Last week, The Ready Store wrote a featured article in The Enterprise, a business journal, on how to prepare your business for an earthquake. Take a look:

By The Ready Store

In February 2008, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit near Wells, Nev., Fortunately, this large earthquake didn’t take any lives. Instead, the quake damaged half of the non-residential buildings in the town.

The disaster cost the city over $9 million dollars and steered businesses off track for months after the event. …

Your Responsibility to Prepare Your Business
If you are preparing your family for an emergency, why should your business be any different? …

When you think about it, an earthquake might not strike while you and your family are at home. Instead, it’s probable that you’ll be at your desk (or perhaps on the golf course if you’re lucky)! You have a responsibility to prepare your business and your employees to know what to do in case of an emergency.

There are a few things that you can do to prepare before a quake, train your employees on what do during a quake, and keep your business financially stable after an earthquake.

Prepare Your Location
The first thing you’ll want to do is assess how ready your business location is for an earthquake. This will help you develop a plan for your business.

Identify potential hazards. Does your office have a lot of pictures hanging on the wall? Is there more than one escape route out of the building? You should assess what concerns your location presents while you create a plan.

Also consider your businesses utilities. Is your water heater properly installed so that it won’t fall over in a quake? Are fire alarms and extinguishers in proper working order?

Your building. There are many factors to take into account to ensure that your building is ready for an earthquake. Even things like design, furnishings and when the building was constructed can have an effect.

The soil underneath a building can also have a major effect on its sustainability during a quake. Soft, clay-like soils tend to absorb the motion of an earthquake better than a rocky soil.

Emergency materials. If you and your employees were trapped inside of the building, would you have the supplies to survive? You should consider purchasing or creating emergency kits for your business. Include things like flashlights, collapsible shovels, first-aid materials, water and some snacks. Be sure to make a few extra kits for customers or guests who might be at your building that day.

These kits should be accessible and easy to grab if you need to exit the building.

Prepare Your Employees
The next step in preparing your business is to prepare your employees to know what to do during the earthquake.

Establish an emergency coordinator. Depending on the size of your business, you may want to establish one of your employees as the emergency coordinator. They can head up projects that deal with emergency planning and conducting drills.

Also consider providing incentives to employees who become CPR certified or take time to teach your customers and the community around you about emergency preparedness.

Under the desk. The best thing that you and your employees can do during an earthquake is get underneath a desk or some sturdy structure and hold on. You might have heard in the past that that getting under a door frame is the best idea. However, Steve Bowman, project manager for Utah Geological Hazards, sets the record straight.

“Getting to a door frame might be harder than you think,” Bowman said. “There might be a lot of falling objects around the room. We recommend getting under a desk and holding on – the ‘Drop, Cover and Hold On’ technique.”

Escape plan. Be sure to have a plan in place and practice it periodically with your employees. They should all know their escape route from the building. You should practice this plan at least once a quarter.

Establish a meeting location. Once the earthquake stops, you and your employees need to know where to meet. Have a location where your business can check in to make sure everyone is OK. This location should be outdoors and easy to access if emergency responders need to help you.

An emergency coordinator will have the responsibility of taking roll and making sure everyone is safe.

Communication. After you’ve made sure that everyone is accounted for. Have plans in place to ensure that your employees can reach their family members. While many times, phone lines are jammed after an emergency, the Federal Communications Commission recommends that you send text messages to ensure family members that you are safe. Many times text messages will go through the system easier than a phone call.

Prepare for the Effects on Your Business
There are many smaller business that don’t make it out of an earthquake financially.

“Many times, the impact of being closed for a few days or having their utilities or shipping interrupted for a few days can devastate a business,” Brown said. Remember that your mortgages and bills will not wait because of an earthquake.

Earthquake insurance. Would insurance cover your business location in case of an earthquake? Not all insurance policies do! Check out your insurance policy to see what kind of damage it covers. There are some types of earthquake insurance policies that can be purchased separately, which might be a good fit for your business.

Federal assistance. Interestingly, the majority of federal assistance money after an earthquake goes toward low-interest loans to qualified business.

FEMA assistance is only available when the government declares a federal disaster. Business can apply for loans to help against building damage, employee loss or other working capital needs. However, if a disaster is declared, your business will have to apply to FEMA or the Small Business Administration (SBA) for a loan.

Emergency power. If an earthquake strikes, the power grid might be knocked out. Be sure to have a contingency plan in place for electricity and power at your business. You might consider a generator or installing solar panels.

