It wasn’t too long ago that the World Health Organization announced COVID-19 as a pandemic. It sounded scary at first because it was never expected. No one expected the outbreak of the disease. It left most of the countries in the world crumbling on their knees with thousands of death increasing geometrically every day.
How do pandemics affect us?
Just like in movies, you might have thought of it as an apocalypse because many people were infected almost at the same time, which later resulted in lots of deaths. People who are not infected are affected one way or the other.
Yours might be; a state of confusion, depression, and health complications, to mention but a few arising from total lockdown, food insecurities, fear, and much more. All because it was not expected.
How do pandemics change our daily lives?
A pandemic can be quite uneasy depending on the scale of infection. It can change daily lives such as schooling from home, unemployment, remote work, economic repercussions, social stresses, and panic because of uncertainty about the future.
Despite all these, you need not panic because survival is all that matters in this kind of situation. This is not the time to live a sedentary lifestyle. It would be best if you stay both physically and mentally healthy. Therefore, we implore you to read through this guide to learn about the things you need to survive any pandemic.
Top 10 Things You Need to Survive a Pandemic
Surviving a pandemic shouldn’t be an option, it should instead be compulsory, especially if you want to keep living. Even people that were infected during any pandemic wish they could survive it. If they could wish for it, then you “must” desire it.
Here is all you need to survive a pandemic.
Prepare for Self-Quarantine
During a pandemic, your health is key to surviving. You will feel better if you can avoid getting sick in the first place.
Isolation
To ensure you don’t fall ill or contract an infectious disease, you should isolate yourself, and your family from the public. This means you should not attend any public gathering like school, work, church, sports, and others.
Sufficient Supplies
This also means you must have sufficient supplies of primary basic needs such as food, fuel, medication, money, etc. so that you can remain isolated.
Assuming you work in a core field like health care, paramedic, emergency response, etc., you will be attending to infected patients. You will be required to stay at work or another location to prevent contact with your family.
It is better to prepare ahead and weigh your options.
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Be Self-Sufficient
Now, during your self-quarantine, you should be self-sufficient. There is a high possibility that there is going to be a total lockdown. Companies providing essential services will not be functioning at their peak. Even, food delivery, water services, gas stations, and a lot more will cease to work like before.
Public order may be overwhelmed due to the increase in the number of illnesses and death. If this situation arises, what would you do? How will you last for about six months, depending on the duration of the pandemic?
So, the best thing is to prepare to be self-sufficient. Think about some strategies you can use to remain self-sufficient throughout the pandemic.
Stock up on Supplies
For instance, stock up on your supplies, all your basic needs should be stored at home so that you won’t go to the supermarkets or stores to become exposed to the deadly virus or whatever the cause of the pandemic.
Ordering Online:
If you are thinking of ordering stuff online, don’t try it because, during a pandemic, the ordering network is also hindered.
Try to stock up on the following:
Personal Protection
Mask: This includes your mask. Ideally, it is safe to wear a nose mask during a pandemic to prevent the further spreading of the highly contagious disease and also to keep yourself safe. Moreover, the masks you select should be breathable and washable.
Hand Sanitizer: Furthermore, we recommend you practice frequent hand-washing with soap and water. This will prevent the spread of the disease. You could also use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Simply put, your stock supplies should contain a mask preferably a surgical mask, gloves, and hand sanitizer.
Medical materials
Assuming the public health workers are not within your reach and the community health workers are also too overwhelmed with the pandemic, what would you do?
The best approach to solving this issue is to obtain medical material that can help in the diagnosis and treatment of a minor disease. There are some medical books online that do well to check out.
Medication
You should also stock up on your medication because you don’t want to go to the pharmacy and get infected.
Sanitation Supplies
Other things you should have in your stash is the sanitation supplies like
- toilet paper
- tissues
- paper towels
- feminine hygiene supplies
- baby wipes
- garbage bags
- hand sanitizers
- soaps
- shampoos
- cleaners
- disinfectants and everything you might require for proper personal sanitation.
It will be best if you keep in mind to have food supplies that can last for some months. It is highly recommended you store the foods you usually eat for about 3-6months.
Preparation for Civil Unrest
A long pandemic could result in civil unrest because public order is already disrupted, law enforcement is also reduced, and some people might find it challenging to meet their basic needs. Hence, they will start to throw tantrums everywhere.
What should you do to overcome this?
The best thing to start with is to reinforce your home. You don’t want your family to be exposed to other people. Also, you don’t want hoodlums to break into your house and steal your sustenance for the pandemic. Know your weaknesses and develop plans to overcome such vulnerabilities.
Before this, you should avoid letting people in on how far you have prepared for the pandemic to avoid knocks on your doors. The time of a pandemic is for you and your family and not you and others. But this does not mean you should not share.
Share
One of the ways to survive in a pandemic is to share. This will help you reduce your stress levels. It good helps if you share what you can with those in need. Try as much as possible not to expose yourself and your family when doing this.
Carry out this kind gesture following all the directives from relevant agencies. You might need their help tomorrow, so it is always good to lend a helping hand during a pandemic
Care For Your Body
The next thing you should do is to take care of your body. Caring for your body is very important because survival in a pandemic begins with yourself. You can’t help other people around you, including your family, if you are not in good shape.
Nutrition
You should ensure you have the right nutrition by taking balanced diet meals. Avoid taking junk foods, sugars, and caffeine. This is because too many of these substances can increase your anxiety and stress levels.
Lifestyle
You don’t want to live a sedentary lifestyle because medically, this will affect your health. Therefore you should devote some time to exercising. This will keep you mentally and physically fit.
Generally, taking care of yourself will provide you with a robust immune system which is required in a pandemic
Establish a New Routine
During a pandemic, there is always the case of total lockdown whereby you will only be confined to your home to control the spread of the disease. Your daily activities are, therefore affected. What can be done?
The right thing to do is to establish a new routine, perhaps a new habit that will yield at least a reward that is similar to when you do your normal daily activities. This will give you a sense of duty to yourself.
It would be best if you also endeavored to get up and
- go to bed at similar times
- eat at regular intervals
- have time for personal hygiene and exercise.
WHO recommends this. This will improve your mood, feel more in control and give you the confidence to face another day of the pandemic
Keep Yourself Busy
After you must have established a new routine, you can now keep yourself busy. You can keep yourself busy by finding a project in the house to do. Those works you have abandoned during regular times can be done now.
For example, setting up a garden. If you are the bookish type, you could read books and novels to keep yourself busy to avoid boredom or depression.
Keep In Contact With Your Loved Ones
You must have heard about social distancing. As this remains very crucial during a pandemic, you should try to socialize with your loved ones like friends by leveraging social media.
Doing this allows you to share your thoughts, feelings, desires, and others, thereby reducing your stress level. You can chat, send emails and text messages, and phone calls.
Have a Positive Mindset
One of the best things to do in a period like this is to have a right and positive mindset. This involves you thinking positively about yourself.
Introspection is vital to surviving a pandemic. It keeps you pushing through and ultimately survive
Avoid Crowds at All Cost
Last but not least is to avoid crowds. If you must go out ensure that there is a distance between you and the next person. A distance of 1 meter is advisable. This is because the person next to you might be asymptomatic.
You should also obey all guidelines and regulations recommended by health bodies like WHO and CDC to prevent you from contracting the highly contagious disease when in public.
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Conclusion
A pandemic can result in a global health crisis and also post-crisis in terms of health, education, and economy. However, following the tips provided in this guide can help you survive any form of pandemic and crisis that might occur afterward, prepare for the pandemic, and self-isolate.
Believe in yourself, and you will be sure to survive. You can do it!
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