Keeping Clean

More people die of illness than a disaster.
A large percentage of them through contracting waterborne
or “insect” disaster diseases.

Yet not a lot is talked about them.
There is a simple priority list forming here.

• Clean water
• Safe Food
• Clean you
• Clean clothing
• Clean environment

Water speaks for itself.
It’s got to be clean and safe.
Once you are out of a potable water zone (industry cleaned water supply), you should NEVER drink anything you are 200% sure is safe.

Safe Food.
Starts with a clean you! WASH YOUR HANDS.
Used to supermarket food and a nice clean kitchen to prepare it in?
You may still have one BUT if you’ve no cooker, clean water, or even a kitchen, life gets hard fast.

Simple things like washing vegetables.
Cleaning your pots and pans. preparing meat.
Want to cook rice?
First make your water safe.
Won’t cooking with it kill the germs off?
Probably not.
Twice the fuel, once to purify the water, once to cook with.
Then you’ve got to clean up your pots and pans. ANOTHER load of hot water!

Clean you.
Every morning you’ll probably toilet, have a wash, clean your teeth, men (and some girls) shave.
So everyday without fail you need to clean you.
Preferable when you have got up and before you go to bed.

Toileting brings about a MAJOR hygiene concern especially if you are sharing “facilities”.
TOILET PAPER,waste disposal, let alone keeping the porcelain clean.
Washing your hands before and afterwards.
Why before? What have you been doing?
If it’s a mucky job, you’re about to touch “intimate” parts of you with contaminated hands.
Hot purified water is needed to wash in.
Clean your teeth with non purified water and you may pay for it big time if not terminally.
Shaving? Don’t cut yourself using unclean water as you’ll main line the bugs straight into your blood supply.

Clean Clothing.
Stands to reason really. Dirt and smells attract bugs.
Dirt also destroys the insulation capabilities of your clothing.

Unkempt, scruffy appearance may be part of the Gray man persona BUT if you are looking for employment, a “squared away” person will get the job before some jerk with poor personal hygiene.

I’m not talking about creases in trousers but clean, free of marks, and kept in good repair says a lot.

Clean Environment.
Ever slept in a squat? I have yet it took me a while to realize that not all squats are equal.
The old settee might look comfortable but it’s full of body lice or bed bugs.
The mice droppings are a sign of danger, the dirty floor is a sign that filth is tracking into your bedroom.

Carpets are flea magnets, and toilets?
Don’t even go there.
In some squats I’ve gone outside to dig a hole than use the “facilities”.
Dig? Fold-able spade, toilet paper, washing you, and the spade afterwards.

Just a thought here, how many of you have squatted for a ‘POO’ lately?
Not easy especially if you are older or disabled.
Something to factor into your calculations.
A bit of practice I’m thinking.

So, how to wash. Two depths, daily and deeply.

Daily.
It’s vital to look over your whole body. Any ticks need to be removed, cuts and abrasions cleaned and covered, any rashes or other problems discovered and dealt with.

Purify and heat water.
Clean your teeth, rinsing out with clean water (Spit into loo NOT your washing water).
Wash toothbrush.
You’ll need Toothbrush, toothpaste, any dental hygiene things like tooth picks.

Toothpaste?
At a pinch, salt works or Bicarbonate of Soda. One tub lasts for 4 months. You don’t need a lot. Tastes horrible but a cup of tea soon restores happiness.

Wash your face, underarms, genitals, and feet.
You’ll need soap, flannel, clean towel.
Soap?
I carry a travel bottle of liquid soap which I refill from a public toilet soap dispenser if all else fails.
Now shave in clean water. Why?
Your used wash water may contain bugs.
One nick, and you could get ill.
You’ll need a razor, spare blades, soap, nick stick to stop any bleeding.
Now comb or brush your hair.

Deeply.
You’ll need loads of purified water, preferably hot. Looking for a bath to stand in or a clean dustbin, or make a simple tarpaulin shower tray.

Start at the top.
Shampoo, sluicing the water all over you you’ll need a bowl to rinse out your hair.
Wash as before.
It’s vital to look over your whole body. Any ticks need to be removed, cuts and abrasions cleaned and covered, any rashes or other problems discovered and dealt with.

Deodorants.
It’s daft to use these.
At best they clog up your under arm pores which you cannot clean effectively without hot water.
The result is underarm and between the legs boils after a while.

A body smelling of soap is better AND more socially acceptable than trying to hide the stink of unwashed flesh.  Even baby powder clogs up the pores.

Your feet are different though.
ALWAYS dust your feet with a good anti fungal powder.
Keep them clean, dry, and healthy.
CHANGE YOUR SOCKS AND INSOLES IF THEY GET DAMP OR SMELLY.

Clothing.
Everyday, sponge off any marks.
You’ll need a face flannel or sponge BUT don’t use anything you wash your body with.
Repair any tears.
A quickie fix is to back a tear with duct tape. Then press the cloth onto the tape and with care, it can make for an almost invisible repair.

Check your seams.
Ticks, body lice, and bed bugs, love seams.

FOOTWEAR health is vital.
Keep them clean and polished.
It’s not vanity, clean polished footwear is generally waterproofed by the polish and muck doesn’t readily stick to it.

Keep footwear dry, and aired.
Dust your feet and shoes regularly to stop fungal infections.
Change your insoles if they wet wet or soiled.
That may necessitate carrying a couple of changes of insoles.
DON’T forget a good foot dusting powder and when ever possible,
WEAR CLEAN DRY SOCKS.

