How To Call The Police When You're Old and Can't Get Around Like You Used To

True story, this!

This happened in Meridian, Mississippi. George Phillips called the local police one night to report a burglary in progress. He told the dispatcher that thieves were stealing things from his shed, and he could see them from his back door. The dispatcher asked, "Is someone in your house?" George said "No, but..." He was cut off by the clipped voice on the phone. The dispatcher then told him that all patrol units were on calls, and that an officer would be there when they would be available.

George said "Okay", then hung up the phone. He looked out the window, looked at the phone, took a deep breath and called the police again. This is what he said. "Hello, I just called you a few seconds ago because there were people stealing things from my shed. Well, you don't have to worry about them now because I've just shot them." Then he hung up the phone and smiled to himself.

Within just a few minutes, an Armed Rescue Unit, three police cars, and an ambulance responded. The surprised burglars were apprehended.

One of the officers wondered out loud, "I thought the homeowner shot them..."

George leaned on his cane and shouted from his doorway, "I thought you said there was nobody available!"

Chainsaw Safety Chaps May Help Newbies Stay in One Piece

If trees are part of your habitat, having a chainsaw is helpful, especially for clearing your driveway of trees and tree limbs after ice and wind storms.

If you are new at the business of chainsawing, you should thoroughly study the safety aspects of it. Practice enough so that you are comfortable with your new skills. During emergencies is no time to learn anything.

Experienced chainsawyers appreciate the extra margin of safety that good safety gear provides. Chainsaw safety chaps, safety gloves and glasses are not 100% chainsaw proof, but may make the difference between a good day and a bad day.

Buy only good brands of safety gear. Discount or "off" brands are noticibly skimpier on quality. The savings are certainly not worth the sacrifice. AO is a good brand that is reasonably priced. The best deal I've found for safety chaps is here:


http://www.northerntool.com/

NorthernTool.com
1-800-221-0516

AO Safety Chainsaw Chaps Item # 181931 $49.99

Provides leg protection while logging or when using a chain saw. Durable nylon material designed to jam a chain saw on contact. Each leg has two quick-release buckles. Oil and water-resistant outer layer. 42 in. Waist with 37 in. Inseam. UL approved. U.S.A.


These folks sell lots of safety gear for chainsaw work:

http://loghomestore.com/

LogHomeStore.com
Orders: (800) 827-1688
Technical & other (503) 843-3608 Fax:(503) 843-3673
Email: Sales@LogHomeStore.com

Helmets
Ear Protection
Eye Protection
Safety Shirts
Chaps
Safety Gloves
Safety Boots

Undercooked Beans Can Be Toxic

If you find yourself in a hurry, and tempted to cook beans "al dente" (just a tad bit too firm)...don't!

Time or fuel constraints might tempt some to settle for slightly undercooked beans. Did you know that dried Kidney beans (and other beans) that are not thoroughly cooked can cause poisoning? This can range from moderate to severe discomfort.

Hat-tip to Science Teacher (at CurEvents.com), for this link: FDA/CFSA http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/chap43.html

The toxin is called: "Phytohaemagglutinin"


"The onset time from consumption of raw or undercooked kidney beans to symptoms varies from between 1 to 3 hours. Onset is usually marked by extreme nausea, followed by vomiting, which may be very severe. Diarrhea develops somewhat later (from one to a few hours), and some persons report abdominal pain. Some persons have been hospitalized, but recovery is usually rapid (3 - 4 h after onset of symptoms) and spontaneous." snip

Alan T. Hagan, a CE poster who is also a food storage and preservation expert, said: "Most of the common beans are Phaseolus vulgaris so they all contain varying levels of this compound.... Virtually all legume seeds contain various compounds that are anti-nutritional which is why they must be cooked before eating them...."


http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/chap43.html

5. Associated Foods: Phytohaemagglutinin, the presumed toxic agent, is found in many species of beans, but it is in highest concentration in red kidney beans (Phaseolus vulgaris). The unit of toxin measure is the hemagglutinating unit (hau). Raw kidney beans contain from 20,000 to 70,000 hau, while fully cooked beans contain from 200 to 400 hau. White kidney beans, another variety of Phaseolus vulgaris, contain about one-third the amount of toxin as the red variety; broad beans (Vicia faba) contain 5 to 10% the amount that red kidney beans contain.

