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Coronavirus – Everything You Need to Know about Covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2)

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Updated 3/30/2020: This article covers the basics of Coronavirus Pandemic aka Covid19 aka SARS-CoV-2. We review its symptoms, how dangerous it is, what it will do to the economy, how to avoid it and myths about it.

World wide there are 766,336 cases resulting in 36,873 deaths. USA has 153,246 cases with 2467 deaths. New cases will continue to increase rapidly as more test kits become available.

When this is all said and done I estimate that death rates will be roughly 3x to 5x influenza, not 10x or more as the media has been reporting (that means .3% to as high as .8% not 10%). I base this on sampling data, and it is also supported by the cruise ship data.

Everything you need to know about coronavirus with CDC virus image - for Commonsensehome.com
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Storage and Shelf Life of Over-the-Counter Medication

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Most people give very little thought to the storage and shelf-life of over-the-counter medication, beyond keeping things out of the reach of children. If you stock one or emergency medical kits, you may end up storing medications for longer periods of time.

How long is too long to store over the counter medication, and what’s the best way to store it?

storage of otc medication
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Emergency Power Options for Your Home – Gas Generators and More

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Emergency Power Options for Your Home - Keep your critical systems running when the power goes out with generators, batteries or spot chargers.

A natural or man made disaster (small or large) can takes out the power grid. It does not take long before lack of electricity affects us and it can take weeks to get the power back on.

How do I keep the food cold and the house warm? When will the power come back on? How do I keep the phone charged so I can maintain contact with the outside world?

We review emergency power options, so you have lights when the grid is down.

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Emergency Medical Kit List – Build Your Own Custom First Aid Kit

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Everyone needs at least one emergency medical kit. You should have a kit in each vehicle and in your home. The kit needs to include trauma items for serious events. We recommend the 12 Survivors First Aid Roll up Kit if you want a partially stocked med kit as a starting point.

Build your own emergency medical kit that's customized to your needs. Check lists by category, including 12 Must Have Items for your Medical Trauma Kit.

Building Your Own Emergency Medical Kit

You can use the emergency medical kit list below to replace items in an existing kit, supplement existing kits and/or build your own customized First Aid Kits (FAK) or individual first aid kit (IFAK) . Our target for this list is to identify items for your FAK that are a step below or near the basic EMT level kit, for a med kit would be useful at home, at work and in the wild.

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Emergency Cooking – 10 Ways to Have a Hot Meal When the Power Goes Out

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There are a number of different options for emergency cooking. In this post we’ll cover everything from simple heating to large scale cooking for emergency situations.

emergency cooking collage

Before we get started:  For those who are new to preparedness, using an emergency generator to power an electric stove or microwave is not a good idea. Gas, wood or charcoal heating is best.

Stoves and microwaves use a lot of power in a short amount of time. It’s much more practical to use other means to heat/cook your food. A standard gas stove uses an electric ignition, so will not automatically work if there is no power.

  • Always be careful to use options inside or outside as appropriate. Don’t end up asphyxiated from cooking fuel fumes or burn your house down while trying to make a hot meal. Carbon monoxide is odorless make sure you have a Carbon Monoxide Detector.
  • Make sure you have cooking equipment suitable for your heating option of choice.
  • Practice with your method(s) of choice until you can reliably produce a meal. Don’t use it for the first time in an emergency (except for the “heat themselves” food items).
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