How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It - James Wesley Rawles [115]
Note: There is a difference of opinion in medical circles about suppressing a fever with a nonseasonal influenza. It all depends on the particular strain. Before using aspirin (for adults) or acetaminophen (for children and adults), check the literature on the current flu strain. If there are widespread reports of cytokine-storm reactions, then suppressing a fever might be a good thing. As always, you should consult a medical professional before taking any medications.
Statistically, the largest group killed by the 1918 flu was sixteen- to twenty-five-year-olds—those with the strongest immune systems. Those patients often died because their bodies fought the virus too vigorously in a cytokine storm. Aspirin can help suppress the response that leads to a cytokine overreaction. Again, there is still considerable debate in medical literature over the issue of fever suppression versus the risk of cytokine overreaction in treating influenzas.
Respiratory flus such as the swine flu and Asian avian flu kill mainly via congestion. Buy a steam-type vaporizer. Stock up on expectorants containing guaifenesin as the main ingredient.
You will need to watch carefully for any symptoms of pneumonia. These include difficulty or painful breathing, a grunting sound when breathing (quite distinct from the wheezing of bronchitis or the “barking” of croup), extremely rapid breathing, flaring nostrils with each breath, or coughing up rust-colored phlegm. Pneumonia can be a deadly complication of the flu and is the main cause of flu-related death. It is important to note that pneumonia is typically a coinfection that can be either viral or bacterial. In case of a bacterial pneumonia, antibiotics are crucial for saving lives. If it is viral, there is not much that can be done. While antibiotics can clear infection, they cannot remove secretions. The patient must cough them all the way back up the respiratory tract. Do not use cough suppressants—anything with active ingredients like dextromethorphan or diphenhydramine. A wet cough that produces phlegm is a good thing. Your doctor might recommend expectorants, such as Robitussin. These are also available as generics, which are quite cheap, so stock up. You should also read up on postural drainage and percussion techniques for chest secretion clearance.
Avoid Exposure
Even though the chances of a full-scale “nation-busting” pandemic are small, the possibility definitely exists. A full-scale pandemic that starts taking lives on a grand scale may quite reasonably cause you to take some extreme measures to protect the lives of your family members. You can cut your chances of infection significantly if you prepare to live in isolation (a strict “self-quarantine”) for an extended period of time. You need to be ready to avoid all contact with other people during the worst of the pandemic.
History has shown that infectious diseases do their worst in urbanized regions, so if you can afford to, make plans to move to a lightly populated region, soon. Where? You can go to my blog (SurvivalBlog.com) for some detailed recommendations, but in general, I recommend moving west of the Missouri River (because of much lighter population density) to a rural, agricultural region. For more details on ideal retreats, see Chapter 3.
Aside from being actually coughed on or sneezed upon by an infected person, the most common way to catch the flu is by touching something that has been coughed on or sneezed upon by said infected person. For instance, the person who used the shopping cart before you might have had the flu. If he covered his mouth with his hand when he coughed and then used that very hand to push the cart around the store, you could catch an infection if you rubbed your eye or nose, introducing the virus to your most vulnerable point of infection.
To protect yourself (at least marginally) from infected spittle,