The syndrome is usually caused by the ingestion of raw, soaked kidney beans, either alone or in salads or casseroles. As few as four or five raw beans can trigger symptoms. Several outbreaks have been associated with "slow cookers" or crock pots, or in casseroles which had not reached a high enough internal temperature to destroy the glycoprotein lectin. It has been shown that heating to 80°C (176 degrees F.) may potentiate the toxicity five-fold, so that these beans are more toxic than if eaten raw. In studies of casseroles cooked in slow cookers, internal temperatures often did not exceed 75°C.

6. Relative Frequency of Disease: This syndrome has occurred in the United Kingdom with some regularity. Seven outbreaks occurred in the U.K. between 1976 and 1979 and were reviewed (Noah et al. 1980. Br. Med. J. 19 July, 236-7). Two more incidents were reported by Public Health Laboratory Services (PHLS), Colindale, U.K. in the summer of 1988. Reports of this syndrome in the United States are anecdotal and have not been formally published.



AT Hagan also said, in response to another poster who was concerned about the sometimes kinda crunchy commercially canned beans:

"Canned beans have been cooked well over 176 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook your beans until they are not crunchy and you'll be fine. Other than relatively small amounts of bean sprouts (usually not made with P. vulgaris varieties) don't eat raw legumes. They need to be cooked."

Another poster, Summerthyme, pointed out that this temperature issue with the beans "...might be a bigger issue with people grinding dry beans for "bean flour" and then using it as a thickener in various dishes, possibly without thorough cooking..."

Here's the link to that thread: http://www.curevents.com/vb/showthread.php?t=81726


So, to sum it all up: If you want to cook beans using a low temperature method, first boil the beans, or bean flour for 10 minutes to destroy the toxin. If you have cooked the beans the conventional way, and if you can't mash a bean between two spoons, it needs to be cooked longer.

I make my own "bean powder" by dehydrating cooked beans, then pulverizing them to a powder for thickening and adding extra nutrition to soups, stews and such.

Beans and rice are a staple in many emergency food storage plans. Together, they make an nutritious protein-rich meal, and store well for a long time.

How To Make a Homemade Emergency "Multi-Tool" With a Bic-type Lighter

I have several of these compact "multi-duty lighters" scattered where it counts. They've come in handy more than a few times over the years.

Here's how I make my favorite homemade emergency "multi-tool", starting with a plain Bic-type lighter...

Wrap a lighter with a foot or two of duct tape, as close to the bottom end as possible. Then wrap several yards of dental floss around the lighter, just above the duct tape. Secure the loose end of floss with a spot of duct tape. The dental floss can be used for many things besides your teeth.

Gorilla Tape can fix a bad day, and it is the world's best duct tape. Period.

My "deluxe" model includes a few more items wrapped around it. A tightly folded, brand new unopened plastic trash bag, plus a decent sized piece of heavy duty aluminum foil, then a bandana (that has been ironed super flat) is wound around the whole job, and tied in place with several rounds of dental floss. Sometimes I get in a fancified mood, and wrap the floss around the lighter in a decorative criss-crossed pattern. XXXXXXX

If need be, you can boil water in the heavy duty aluminum foil to purify drinking water in an emergency. A bandana and a bag = water carrier. There's a gazillion more uses for every item. Necessity may prove to be the mother of invention...

I have two "multi-tools" that feature a magnesium fire-starter and a small knife (instead of a Bic lighter), plus a few fish hooks and split shots, along with a lot of dental floss. I use a narrower strip of duct tape so I can freely use the magnesium firestarter without interference from the tape. With magnesium shavings, I can start a fire under almost any condition...in rain, snow, or sleet. I must be a serious firebug, because I go buggy looking at Cabela's firestarters.

