It's Psychologically Healthy to Prepare
Newsweek.com
By Karen Springen
September 20, 2005
Sept. 20, 2005 - For many Americans, Hurricane Katrina has served as a wake-up call. After viewing the devastation and displacement that followed the hurricane, residents across the country are asking what they need to do—and not do—to prepare for the worst (even while hoping for the best). "It's psychologically healthy to prepare. A resilient mindset is a mindset that allows you to think logically, to communicate, to problem-solve, to confront the challenges that face you rather than hiding and avoiding them," says University of Utah psychologist Sam Goldstein, coauthor of "The Power of Resilience" (McGraw-Hill). "Accept that the world is a place in which things are going to happen that are beyond my control, for which it pays for me to be prepared."
In each of his family's cars, Goldsteing keeps a pillowcase-size bag with a reasonable number of supplies—water, food, a flashlight and a radio. What would be overboard? "Filling my entire trunk with enough food to survive six months," he says.
Ideally, as was evident in the Gulf Coast, you should have enough provisions to be self-sufficient for at least 48 to 72 hours. Experts also stress the need to talk to kids about how to handle themselves in emergencies, including gas leaks and fires, not just hurricanes and tornadoes. That means talking about where flashlights are kept and about where to meet in case of an emergency. Here are other important steps you can take to be prepared for any emergency:
IDENTIFY SAFE PLACES: Consider what type of disaster is possible where you live. "If you're in coastal Florida, you're not prone to earthquakes," says Dr. Michael Van Rooyen, an attending physician at Harvard's Brigham & Women's Hospital who has set up medical and relief operations in many natural and war-related disaster zones. "In a flood, you're not going to want to store stuff in a basement." Regardless, at least every six months, practice getting to appropriate safe places: a strong structure on high ground for hurricanes, a basement for tornadoes, under tables for earthquakes. Stay away from windows. Families that live near areas prone to forest fires or hurricanes need to know how to get away from their homes by car or public transportation. Keep bus route information or a map and a plan for where you would drive. Before a disaster strikes, consider talking to friends or family in other cities about whether you could stay with them if you had to evacuate, and make sure to establish a meeting place for all family members in case you're separated. If possible, take classes in first aid and CPR.
IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS: Store copies of passports, driver's licenses, birth certificates and other essential documents in a special plastic box in your house, and also at a relative's house.
MEDICAL INFORMATION: Make sure an emergency responder can find basic information about medical problems and prescriptions—either by carrying it on a card (preferably laminated) in a wallet or purse or keeping it electronically through MedicAlert bracelets. Dr. Alfred Sacchetti, a member of the pediatrics committee for the American College of Emergency Physicians, also recommends storing vital medical information in a jar in the refrigerator. In disasters, "refrigerators tend to survive," he says. "The house gets blown up, the refrigerator tends to withstand it." Send an extra copy to a relative in a different city. The nonprofit MedicAlert Foundation (medicalert.org or 888-ALERT-90), based in Turlock, Calif., makes bracelets, sports bands and pendants that give responders the information they need to call a 24-hour emergency response center and get electronic medical information about your prescriptions and health conditions. Signing up for the service, which includes a basic stainless steel bracelet or dog tag, costs $35 for the first year and $20 for subsequent annual renewals. MedicAlert also sells an E-HealthKey, which can contain extensive personal medical information and plugs into a computer. For extra fees, you can get jewelry in sterling silver, 14-karat gold and titanium. The bracelets, which clasp on and do not easily fall off, have helped reunite missing children with their parents and confused Alzheimer's patients with their families. "It's unlikely that a disaster is going to wipe out both your house and the MedicAlert repository," says Sacchetti. Make sure family members know what medication they're taking—not just that they pop a green pill every morning—and know to take it with them. "You don't want to be trying to get a prescription on the road," says psychiatrist Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health.
MEDICINE: Keep an emergency supply of medicine, such as insulin for diabetics, and check to make sure it has not expired. "It would be nice if we had a month's supply of everything," says Dr. David Schonfeld, director of the division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and a spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatrics. But he likes to see enough to last at least 48 to 72 hours, usually enough time for help to arrive. "You don't want somebody going into withdrawal on an antidepressant in the middle of a depressing event," says Dr. Zach Rosen, medical director of the Montefiore Family Health Center in the Bronx and chair of the Montefiore Medical Group's emergency-preparedness committee.
FIRST-AID KIT: A basic kit with Band-Aids, a cold pack, tweezers, scissors, antibiotic cream, gauze and acetaminophen or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories is a good idea. Make your own kit, or buy a premade, basic, all-purpose one at a pharmacy. (The American College of Emergency Physicians endorses one by Johnson & Johnson.) "You don't want medications that you're not really qualified to figure out how to give, you don't really want tourniquets," says Schonfeld. But if a child has allergies, keep an EpiPen (which is used to administer epinephrine, an emergency treatment for severe allergic reactions). "What not to have in the "go bag" are old antibiotics, which some people are still carrying around from anthrax. They expire. And don't carry around borrowed medications from other people," says Rosen. Also include spare eyeglasses, contacts and contact lens solution.