If you are serious about preparedness, you should always keep yourself and your family ready for a bug out. It is a term that means your home is compromised due to a disaster, and you are sure that the area is now not safe enough to live. If this is the case, you should grab your bug-out bag and flee to an area that is safe from any danger.
This would be a tough time, but you shouldn’t panic and just follow your bug-out plan. Before choosing the bug-out location, you should also take it into consideration that the area may no longer be safe after the catastrophe. It is definitely a struggle, especially when you have to bug out on your feet. Most people don’t consider health a vital thing when bugging out, but without it, you will be just risking your life.
To improve your chances of surviving after bugging out, we have prepared a list of tips for staying healthy. Have a look:
Pack Enough Food
Depending on the days you will be staying at the bug-out location, you need to have enough food to keep yourself going. Suppose you are planning a 2-day bug-out, you will be okay with dried foods, apples, carrots, and other fruits/veggies. But if you don’t exactly know how long the bug-out would be, you should reevaluate the amount of food to take. Put lots of non-perishable food in your bug-out bag such as canned foods, peanut butter, bottled water, dried foods etc.
Protect Your Feet
If you are not able to travel in a car due to any danger, the only way you will have is traveling on foot. You should protect your feet because while bugging out you may not be fortunate enough to walk on paved roads. So, when heading into a rough path or trailing, you should have proper footwear.
Make sure you opt for a pair of shoes that is comfortable, waterproof and offers plenty of support.
Carry a Portable Water Filter
The disaster might contaminate the main water supply of the city, or you might not be able to find clean drinking water during your bug-out. A good portable water filter would help you stay healthy and hydrated at the same time. If you don’t have a water filter, you can make your own small filtration plant using everyday items.
Reduce the Load
You might have to walk for miles to reach the safe zone, but carrying a heavy backpack on your shoulders would do more harm than good. Too many items can make your trip harder and tire you quickly. If you overpack your bug-out bag, you might need to lighten the load later. So, only keep the essential items that will help you reach your destination safely.
Forage Along the Way
If you don’t have much food on you, foraging can be a great option. Just look out for fresh foods on plants and trees on your way to the destination location, you might find some. Just a little fresh green can help in boosting your energy levels and provide you with the essential nutrients that your bars and jerky won’t.
Secure the Bug-out Location
Once you arrive at the bug-out location along with your party, the first thing you should do is secure the area so you can spend the night safely. You can sketch a rough map of the area and find out a vantage point from where you can view the surrounding area. Plus, you should choose your bug-out location where most of the desirable features are available such as water source, dry wood, trails, tracks, etc.
Assess your and your Party’s Health
You have covered a long distance to reach your destined bug-out location; you should make sure that no one is hurt on the way here or require immediate medical attention. Ignoring it might lead to severe problems and threaten the long-term survival of you or your party. You should asses the health of your party in terms of:
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Physical health
Minor cuts or wounds, if not taken care of on time, can become infected and lead toward major problems. See everyone that if they have arrived unscathed. If you have examined everyone properly and find out that there are no pressing medical issues, you can scan them for minor ticks and injuries. Once you take off your bug-out bags, don’t forget to rest and stretch for some time to alleviate any soreness and drink water to refuel lost fluids.
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Mental/emotional health
This is hard to examine as compared to physical health. People with anxiety disorders need special attention and care, so if anyone of your bug-out party has fear and anxiety, try to keep him calm as much as you can.
Set Up Your Camps
Staying healthy means consuming essential nutrients and resting properly. Set your camp where it is safe to assemble fire and shelter. You should choose a dry place with a wide view so you can stay in touch with the surrounding as well. Also, once you set up your camps, don’t forget to safeguard your food rations against the wildlife.
Try To Communicate and Collect Information
Once you and your party has secured the bug-out location and settled yourselves, your next priority should be getting the insights about the current situation. An emergency radio comes in handy in such times. With authentic information, you can better access that if it is safe to return back or not.
Find a Water Supply
Wondering why we didn’t emphasize it much? Because we assumed that you already have enough water supply for at least 72 hours. If you don’t want to carry the weight of water bottles, you can carry a water filter and purify the water from the streams or lake nearby. We have also assumed that the bug-out location you choose will have a body of water nearby.
Ration Your Food Supplies
While depleting your food supplies right after reaching the bug-out location might seem like the best thing to fulfil your extreme hunger, however, it is not. Instead, you should ration your food supplies accurately as they consist of high-density protein bars, dried foods, MREs, etc. To increase your chances of surviving and staying healthy, you shouldn’t finish everything way before it is safe to return back.
Final Verdict
Survival is not a three-meals-a-day vacation, and you should take every step carefully. Health should be your first priority because, without it, your chances of survival during bugging out are quite low. Make sure you follow all the tips above to prepare yourself and your loved ones for a bug-out in the best way possible.