You can customize your own lighters with a variety of small items that might help make a difference between a really bad day and a saved day.



This copyrighted material may be reprinted by you for noncommercial use, if the following credit is given:

This article is an excerpt from Mrs. Tightwad's Handbook #1: HOW TO SURVIVE DISASTERS AND OTHER HARD TIMES. For more information, see the left sidebar on this site: http://purecajunsunshine.blogspot.com/

Anting: A "Birdbath" of a Different Kind

A friend related a story of how he observed a hawk laying flat on the ground, as if dead. It was laying atop a red ant nest, and its whole body was covered with ants... The hawk rose up, as from the dead, walked around a bit, shook its feathers free of ants and flew off!

A short while later, other birds came to sunbathe in the ant bed. This behavior, called "anting" has been observed in over 250 bird species. The ants do not seem to sting the birds, but quickly carry off bothersome mites and lice that infest birds.

Some birds are not passive bathers, but pick up the ants with their beak and rub them over their feathers. Blue jays, starlings, tanagers, weavers and other species have been known to do this.

The ants secrete formic acid, a chemical that has insecticidal, miticidal, fungicidal and bactericidal properties.

Birds and red fire ants...who'da thunk it?

How To Recognize Suicide Bombers

The Mackenzie Institute suggests the following indicators: a shaved head or short haircut, especially if recent, as indicated by a different skin complexion than on the face; a smell of herbal or flower water, as they may have perfumed themselves in anticipation of paradise; fervent praying as if whispering to someone; an agitated appearance; behavior inappropriate for the setting; bulky clothing not suitable for the temperature; an odd fit to the pants as from wearing a cup and multiple sets of underwear to protect the genitals for the anticipated 72 virgins (John Thompson, 10/21/05, http://www.mackenzieinstitute.com).

Thompson also gives tips for recognizing mail bombs, vehicle bombs, or activity that could be the precursor to an attack. He discourages any action other than immediately reporting to an authority in as much detail as possible.

In airport lounges or other public places, be alert. If a person makes you feel uncomfortable, one attorney suggests asking some casual questions: Are you traveling to Pittsburgh today? Do you know any good places to stay there? An odd reaction might make you decide not to board the flight, and to report concerns to an authority.

Katrina Insomnia

It was like this every night for a week, until I escaped.

The weather is so incredibly hot, that it is unthinkable to close a single window, day or night, thugs and looters or not. There is no escape from the heat, even with all the windows open. I lay in the sweltering heat, so hot that my skin throbbed in tune with my pounding heart. I do not know if my heart is pounding from the effects of heat exhaustion, or fear. The adrenalin rushes are taking my breath away. Fight or flight? Gunshots in the night. Do I lay in wait for the prowling thugs and looters? Fight back, or be killed? There is nowhere to hide, really. I do not sleep. I do not trust the strangers I am trapped with. They want my van's gasoline, my ticket out of this nightmare. I can't leave. Roads are heaped with storm debris. I am alone. I do not know if my family (scattered like ants) are alive or dead. Tuning in to my Sony Walkman radio, I discover that some of their homes are under water, or worse. Did they all escape in time? If so, did Katrina reach them anyway, by destroying everything they left behind? Where is my youngest brother? We've never had millions of people evacuating all at one time like this...

Moral of this story: In a severe crisis, be prepared for the possibility of having to stand guard against the world, and your nightmares, with eyes wide open.



This copyrighted material may be reprinted by you for noncommercial use, if the following credit is given:

This article is an excerpt from Mrs. Tightwad's Handbook #1: HOW TO SURVIVE DISASTERS AND OTHER HARD TIMES. For more information, see the left sidebar on this site: http://purecajunsunshine.blogspot.com/

Lessons Learned from Hurricane Katrina, Part 2

For many years to come, there will be the telling of thousands of stories about Hurricane Katrina, each one with its own color and shades of pain, or joy. For some, it will be years before they are able to speak of it. Others, freely give. As of this writing, I think I fall somewhere between the two... My story is long and complicated enough that I would do a better service to try to pick out and present to you only the most beneficial stuff that might be of use to others.

