As October breezes it's way into Southern California, so does the very breezy Santa Ana Winds, a novelty to our area, and a firefighter's worst nightmare. Add some very dry brush, a lack of rain, (again), to the area, and still summer-like temps of up to 100 in the Valleys and Inland areas.
The first set of fires threatening homes, people, animals; started almost as if on schedule. To let us all know it was time to look at our kits for evacuation, whether it is for a fire, flood, earthquake or hurricane, tornado, thunderstorm....all the nature we live with; slamming the ground with such force that we need to leave. And FAST!!
Are you ready? It is not only important papers that need to go with you, but all of your medications, if you take them on a daily basis.
It is a good idea in any home with possible meds that are readily stolen by many people, these drugs are to be locked away at all times, and the rest kept on your person during the day. The bottles keep you safe with the law,instead of just keeping meds in a little carrier for the day. Many times, people will carry their meds that way, but this presents a problem: If you are stopped and the police find a medication holder full of different pills with no name, no doctor's name, etc. These MUST be kept on your person in the prescription bottle the meds came in originally.
When you lock up the bulk of your meds, make sure they are all in the same container that is either part of, or with your documents and other important papers. That way, if you need to evacuate, you and your meds will be together and no thought of withdrawal with have to enter minds.
During Katrina, and the suddenness of the levy breaks, many, many people had no time or chance to gather anything, they headed for their roofs to simply save their lives.
When I saw on TV the different people that were Chronically Ill, and had no insulin, no heart meds, no pain meds, nothing; I immediately thought of those with Pain and possible other illnesses. How hard it would be to go through evacuation, which must be painful to all bodies getting rescued from a helicopter, then know that you have no medicine to take. NOTHING. Then what? Some will begin to go into a diabetic shock, be completely incoherent, no food, no sugar, no carbs right away to stop the quite out of range blood sugar.
When you think of a person who has chronic pain, the meds taken most often are the very ones that begin a withdrawal syndrome in the patient very quickly. It just happens that the meds used for pain have a very bad side effect: Withdrawal from the meds cause extreme uncomfortable feelings, physical signs of not having the dose your body is used to on a daily basis.
What did these people do during the horrid mess that followed Katrina? How long did they suffer before their meds were available? When would their meds be available? What a horrible thing to have to endure. And while in even worse pain than usual!
When you first get your meds for the month, (keep some older bottles for this to help out), put about 3 days worth in your purse, in the original bottles, and pour the bulk of the med into last month's bottle. Keep these full bottles in your evacuation box, plastic holder, safe, wherever you have your important papers, etc. Make sure the room locks where you store the meds, or get a safe, keeping the aforementioned items there. Make sure there is no humidity in the area you keep meds in, the bathroom is the worst place to keep medications. The humidity has an adverse affect, along with warmth also. No meds in the bathroom medicine cabinet!!
I've seen some people, while doing Home Care Nursing, that have their meds spread out all over the house. There is no way they could leave in an evacuation, with those meds in time!! There would be too much searching. This has always made me crazy, and I taught my patients how to keep their meds all in one place; many older patients always picked a little basket in the kitchen, one lady even used it for a kitchen table centerpiece after she had gotten them all put together!
So, no matter where you love to live, and what kind of Mother Nature's wrath you must put up with there, keeping those medications that just may save your life, or keep you from going to the Hospital at least; by keeping them all together, safely locked, and easily gotten into by you, will prove to be the smartest thing that you have ever done--Whether you are asked to evacuate--or not!!!
I ask Mother Nature now that California is spared from a "Firestorm-- 2008", on the local news channels this year. Haven't missed the continuing coverage daily, of fires everywhere, some of which I've seen right out my window!
Just make sure your medications are ready to evacuate with you!
Technorati Tags: Medications, Evacuation, safe medication storage, pain, diabetes, Katrina, CA Wildfires, Santa Ana Winds
[Caption]
The first set of fires threatening homes, people, animals; started almost as if on schedule. To let us all know it was time to look at our kits for evacuation, whether it is for a fire, flood, earthquake or hurricane, tornado, thunderstorm....all the nature we live with; slamming the ground with such force that we need to leave. And FAST!!
Are you ready? It is not only important papers that need to go with you, but all of your medications, if you take them on a daily basis.
It is a good idea in any home with possible meds that are readily stolen by many people, these drugs are to be locked away at all times, and the rest kept on your person during the day. The bottles keep you safe with the law,instead of just keeping meds in a little carrier for the day. Many times, people will carry their meds that way, but this presents a problem: If you are stopped and the police find a medication holder full of different pills with no name, no doctor's name, etc. These MUST be kept on your person in the prescription bottle the meds came in originally.
When you lock up the bulk of your meds, make sure they are all in the same container that is either part of, or with your documents and other important papers. That way, if you need to evacuate, you and your meds will be together and no thought of withdrawal with have to enter minds.
During Katrina, and the suddenness of the levy breaks, many, many people had no time or chance to gather anything, they headed for their roofs to simply save their lives.
When I saw on TV the different people that were Chronically Ill, and had no insulin, no heart meds, no pain meds, nothing; I immediately thought of those with Pain and possible other illnesses. How hard it would be to go through evacuation, which must be painful to all bodies getting rescued from a helicopter, then know that you have no medicine to take. NOTHING. Then what? Some will begin to go into a diabetic shock, be completely incoherent, no food, no sugar, no carbs right away to stop the quite out of range blood sugar.
When you think of a person who has chronic pain, the meds taken most often are the very ones that begin a withdrawal syndrome in the patient very quickly. It just happens that the meds used for pain have a very bad side effect: Withdrawal from the meds cause extreme uncomfortable feelings, physical signs of not having the dose your body is used to on a daily basis.
What did these people do during the horrid mess that followed Katrina? How long did they suffer before their meds were available? When would their meds be available? What a horrible thing to have to endure. And while in even worse pain than usual!
When you first get your meds for the month, (keep some older bottles for this to help out), put about 3 days worth in your purse, in the original bottles, and pour the bulk of the med into last month's bottle. Keep these full bottles in your evacuation box, plastic holder, safe, wherever you have your important papers, etc. Make sure the room locks where you store the meds, or get a safe, keeping the aforementioned items there. Make sure there is no humidity in the area you keep meds in, the bathroom is the worst place to keep medications. The humidity has an adverse affect, along with warmth also. No meds in the bathroom medicine cabinet!!
I've seen some people, while doing Home Care Nursing, that have their meds spread out all over the house. There is no way they could leave in an evacuation, with those meds in time!! There would be too much searching. This has always made me crazy, and I taught my patients how to keep their meds all in one place; many older patients always picked a little basket in the kitchen, one lady even used it for a kitchen table centerpiece after she had gotten them all put together!
So, no matter where you love to live, and what kind of Mother Nature's wrath you must put up with there, keeping those medications that just may save your life, or keep you from going to the Hospital at least; by keeping them all together, safely locked, and easily gotten into by you, will prove to be the smartest thing that you have ever done--Whether you are asked to evacuate--or not!!!
I ask Mother Nature now that California is spared from a "Firestorm-- 2008", on the local news channels this year. Haven't missed the continuing coverage daily, of fires everywhere, some of which I've seen right out my window!
Just make sure your medications are ready to evacuate with you!
Technorati Tags: Medications, Evacuation, safe medication storage, pain, diabetes, Katrina, CA Wildfires, Santa Ana Winds
[Caption]
