Prepping for pandemic...

[wheresmymojo]

I was quite blasé about the novel corona virus outbreak but things I've read today have changed my mind.

I'm not usually a prepper but best things to stock up on for a pandemic?

Surgical face masks?
Latex gloves?
Anti bac wipes and hand wash?

@isthepopea minimally, yes. They are FFP3 grade and need to be worn with protective eyewear to stop infection via the eyeducts - I hope we will only need them for future DIY projects in truth.

@birdiefriend wow that is impressive, thank you for the info.
The face masks my husband is issued with as frontline medical staff have a clear plastic visor over eyes, this is for routine things like winter vomiting bugs/flu etc. The amount of people that generally don't cover their mouths when they cough in public is pretty disgusting, I have had people almost cough in my face before in shops, not even on a busy tube where maybe you could understand it if people are packed in. I have a couple of pre existing medical conditions that make it worse for me getting a common cold/flu etc so this really annoys me. I am totally OCD with hand washing etc.

I also think avoiding the tube at this stage is unnecessary (unless you're going to drip feed that your DH is an epidemiologist at the Dept of Health in which case maybe he does know something we don't know)

We are up to 8 cases confirmed in Europe, but that too is a tiny number.
I'll be travelling by tube in London this weekend. I'm not changing any behaviours at this point.

I’m wondering if a face mask made of cloth would offer similar protection to a surgical mask.
I’m thinking double layer jersey fabric made into a tube that you put over your head. Would that work? You could make a few and wash them between uses.
I’m patenting that & taking it on dragons den

I often cover my nose and mouth with my scarf/snood when out & about in the city anyway, mostly to avoid getting a lungful of diesel though!

Anything covering the nose and mouth will give a degree of extra protection. So surgical mask (very low level protection) covered by a balaclava is going to give more protection. The FFP3 masks are better though.

@MissPoldark there is already a bio scarf invention

Going out on a limb here but surgical masks are basically a waterproof layer on the outside and an absorbent layer on the inside.

So sanitary towels secured across the bridge of the nose with a peg and ribbons attached to loop around the ears should do it

It's a pity they stopped making the towels with loops then!

😆 picturing people on the tube using sanitary pads as masks!
The extent of my prepping is getting a few extra tins of food and topping up the freezer, along with spares of Calpol etc. This thread is a useful reminder, thanks folks.

I’ve just been out in the car and the traffic is horrendous even at this time of day so I’m binning the idea of driving the little darlings everywhere. Point absolutely taken re the level of risk at this point, DH has no insider knowledge AFAIK though his field isn’t too far removed from this. I think he’s read the various announcements with an expert eye, though, so sees that it could potentially get very bad.

There are probably some towels with loops on in my mother's wardrobe.

Food: you could read the hell is ever closer threads. Lots of advice on there pre October 31st.

Think breakfast dinner, tea and snacks. Drinks.

Toiletries, cleaning stuff, laundry, washing up.

Pet food, pet supplies

Medications.

Storage wise: between us we use: under the stairs, under kitchen units behind kick boards, top/ bottom of wardrobes, top of cupboards, under beds and sofas, behind the sofa, under the dining room table, behind the bath panel, in the loft, behind books on the bookshelf.

There is a comprehensive list of Brexit stash items, but getting the essentials first.

Think what you could substitute for fresh items, Eg tinned fruit and veg?

What your family will actually eat. No good buying 20 kilos dried pasta if no-one eats it.

Think about food that is easy to prepare if you are feeling shit or limited power/water. (Eg we have occasionally had to turn water off to other flats when work needed to be done on the stop tap. )

I'm not a prepper by nature but I have two children who are medically vulnerable for different reasons. I've decided to stock up on store cupboard stuff that we use anyway that could get us through say two weeks of isolation. I'm not considering the more extreme scenarios of there being no electricity/water.

So I've just done a big shop and bought extra of the following - I'd be interested in any glaring omissions.

Soap, toothpaste, shampoo etc
Bleach/surface sprays
Washing up liquid
Toilet rolls, nose tissues
OTC cold meds, adults and children
Kids vitamins
Baked beans, spaghetti hoops
Tinned tuna, corned beef
Bread flour, yeast
Packet noodles
Soup
Pasta and jars of sauce
Tinned fruit
Jam
Malt loaf
Juice/squash
Biscuits
Bacon (use by date is over a month)
Cheese
Frozen veg
Nappies
A magazine and craft bits for kids entertainment
Have more than a months supply of both kids medications.

Considering:
Adult multivitamins to help with lack of veg
Kitchen towel? Dunno why really.
Try to find from in the freezer for a 2 pint of milk
Also I will try to make sure we eat extra healthily for the next week or so, hopefully being healthy will boost immune systems and also give us more of a reserve if things go wrong.

People have been coming here from China during the last two weeks. They may be infectious but not ill yet. One just does not know.

Milk. Try milk powder, long life, almond, oat or soya. Personally I prefer milk powder as it tastes ok on cereal.

I would add tinned veg to the list. And fruit juice in long life boxes. Drinks?

You are also missing laundry liquid.

Vaseline - its in a lot of survival kits

I reckon a layer of that over your fabric mask would be great.

Its also the best hayfever deterent i've ever used so i think a layer of that up the nose is a barrier.

Fab, thanks. I'd mentally excluded laundry powder because I bought a supersized box last week but good point.

Long life fruit juice is a good one
We dislike long life milk but might get something for if we are desperate
Will add tinned veg to the list - or at least will think about it, I think it tastes unpleasant so wouldn't usually have it. Wouldn't mind it in an emergency situation of course but I don't want to buy stuff that will go to waste if (as we hope) this doesn't turn out to be as bad as feared.

Might get some extra boxes of cereal - the kids and I like it dry anyway.
We have lots of tea bags too.

Is powdered oat and soy milk a thing?

Haven’t had time to read the whole thread but why does anyone need a mask - no cases in the UK? I’m in London and get the tube - everyone is carrying on as normal. DH is a GP - I checked with him. There are no issues.

Parker This is a preppers topic so most posters will be, by nature, catasrophisers and will stress despite evidence to the contrary.

I am not saying that this virus will not become an issue, just that this board isnt the place to look for rational responses

I’m reckoning that if we don’t eat all the stockpile food I’ll give it to the food bank.

IMO UHT milk is ok as long as it’s skimmed. It’s the fat that tastes nasty. And skimmed is fine in porridge, and not too bad in tea etc.

Has this been posted yet? Could be a better idea than sanitary towels

Hi @merrygoround51 , I think you've misunderstood Preppers. Most Preppers hope for the best but make reasonable preparations for the worst. And then get on with life. If non-Preppers pop onto these threads for advice, hopefully the takeaway is "here's something I can do about something I'm concerned about ".
Have a nice day.