I see a few common threads connecting many of the stories from survivors of Hurricane Katrina (and other major disasters around the world):

1. People will generally sing Kumbayah and get along pretty well...until their provisions run low. After that, then its a song of a different tune. Take a look back throughout history. In every culture in the world there have been accounts of extreme predation, in the names of 'need', 'want', and 'gotta have'. Sad thing is, it does not take extreme deprivation to bring it on.

2. Never, ever underestimate anyone, even if you think you know that person perfectly well. Hardship makes some folks go nuts. The degree of hardship usually directly affects levels of trust, decency and normalcy.

The same principle affects the evacuation process. Normally, road rage on most highways is uncommon, but desperate people stuck in evacuation traffic were subjected to road rage of the worst kind. In both Hurricane Rita and Katrina evacuations, there were more than a few reports of on-the-road armed robberies, assaults, hijacked gas, vehicles, etc. etc., ad nauseum.

There were also news reports of an increase in the number murders committed by family members. After Hurricane Katrina passed in Mississippi, a man shot his sister in the head in a dispute over a bag of ice. An almost identical report occurred in Louisiana. There were others...

The actions of family members, friends and neighbors under extreme duress may surprise you. Everyone's tipping point is built differently, but in extreme circumstances, ALWAYS expect the unexpected. Even normally gentle folks under pressure can reveal an unexpected side.

3. Desperate people with more 'brawn than brain' can be extremely dangerous, especially towards those who have more 'brain than brawn'. If you are in this situation, watch your back, and be prepared to think on your feet, 24/7. For this and many other reasons, it is not a good idea to be totally alone in a crisis situation, if you can help it.


This copyrighted material may be reprinted by you for noncommercial use, if the following credit is given:

This article is an excerpt from Mrs. Tightwad's Handbook #1: HOW TO SURVIVE DISASTERS AND OTHER HARD TIMES. For more information, see the left sidebar on this site: http://purecajunsunshine.blogspot.com/

The Edges of Survival

Do you have that "extra edge" that marks you as a natural survivor? Many of us already have "It" and don't realize it yet, or maybe it just needs a little polishing, or a lot. It's hard to carve the outcome of any situation with a dull knife. Sharpen your personal "survival knife" with these "honing stones" or attributes, for that extra edge to help you cut through the toughest problems.



PERSISTENCE

Never give up, even if it looks absolutely hopeless. Doors may open, sometimes when and where you least expect it. If you have given up and your mind is closed, you may not see it when another door has been opened.


PAY ATTENTION

Maintain a relaxed awareness, so that you don't miss the little things that could become really big things, if ignored. Do not relax or zone out so much that important 'reality checks' find you asleep at the wheel. On the other hand, if you get too frazzled, your emotions can cloud your vision. Learn how to put your emotions on hold, so you can deal with survival issues, and maintain clear vision.


TRUST YOUR GUT FEELINGS

Your instincts are there for a protection. Sometimes the consequences of ignoring them can be tragic. Survival instincts can be developed and finely tuned by absorbing knowledge. See KNOWLEDGE, below.


HUMOR

"Laughter is like changing a baby's diaper. It doesn't permanently solve any problems, but it makes things more acceptable for a while." I love this little proverb, because it is so true. It goes real well with the S part of SHTF, too.

(If you are not familiar with the abbreviation SHTF, here's a hint: Stuff Hits The Fan.)


OPTIMISM

If you dig deep enough, hard enough and long enough, you can find something good in almost anything, even if it is only a lesson learned. Optimism means seeing a little ray of hope shining in a hopeless situation. If your eyes can't see any light, then look for it with your mind. Lost your mind? Then look for it with your heart. Disheartened? Then look for it with your soul.


CHILL OUT

Cultivate the art of staying calm and detached from the crisis of the day. Keeping your cool in a volitile situation is of utmost importance. Panic can kill, or at the very least, wear you down.