Bedding.
Air your bedding EVERYDAY without fail.
If you have liners, air them too.
That’s ALL items, your bag, your pillow, AND the liner.
A light dusting of Permethrin on the outside will help as will a dusting on your outer clothing.
Don’t forget, what you lay your bedding on may be unclean. Get used to putting a large groundsheet down first and dust it lightly to deter crawling bugs.

Finally Cooking Gear.
You’ll probably be like me, a covered billy can with the lid used as a little frying pan.
I have a cereal bowl. Knife fork and spoon, and my trusty metal mug.
To keep then clean I use a green scourer (or preferably my stainless steel scourer pad) and a travel bottle full of liquid soap.

I carry a travel bottle of liquid soap which I refill from a public toilet soap dispenser if all else fails.
You’ve read that earlier and wondering why I’m using the same soap.
Soaps job is to cut through grease.
That’s it.

It don’t matter if it’s expensive or cheap, that’s all soap does.
Posh stuff smells nicer but you’ll be rinsing your utensils off and drying them so smelly shouldn’t come into it.

CLEANLINESS IS VITAL TO MAINTAIN
GOOD PERSONAL HYGIENE
BUT YOU WON’T ACHIEVE IT
WITHOUT CLEAN WATER AND SOAP.

Fire

Fire is essential.
Without it you can’t keep warm, purify and heat water, cook food, and keep clean.
It can also deter wildlife and insects depending on what you are burning.

Fire has its Persec problems though.
Both the flame and smoke are visible and is sometimes smelly.
Remember, your scene of smell is probably your most keen sense.
It ‘consumes’ the air and produces poisonous gases i.e. Carbon monoxide.
Don’t forget, no liquid fuels burn ‘cleanly’.
Some produce their own blend of poisonous fumes.

Three things are needed for fire to happen.
Heat, Oxygen, and Fuel.
Remove one of the three and the fire goes out.

There are FOUR definite stages to getting a fire started.
1. Preparation of the materials and the fireplace.
2. An ignition device to get an easily flammable material (tinder) burning.
3. Burning Tinder is used to ignite kindling which raises
the temperature high enough for:-
4. The fuel to reach self sustaining burning.

Ignition Methods
These have to provide a decent hot flame or spark to ignite the tinder. I carry all of these in a little Altoids Tin.

Common strike anywhere matches dipped into candle wax
A disposable gas lighter
A ZIPPO lighter plus spare flints and a wick.
Straws filled with cotton wool balls and sealed at the ends with wax.
A lip sized tin of Vaseline.
A couple of tea candles
A couple of joke cake candles (you can’t blow them out)
A few strips of thinly cut up inner tube rubber 5 mm wide, 10 cm long.
(This burns well even if wet.)
A Metal match (aka Ferrocerium, fire stick)
A ball of fine wire wool
Eye dropper bottle full of petrol or lighter fluid.

I’m not a fan of friction lighting methods or faddy fire piston tools. They need extensive practise and are hugely dependent on materials and the dampness in the air.

Tinder and Kindling
Tinder is DRY material easily lit by spark, friction, or flame.
Keep sealed with ignition devices.

Examples are:
Cotton wool or lint. Lint is the fluff you get inside your pockets or from tumble dryers.
Just a spark from a metal match gets this going.
A smear of Vaseline and it burns longer and HOTTER.
Ether, alcohol, acetone and most highly inflammable liquids flare well BUT they don’t burn hot on their own so drizzling them onto something like wood shavings, dead grass, or straw, helps to get a longer lasting flame going.

Kindling
Now you’re looking for stuff.
Kindling is readily combustible material added to the burning tinder.
Kindling should be absolutely dry to ensure rapid burning.
Its job is to heat the fuel to burning temperature.

Examples are:
Dry bark, split dry wood and feather or fiddlesticks which are dry twigs that have been partially shaved backwards to make a sort of Christmas tree ‘fluffiness’, Shredded Cardboard, dry leaves, punk (very dry rotten wood), fuel like diesel poured onto wood. Thin rubber strips from bicycle inner tubes burn well even if they are wet.

Fuel
Fuel is less combustible material that burns slowly and steadily once ignited. Think long burning things, Wood, coal, charcoal, etc.

Preparation
Getting all the bits and pieces together, even the container to put them in. Don’t start without everything in place.
Making sure that you’ve got adequate ventilation and that you fire cannot be seen or ‘smelt’.
Remember, most modern buildings i.e. warehouses have some sort of fire detection. It’s a bit pointless sneaking into a building for shelter if all you are going to do is draw the attention of the fire brigade because you didn’t cover over all the fire sensors.

Prepare the place where you are going to light your fire carefully. It needs to be dry (if not put a layer of wood down to insulate it from the wet ground), out of draughts BUT well ventilated, covered preferably, and with a fuel store RIGHT ALONGSIDE the fire.

You can NEVER have enough kindling. Collect what you think you need to get the fire going and then triple that amount.
Poor or wet fuel will eventually burn but scrambling round looking for more kindling means that you are not pouring on the heat on the whole time.
Once the fuel catches, it should be hot enough to heat the next load of fuel BUT, if the next fuel gets wet, you’ll wish you collected more and kept it covered alongside the fire.

