tl;dr

Via Charlie Stross, Jim MacDonald, and msia comes a list of items it would be a good idea to have stockpiled at home in case you get influenza. Bottom line is, despite your tendency to roll your eyes at the media hysteria about bird ‘flu, there genuinely is an enhanced risk of it and you don’t want to have to try and get hold of this stuff after getting sick. But don’t panic, says Bruce Sterling.

1. pain and fever reducer of your choice — ibuprofen is generally well-tolerated, while aspirin is more likely to cause stomach upset
2. decongestant (pseudoephedrine-based)
3. antihistamine (like Bendadryl — in case you get some whacked-out allergic reaction while your immune system is in a tizzy)
4. cough suppressant
5. cough expectorant
6. long-keeping juices, clear soups/consommes – easily-digestible, easily-prepared, long-keeping staple foods (you’d be surprised how good Cream of Rice can taste)
7. bottled water
8. a basic clean-up kit for infectious spills/vomit, etc.: bleach, a few sponges, some small plastic bin liners, a roll or two of paper towels, and a small bucket (in fact, everything may fit inside the bucket, how convenient!)
9. table salt (to mix with water to help keep your electrolytes up) and table sugar (ditto). Mix 5cc of salt and 40cc of sugar into 1 litre of water.
10. vitamin C in some readily-available form — a jar of chewable vitamins is fine (see above)
11. some extra boxes of tissues
12. some extra rolls of toilet paper / loo paper / bog roll
13. a thermometer that you know how to use and read — one that you can’t is not going to be so useful to you. (Wee digital thermometers are easy to find, btw., and no mercury and glass waiting to break and so on.)
14. a ballpoint pen and a small notebook, for keeping track of vital signs and symptoms in case you need the reference
15. backup/reserve supplies of any medications you take on a regular basis, on the theory that you may be too ill to get to a pharmacy to get a refill when you need one; a great many disaster preparedness folks generally recommend that people keep a one-month backup supply of meds around anyway Just In Case
16. stomach-settlers of your choice: if you like Rolaids or Pepto-Bismol, great, but you might also think about things like dried peppermint (peppermint tea), candied or dried ginger, and dried catnip (catnip tea)
17. rubbing alcohol and gauze pads or cotton balls/cotton wool — can be useful in reducing fevers
18. a copy of the Merck Manual of Medical Information (Home Edition) — one of the single most useful books any household can own, can help you know the difference between, say, “just a cough” and pneumonia
19. a copy of Where There Is No Doctor: A Village Health Care Handbook — an unbelievably useful basic diagnosis, treatment, and prevention handbook for common health care issues

Also worth reading is How To Wash Your Hands. Spoiler: antibacterial soap does more harm than good.

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I feel sorry for whatever poor fool buys it and mistakes this for a table sauce. Sloshing it liberally over a plateful of food is a good way to render that plateful inedible.

(photo taken in Asda Cwmbran)

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