Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Some Facts Regarding Emergency Survival Kits

By Susan Dawson


The importance of emergency survival kits cannot be overemphasized. These tools frequently make the difference between life and death when the unknown happens. One needs to ensure that their kit is frequently checked and expired replaced as appropriate. When creating a personalized kit, there are a number of things that one needs to have in mind. One of them entails knowing whether they will need this tool just once or for a number of occasions.

Since it is not possible to have everything that you may regard as being important, proper decision making is required. This will help avoid the packing of the non-essential items at the expense of those required for survival. Shelter is undoubtedly one of the essentials. Its main function is to protect the user from harmful external environments. Always make sure you have some form of shelter within your kit.

There are many forms of shelter that can be used including, but not limited to tents, tarps and trash bags. Nylon ponchos can be ripped and folded flat to make tents. The material chosen should be light enough to carry around with ease. Do not forget to have some ropes and stakes with you to be used in erecting your desired structure.

Related to the shelter is the need for warm bedding. The top two choices here are wool and fleece. Both are always warm even when wet. Wool is a flame retardant while fleece has the advantage of being lightweight. Foil type blankets are easy to package and equally as good as these two. Cotton bedding should be avoided as much as possible as they lead to loss of body heat.

The minimum of water ranges between 130 and 160 oz for each person per day. This is the amount recommended for drinking only. Proper packaging to avoid contamination by microorganisms is important. This can be achieved by the use of sterilized bottles, water bags and clean reusable containers. The shelf life of bottled water is close to five years but replacement should be done as regularly as possible.

The choice of food is mainly dependent on individual preferences. Just ensure that there is a balance between the main groups of foods and minerals. About 2000 calories of energy are required per person per day. Since space is limited, preference is given to foods that require little or no preparation at all and do not require the use of utensils. Food bars and granola are fairly convenient.

Other items that should be considered after the very essential have been packed include hygiene items such as soap, toilet paper and towels. First aid contents in the kit include painkillers, antibiotics, wound cream, gauze rolls and anticoagulants among others. Important rescue aids include whistles, a pocket knife, a small rope and a crank radio.

There are rules that govern the preparation of emergency survival kits. What is contained in these tools is dependent on what the owner deems being most important. If you are taking medication, for instance, you will probably regard your drugs as being very important and you have to include them in the kit. Once you have your list, the next thing is to look for an easily accessible waterproof bag.




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