Finally, no matter what shape of fire you build:-
The fuel goes round the outside,
Kindling goes in the middle,
Leaving a space for you to add the lit tinder.

It doesn’t stop there though.
 

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STOVES

Most preppers and survivalists use some sort of stove.
Gas, liquid fuel (probably spirit), or solid fuel. The process of getting them going will need an ignition source.

Folk sometimes don’t consider the base they are mounting the stove on and ventilation.
Poor Mounting is common.
A lit stove falling over is a burn hazard,

Adequate ventilation if often forgotten about.
A stove is good at “stealing” all of your oxygen whilst producing hazardous fumes and Carbon Monoxide.
Both of which can induce unconsciousness and ultimately death.

It’s basics time.

Gas stoves need – – – gas.  They won’t burn anything else and gas is not readily available everywhere especially if you get caught out in the field with a bottle that has leaked, no hot food for you.

Some liquid stoves can burn a wide range of fuels i.e. white gas, petrol, kerosene, paraffin, diesel, and aviation fuel.
They are mainly pressurised, high tech, and in the UK expensive.

•     Chinese cheapies £40 (ish)
•     Rip off UK £60 upwards.

There is an alternative though.

Enter the simple spirit stoves.

• The Trangia, and the DIY two coke can stoves or,
• The Japanese Cyclone spirit stove one baked bean tin or iron juice can and some origami folding.

No moving parts, slower than the pressurized.
If it’s a flammable fluid it’ll probably burn.
Sometimes not cleanly and unless you use a covered Billy can, the fumes or smoke can taint your water or food.

Altoids or Cat Tin Stoves.
Simple non pressurized tins with holes in.
Again a wide range of flammables will burn.

CAUTION:-
Burning anything smokey, smelly,
or not, only use lidded Billy cans.

As for heat control?
Some spirit stoves allow the fitting of a simmer ring but as for “fine control” NO.

Solid Fuel? Esbit. Clean burning “fire lighters” although I use standard white domestic blocks.
Slow, Eats a lot of fuel and not controllable in the slightest. See Caution above.

Finally the good old wood fire.
Slow, can be smokey, takes a bit of skill.
The choice of design is endless from open fires to stick wood in a Dakota fire hole, to the rocket and  hobo stoves, and the sophisticated wood gas types.
See Caution above.

I prefer the “Keep it Simple Types”.
I’m playing with cat tin and cyclone stoves at this moment.
Once I’ve got a design that works EVERY TIME, I’ll post pictures.

Water

All water should be considered unsafe until purified.

Do not use:

Roadside and field drainage, water down stream from a town, industrial units, or a riverside community.

Never use:-
Sea water, De-ionized water, or urine.

Don’t try to purify water:-

• If there has been a CBRN event.
• It has a chemical smell or foam deposits.
• It looks stagnant, thicker than usual, wiggly things in it, and mosquitoes ‘dipping’.
• There are dead plants and animals in or near it.
• There is loads of algae i.e. it looks green, brown, and feels ‘slimy’.

Water Processing

Best way is a rolling boil for ONE MINUTE OR THREE MINUTES IF THE ALTITUDE IS OVER 2000 METERS.
Then let it cool naturally.
This will kill bacterial, parasitic, and viral causes of diarrhoea.
Adding a pinch of salt to a liter will improve the taste.

Reverse osmosis filters guard against cysts like Crypto and Giardia.
Fine ceramic filters whose ABSOLUTE FILTER SIZE is less than  ONE MICRON can filter out Crypto and Giardia.

Bleach and Iodine will kill most bacteria and viruses BUT NOT cysts like Crypto and Giardia.

The following information is for information purposes only:-

Bleach. (5%)

Useful life is only 6 months open or not.
Use plain non scented, non thickened, household Sodium hypochlorite bleach to the following

Dilution.
8 Drops per 2 Liters of water and stand for 30 mins.
It must smell of Chlorine at the end of that time.

If it does not, repeat the dose and leave for a further 15 minutes.
IT MUST SMELL OF CHLORINE AT THIS TIME.
If it does not, either the water is bad OR THE BLEACH HAS LOST IT’S POTENCY.

You have no choice now, start again from a different water source. Remember bleach only has a life of 6 months whether you have used it or not.

Tincture or Topical solutions of Iodine (2.4% solution)

Note:- 20 drops = 1 ml

Use To the following Dilutions

5 drops  to 1 Liter of warm clear water.

10 drops to 1 Liter of Cloudy water

Allow the water to stand for:

30 mins. if the water temperature is  25 Celsius

1 hour  if the water temperature is  15 Celsius

2 hours  if the water temperature is  5 Celsius

Add a soluble Vitamin C tablet to counter the taste AFTER the standing time.

Caution:-

Iodine is NOT recommended for pregnant women, people with thyroid problems, those with known hypersensitivity to iodine, or continuous use for more than a few weeks at a time.

Disclaimer:

I am not a qualified medic.

As this concerns the use of chemicals, you should check my data against another source before using it.

I shall not be held responsible if you don’t.

You should have checked!

Bug Out Bag (B.O.B.)

The item count will look daunting BUT remember you can pick and chose what you want to take.

You also don’t need to buy everything in one go.
You’re going to find that you’ve got most of the items anyway.

