Making Bread - JASE Medical - Page 2

Prepare with a Toilet Kit

One of the most neglected but perhaps most important in preparing for disasters is personal hygiene and toileting. There are many common and preventable diseases spread from feces not handled properly. If the water supply is limited or not available, the decision on water use for drinking or handwashing becomes apparent. Following a natural disaster (hurricanes, floods, wildfires, earthquakes, tornadoes) the leading causes of illness and death are diarrheal and respiratory infections. Infections spread rapidly when there isn’t adequate waste disposable available.

During a major disaster, basic services such as electricity and water service are likely to stop. Sometimes these services stop or are severely disrupted for extended periods of time.

Hurricane Fiona, which has plunged Puerto Rico into darkness and no water is a recent example of a natural disaster. As of this writing 760,000 residents are either without water or suffering significant disruptions of running water. This is a human disaster of epic proportions.

When being forced to decide between using water for personal hygiene or drinking, the answer becomes very apparent. We need daily intake of clean water to survive.

Set up buckets

Before the disaster: Remember, when preparing, 2 is one and one is none. Also be aware that it is wise to have 2 buckets ready in case someone does become ill while waiting for services to be restored.

  • Have a ready set up 2 5-gallon buckets with lids attached. These set ups are easily found at your local Walmart, camping store and even some hardware stores that carry camping supplies. Inside each bucket place:
    • A ziplock bag with several pairs disposable gloves
    • Personal wipes or baby wipes
    • Hand sanitizer
    • Toilet paper
    • Large towels to place under buckets
    • Several heavy duty 13 gallon bags that can line the bucket for safe disposal after use. Double line the buckets.
    • Pine shavings for odor control, these can be found in feed stores. Put a large handful in several ziplock bags
    • I have experience with the pooh bags and deodorizers sold in camping stores and online. These are a good choice for temporary camping outings. The bags are usually biodegradable, and they do fall apart if left for any amount of time. For extended periods of service disruptions using pine shavings and regular, disposable kitchen garbage bags work a lot better.
  • If privacy is an issue, purchase a pop-up shower privacy tent. Set up one of the portable toilets in it. Place a towel or small rug inside on the floor, to avoid movement.

Set up double bagged buckets, apply a handful of shavings to the bottom. Have a box with the other supplies in it readily available. After each use apply shavings on top of the waste. When halfway full, put on gloves and securely tie up the waste and dispose. Remove gloves, use hand sanitizer or if available thoroughly wash hands with clean water and soap.

A 1:10 bleach 1 part bleach to 10 parts water solution to clean the bucket and lid  between uses is a good practice.

 

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Massive Bread Recalls

“Make Your Own Bread”

 As we continue our preparedness series, learning to cook from scratch is one of the most important skills you can have. To begin with, there are many less ingredients needed to produce the same product. It is cheaper and you and your family eat healthier, resulting in overall increased health benefits.

Along with many other recalls this year alone, from meat to eggs to processed foods, ice cream, cheese, and on and on and on, I came across a massive bread recall, affecting 37 different types of bread. All types of bread, from dinner rolls to Hawaiian sandwich bread among others were in the recall.  The bread has potentially been infected with one of two bacteria- The two bacteria that have caused the recall were Cronobacter sakazakii and Clostridium botulinum.

Cronobacter sakazakii, recently linked to the recall of infant formulas symptoms vary widely. At risk groups- infants and the over 65 age population and those with compromised immune systems can cause severe blood infections and meningitis. Infections are rare, with only2-4 cases each year are recorded.

Clostridium botulinum,C. botulinum spores are often found on the surfaces of fruits and vegetables and in seafood. The organism grows best under low-oxygen conditions and produces spores and toxins. Symptoms of C botulinum are The first symptoms). These are followed by neurological symptoms: visual impairments (blurred or double vision), loss of normal throat and mouth functions (difficulty speaking and swallowing; dry mouth, throat, and tongue; and sore throat), general fatigue, lack of muscle coordination, and difficulty in breathing. Gastrointestinal symptoms may include abdominal pain, diarrhea, or constipation. Death is usually caused by respiratory failure and airway obstructions. When the diaphragm and chest muscles become fully involved, breathing is affected and results in death from asphyxia.

Other reasons to make your own bread

  • Unwanted commercial food additives, such as caramel coloring, dough risers, and many more ingredients have been linked to health issues. The USDA has a list of ingredients on their website that they consider “GRAS” generally accepted as safe for many products, not just bread. However, some of these products considered GRAS have been linked to diabetes, cancer and heart disease. (scroll to bottom of linked page for references)

(You may want to read about the 11 banned ingredients still allowed in the US)

  • More economicalThe average person in the US consumes 53 pounds of bread a year. That adds up to 212 lbs of bread a year. At $2.50- $4.00 a loaf at the supermarket that can add up to between $530 and $848 a year. To make a loaf of bread will cost between 80 cents and just under 2 dollars, depending on how and where you buy your ingredients and type of bread you are making.
  • Safer– You are less likely to need to throw out a single ingredient to make the bread than the entire loaf in the case of recalls.
  • A new skill learned. For those of you on the road to self-sufficiency, there are many cooking classes online to start learning the basics of the different types of flour and how they are used.
  • Sourdough, the original bread, before the adoption of dry yeast is more nutritious than standard bread. Pro Home Cooks has a playlist to help get you started if you are so inclined.
  • Either way (using dry yeast or sourdough), making your own bread helps cut the apron strings of dependence on the system.

For those with wheat sensitivities and other allergies I will be writing a post on this soon. (I have firsthand knowledge on this and can offer lots of tips and strategies to negotiate eating out, cooking, etc.)

 

 

Lifesaving Medications

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