Helping your local community. As a business, you have a responsibility to your local community and customers. You can include plans to be able to help people in your local community clean up after the mess.

Your business would have to make plans to have access to tools, food, water, extra clothing and more to help the community. Besides fulfilling your duty to the local community, this will also establish a long-lasting relationship with customers and potential customers.

You’ll be prepared!
Once you’ve established a plan and ensured that your business will keep going – you’ll be ready to face an earthquake.

There are lots of resources out there including videos, brochures and reading material on ussc.utah.gov. You can also learn more and sign up to participate in the Utah Shake Out on April 17th at shakeout.org/utah.

We would encourage you to prepare for an earthquake by making plans now!

Read the original article here (subscription required).

By The Ready Store

One of the most important aspects of emergency preparations is plans for your emotional health! Disasters and emergencies can have a large impact on your stress levels. This is especially true if you’ve experienced a disaster previously.

Here are some tips on how to take care of your emotional health during a disaster or emergency.

What you feel during a disaster

You may feel a wide variety of emotions during a stressful event. Try to remember in the moment, that these emotions are temporary. Try to be patient with yourself and your emotions and be helpful towards your family and neighbors.

These are all common responses in an emergency situation:

• Feeling physically weak and mentally tired. Many times, people feel tired, sad, numb, lonely or worried.
• Difficulty making decisions or focusing
• Frequently becoming frustrated. Also feeling frustrated more quickly.
• Experiencing changes in appetite or sleep patterns.

How to get your emotional health back on track

One of the best things you can do to get back on track is to establish a routine. The emergency will have disrupted your daily routine and getting back into that will help you emotionally. Remember that this might take some time.

Basic necessities. Try to find a place to evaluate your situations. Find a safe location to assess your physical needs.

Eat healthy. During times of high stress, you’ll want to make sure that you are eating well. You’ll feel better than if you eat junk food. That is why it’s so important to have a healthy balance to your food storage supply. Read our previous post on steps to choosing a food storage kit.

Adequate rest. Be sure to get enough sleep and rest for your needs. This might be hard when your routine has changed so rapidly. However, rest will help you overcome your stress.

Be patient and loving. While many people are feeling frustrated, they can get moody. Be sure to be patient with others and yourself. However, this doesn’t mean that you can just go off by yourself. Staying connected, talking, with others can help you cope and feel support. Feeling others care and love is an important part of emotional health.

Make plans. During an emergency, you’ll find difficulty staying focused. For this reason, it’s important to gather information and set priorities on what you need to do. Have something to write down your list so that you can remember what you need to do. It’s also helpful to keep your family and friends involved with your plans so they can remind you what you need to do.

If depression continues

Most people will feel better after a few days. However, there are some that can’t seem to overcome their emotional stress. If you find yourself or others experiencing these symptoms, two weeks or more after an event, consider reaching out for additional help.

• Bursts of anger
• Difficulty sleeping
• Loss of appetite
• Emotional outbursts
• Headaches and stomachaches
• Fatigue
• Feelings of guilt, helplessness or hopelessness
• Avoiding the presence of loved ones

Your recommendations

What do you think? What plans have you made to take care of your emotional health during a disaster? We’d love to hear from you. Please share your tips below!

By The Ready Store

In the film “Cast Away,” Tom Hanks’ character is stranded on an island after his airplane crashes. On top of all the problems he has – learning to make a fire, finding food, water, shelter – he has  a toothache!

This scared me half-to-death when I saw the film. I wondered, in an emergency, would I be able to take care of a simple toothache?

With the help of the Special Operations Forces Medical Handbook, we have highlighted some things that you can do to treat cavities, fractures, extracted teeth and more, in an emergency. These techniques should only be used in an emergency and are not a replacement for a qualified dental professional.

The handbook recommends that you have cotton balls, anesthetic, an explorer, a spoon excavator and a mixing tools. You will need some of these in order to take care of the problems we have listed below.

Anatomy of a tooth
The first thing you’ll need to know about emergency dentistry is the anatomy of a tooth.

A tooth has two major parts – the crown and roots. The crown is the (hopefully) white part that is visible. The roots are embedded in your gums.

The crown has five surfaces: the occlusal (biting) surface, the lingual (tongue side) surface, the facial (cheek side) surface and two contact surfaces that touch the adjacent teeth.