Your first purchase has got to be a bag to carry in all in.
The easiest thing to use is a rucksack.
Not because it’s cool or macho, it’s just easier to carry a load on your shoulders keeping your hands free.
Having said that, there aren’t any rules here.
You can use a roller bag, that’s OK.
For the disabled, old, or very young it’s easier.

Colour Code Optional , UK Legal, Restricted Carry, Illegal Items

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Shelter 1 Tent With Sewn in Ground Sheet (Car Load) 1 Tarpaulin (Preferably Coated PU with eyelets) 3 meters x 5 meters 1 Groundsheet 2 meters x 3 meters 30 meters of Nylon Cordage (Para Cord) 1 Sleeping Bag, 2 each liners & pillow cases 1 Boot Bag, Brush, and Polish Shaker Bottle of Permethrin

Fire Starting
1 Bic Gas Lighter
1 Zippo lighter, Spare flints & wick
1 Ferrocerium Stick (aka fire steel, metal match)
1 Box Strike anywhere Wax dipped matches
12 Cotton Wool balls (in straws)
12 Fine Wire Wool (in straws)
1 Vaseline “Lip sized” Tin

Cooking
1 Billy can should contain a simple pan.
1 Spirit Stove (Altoids Tin)
1 Collapsible Pot Stand
1 Fuel Bottle with denatured Alcohol
2 Army style Can openers
1 Knife, Fork, and Spoon Set
1 Cereal Bowl Plastic or Stainless Steel
1 Mug
1 Canvas Washing Bowl
1 Tea towel
1 Scourer
1 travel bottle of washing liquid.

Basic Food Stuff
Many Salt, pepper, sugar, creamer Wraps
Many OXO Cubes
4 Soya Meals
6 Soup Powder (Cup-a- Soup)
2 kg Rice

(Only if If taking a vehicle:)
Cans
Flour
Pasta
Milk Powder
Oils

Water Purification
1 Eye dropper bottle with tincture of iodine 2.4%
1 Eye dropper bottle plain thin bleach 5.0%
1 Packet Water Purification Tablets
1 Decorators plastic Sheet
2 Two liter Water bottles
1 Filter Kit
2 pairs ladies ankle “tights”

Foul Weather and PPE
1 Waterproof Cape or poncho ( Rip Stop)
1 Waterproof leggings
1 Waterproof Gaiters or Puttees
1 Pair Safety Glasses
6 Foam Ear Plugs
3 Folding FFP3 Masks
1 Pair Simple Overalls
1 Square Cotton Scarf
1 Heavy Rubber dipped working gloves

First Aid Kit
Wear Glasses? Carry a spare set.
2 each Bandages 75 mm and 50 mm
12 Assorted Safety pins
12 of Sterile Gauze Squares
1 Box Assorted Plasters
1 Elastic Bandage 75mm
12 Medical inspection Gloves
1 Each Micropore and
Zinc Oxide Tape
1 Plastic Sheet 30 x 30 cm
2 Quikclot Sachets
1 Set of Steri-strips
4 Sachets Wound Wash
1 Bottle No water Hand Wash (Alcohol)
2 Sachets Sterile Water (eye wash)
12 Salt Wraps
12 Sugar wraps
1 Scalpel
12 various blades
1 Scissors
1 Tweezers Pointed
1 Tweezers Dressing
1 Magnifying Glass
1 Artery Forceps straight
1 Artery Forceps curved
1 Set Tick Hooks
1 AA / AAA Bright Torch
1 Wind up or solar Radio

Drugs List
Your prescription medications (28 days)
Any medical appliances
Carry a copy or spare doctors prescription script
Your treatment Book,
NHS Card or E111,
National Insurance Number
Paracetamol
12 Imodium Capsules (loperamide hydrochloride)
Flu Treatment (LemSips)

Decongestants ( phenylephrine hydrochloride)

Anhydrous Caffeine Tabs (ProPlus)
Vitamin C Soluble Tablets
Oral Re-hydration powder
Electrolytes Powder
2 x 5 cc (5 ml),  Sterile Hypodermic Syringe
6 Hypo Needles IM 1 – 1 1/2 inch # 20 or 22 G
6 Hypo Needles SC 1/2 – 5/8 inch # 25 to 30 G

Toilet Bag
1 Red bag holding
1 Roll Sandwich bags with ties or 30cm Square Zip-lock Bags
2 PACKETS of toilet Paper
1 Packet of Wet Wipes
1 Bottle No water Hand Wash (Alcohol)

Personal Hygiene
2 Hand Towels
1 Soap bag containing
1 Face Flannel
1 Nail Brush
1 Soap Dish and plain soap
2 Tooth Brushes
1 Tooth Paste or Bicarbonate of Soda
1 Travel Shampoo
1 Metal Mirror
1 Razor
1 Packet of Razor Blades
1 Folding Hair Brush
1 Carton of ear buds
1 Set Blunt Tweezers
1 Pair Nail Cutters
1 Tin anti-fungal foot powder
1 Shaker bottle of 0.5% Permethrin
1 Collapsible Washing Bowl (Canvas)Tools:
Kukri and Sharpening Stone
Lock Knife
Dumpy claw hammer
Multi-tool (With Lockable Tools)
2 Plastic Door Wedges
2 Reels Duct Tape
2 Solar LED Torches
6 Snares (Brass )
Fishing Line (100 meters / 20 kg)
Assorted Fishing Hooks (6) Carp, (6) Triples
6 Arrow Heads (DIY)
1″ Split Rings (Key Rings)
Lock Pick Set

