that you have no idea how to use, you're over your head. Look for things that anyone in your SP situation can read and utilize because it could very well be YOU that's on the receiving end of the medical care.

Consider taking your prepping to a new level and go take a First Responder class offered by the American Red Cross. The mental preparation of empowering yourself to be able to handle a crisis is so important to how you'll cope with this
Readymom
Site Admin
Posts: 4658
Joined: Tue Nov 21, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: Sick Room: Supplies For & Preparation of One

Post by Readymom »

Image

The Well-Stocked Sick Room
http://readynutrition.com/resources/the-well-stocked-sick-room_08122011/

To decrease the chances of an infectious illness spreading and infecting other household members, it is important that every effort be made to keep the illness in a contained area. A sick room in the home can achieve this, as well as assist in limiting the number of people who have close contact with the sick person.

Characteristics of the Ideal Sick Room

To ensure that the sickness is as contained as possible, set up the sick room in a bedroom or another separate room in the house. Ensure that the room has good lighting, a window that opens, and easy access to a personal bathroom with a sink and running water. Further, to err on the side of caution and make sure the illness is not spread into other parts of the household, create a secured area using plastic sheeting on the outside of the room to remove clothing and items worn inside the room. A trash can can be added to discard items. ---CONTINUED at LINK, above---
Readymom
Site Admin
Posts: 4658
Joined: Tue Nov 21, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: Sick Room: Supplies For & Preparation of One

Post by Readymom »

Image

Setting Up A Survival Sick Room
https://www.doomandbloom.net/setting-up-a-survival-sick-room/

Image In normal times, we have the luxury of modern medical facilities that can isolate a sick patient from healthy people. In a survival scenario, however, most organized medical care will no longer exist, placing the average citizen into the position of medic for his/her family or community.

(SNIP) ... Using this knowledge, it should be possible for a medically prepared person to put together a “sick room” or “hospital tent” that will minimize the chance of infectious disease running rampant through the community. The cornerstone of care is to deal effectively and humanely with the sick while keeping the healthy from becoming infected. ---CONTINUED---
Readymom
Site Admin
Posts: 4658
Joined: Tue Nov 21, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: Sick Room: Supplies For & Preparation of One

Post by Readymom »

Image

Setting Up A Sick Room in Your Home, by G.A. (RN)
https://survivalblog.com/setting-up-a-sick-room-in-your-home-by-ga-rn/

The time may come when normal medical facilities are not available for any number of reasons. If a family member were sick or injured, would you have the supplies and skills to care for them in your home? After 26 years as a registered nurse (RN) working in a hospital setting with a multitude of different types of patients, I have learned the procedures, tips, and tricks for making patient care easier. I will not attempt to teach you about specific injuries and diseases or their treatments. There are many resources for learning these skills, and I suggest that you take advantage of them while they are available. What I can teach you is how to set up a sick room in your home to care for a sick, injured, or quarantined patient. The first thing on the list of things to know is that organization– both before and during care– is very important in making a caregiver’s job both possible and easy. If you stock the supplies that I have listed below and made a plan, then you will be able to make a challenging situation doable.

Let’s discuss choosing a room in your home that can function as a sick room. ---CONTINUED at LINK, above---
Readymom
Site Admin
Posts: 4658
Joined: Tue Nov 21, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: Sick Room: Supplies For & Preparation of One

Post by Readymom »

Image

Quarantined: Establishing A Sick Room and Boundaries In The Event Of A Pandemic or Brief Illness
https://www.backdoorsurvival.com/quarantined-establishing-a-sick-room-and-boundaries-in-the-event-of-a-pandemic-or-brief-illness/

From regular illness to a full-on the pandemic, knowing how to establish a boundary to keep the disease from spreading to others is important to know.

There are various levels of quarantine that must be considered and there are psychological implications to isolating oneself and family for an extended period of time. This post is mean to go beyond just establishing a sick room so that you can be better prepared on all levels. ---CONTINUED---
Readymom
Site Admin
Posts: 4658
Joined: Tue Nov 21, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: Sick Room: Supplies For & Preparation of One

Post by Readymom »

AAHA

Sample protocol for entering and exiting an isolation area
https://www.aaha.org/aaha-guidelines/infection-control-configuration/protocols/entering-and-exiting-isolation-area2/

Entering and exiting isolation rooms*

Before entering the isolation area, remove practice outerwear (e.g., laboratory coat) and any equipment (e.g., stethoscope, scissors, thermometer, watch, cell phone) and leave outside the isolation unit/anteroom.

Gather any necessary supplies and medications before putting on PPE. ---CONTINUED---
Readymom
Site Admin
Posts: 4658
Joined: Tue Nov 21, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: Sick Room: Supplies For & Preparation of One

Post by Readymom »

NCBI Resources

Isolation rooms or areas
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK214341/?fbclid=IwAR1jRD3M93X67UrQ0EtWy_TG-1VD_kxt5n8UcXt37mUwymp0wpmAqk3PXKc

E.1. Preparation of the isolation room or area

-Ensure that appropriate handwashing facilities and hand-hygiene supplies are available.
-Stock the sink area with suitable supplies for handwashing, and with alcohol-based hand rub, near the point of care and the room door.
-Ensure adequate room ventilation. ---CONTINUED---
Readymom
Site Admin
Posts: 4658
Joined: Tue Nov 21, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: Sick Room: Supplies For & Preparation of One

Post by Readymom »

Image

Make a Separate Sick Room, if You Can
https://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/homecare/sickroom.htm

Keeping the person with flu in a separate sick room can help keep others in the family from getting the flu.

Take These Steps to Create a Separate Sick Room: ---CONTINUED---
Post Reply

Return to “Medical Concerns”