Category Archives: Prepper Skills

Survival Hydration

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As mentioned in the my post on how to start prepping, https://nickspreparedness.com/2020/07/14/how-to-start-prepping/ water is one of the most vital parts to survival. There is no shortage to the list of people who have survived for days, weeks, and sometimes months with little or no food. Of course, the amount of time you last is partial based on your stored fat and muscle that your body can consume as well as you general health going into the situation, but its safe to say that, on average, we will die of dehydration or related issues long before starvation if we have no water source.

How Much Water Should We Drink Daily ?

According to the Mayo Clinic, adults should be drinking between 3/4 to 1 full gallon of water daily. That sounds like a lot, but it is very doable, especially when it’s hot and you constantly need to replenish your fluids. With that in mind, you can figure you’ll need roughly a gallon of water per person per day just for drinking in a survival situation. It sounds simple until the water faucet runs dry. As the blog continues, we will take up the task of water storage in another post, however, be aware that you need to plan for an ample supply.

What Type of Water Should I Drink?

That sounds like a dumb question on the surface doesn’t it? I mean, we all know that soft drinks and alcohol are water based but aren’t going to be as effective against dehydration and could actually worsen it, but what type water? It makes a difference.

I changed careers about 2 years ago and found myself in a completely different line of work, water treatment. One of the first things we did as new hires was to have an informal “water 101” class with our manager. I never realized prior to this just how much chemistry is involved in our need for hydration. Our bodies are made up of mostly water, but here’s the catch, its salt water! Now its not the type of salt water you dip from the sea, but it is a combination of lots of “salts” that allow our bodies to function. Pure water with no minerals dissolved in it will actually lead to dehydration because it reverses the transfer of the necessary minerals that our body uses to function. Pure water will not conduct electricity and our bodies operate of electrical pulses to stimulate muscles and bodily functions, therefore, the type water you drink is actually very important. Now that we as a nation have become addicted to bottled water, its important to look closely at the label. If you see that the water is distilled or purified by reverse osmosis, it likely has a very low mineral content and may need to be supplemented with an electrolyte blend.

What Electrolytes Should I Add to My Water?

The amount that we need to supplement our mineral and electrolyte intake depends on multiple factors such as diet and overall health. Adding too much salt content through sports drinks or dietary supplements can have the same effect on the body as too much table salt. Blood pressure can rise and numerous other cardiovascular problems can begin. Using tap water or mineral water along with a balanced diet is a good start. From there you can get specific with your doctor about your regular bloodwork and if you have any cramping or other issues linked to dehydration. I cramp easily these days so i have started using some supplements to boost my electrolytes when i have lost lots of fluids on a given day. These help me a lot, but they work even better if they are taken as you sweat out fluids instead of waiting until you have lost your mineral content at the end of the day or task. Check them out below:

Liquid I.V. hydration Multiplier

LES Labs Lytefuel

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What is a Prepper?

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A lot of people are new to the idea of preparedness and prepping. Unless a person has stumbled on information about the practice of prepping or has seen some of the television shows about “doomsday preppers” and the like, he or she may not know much about who and what preppers really are. As is the case with most groups, preppers are plagued with stereotypes that are sometimes closer to the truth than the average person preparing for hardships wants to admit. There are examples of this used on the television shows to exaggerate the lifestyle of the self sufficient person to the level of a near hermit that is constantly in fear of the government or other group and takes extreme measures to insulate themselves from harm with elaborate plans and schemes. As someone who has watched and learned and is ready to start my journey of preparedness, this is far from what I see my goal to be. There will be lots of information to cover and lots of helpful information and products that I’ll introduce everyone to as the blog continues, however, lets just hit some basic points for now.

Prepper Scenarios

Being chased by paramilitary groups and covert arms of the government who are spying on your every move and flying over you in stealth helicopters is the type of prepper scenario that Hollywood movies are made of. There’s no doubt that the idea of being a true bad ass like Jason Bourne or Bob Lee Swaggert is entertaining, but reality sets in and we realize quickly that the likelihood that we will run afoul of the government or clandestine agency to the extent that Hollywood would like to portray is very slim. The simple fact is that the vast majority of us as normal citizens would not be a large enough threat to any organization as to bring down that kind of wrath. Another classic scenario is the post apocalypse, Mad Max fantasy. A nuclear blast has taken out all major cities as well as the power grid and almost any means of communication or electrical device. Sounds exciting, doesn’t it? Spoiler Alert! It will probably be a much simpler form of disaster or security issue that necessitates our need to be prepared.

Long term power outages

We are connected to electricity almost all the time and unless we are without it for more than a few hours, we don’t realize our dependence on it. If you go without power for a few days, however, you realize just how much it matters. On a personal note, it’s and inconvenience and can be uncomfortable. Extend that over a wider area such as much of Mississippi and Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina and the situation changes. If you have a generation, you find out that electricity runs the gas pumps. If you run out of food, you find that electricity keeps all the perishables fresh in the stores. You aren’t nearly as likely to suffer the fallout of a nuclear blast as that of a natural disaster.

Self defense scenarios

Black helicopters and rouge CIA agents are exciting, but your self defense scenario is most likely the same as mine. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time is often all that is needed to be in a life or death situation. Consider the wave of protests and riots around the nation. A trip to visit a friend or even a quick run to the grocery store could put you in the middle of a situation where you have to defend yourself from a few to many possible assailants. Your hidden lair with machine gun nests all around isn’t going to help you much here!

There’s simply too many scenarios that we might face to load one blog post down, but as we go through this journey of improving our preparedness, I’ll be bringing up lots of the ideas, scenarios, and resources that I plan to employee and maybe you will too.