Warded lock bypass keys
Shove-it Tool
Unfolded Coke Can Padlock Shims
Heavy Paper clips,
1 meter of Plastic Box strapping
1 Auto-punch
6 100 mm wire Nails

Sewing Kit
Sewing, Canvas, and Darning Needles
Needle threaders
Thimble
Small Scissors
Sewing Thread Card Black, White, Blue
Drab Wool skein
Large Buttons
Candle End
20kg plain mono-filament fishing line (Note already in Tools)
DUCT Tape (For invisible repairs)

Clothing
Woolly Watch Cap
Floppy Hat
Woollen Gloves
Woollen Mittens
Waterproof Over mittens
Scarf (aka Shemagh)
Hooded Coat (Waterproof and Breathable)
Body Warmer
1 Hooded fleece
3 Fleeced shirts (long sleeved)
3 Tee Shirts
3 Pairs Pants / Knickers
3 Vest / sports bra
6 pair soft long Thermal cotton rich socks
2 pairs Thick Bed Socks
1 Pair Jogging Pants
1 Pair Work Trousers
1 Heavy Webbing Belt
1 Pair light footwear i.e. Moccasins or slippers
1 Pair Work Boots
2 Pairs Boot Laces

Finances and Documentation
Money, as much as you can.
Plastic Cards (Photocopy as well)
Precious Metals (Optional)
Passport (Photocopy)
Birth Certificate (Photocopy)
Marriage Certificate (Photocopy)
Photo Driving License Pt 1&2 (Photocopy)
All Insurance Cover Notes (Photocopy)
P60, P45, Tax Reference (Photocopy)
National Insurance Number (Photocopy)
Current Utility Bill (Photocopy)
Current Council Tax Bill (Photocopy)
Address Book with Account numbers,
and Insurance Details

Communications
Mobile Phone
Solar Charger or car charger
CB Radio (Handheld)
Car Kit
Phone card
£5 in phone coin

Weapons

Colour Coded for UK Legal, Restricted Carry, Not allowed.

2 Walking Sticks (Wood or Metal)
Slingshot
Spare power bands

Take Down Bow and Arrows
Crossbow
Crossbow Bolts
Broad head Tips
Spare Strings & consumables
Air Gun
Spare Seals
Lube Kit
Cleaning Kit
Air Gun Pellets

Firearms
Ammunition
Cleaning Kit,
Spare firing pin
Spare Magazines
Licenses (if Applicable) (Photocopy)

Pet Kits.
The only thing to hang onto is a dog. Cats, birds, mice, all basically useless in a survival situation.
Just let them free.

Dog Kit.

Dog Food
Canvas drinking Bowl
Dog Dish
Spare Collar
Inoculation Certificates
Any special medications
Flea & Tick Treatments (Frontline)
Brush

Finally to the experts. Every kit is different. 

Returning to Stay or Go

I don’t advocate leaving your home voluntarily

UNLESS YOU HAVE NO OTHER OPTION.

Common sense says that
you should plan for the worst.

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Some reasons for leaving your home are:-

Your personal safety is threatened.
A natural disaster forces you out.
You’ve no food, water, sanitation, or heat.
The Rule of Law collapses. (Riots, Looting)
You are ordered to leave.(Eviction, Evacuation)

You should give the decision to leave a lot of thought even if you are ordered to leave.

Consider that if you leave, your home will probably be invaded by looters.
Everything you left will either be stolen or destroyed.

You could even return to a burnt out shell.

Don’t forget if you haven’t got anywhere safe to go to (or a means to travel), your self protection will be down to you and outside your home there’s precious little protection.

There is also two other problems.
What you’ll take with you, and how long you’ll be away.

Talking about this is important as you need to plan.

Preppers and survivalists all talk of a taking a single bag with sufficient kit to survive for 3 days. Why 3 days?
The official rationale is that the emergency services “usually” take no longer than 3 days to reach you.

Consider this though.
When Sheffield got flooded in 2007, help was present the whole time BUT people were still living in caravans a year after the event. Some lost everything.

It’s a good idea to have a “grab” bag with the essentials in and each person will need their own.
It’s not just a stash away and forget about thing though.
It will need to be maintained.
You should also practise both day and night the process of evacuation.
Your target should be 30 minutes.

There is much debate on the contents of this bag.
This “BOB, PERK, or GOOD” bag (got to love those acronyms)  is detailed in WIKI and FEMA who list the contents they consider important.
The old DirectGov site listed one.

Things you can do to be prepared for this possibility are to:

put together a grab bag of essential items you might need in an emergency – eg spare cash, warm clothes, food and water
if you have a car, keep it well maintained and keep bottled water and blankets in the boot

Comprehensive wasn’t it?
Anyway that site has been replaced by Gov.UK, and try as I can. I can’t find ANY reference to a B.O.B.
I’ll list my bag on the next post.
It’s not perfect, and the Internet is full of experts to advise you.

Remember though in an emergency, you may have to carry it by hand so KEEP THE WEIGHT DOWN.

Heat Injury Avoidance

Methods of combating Heat Injuries

• Rest in the shade during the hottest part of the day.
• Keep your mouth shut and don’t talk.
• Don’t sweat, strip off excess clothing to keep cool but keep your skin covered.
• Keep your head covered.
• Use high factor sun screen to avoid sun burn.
• Wear Polarized wrap round sun glasses.
• Don’t suck sweets, stones, smoke, or consume alcohol.

