Norovirus: How to Stay Safe

Norovirus: How to Stay Safe (Health Matters) was a free kindle book when this post was written. Norovirus is commonly called 'food poisoning' or 'stomach flu'. It causes over 21 million cases of stomach upset (gastroenteritis) every year in the United States and more than 800 deaths. As of January 2013, however, a whole new strain of Norovirus began sweeping throughout the globe and spreading from coast to coast in the United States, and is continuing to spread and even mutate in 2014.

In this report, popular health writer Carolyn Stone gives you the essentials on Norovirus: what it is, where it comes from, how people become infected, and how to prevent it, in order to keep you and your family safe. Learn the symptoms of norovirus infection and the best ways to stop it from spreading to the rest of your family, work colleagues and the general public if you do catch it.

Learn the best ways to deal with the main symptoms of norovirus, including dehydration. Find out how to deal safely with contaminated laundry to stop the spread of the disease.

Learn more about the major 'hot spots' in your home where the virus cold easily spread if you are not careful, and the best ways to keep all of the members of your family as safe as possible if one of you does become ill.

Discover valuable health resources, important research and findings related to norovirus, the best sources of the latest news on the virus, and much more.

Norovirus on its own is bad enough. It can also come at the same time as flu season, leading to even more misery. Foodborne outbreaks of norovirus happen all year round. It also spreads like wildfire from person to person in social settings, from schools, hospitals and nursing homes, to summer camps and cruise ships. Don't let norovirus threaten the health of the younger and older members of your family, or ruin your vacation. Take steps today to avoid norovirus. Even if you do catch it, learn all you can about how to stop it from spreading, to keep safe all those you care about.
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Note:
You will also receive regular updates of this title while these severe outbreaks continue.
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Norovirus: How to Stay Safe

TABLE OF CONTENTS

WHAT'S IN THIS GUIDE
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1-Norovirus: What is It?
CHAPTER 2-How is Norovirus Spread?
CHAPTER 3-What are the Symptoms if You Have Contracted Norovirus?
CHAPTER 4-What are the Best Ways to Prevent You or Your Family from Becoming Ill with Norovirus?
CHAPTER 5-When is it Time to See a Doctor?
CHAPTER 6-Household Hot Spots
CHAPTER 7-Hot Spots Outside the Home

CONCLUSION

FURTHER READING

NOROVIRUS IN THE NEWS

NOROVIRUS OUTBREAK REPORTS

SUMMARY OF STEPS TO TAKE TO PREVENT ILLNESS AND THE SPREAD OF NOROVIRUS

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carolyn Stone is a freelance journalist and health writer who has worked in consumer health publishing and continuing medical education. She is the author of over 70 health and self-help guides designed to empower readers to live better lives.

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Water Self Sufficiency for Survival Preparedness

