Prepping for when SHTF gets a bit more complicated as you get older, especially if you have medical issues. There are some things that you really have to consider when making plans, and some specialty items that you may need that your younger counterparts may not. Today we’re going to talk about survival items seniors should hoard and give you some tips for getting by.
The first thing that you need to consider is whether or not you’re going to be physically able to bug out by yourself. Don’t make the mistake of depending upon somebody to come and pick you up because they may not be able to get to you. If you can’t drive or walk under your own power, you may want to consider sitting it out at home. Many people choose to do this for a wide variety of reasons.
Medications
The first survival item that people over 60 should hoard is medication. After Hurricane Katrina, there wasn’t a pharmacy open nearby for 3 months. As you can imagine, this caused many people problems.
It doesn’t matter how much food and water you have if you don’t have life-saving medications. The problem here is that it’s difficult with new med laws to hoard any back because they make you get it within a certain window. Still, even then you can save a week or so worth of medications per month if you plan it right and can afford it.
Another option that you may wish to consider is that there are many conditions that can be controlled without medication. Physical fitness is the solution to many problems and often conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol can be brought back within normal limits just by losing weight and eating healthfully. Then you won’t need medications at all. It’s something to think about!
Finally, there are many different types of herbs and supplements out there that were used to treat medical conditions before prescription meds were invented. Learn about your condition and research your natural options so that if you find yourself in a situation where you have no medications and no access to any, at least you can try the natural solutions as a last-ditch effort to survive.
Assistive Devices
Let’s face it: as we get older, things start to fall apart. Hearing and eyesight become bad, knees and hips need replaced and sometimes you just can’t get around without the help of a cane or wheelchair. Well what happens if you break your glasses or your chair falls apart when you can’t just go buy new? That’s a potential reality that you need to consider and prepare for.
We always recommend having an “heir and a spare” of everything that you need from tools to cooking devices and the rule holds true with assistive devices. Have two backups of anything that you need to get you through the day. Reading glasses, hearing aids, wheelchairs, canes; you’ll need to be mobile and functional if SHTF so prepare now.
Personal Care Items
To go along with the topic of getting older, we can’t leave out those fabulous personal care items that you may need to get you through your day. Denture cream, skin lotion and personal undergarments are a few of the more “personal” items but toothpaste, toilet tissue, shampoo and soap are critical, too.
Though these items may not seem critical to survival, people who have lived through disaster say that the feeling of being clean after going through hell is priceless. On top of that, personal care items make for wonderful barter. That’s a good thing, especially if you may not have the ability to barter work for items that you may need.
Special Diet Items
If you have special dietary needs, you need to stock up on items that meet those needs. You may be gluten-free, diabetic or have food allergies. Maybe you need the high-calorie nutritional drinks to keep your weight up. If so, make sure that you have plenty of these types of items stockpiled.
A basic rule for stockpiling food without breaking the bank is this: when you buy a can of salt-free green beans or gluten-free pasta, buy two of them. Put one in the pantry and put the other in your stockpile. Before you know it, you’ll have a good start on your food hoard.
Stockpile Typical Supplies
In addition to age-related items, you’ll also need to hoard food and water if you’re planning on staying home through disaster. You can do this the same way that you do specialty items. One way that will really increase your food stores and personal/medical supplies without putting you in the poor house is to catch things when they’re BOGO. If you buy one and get the other for free, just stash the free one in your stockpile.
Typically, stores run their sales on a cycling basis. About every 6 weeks, the same items that are on sale today will be on sale again so don’t fret if you miss something this time. Don’t be ridiculous about hoarding though. There’s no reason to clean off the shelves just because something is a good deal. If you’re going to use it or stockpile a reasonable amount of it, then by all means buy it, but seriously, nobody needs 150 tubes of hemorrhoid cream; if you do, then perhaps you should talk to your doctor!
Knowledge
Let’s face it; you may not be able to work a full day anymore (if you can, that’s awesome!), so you’ll need to make up for that shortcoming in other ways in order to be useful to a group or even to yourself. Knowledge such as how to grow food, how to make soap, how to fix things or how to heal or care for the injured will be extremely valuable. You may not be able to turn the wrench, but if you can instruct somebody else, you’ll have a place in the order of things.
One last thing that we’d like to add here is that silence is critical, especially for older people. You may think that you’re just mentioning your prepping efforts in idle conversation but if SHTF you can bet your last can of Spaghetti-O’s that your unprepared neighbor will remember what you told him. Nobody is your friend when they’re starving and you have food so keeping silent is the best way to stay alive, or to avoid having to kill your neighbor.
We didn’t concentrate much on the standard items that most people need to stockpile for disaster because that information is readily available anywhere. We hope that this list of survival items that people over 60 should hoard was useful to you. If you can think of anything we missed, or you have tips to help seniors prepare for disaster, please share them in the comments section below.
This article has been written by Theresa Crouse for Survivopedia.
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Source:: Survivopedia