We have both city power AND internet! Whoo hoo!
So, I've been catching up on articles online, and wanted to pass along a few...
#1
Just to be clear, I'm not going to Joplin (yet...), and while some of
the information on this webpage is specific to Joplin, and to the
group that the author volunteered with, I think a lot of the
information shared is good for anyone considering volunteering in a
disaster area.
For example, ALWAYS take a roll of duct tape, sharpies, and a knife or
good scissors. I would add a few things - like a headlamp - to the
list of absolute musts...
http://sunflowerbusinessconsulting.com/repswordpress/?p=262
#2
Volunteering after a disaster is not without its risks. There are
reports of 9 cases of zygomycosis in the Joplin area. Zygomycosis
(mucormycosis) infections are caused by fungi found in soil and
decaying vegetation. Lots of people are exposed to these fungi on a
regular basis, but having it enter your body (ie. through a puncture
wound from a nail from a flying building, or disaster area clean up,
that has fungus residue on it) is what causes the deadly infection. Of
course, extra caution has to be taken by diabetics and people with
compromised immune systems (for obvious reasons... their immune system
is compromised.) It's not uncommon to see zygomycosis showing up after
natural disasters...
I'm in the middle of an interesting conversation on facebook with a
few people about zygomycosis precautions. My personal recommendations
to avoid zygomycosis are:
(1) don't be in a natural disaster (ha ha ha)
(2) if you are immune compromised, perhaps on-the-ground disaster
relief is not the best line of work for you to go into. There are many
ways to help relief efforts that will not put you in harms way, like
logistics, fundraising, coordination of donations and supplies, etc.
After the quake in Haiti, there were people who were not prepared to
do disaster relief that came to Haiti to "help", and ended up being
more of a burden than a blessing. If you end up sick, you can't help
people, and may end up taking away resources from the people who you
are trying to help.
(2) if you are doing search and rescue, ruble removal, etc, wear GOOD
gloves. Ones that nails and glass won't easily penetrate.
(3) IF YOU ARE CUT/PUNCTURED (either because you were caught in a
natural disaster, or while helping with the relief efforts in the
aftermath):
flush the wound well - clean water, or bust open an IV bag of NS (0.9%
Sodium Chloride) and use that...
clean the wound thoroughly - alcohol, betadine, hydrogen peroxide all
kill "bugs"...
cover the wound - Your skin is an amazing barrier to infection, but
when there's a hole in the barrier, stuff can get through. Bandage it
up to keep all the nastiness out. If you don't have bandaids, even
putting some TP over it and duct tape on top of that is better than
leaving a hole in your skin open to all sorts of germs and bacteria.
even if it's "just a scratch", you should still flush the scratch,
clean it, and cover it.
seek medical attention - have it looked at, and for the love of God,
get a freaking tetanus shot, unless you've had one in the past 5
years. And if you're going as a volunteer, and haven't had one in the
past 5 years, GET ONE! I've watched 5 people die of active tetanus in
Haiti. It is a horrible, miserable, painful way to die.
(4) even if you did seek medical attention, pay attention to anything
out of the ordinary in your health during the disaster/relief efforts
and afterwards. For example, if the wound becomes red and hot to the
touch, you might have an infection. If that's accompanied by a fever,
headache, severe sinus pain, and swelling, it might be zygomycosis. I
REALLY WANT TO MAKE THIS POINT CLEAR: if a provider checked out your
wound the day it happened, and said it looked fine, this does not mean
that you are not going to develop an infection in the days that
follow.
(5) whether you have a wound or not, take care of yourself. A few tips:
Be sure you drink enough CLEAN water. Also, Gatorade/ORS is a great
way to replenish all the electrolytes you're sweating out.
Eat. We used to joke about "the Haiti diet", because so many people
lost weight when they came down here to volunteer. While you may not
be hungry in the midst of the chaos, you need your strength so you can
keep helping those in need. And make sure you're eating good food, as
in NOT ROTTEN food. We saw quite a few cases of people who got sick
from eating meats or dairy that hadn't been stored properly.
Examine/smell things before eating them. And, when in doubt, throw it
out.
Stretch. Especially if you're going to be doing any sort of strenuous
manual labor.
Sleep. Not all the time, and not in the middle of a disaster actually
happening, but you need to rest and recuperate so you can continue to
help those in need. Also, we tend to make bad decisions when we're
sleep deprived... and when we're drunk... so don't booze it up WHILE
doing relief work. If you are going to drink, wait until you're off
shift, and don't go overboard. Nothing like being hung over AND
carrying people who are vomiting and have uncontrollable diarrhea...
Just sayin...
Be conscious of your health. Bowel movements are often affected by
stress, but they're also affected by e. coli, salmonella, etc.. Make
sure you have a good supply of all your personal medications, and
include enough for a week longer than you expect to stay in the
disaster area (travel plans get changed, airports shut down, etc.) Oh,
and if you're uuber white (like me), make sure you have sun block.
Be conscious of those around you, give them some grace, and don't
snap. Disaster work is hard - physically and mentally - and you never
know how you're going to react until you're in the situation.
Especially when it comes to death. There is often a lot of death
associated with a disaster. Even people who "have seen dead bodies
and been ok with it" can have a rough time with being surrounded by
piles of dead bodies, or seeing mangled children.
And above all, go in with your eyes and heart wide open. While a
natural disaster is tragic, the experience of helping your fellow man
is one you will never forget. And it takes a special type of person
to give of themselves and volunteer in such tragedy.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/8612835_deadly_fungus_strikes_joplin_tornado_survivors_volunteers
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001672/
#3
But wait, there's more... more cholera in Haiti...
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11162/1153028-82-0.stm
#4
I believe Father's Day (in the US) is coming up soon... I read this
and was laughing so hard, I nearly peed my pants. And we can all use
a good laugh down here in Haiti...
http://www.scribd.com/doc/57840168/Father-s-Day-Story-June-2011
~PJ
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