Tips on Getting Through the Current Pandemic

We are currently living in a state of uncertainty and mass panic, but it does not have to stay that way. There is a lot that you can do to get you and your family through the COVID-19 pandemic that is currently hitting the whole world. Though no one truly knows how to prepare for something like this, there are steps that can be taken to protect you and your family from the virus as  much as possible.

Advice on Surviving the Current Pandemic

You have likely been flooded with tons of advice at this point. Healthcare professionals are recommending washing your hands, not touching your face, and, in many areas, are enforcing social distancing to attempt to flatten the curve of illness. It is also important to consider the following:

1. If you fall into the high risk category, then you should be engaging in as little contact with the outside world as possible. We’ve heard from many professionals that the virus isn’t lethal for most people, but is very dangerous for important segments of the population and it spreads like wildfire. If you are in this category, please do your best to avoid catching it.

2. If you fall into the lower risk group, try to avoid close contact with anyone in the high risk group. You do not want to be responsible for grandma getting sick. Even if you feel 100% fine, and symptoms have been reported as mild, you could still be an active carrier for the virus.

3. Stock up on survival food. This does not mean panic-buy everything at the store. People have already been doing so, and stores are suffering because of it. Stock up when you can on emergency survival food (non perishables), they will be useful at some point.

4. Make sure you have all other essential supplies. There is a Bug out bag guide on Raving Trends that can help you determine what the essential supplies are, and what they are used for. Remember, you do not need a two-year supply of anything so be conscientious of the rest of society when purchasing high demand foods.

5. Remember how this pandemic feels, and know that whatever comes next will likely be worse. Be prepared for anything to happen.

If you are really worried about the threat of a global pandemic, then you need to be prepared. If you are prepared, you will be able to minimize the chances that you and your loved ones get affected. This has shown to spread through interaction and human contact, so minimizing your contact with the outside world for a period of time can almost guarantee you won’t get sick (though there are unfortunate circumstances).

There are some things that you can do to decrease your likelihood of getting sick. A lot of them may seem like common sense, but given where we are right now, a refresher is not the worst thing.

• Wash your hands as often as possible. If you can, use alcohol based hand sanitizer, especially after interacting with other people. Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap. If you sneeze or cough, wash your hands immediately after.
• When possible, stay away from crowded places.
• Do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth with your hands if you can avoid it. Just try not to touch your face.
• Avoid being in close contact with anyone who is sick.
• Clean and disinfect areas that you touch frequently in your home with disinfecting wipes or something similar.
• If you do have to enter a crowded area, be smart. Do not touch anyone, sanitize your carts and baskets, and encourage those who are sick to wear a face mask so they will not spread it on to others.

Prepare to Survive a More Dangerous Global Pandemic

Though by definition COVID-19 is a global pandemic, it is not yet a deadly global pandemic. If you want to be ready for a genuine pandemic, then you need to prepare beyond the normal recommendations.

If a pandemic is being spread from person to person via airborne transmission, avoid contact with the outside world. You can’t get sick if you avoid everyone else. The problem is, most people are not prepared to hunker down for more than a few days. So, when a deadly pandemic does occur, you will have no choice but to interact with the outside world to get the equipment and supplies you need to survive.

Though they have been mocked in the past, people who take part in prepping are better off right now. It may not guarantee that you are completely out of harm’s way, but it can help offer peace of mind that if anything truly catastrophic happened, you are reasonably prepared. Being properly prepared means that you need to cover your basic survival needs as laid out by the survival rule of three. Make sure you have water access and some food stockpiled.

There is not much we can do at this point to completely avoid COVID-19, but there are steps that can be taken to protect you and your family. Stay safe out there, everyone. And please remember to wash your hands!

We are happy to present this collaborative post to offer valuable information to our readers.