WATER IS LIFE
I don't need to tell you why your family needs safe potable water as well as long term food storage, first aid kits, and other survival gear to survive the aftermath of an emergency or disaster.
People can live for days or even weeks without food but no one survives past 4 or 5 days without water. Living on very short rations an "average" person can survive on a minimum of one gallon of water for replacement of normal activities loss, per day. At that drastically minimal rate a family of four will need 120 gallons of potable water to survive for 30 days.
"...Drinking, sanitation and hygiene constitute the basic human survival needs for water. These minimum needs total about 50 liters (13.2 gallons) per person per day. In comparison, the average American uses well over ten times that amount...(1)"
Including drinking, sanitation and hygiene that same family of four would need 1560 gallons of potable water to survive for 30 days. Storing 120 gallons of water to meet subsistence-level needs is easily done, if that's how you visualize your family surviving. Storing 1560 gallons, while making your family's survival experience more pleasant, is problematic if you do not have the ability to replenish your water supply while off of the National Electric Power Grid.
WATER AVAILABILITY IS NOT GUARANTEED
What if one day after an emergency or disaster you turn on the tap and either nothing comes out, or what comes out is unsafe to drink? Water distribution systems require energy and what comes out of your faucet is there because the fragile and vulnerable Grid energized a pump.
The National Electric Power Grid is obsolescent and vulnerable to blackouts due to equipment failure, unintentional human error or recently and most frighteningly, malicious foreign cyber attack.(2) Water self-sufficiency off the grid, and independent of the weather, will ensure that your family has enough water to survive no matter how bad the situation becomes.
RAIN WATER HARVESTING
The basic component of water self-sufficiency is rain water harvesting and storage. This component requires storage tanks of sufficient capacity with connections to your home's rain gutter system. This component is weather dependent but based upon annual rainfall amounts and seasonal rains distribution in your area, rain water harvesting may well satisfy your un-purified water requirements if you plan properly.
In most parts of continental USA, with the exception of the Southwest, rainfall is fairly regular, reliable and predictably sufficient to be the primary source for your family's survival water self sufficiency. You will have to make a judgment call and decide how much storage capacity you will need to bridge dry spells.
Because we have become so dependent on the grid and the water distribution systems it enables, houses no longer have cisterns to store water for dry spells. Chances are your home doesn't have a cistern either, so you will need to acquire water storage capacity. Water can be stored in almost anything: one gallon water jugs you buy at the supermarket, hard-side metal or plastic tanks, or the much more convenient and less expensive collapsible "pillow" tanks.
We can safely discard the idea of buying, storing and then refilling 1500+ one gallon jugs as impractical. Hard-side tanks are more practical but are always the same size, full or empty, are difficult to handle, expensive and require permanent installation above ground or below.
A much better solution is collapsible "bladder" tanks which are constructed of polymer alloy coated polyester fabrics which meet FDA standards for potable water storage. Bladder tanks are relatively inexpensive and can be stored folded within their shipping boxes until you decide to deploy them.
PURIFYING STORED RAINWATER
The water stored in your tanks, while it may appear clear, is not safe to drink. The rain which fell on your roof and ran down your gutters became contaminated with bird feces, insect waste, decayed organic matter, chemicals and other pollutants. To make this water safe to drink it must first be treated or preferably purified.
Treatment involves adding proportionately large amounts of chlorine iodine. This method should be reserved for emergency or occasional use only, because ingestion of too much iodine may be harmful.(3)
The optimum solution is a water purifier which removes sediment and chemicals, kills pathogens and removes pathogenic detritus. An efficient water purifier would use both pre and post-filters and a high-intensity ultraviolet germicidal lamp. Such a device must be proven to have a bacterial kill rate up to 99.99+% including cysts (Giardia and Cryptosporidium), and microorganisms including viruses, bacteria, fungi, algae, and protozoa.(4)
This water purifier should be operable off the Electric Power Grid and capable of converting water from any available source into potable water.
NOW YOU NEED TO BECOME WATER SELF SUFFICIENT
You have acquired long term bulk food storage, first aid kits, tools, defensive weapons and other survival gear. Now you need to become water self-sufficient or all your other preparations are meaningless and your family will perish. WATER IS LIFE.
(1) Basic survival needs were stressed at the Mar del Plata conference, a major international effort to address world water problems organized by the United Nations... The minimum water requirement for replacement for an "average" person has been estimated to be approximately 3 liters (3.2 quarts) per day, given average temperate climate conditions...
(2) The Washington Post, "Checkpoint Washington" Blog, 11/18/2011
Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/checkpoint-washington/post/foreign-hackers-broke-into-illinois-water-plant-control-system-industry-expert-says/2011/11/18/gIQAgmTZYN_blog.html
(3) Heath Canada. Read more: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/pubs/water-eau/disinfect-desinfection-eng.php
(4) University of Arizona, Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, Tucson, AZ Copy of report available upon request.

For complete survival preparedness planning, and to purchase the best survival gear: long term bulk food storage and mobility survival kits, SURVIVAL H2O Tanks™, the SURVIVAL H2O Partner™ and the SURVIVAL STOVE™, tools, light and communication gear, non-firearm weapons and supplies as well as plans, strategies and tactics visit: http://www.mybestsurvivalproducts.com

Death of Money: The Preppers Guide to Economic Collapse, the Loss of Paper Wealth, and What to Do When Money Dies

Death of Money: The Preppers Guide to Economic Collapse, the Loss of Paper Wealth, and What to Do When Money Dies (Survival Family Basics - Preppers Survival Handbook Series) was a free kindle book when this post was written. **** #1 Best Seller in Inflation ****

Just to say Thank You for checking out this Book I want to give you a copy of my upcoming special report "The Prepper's Supplies Guide for When Disaster Strikes".

Go to www.SurvivalFamilyBasics.com to reserve your FREE copy now.

The threat of economic collapse is real and growing every day. The complexity and interconnected nature of the global economy means any economic catastrophe will send ripples around the world. For families, it can be challenging to prep for this kind of threat because there are so many possibilities, variables, and factors at play.