Drink fresh water.
An absolute minimum of 2 liters in a cool climate
More if it is cold ( hot decaffeinated drinks)
If it is hot, tropical hot, 4 to 6 liters as a minimum.

If you are going to eat, double the amount of water you drink. This amount does not include what you use to cook with, this is additional fluids.

Never DRINK sea water, urine, DE-ionized water (used for car batteries and steam irons), fish juices, or blood.
Don’t use sugared or alcoholic drinks as an alternative to pure water.

Emergency Re-hydration Fluids

Cholera and Dysentery are two of the common disaster diseases and can cause you to lose a liter of fluid AN HOUR.

A dose of Norwark does a pretty good job of stripping you of fluids too.
D.I.Y. Basic Oral Re-hydration Liquid.
1/2 teaspoon of salt ,
6 teaspoons of sugar,
and a liter of water.
A good temporary fix but you need proper electrolyte replacement therapy as well. You can buy these in tablet or powder form.
A D.I.Y. sugar free alternative with a mineral boost would be
2 liters of water
1 level teaspoon of salt
1 level teaspoon of baking soda
½ teaspoon of salt substitute (potassium salt)
This tastes pretty horrible so I always add an orange flavored vitamin C tablet.

Cold Injury Avoidance

How to prevent hypothermia.

DRINK lots, EAT well (Water permitting), don’t SWEAT,
REST before you are exhausted always make sure you are insulated from the ground and the WEATHER.

Hypothermia occurs because your core temperature falls too low.

The body loses heat in five ways:

RESPIRATION: Cover mouth and nose area with scarf.
EVAPORATION: Don’t sweat.
CONDUCTION: Sit and sleep on an insulated mat.
RADIATION: Wear a hat, scarf, and gloves.
CONVECTION: Wear breathable fabrics, if the sweat can’t escape, you get WET, add wind and you chill fast.

To avoid hypothermia remember the acronym C.O.L.D.
“C” Keep CLEAN

“O” Don’t overheat, make sure you keep hydrated

“L” Layers rule. If you get hot, remove layers BUT remember to ADD layers if you stop and cool down.
“D” Most important thing is to remain dry.

Make camp early, don’t wait until you are exhausted. Get out of the weather, build a fire, make your shelter as secure, dry, cosy, and as draught free as you can, drink something hot, and water allowing, eat.
Regarding your boots.
Clean them, bag them, store in the base of sleeping bag then you won’t get frostbite from wet, frozen footwear.
Cold Injuries

Chilblains  and Chilled exposed skin.
Are caused by exposure to temperatures from 0 to 15 Celsius (32 to 60 Fahrenheit).
The cold exposure causes damage to the capillary beds (groups of small blood vessels) in the skin.
This damage is permanent and recurrent i.e. get cold again and it will return.
The redness and itching occurs on all exposed skin i.e. Cheeks, ears, fingers, and toes.First Aid, get out of the cold and any wet clothing.Carefully dry the area, elevate the limb covering it with loose warm clothing and slowly warm it with natural body heat.Avoid scratching. Use cortico-steroid creams to relieve itching and swelling.

Keep blisters and ulcers clean and covered.

Frost Nip

Your skin has a little sensation, and feels waxy with the top layer hard or rubbery.

The deeper tissue is still soft, and it looks white.

First Aid, Shelter, dry out, keep warm
Immerse the affected area in warm “body heat” water round 98.6 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit or 37 to 37.5 degrees Celsius to thaw out the frozen tissue.

If you can’t use hot water, then use pure body heat.

Never use heat pads or stoves / fireplaces.

Heating has to be slow and gentle and all over.
CAUTIONS:

Don’t rub or massage the skin until it has re-warmed.

The skin is VERY susceptible to refreezing for at least 24 hours.
Freezing of Cornea.

Caused by forcing the eyes open during strong freezing winds without goggles.
Place a warm hand or compress over the closed eye.
After rewarming the eyes must be completely covered with patches for 24 – 48 hours.

Eyelashes freezing together
Put a warm hand over your eye until the ice melts.

Snow blindness.
Most symptoms occur 8-12 hours after exposure.
Eyes feel dry, irritated, full of sand, moving or blinking becomes extremely painful, light hurts, eyelids swell, red streaming eyes,
Treatment is cold compresses and a dark environment until pain stops.
Do not rub the eyes.
Prevent by wearing wrap round POLARIZED sun glasses.

Constipation
A common failing of people in a cold environment is they do not drink enough and get dehydrated.

Chapped lips
Caused by a loss of moisture in lip skin. Avoid licking your lips, stay hydrated.
Avoid smoking, coffee, and alcohol as they all dry out the skin.
Protect the skin from cold damage by smoothing on lip balm or petroleum jelly (Vaseline).

Trench Foot.
Caused by long immersion in water or damp socks.
You can lose heat 25 x faster when your feet are damp or wet.
More than 6 hours does permanent damage,
More then 24 hours can lead to the loss of a foot.
Caution: Don’t make people walk. i.e. carry them.
Treat by careful washing and drying of the feet, gentle rewarming and slight elevation.
Change into dry socks and boots.

Temperature Control

Shelter was discussed last and I’m going to talk about what happens if you can’t control your environment.