KNOWLEDGE

This is the foundation of survival. Build on it from from reputable books, the wisdom of the Scriptures, respected internet sites, your own experiences, and that of other fellow students in the "School of Hard Knocks". This in turn, leads to being more self-reliant.


PREPARATION

Start preparing for life's uncertainties now, if you have not already. If you are limited in circumstances, then prepare by building your knowledge. Someday, your 'know-how' could become very, very valuable to others. This knowledge could open new horizons and avenues for your survival. It can also mean your downfall, so be discreet about what you know and have.


FLEXIBILITY

Best laid plans are great, but don't set them in stone. Always make several alternate plans, because circumstances can quickly change. Abandon plans as soon as you find out they won't work well. You can't ride a dead horse, so get off of it before it starts to stink.


GOOD SPIRITUAL HEALTH

Having good spiritual health is the very best glue for holding yourself together. By their very nature, material preparations are so temporary. After they are gone, what is left? So, in that light, focus on prepping your mind, and your spiritual health. The two often go hand in hand, along with courage, which is often said to be 'fear that has said its prayers'.


This copyrighted material may be reprinted by you for noncommercial use, if the following credit is given:

This article is an excerpt from Mrs. Tightwad's Handbook #1: HOW TO SURVIVE DISASTERS AND OTHER HARD TIMES. For more information, see the left sidebar on this site: http://purecajunsunshine.blogspot.com/

Lessons Learned from Hurricane Katrina, Part 1

Hurricane Katrina taught me that during a severe prolonged crisis, being more prepared, or even just knowing a little more than those around you, can prove to be a serious downfall.

Because I was trapped among strangers, I did my best NOT to reveal all my assets. As time wore on, and conditions deteriorated to the point that basic needs for survival was being sorely tested, my high level of preparedness was getting more difficult to hide. People were being killed for less than what I had. (Heard about the man who shot his sister in the head over a bag of ice?) The inside of my vehicle was like a rolling Walmart, for all the goodies it contained: a boatload of bottled water, lots of food, general meds, a propane cooker and a ton of propane, a gazillion batteries, oil lamp & plenty of oil, kerosene lanterns and plenty of kerosene. Candles, matches, lighters, water, more water, bleach, baking soda...you get the idea. My van was just packed. If I got into a wreck, it would have been quite spectacular... I've always tended to overdo, overprep...

After a week of extreme circumstances among strangers, this was nearly impossible to hide. I tried my best, but hey, I had to survive too. Even to the very end, those around me never knew exactly how much stuff I really had. If someone else was in dire need, I helped as much as I could, but as discreetly as possible which was not easy.

It seemed like whenever every new serious crisis or emergency popped up, I had the knowledge to "fix it", or pulled a magic bunny out of my "hat" (van)... For goodness sake, one old woman had run out of her heart meds, including her diuretic Rx...she was starting to swell up...and in this heat with no water...Well, I had durned parsley and celery (of all things) in my van...I made teas with these natural diuretics, and gave them to her, along with enough fresh clean water to do some good. Celery and parsley? Yeah that, and dehydrated onions, garlic and bell pepper, too. No self-respecting Cajun cook will be caught (not even in a hurricane) without them...LOL

Long story short: I ended up being informed that they would not let me go, they said they "needed" me too much. Most of them were originally from "up north", new to the area, and knew little about hurricanes and absolutely nothing about the business of survival.

I had a full tank of gas, but even that would NOT be enough to get me to the next working gas station before the last drop of gas was used up. The no-gasoline thing was a very serious problem where I was...a few people were hijacked for their vehicles, or their gas...by thugs and as rumors had it, by law enforcement officers as well. (???) So leaving the area safely was not an option, for what seemed like a lifetime...

After more than a week, there were reports of some gasoline to be had, but still hours away...I hoped to be able to hold out long enough for the gas situation to ease up and I could just slip out...

Here's what I finally did: I started to act like I was blooming nuts, as in psycho. We were all armed, to one degree or another, so the situation was already tense. I acted like I was on the edge of insanity, what with the heat, and stress of being there and all...I think I made them wonder that if they pushed me too hard, or long enough, I might cause a spectacular and messy scene. Heh. This was easy enough to do. Soon they were wary enough, and I think they were actually glad when I finally made my escape.