Cavities
Symptoms. If you have a cavity, you’ll feel dull pain in the area. Heat, cold, sweet, or salty foods may enhance the pain. You’ll want to determine on which surface the cavity is located.

Treatment. Cavities can be very tricky to treat because of anesthesia.

The first thing you’ll do is apply an anesthetic agent. Be sure that you are trained on where the injection should be placed – which is near the top of the tooth’s root – in a mucobuccal fold. Do not inject into a blood vessel.

The Medical Handbook recommends the following anesthesia:

• 2% lidocaine with 1/100,000 epinephrine (Xylocaine)
• 0.5% bupivacaine with 1/200,000 epinephrine (Marcaine)
• 3% mepivacaine without epinephrine (Polocaine or Carbocaine)

After the anesthesia has been injected properly, begin to remove the soft decayed area with a spoon-shaped instrument. If they are properly anesthetized, they shouldn’t feel any pain.

After you remove the decayed content, wash out the cavity with warm water. Combine zinc oxide (IRM) powder with two or three drops of water – mix until it’s a putty texture. Then place the putty in the hole. If the cavity was on the occlusal surface, have the patient bite a few times to form the putty.

If IRM is not available, you can fill the hole with a cotton pellet impregnated with eugenol.

This is a temporary procedure. Only a dentist can provide definitive care.

Crown fractures
Your front teeth are more susceptible to fractures than your back teeth. A crown fracture will be a break in your tooth.

Symptoms. Usually someone with a crown fracture will have sensitivity to heat and cold. They might find tooth fragments in their mouth or feel jagged tooth edges.

Treatment. If the fracture is small, you can smooth the rough edges with an emery board or small flat file.

If the fracture is extensive wash the tooth with warm saline. Then, isolate the tooth with cotton gauze. After you’ve isolated the area, cover the fracture with Zinc Oxide-Eugenol paste (IRM). This will hold for about 6 weeks.

Dislocated tooth
Symptoms. You’ll probably notice that your tooth has moved or is wiggling.

Treatment. You can place local anesthetic on the tooth to relieve pain. After you’ve applied the anesthetic, manually reposition the tooth to its normal position. You can then use wire or heavy fishing line to bind the tooth the the teeth next to it. Splint the tooth in place.

Tooth out of its socket
Symptoms. You may have your tooth in your hand.

Treatment. If the tooth has been saved, do not let it dry out. Do not try and scrape anything off the tooth. Instead, place the tooth in a clean liquid like saline or milk.

Next, administer some local anesthetic to the socket. If there are blood clots in the socket, clean it out with saline solution. Replace the tooth in the socket. Then splint the tooth to the surrounding teeth with wire or heavy fishing line. Be sure to administer some type of pain reliever after replacing the tooth.

Tooth extraction
If you end up having to extract a tooth, after the extraction, compress the sides of the empty socket and place a folded sponge over the socket. Apply light pressure for 60 minutes. Do not rinse your mouth for 12 hours since this may disturb the clot.

By The Ready Store

This is a great graphic on how weeds – found in your own yard – can be used to help heal sicknesses, burns, sores and other ailments. Check out our posts on food storage and other topics by clicking on the categories tab to the right.

Excerpted from Susan S. Weed and natureskills.com

By The Ready Store

Obviously, if you have a broken bone, you’ll want to go to a professional to have the bone reset.

However, imagine that you are out hiking or are in an emergency situation, and you break a bone. What can you do to set the bone or at least hold it in place until you can get some help?

Fractures
There are two types of fractures – open and closed. Open fractures typically have a bone protruding through the skin and includes an open wound. A closed fracture has no open wound.

If you have an open fracture, it is recommended that you manipulate the injury as little as possible. This is due to the fact that you can mess up nerve and blood vessels.

If you notice that there is a lot of swelling, numbness or discoloration below the break, this may be a sign that a major blood vessel has been severed. If this is the case, you’ll need to control the internal bleeding, allow the person to rest and provide them with lots of fluids.

If you feel that you need to quickly place the bone back in position you can use a tree notch to assist you in holding your arm in place while you adjust.

