Hi all, Okay heres my problem..........i have a Type 1 diabetic child who is using an insulin pump. I am aware should TSHTF from an EMP then obviously the pump would be dead and gone...........i have the back up of going back to injections and have been stockpilling supplies. My issue is this.......to monitor my childs blood glucose levels i would need the tester to work (runs off batteries) sooooo building a smallish faraday box is VERY high on my priority list at the mo. Any hints/tips?? i am not enginieer by any streatch of the imagination!!!!! googled it but their seems to be some very conflicting information out there!
Also........i realy do fear for my child during a SHTF situation, any tips/advice aimed at diabetics would be greatly appreciated!!! I just wish inslin had a longer shelf life!!!!!!!!!
I know this post possibly belongs in tools/etc but i realy wanted advice aimed at diabetics.
ummmm, a difficult situation. I just want to say don't panic! I am not an expert but the probability of an EMP event is on the lower end of the prepping radar.
But I understand your caution and wanting to feel you have done everything within your power to help your child.
We have talked about faraday cages before so please do a search and have a read.
My OH has just given me an history lesson and before blood testing, finger prick testing etc people would test for diabetes by tasting the urine. Diabetes gives the urine a sweet taste, indicating that the blood sugar is to high. This comes from the second name 'mellitus' meaning honey in Latin. So that could be done as well!!
Thank you!!!! would never have thought about actualy tasting the urine for sugar!!!! not something i fancy doing! but if its the only means i have of testing then i would have no problem doing so!
I'd recommend an old ammo box (a metal one, not new plastic ones). They make a good faraday cage and also seal up nice and watertight. Unfortunately I believe for any length of storage you need refridgeration for insulin, theres no real practical way to EMP-protect a fridge (even a small one) without a fairly major project. Maybe others have ideas for this.
Faraday cage and back up supplies are good. In the medium term if supplies run out, things may get a bit sticky. You may wish to research Goats Rue (Galega officinalis). This has a similar action to the drug Metformin and in the absence of pharmaceutical drugs may be a life-saver. You need to learn what it looks like (Google images), where it is growing near you and how to convert it to a tincture (cold maceration alcohol extract) that will keep. You need to harvest just before it flowers. The secondary metabolites that give the medicinal effect are at their most concentrated at this time. I am not sure if it will treat type 1 insulin dependent diabetes but it certainly dramatically reduces sugar levels in type2 diabetes. Remember that herbalists were treating diabetes long before pharmaceutical drugs existed.
Testing urine by taste for sugar may seem quite a bit off-putting but urine is usually sterile unless you have a bladder infection.
For many years diabetic managed perfectly well simply testing their urine for sugar, home blood glucose testing only came in in the 1980s. Initially the stix were read by eye meters came later.
The aim was for no glucose in the urine at all. But clear first thing in the morning was a start, good control was negative after meals.
Protecting a fridge might be hard but a small solar electric fridge could well be boxed up and protected quite easily. Yachting magazines and Caravanning mags often carry adverts or DIY plans. Some modern insulins are now suitable to store at room temp.
Appin
Thanks all for the very helpful replies. The ammo box sounds about right for what im after. Only insulin needs to be kept cold, not the tester and its a tester i would need to protect.
To be honest ANY SHTF scenario scares the living crap outta me!!!...........they all result in one thing.........no regular supplies of insulin. Im no chemist so making my own insulin from cow/pigs pancreas is out of the question.
Metformin is used for type 2 and would be of no benefit to a type 1 at all unfortunatly. The simple, terrifying fact is that without insulin, a type 1 diabetic will die.
dont forget you can still get tester strips that monitor sugar levels in urine and also blood tester strips aswell as keytone level strips
basically anything the machine can do can be duplicated ( not as accuratly) by testing strips, i bought some from boots chemists not overly cheap at around £15 a tube of 100 if i remember correctly
also have a word with your gp, mine is reasonably accomodating and if i go in and tell him exactly what i want he just writes the pescription out for it ( which i intend to do), with the blood testing strips you can just use a lancet pen as per normal,
if he asks why, just say you want a manual back up for emergency weekend use when you cant get to a pharmacy etc
Just a thing on the ammo box - they *can* be a bit hard to find - any old fashioned aluminium dustbin would do the same thing, I think. People talk about the closure not being as good - but a Faraday cage isn't 100%, its a series of filaments, isn't it? What you could do is get a *lot* of aluminium foil to press around the rim, and help the seal that way. Also, individual elements within your Faraday cage are supposed to be wrapped in foil - tho they're not supposed to be touching the foil, I don't think.
Have you done any herbal research on control of blood sugar?