Truth be told, after a week of almost no sleep to speak of, I was starting to wonder if the psycho thing might become real...



This may be reprinted by you for noncommercial use, if the following credit is given:

This article is an excerpt from Mrs. Tightwad's Handbook #1: HOW TO SURVIVE DISASTERS AND OTHER HARD TIMES. For more information, see the left sidebar on this site: http://purecajunsunshine.blogspot.com/

Rabies: Everything You Don't Want to Know...but Should

.
Someone once asked (on a message board):

"My husband said a vet told him if a dog was not going to run loose outdoors where he would be in contact with other animals, then it did not need to be vaccinated. Is that true? We have a fenced back yard. and he is going to be a lap dog not a yard dog...


My answer to her was this:

This might be right, EXCEPT in the case of rabies vaccinations.

Once upon a time, I thought along the same lines, as this veterinarian did until I had an experience with a rabid skunk...

My animals have always been confined to either my home, or a well-fenced in yard, at all times. Imagine my surprise when a rabid skunk made contact with my large unvaccinated dogs THROUGH the chain-link fence. I will leave out the nasty details, but will tell you that I went through the standard rabies treatment.

Less than five years later, we had a second experience with a rabid skunk. A storm blew a tree down on top of the 6 ft. tall chain-link fence, providing a perfect "ladder" for a rabid skunk to climb into my fenced yard, where my dogs were.

Unknown to me at the time, the skunk hid in a hole under the doghouse in the yard. I kept smelling a weird faintly skunky smell, but it was not very strong. I never dreamed a skunk was actually IN the yard! Then one day, a couple of weeks after the storm blew the tree down on the fence, I found a freshly killed skunk near the doghouse. It was badly mangled, and covered with old and new injuries. Apparently it managed to survive by sneaking past the dogs as they slept, to get to their food and water.

While I was waiting for the rabies test results to come in, one of the animals started displaying signs of rabies...Long story short, the rabies test came back positive, and I had to go through the treatment a second time.

At the time, I didn't know that because I had been previously treated for rabies, I only needed TWO booster doses, not the full ten shot regimen again. Not one nurse or doctor at the hospital or at the clinic, bothered to read the dosage and usage guide that is included with each treatment syringe! If someone had read it, they would have seen the information regarding the required two-dose regimen, and I would not have been overdosed. Sad thing is, one of the doctors had given me the full treatment at his clinic the first time it happened, less than five years before. You'd think somebody would have known what standard treatment protocol was...

Naturally, I suffered from really nasty "serum sickness", plus some other bad stuff because of the overdose...Well, so far, I have not bitten anybody yet. Heh. I know, bad joke...can't help it...must be dat Cajun in me...

Wait, there's more.

I feel obligated to share some other things I have learned...keep reading.

The following "factoids" can be easily researched through reputable universities, Kansas State Veterinary School (which has one of the busiest rabies labs in the country), and the Pasteur Institute, CDC, WHO, JAMA, etc etc. Just Google it/ call/ write them. Its all there.

Factiod #1--->>> In researching this odious subject, I learned that if your animal has a confrontation with a rabid animal, and the infected saliva gets on your animal's fur...AND if you happen to touch that area (even after the saliva has dried) within 2 HOURS of the incident...AND, if it gets into a cut or abraded skin, or if you accidentally rub it in your eyes or nose...BINGO. You could be infected with rabies. Only after the virus has dried on a surface for more than two hours, it is believed to be harmless. Until then, it is very much alive and dangerous.

While it is not good to be in morbid fear of rabies, it is a mistake to take it lightly, especially in view of so many well documented findings. Ignorance is not always bliss.

More rabies factiods:

Factiod #2--->>> Did you know that a skunk can carry the rabies virus, and pass it on to its young and to other animals, without ever appearing sick? Sometimes environmental or physical stresses can bring on full-blown symptoms, because of a compromised immune system. Otherwise, it is capable of appearing perfectly healthy--even bearing young--while passing the virus along to other animals. In many cases, a skunk first contracted the rabies virus when it was nursing from its mother...