If the broken bone is in a very muscular area (ie. thigh), you’ll need to create a splint until you can get some help. Here is an example of a splint that you can make in the wilderness:

• Get two forked branches or saplings at least 5 centimeters in diameter. Measure one from the patient’s armpit to 20 to 30 centimeters past his unbroken leg. Measure the other from the groin to 20 to 30 centimeters past the unbroken leg. Ensure that both extend an equal distance beyond the end of the leg.
• Pad the two splints. Notch the ends without forks and lash a 20- to 30-centimeter cross member made from a 5-centimeter diameter branch between them.
• Using available material (vines, cloth, rawhide), tie the splint around the upper portion of the body and down the length of the broken leg. Follow the splinting guidelines.
• With available material, fashion a wrap that will extend around the ankle, with the two free ends tied to the cross member.
• Place a 10- by 2.5-centimeter stick in the middle of the free ends of the ankle wrap between the cross member and the foot. Using the stick, twist the material to make the traction easier.
• Continue twisting until the broken leg is as long or slightly longer than the unbroken leg.
• Lash the stick to maintain traction.

Note: Over time you may lose traction because the material weakened. Check the traction periodically. If you must change or repair the splint, maintain the traction manually for a short time. (Courtesy of Wilderness Survival.)

Dislocation
Dislocated bones are when bone joints have been separated. They can be very painful. They can push against nerve and blood vessels causing nerve tenderness and your circulatory system to have trouble.

You can tell if you have a dislocated bone because it will be tender along the joint, have swelling, discoloration, limited range of motion and sometimes deformity.

You can use simple weights to pull the bones back into place. If done properly, the pain should decrease and allow for natural function and circulation.

After you place the bone back in place, you should leave it immobilized for a few days. You can create a simple splint – holding the area in place to ensure proper healing.

Video

Please remember that these techniques can be used in extreme situations and we recommend that you seek out professional assistance if it is available.

By The Ready Store

You probably don’t think about that very often. In fact, you probably haven’t ever thought about it!

Now before you say “Oh, I already have adhesive bandages in my kit!” take a second to consider what kind of bandages you have. Adhesive bandages (Band-Aid is a brand of adhesive bandages) can be a very important aspect of your emergency and first-aid preparations.

History of adhesive bandages

Adhesive bandages were invented in the 1920s as a way to dress your own wound without help – hence the “aid.” Band-Aids were first sold over the counter and during World War II, Johnson and Johnson sent millions of Band-Aids across the globe to needful troops.

Now, they are very common in society and are in almost every first-aid kit! In fact, you probably have adhesive bandages in your first-aid kit, but they look someone just through a handful in as an afterthought, right?

Adhesive bandages seem like the lowest common denominator of first-aid kits. However, there are a few things you should consider in your first-aid kit’s adhesive bandages.

• Varying sizes. Instead of just having the one-size-fits-all strips in your first-aid kit, be sure to have adhesive bandages that are different sizes and shapes. There are tons of shapes that can fit around knuckles, fingers, fingertips, knees, etc. Be sure to include some Butterfly, X-shape, H-shape and single-spot adhesive bandages.

• Fabric. Be sure that your adhesive bandages are made out a strong material that isn’t going to snap apart. Many times adhesive bandages are made of cross-fibers or breathable material to allow for a more durable and comfortable dressing.
• Water-proof. The worst thing is using a bandage that falls off when you’re working, sweating or using water. Find bandages that can last in the water!
• Hypoallergenic. This is pretty common in modern adhesive bandages. Older bandages however can cause allergic reactions for some. Be sure that those who use the bandages aren’t going to have a reaction.
• Anti-biotic. There are many bandages that offer infection protection. The cotton can contain antibiotic ointment that prevents against infection and minimizes the scaring.

Some Band-Aid Myths to consider

1. A lot of people believe that keeping minor cuts and soars uncovered – or “letting them breath” – will allow them to heal faster. However, this isn’t true.

You want to have a bandage that absorbs the fluids coming out of a cut or scar – this will decrease your changes of scaring, and reopening the cut. Having a bandage that covers the whole area will allow for a more effective healing. (Read the Band-Aid article)

2. Some manly men say that they’ll just “throw some duct tape on it!” While this might be good for protecting the wound, it might not help. You’ll need some type of cotton material to absorb fluids coming out of the wound. Also, duct tape is so adhesive that it can reopen the wound when you pull it off.

Nearly everyone will have to use a first aid kit sooner or later. Whether it will be used on oneself or on another, it’s important to know where the general groups of items are located in your kit so that in an alarming situation you know where things are. It’s also important to know which items should be used to address which situations. Listed below are 3 helpful tips that can assist you in navigating a little easier through your kit during an emergency.