Too hot, too cold, they both have the potential to cause you harm if not death but what’s the normal BODY TEMPERATURE ?

OK, some folk will say their normal body temp is lower (or higher). I’m not too bothered.
You’ll know what is usual for you but bear in mind that your temperature will vary depending on how you take it, where, and when.
Too hot or cold, all treatment starts the same.
GET OUT OF THE WEATHER

Hypothermia (Too Cold) Symptoms and Treatments
Mild. (Body Temp 32 to 35ºC )

Symptoms include:
Shivering, feeling cold, lethargic, cold pale skin, and you may have a headache.

Treatment for Mild Hypothermia

1. GET OUT OF THE WIND AND INTO A SHELTER.
   Wind and wet clothes cause the body to lose heat faster than you can imagine.
2. Insulate yourself from the ground.
3. Change out of wet clothing for dry warm gear and don a woolen hat.
4. Add heat. If it is safe, start a fire.
5. If possible get into a sleeping bag or blankets preferably with a buddy and use shared heat to warm up.
6. Drink hot drinks, followed by sweets, chocolate, Dextrose or other high sugar foods.
7. Don’t rush things, wait until your temperature is normal i.e. round 37 Celsius

Moderate. (Body Temp 29 to 32ºC)

Symptoms include:
Violent uncontrollable shivering, inability to think or pay attention, confusion, memory loss, loss of judgement and reasoning skills, listlessness, indifference, weakness, difficulty in moving round i.e. stumbling, you feel afraid, and you are losing your hand / eye coordination. You’ll feel drowsy, possibly have slurred speech, and your breathing will slow down and become shallow as will your pulse.

Treatment for Moderate Hypothermia

1. As mild hypothermia but take care, rough handling may cause deadly heart rhythms.
2. You will need to PUT HEAT INTO THEM by using warm bottles of water, or warm rocks to the armpits and groin area.
3. Fully conscious victims can sip lukewarm sweetened, non alcoholic fluids. If their condition is clearly improving then more fluids, warmth, and energy foods.
4. If they want to sleep, try and keep them awake until their core temperature is normal i.e. round 37 ºC.

 Severe. (Body Temp 28ºC or lower)

Symptoms include:
Loss of control of your hands and limbs, uncontrollable shivering that suddenly stops, unconsciousness, shallow or no breathing, weak irregular or no pulse. You’ll be stiff, your pupils will be dilated, you may even try to undress or hide in a confined space.
Your body temperature will be round 28 ºC.

This is it. You need help as you cannot help yourself.

 

Treatment for severe hypothermia.

 

Be gentle. A hard knock or jolt and their heart could stop.
Even standing them up is dangerous. Rubbing the skin or moving of the joints should be avoided. This causes more harm than good.

1. Get a couple of people to get under a pile of blankets or in a sleeping bag, strip off, and get skin on skin contact of the torso, a person on each side of the victim.
2. They must not be left alone or allowed to go to sleep
3. No fluids or make any other attempts to increase body temperature.
4. Slowly gently, heating the person with body heat, nothing more.
5. If a person becomes unconscious from hypothermia monitor their breathing and pulse carefully. If their heart stops, don’t rush in, sometimes the heart slows down to a mere flutter. If you CPR a fluttering heart you could kill them.

Remember:-

You’re only frozen to death if you are warm and dead.

No heartbeat doesn’t mean they are dead.

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Hyperthermia (Too Hot) Symptoms and Treatment

This is not sunburn, it’s when your CORE temperature gets too high.
The two stages are Heat Exhaustion and Heat Stroke and they are closely interlinked. Both have the potential to KILL YOU.

Sunburn:

Sunburn is when the skin reddens (burns), feels painful, blisters, and the skin feels hot to the touch.
The condition can cause burns that can be so bad as to need skin grafting.

 

Avoid it by covering up i.e. wearing long trousers, sleeves and a wide brim hat. Always wear wrap round sunglasses

 

This is NOT Heat stress (exhaustion) or heat stroke BUT sufferers may exhibit these symptoms and should be treated accordingly i.e. action taken to drop the core temperature.

 

Sunburn treatment:
The basics of burn treatment i.e. Cool the burn with lukewarm bathing of the skin with baby lotion dissolved in the water.
Aloe Vera contains an anti inflammatory as does lavender oil, eucalyptus and chamomile (camomile) oils.

Never use oil or butter on burns as it has no cooling effect and actually helps to keep the heat in by preventing sweat and therefore evaporation cooling.

Don’t break blisters and don’t scratch the skin as it is VERY fragile and easily infected.

In a survival situation, simple infections can KILL.

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The first Stage is Heat Exhaustion:

Symptoms include headache, dizziness, possible fainting, weakness, and a WET skin i.e. you’re sweating but it’s not evaporating. You could be irritable, confused, thirsty, feeling nausea and you may start vomiting. 

Heat Exhaustion Treatment 

The basic treatment is to get out of the heat and into the shade FAST and rehydrate.
Remove outer clothing and drink lots of cold water with oral rehydration salts while sponging down or taking a cool NOT A COLD shower.

You can make up your own with 1/2 teaspoon of salt , 6 teaspoons of sugar, and a litre of water.

Keep going until your core temperature drops
below 37.5 ºC (100 ºF).

You can stop drinking when you are passing clear urine.

Finally rest in the shade for at least 24 hours.