Factiod #3--->>> Rabies in humans is more common than formerly thought. More than a few people who have died of rabies, died of neurological events of unknown or misdiagnosed origin. In many cases, post mortem exams uncovered the real cause of death: rabies (almost all of them have been the bat variant).

Factiod #4--->>> For that reason, the Center for Disease Control has made this recommendation to all state health (rabies) departments: If a bat has been found in the same room with an infant or sleeping individual, it must be caught and tested for rabies, whether or not bite/scratch marks are evident on an individual (the marks may be too slight or obscure for dectection). If the bat cannot be found, the individual is advised to begin rabies treatment.

I learned this the hard way, when a bat accidentally hitched a ride into my home, scratched my arm, flew off and vanished! On the third day, I caught it, had it tested. It was negative. Whew. That was a long three days, because if I couldn't find the darned thing, I was told by the local health department that I would have had to go through the rabies treatment for a third time. Heh. This time I knew I would have had to only receive two booster shots. Yay, to that, but because of my previous rabies history, which also included some nasty allergy responses, anaphylaxis (hypersensitivity resulting in shock) would have been likely.

I mention these things because rabies information can be dangerously outdated in just a year or two. So when in doubt, check and double check! Do not take a doctor's or hospital's word for it. They may be (unknowingly) acting on outdated information. Call / write / or email the CDC (Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, GA) yourself for the latest on it. My doctors didn't, nor did they bother to read manufacturer's usage guidelines, that are included with each box of rabies treatment. Wow, they threw ten of these brochures away. I "rescued" the tenth one from the trash bin. That's how I first learned about out all this.

Factiod #5--->>> To show you just how little doctors (and the rest of us) really know about this disease... Do you remember the cornea (& other organ) transplant cases that were in the news a few years ago because of rabies? The donors had died of rabies. At the time of death, the real diagnosis was unknown by the doctors. The recipients of the cornea (and recipients of other organs by another donor) all died of rabies, because of misdiagnosis. It was previously unheard of to contract rabies this way!

Factiod #6--->>> Another startling discovery: Live rabies virus has been known to survive in the poop of owls that have eaten rabies infected prey. The virus begins to die only after the pellets have completely dried.


Factiod #7--->>> For best protection, ALWAYS use the "killed rabies virus vaccine" rather than the "modified live vaccine", which has been associated with actually causing rabies in some animals, due to defective vaccines. Naturally, the killed virus cannot reproduce, and is deemed safe. Sometimes things go wrong with the "modified live" virus. It does not happen often, but why take a chance? Use only the "killed rabies virus vaccine".

Factiod #8--->>> Rabies virus can have a much longer incubation period than most people think. Medical journals contain more than a few cases where full-blown symptoms did not develop until months after exposure to the pathogen. There have been a few rare cases of incubation periods lasting for years before symptoms were presented.

In a nutshell:

1. Even if you think your animals will never, ever contact another animal (that you know of), please vaccinate your animals against rabies.

2. Only after the virus has dried on a surface for more than two hours, is it believed to be harmless.

3. Ignorance is not always bliss.

4. A skunk can carry the rabies virus, and pass it on to its young and to other animals, without ever appearing sick.

5. If a patient is suffering from neurological distress of serious magnitude, and is not responding to conventional treatment, investigate the possibility of rabies infection.

6. Bats are very beneficial for the ecosystem as insect eaters, but they may not be so good for your system. Stay away from them.

7. Doctors and nurses are not gods, and can make mistakes. Sometimes really stupid ones, too. Don't be afraid to double check. If they don't like it...well, tough.



This copyrighted material may be reprinted by you for noncommercial use, if the following credit is given:

This article is an excerpt from Mrs. Tightwad's Handbook #1: HOW TO SURVIVE DISASTERS AND OTHER HARD TIMES. For more information, see the left sidebar on this site: http://purecajunsunshine.blogspot.com/