1. When you receive your first-aid kit be sure to you open and prepare it for use before an accident occurs. Make sure you know where the items are and when you’d need to use what. When exploring through your first aid kit, it might be beneficial to label which group of items are located in which pocket. You can do this with a labeler or by writing with pen or marker on masking-tape.

2. Looking through your kit provides you with an opportunity to check expiration dates and to replace any out-of-date contents if necessary. Not all of the items in a first aid kit expire, but pay specific attention to liquids, ointments, and any medications you’re storing.

3. Most first aid kits come with a guide specifically for that first aid kit, but sometimes kits don’t come with any at all. Absent instructions are more common with the smallest, most basic kits, and shouldn’t be the case with anything larger than an 81 piece or more. If you receive a first aid kit without a guide check to see that it wasn’t supposed to be included. If it was, it’s important for you to have those specific instructions. If instructions do not come with your kit, be sure you’re familiar with the items in it before an accident happens.

4. Another inconvenient trait many first aid kits have is that the medicines and bandages are labeled only with the medical name, which will limit the inexperienced handler’s ability to help. If there are any names in your kit that you don’t understand or might forget, find a definition or description of the item online and write it on the actual item.

Here is a basic lingo-guide to help you understand what some of those hefty words mean:

H(a)emostatic – Protects wound with pressure to promote clotting and stop bleeding.

Saline – Sterile liquid used for cleaning out wounds or washing out eyes.

Antiseptic – An agent for reducing risk of infection in abrasions or around wounds.

Aceteminophen / Paracetamol – Most common pain-killing medications.

Naproxen/ Ibuprofen – Anti-inflammatory pain killers.

Codeine - Pain killer for more intense pain and anti-diarrheal medication.

Loperamide – Anti-diarrhea medication; prevents dehydration caused by diarrhea.

Hydrocortisone – Anti-itch agent in cream.

Bermabond/Tincture of Benzoin – Protects skin and can act as additional adhesive.

Sphygmomanometer – Another word for a Blood Pressure Meter.

Zinc Oxide - Soothing

Nearly everyone will have to use a first aid kit sooner or later. Whether it will be used on oneself or on another, it’s important to know where the general groups of items are located in your kit so that in an alarming situation you know where things are. It’s also important to know which items should be used to address which situations. Listed below are 3 helpful tips that can assist you in navigating a little easier through your kit during an emergency.

1. When you receive your first-aid kit be sure to you open and prepare it for use before an accident occurs. Make sure you know where the items are and when you’d need to use what. When exploring through your first aid kit, it might be beneficial to label which group of items are located in which pocket. You can do this with a labeler or by writing with pen or marker on masking-tape.

2. Looking through your kit provides you with an opportunity to check expiration dates and to replace any out-of-date contents if necessary. Not all of the items in a first aid kit expire, but pay specific attention to liquids, ointments, and any medications you’re storing.

3. Most first aid kits come with a guide specifically for that first aid kit, but sometimes kits don’t come with any at all. Absent instructions are more common with the smallest, most basic kits, and shouldn’t be the case with anything larger than an 81 piece or more. If you receive a first aid kit without a guide check to see that it wasn’t supposed to be included. If it was, it’s important for you to have those specific instructions. If instructions do not come with your kit, be sure you’re familiar with the items in it before an accident happens.

4. Another inconvenient trait many first aid kits have is that the medicines and bandages are labeled only with the medical name, which will limit the inexperienced handler’s ability to help. If there are any names in your kit that you don’t understand or might forget, find a definition or description of the item online and write it on the actual item.

Here is a basic lingo-guide to help you understand what some of those hefty words mean:

H(a)emostatic – Protects wound with pressure to promote clotting and stop bleeding.

Saline – Sterile liquid used for cleaning out wounds or washing out eyes.

Antiseptic – An agent for reducing risk of infection in abrasions or around wounds.

Aceteminophen / Paracetamol – Most common pain-killing medications.

Naproxen/ Ibuprofen – Anti-inflammatory pain killers.

Codeine - Pain killer for more intense pain and anti-diarrheal medication.

Loperamide – Anti-diarrhea medication; prevents dehydration caused by diarrhea.

Hydrocortisone – Anti-itch agent in cream.

Bermabond/Tincture of Benzoin – Protects skin and can act as additional adhesive.

Sphygmomanometer – Another word for a Blood Pressure Meter.

Zinc Oxide - Soothing