Much of the discussion around economic collapse centers on mistrust of the government and the national debt, but these are not the only potential problems that plague our nation’s economy. Rather than focus on the politics or the people, this volume from the "Survival Family Basics – Prepper's Survival Handbook Series" dives into the sources of economic strife in order to provide an in-depth understanding of what an economic collapse would mean for your family.

In “The Death of Money: The Prepper’s Guide to Economic Collapse, the Loss of Paper Wealth, and What to Do When Money Dies” #1 Best Selling author Macenzie Guiver, will introduce you to the possible causes of an economic collapse and outline the kinds of impacts you can expect from each.

It will walk you through the five stages of economic collapse and show you what you can do from a preparedness perspective to be ready to weather each stage.

After reading this guide, you have a basic understanding of:

• The common causes of economic collapse and what they can mean for you and your family from a preparedness perspective

• The five stages of economic collapse, and what you can expect at each of one

• What economic assets you will need to have to survive and thrive, even in the event of another crash like in 2007/08

• What you can do now so you family is prepared to weather any economic storm that comes your way

• And much more

From explaining the difference between hyperinflation and deflation to outlining what happens when the government can’t borrow more money, this guide provides you with the information you need, to understand the different aspects of an economic collapse and to take action now so your family is ready to weather whatever economic storm rolls in.

Scroll up and get your copy of “The Death of Money: The Prepper’s Guide to Economic Collapse, the Loss of Paper Wealth, and What to Do When Money Dies” before it’s too late….

Food Storage Recipe - Southwestern Burgers

We had planned on having a cookout this afternoon, but it started storming so we had to make the Southwestern Burgers inside. They still turned out great!

NEED:

1 pound of lean ground beef

2 tablespoon of taco seasoning mix

6 tablespoon of a thick and chunky salsa

pepper jack cheese - sliced. 

hamburger buns

Heat your grill or get the pan ready for the stove.

While that prepping mix the ingredients well in a bowl. Shape into patties.

Place the patties on the grill or pan. Cook them until they are done through. Place the cheese on the patties. Serve. add toppings you like and some more of the salsa.

Can I Safely Cook Chicken in a Solar Oven? And Other Useful Tips and Information on Solar Cooking

Can meat be cooked safely in a solar oven?
How does the sun cook your food?
These are just a couple of many questions that come up in my classes when people are first introduced to the concept of solar cooking.
In fact they are probably two of the most frequently asked questions due to concerns related to food illnesses that are an inherent risk in food preparation, more particularly when it comes to meat.
Nevertheless, if traditional food handling and cooking safety guidelines are followed and if suggestions and guidelines for using a solar cooker are followed, then it is possible to cook any variety of meat safely and deliciously.
Most all professionally manufactured solar cookers are capable of reaching and sustaining the requisite temperatures needed for cooking meats and all other types of foods.
And most, well built, home made solar cookers can perform the same task just as well or better than a commercially manufactured cooker.
So, just how does the sun cook the food inside of a solar cooker?
Solar cooking is done by means of the suns UV rays, it is not the sun's heat that cooks the food, nor is it the outside ambient temperature, though this can somewhat affect the rate or time required to cook, but rather it is the suns rays that are converted to heat energy and this heat energy is then retained by the pot and the food by means of a covering. In much the same way that a greenhouse retains heat or a car with its windows rolled up. An effective solar cooker will use the energy of the sun to heat a cooking vessel and efficiently retain the energy (heat) for maximum cooking effectiveness.
This is best explained with a mental diagramming of the process.

• First, you would need a darkened or blackened pot with a lid. This can be a pot such as a cast iron Dutch oven, a black enameled roasting pan such as a chicken or turkey roaster or any pot that you might blacken on the outside with a non-toxic, weatherproof paint. Dark surfaces become very hot; they heat up more quickly than shiny surfaces which reflect the suns rays away.
• Then you will need to obtain a clear transparent covering such as a large glass bowl or a durable plastic oven cooking bag. This will be used for retention of heat and will also allow the rays of the sun to be able to penetrate to the darkened cooking pot and food, thus raising the cooking temperatures and preventing the heat from escaping.
• Next you will need a material that will reflect extra sunlight towards the cooking apparatus so as to concentrate the suns rays. This is usually accomplished in the form of some type of reflecting surface such as mirrors, aluminum foil and buffed tin or sheet metal. With the help of a reflecting surface you will be able to increase the temperatures and to cook the food more rapidly.

For more information on solar cooking tips, techniques and information please visit our on our website.

Become proficient in solar cooking and find out how easy it is to help your own budget by using tried and tested techniques for effective solar cooking. Solar cooker-at-cantinawest.com