The Second Stage is Heat Stroke:

The transition into heat stroke can occur in minutes so if you are treating heat exhaustion, NEVER leave the patient alone, monitor them carefully until the crisis is totally over as the patient will feel better quickly BUT may still have a high internal core body temperature.

Symptoms include:
High body temperature (but NOT SWEATING), hot, red, flushed skin, rapid pulse, difficulty breathing. You exhibit strange behaviour, suffer from hallucinations, confusion, agitation, disorientation, followed by seizures, coma and finally DEATH.

Heat Stroke Treatment

Treat as heat exhaustion PLUS place cloth wrapped ice packs under the armpits and to the groin. DON’T “wet towel body wrap” but spray or pour cool water or immerse in a cool (NOT COLD) bath. 

CAUTIONS: 

Cold water can induce shock as the body will react by trying to keep it’s core warm which is exactly what you are trying to cure.

Feeling better quickly is a feature of heat stroke. Don’t stop! 
Do everything slowly and keep going till the core temperature drops below 37.5 ºC (100 ºF).

Now rest in the shade for at least 24 hours. You will definitely need Oral re hydration salts. But you can stop when you are passing clear urine.

Prevent sun damage by staying out of the sun so shelter, rest frequently, drink water NOT alcohol, caffeinated drinks like tea or coffee, and NO ALCOHOL. Avoid large meals as well as your body is using internal stores of water to digest the food.

Finally constipation is caused by dehydration. 
You must hydrate well in hot conditions ESPECIALLY if you are eating as digestion needs lots of fluids. So if eating, at least double the water you consume.

Shelter

Rules of Survival #1 Get out of the weather.

What’s weather?
Too Windy, Wet, Hot, or Cold.
Individually or a mixture. It don’t matter.

You need somewhere sheltered to control your climate, be safe, able to live, and to get sleep.

I like man made structures myself and will force entry rather than sit outside in a canvas tent, a simple tarpaulin, or worse still a bedroll.

Besides most man made structures are built to keep the bad stuff out and you erecting a smaller shelter inside say a warehouse will allow you control your immediate environment with less fuel.

Get the idea?

The thing you are aiming for is to keep things manageable.
Too large? Difficult to heat.
Too small? Difficult to live in.
There is of course the minor problem of gaining access and security, but no-one said life was easy.

You may have noticed a preference list creeping in here.
I always look for shelter in this order:

1. Man made Structure (Empty Dwelling or Warehouse)
2. Natural Structure (Cave)

I will always raise my own shelter in these.

3. Tent
4. Temporary Shelter i.e. Tarpaulin / Basha
5. Bed Roll

What ever I end up in I’ll always put loads of insulation beneath me.
If I’m outside, I’ll gather natural materials like ferns, dry leaves, etc. A good 12 inches (30 cm) compressed layer.
Then I give it a good shake of the permethrin bottle, cover with a ground tarpaulin, and stick my bed on top.

Indoors, I’m looking for cardboard or layers of anything SYNTHETIC i.e. foam.
Always conscious of bugs, that also gets a dousing in permethrin and covered with my ground tarpaulin.

Why permethrin?
Every survivalist should carry this.
It’s not toxic, keeps crawlies off your fabric, it’s cheap, and easy to use.

Vehicles (Vans not cars).
Why not just stay in one of them?
Unless it’s built for it i.e. a caravanette or motor home, they have little insulation and poor ventilation.

That in itself isn’t a problem when warm but condensation will be in colder times even if you can fit a small pop up tent in the back.
Keeping warm will also mean running the engine or fitting some sort of heater or stove.

 

Unless this is correctly fitted and externally flued, you run the risk of Carbon Monoxide poisoning.
It’s no good surviving something if you then go and gas yourself when trying to keep warm.

Stay or Go

No matter what disaster or “event” happens, 

you’ll be faced with two basic decisions.

Stay or Go.

In both cases you’ll need to attend to the basics of life. 

The famed Triangle of Survival.

That’s fine for the purists. 
It’ll keep you alive for a bit, yet it’s brevity is it’s downfall.
It’s just not comprehensive enough for long term survival.
My little gizmo addresses all my needs though.

 

Right, I know what you’re thinking,
What the heck is all that?

1. Shelter. Very straight forward. Without it you will surely perish.
2. Fire. You need that to purify and heat water, keep warm, and cook.
3. Water. 3 days without a drink and you’re in serious trouble.
4. Red Cross. Stands for:
   
   • Personal Hygiene. Keep clean and bug free including your attire.
   • First aid. Address even the most minor of issues.Medicines.
   • Common cures and prescribed drugs.
5. Toilet Roll. You work it out! 
6. Pistol. Self Defense.
7. Fast Food. Well food anyway. The fast denotes hot, quick, and easy.
8. Sleeping Bag. You’ve got to sleep safe, snug, and comfortable.
9. Rucksack. For the 101 things you need to “carry” or have.
10. Radio. To communicate is vital to find resources, to get help.
11. Money. Or equivalent. Nothing is free.
12. KFS, Bowl, & Mug. I’m not in to finger food, are you?
13. Traps. There will come a time when the shops have no food.
14. Wheels. No matter what, you’ll need some sort of transport.
15. Fuel. No fuel, no heat, no pure water, no cooking, washing, transport. 
16. Clothing. No, not shown, more about that later.

Bit more Comprehensive than the Triangle of Survival.