Zombie Cliche Lookout: Appeals to Good Luck
Being in a survival situation (zombie or otherwise) is a pretty downbeat affair. All those people dead, the total breakdown of society. Property damage, constant danger, never-ending hunger and thirst. And if there’s zombies, there’s that whole possibility of getting eaten thing. Long story short, it’s a real drag.
As you might imagine, it’s important to try to maintain a positive attitude. Of course that’s not exactly the easiest thing in the world to do, what with the whole end of the world going on. So what do people do? They lie to themselves. They tell themselves that, if they can struggle through, the government is going to save them or that they’ll find other survivors rebuilding society, or that the CDC has a cure. Naturally, most of these hopes tend to fall flat, but it helps people keep moving in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.
About this Episode:
When I add dialog balloons to the comic, I always try to make an effort to not cover any other characters’ face, even when that character is in the background and out-of-focus. I’m not really sure why, other than I think that it might be a little distracting to see the hint of a face behind the dialog. For some reason, poor Inez seems to be in constant peril of getting dialog ballooned.
Discussion Question: Sickness
Having recently recovered (well, still sort of recovering) from a pretty nasty bout of food poisoning, it got me thinking about sickness in a post-apocalyptic scenario. With no doctors, hospitals, or pharmacies, how do you deal with it? How do you know what you have, and how communicable it is? What happens if someone in your group is sick? They might pose an extreme danger to everyone else, or maybe not.
If you get sick, or someone in your group gets sick, what do you do? Any nurses in the audience, please refrain from cheating.
Hmmm… I’m a MD so I’ll refrain from cheating too 😉
So many cheaters!
On a serious note, it’s pretty cool having quite a few professionals on this site.
No kidding, it kind of makes you wonder about the makeup of our little group. You might want to consider a little unofficial survey Dave, it always pays to understand the demographics of your “customers” Like me, the guy who told me about this comic was in his mid 40s had a post-graduate degree, and a position in executive management.
You know, I am very curious about that, but I worry about invading people’s privacy.
What does everyone think about that? Down for a simple demographics survey?
You could make something on Survey Monkey. It would be anonymous, mostly. Age, sex, profession, education, interest/years spent in preparedness, etc.
Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. No names, just basic info.
Then I can show it on the site, and the world can see how educated and successful BotD readers are, and advertisers can pay me in big bags of cash, and I can retire from my job.
Actually, Im kinda worried that its going to turn out that your readers are a lot older then expected and were going to start seeing pop-ups for Viagra and Lipitor.
Hah!
Well, two out of three ain’t bad…
I think the test would be filled with professionals, and people that want to be professionals. I’d probably take the test if it was posted around.
Pop us..(Shaking Head)
Fine by me… 🙂
As a person that has ever only went to the hospital for a hand fracture I received at the age of 11 from a game of dodge ball. I’m going to say it isn’t actually all that hard to treat some one with what you have around you, especially the more common illnesses.
The Common Cold is a bitch to deal with but with bed rest and warm soupy foods, and a surplus of water and you’re golden.
Diarrhea is something that a lot of people around here have to deal with on a constant basis, and I’m assuming it’s because of the bad water. I actually get to drink from an aquifer so my water is spring water fresh. But a way to help with diarrhea is going to be eating charcoal from a fire, eating fiber filled foods, and water to keep hydrated.
The flu or a high fever is something I fixed by just sweating out of my system with in day and a half or two days. That’s the biggest thing I recommend for those two.
Really with a declined population you shouldn’t run across too many viruses. Bacteria and parasites will more than likely be your biggest problem, and there are ways to make sure you don’t even get those in the first place. So I say watch out for ticks, unclean water, and bad farming habits.
Well said, Calicade. I think we take a lot of things like colds for granted as no big deal, but they can be under the right circumstances.
Diarrhea is a big killer worldwide. I have written about it before, I know; but it is seriously bad news for the very young and very old. Again, good hygiene, boiled water, and pray that it doesn’t hit, because in a grid-down scenario, it can kill.
Well most of the time what I do tends to favor avoiding getting unhealthy. One of the things I decided to learn when starting this whole primitive living thing was aiming to learn how to use nature for hygiene.
I personally think the best way to avoid or treat Diarrhea is to attack it with what you have. Just like I’ve already said to avoid it, eating charcoal would help, or hell you could even use charcoal as an additional filter for your water source.
Another thing people need to concern themselves about is food poisoning. Isn’t that what you had contracted Dave? It’s a pain in both figuratively the ass, and realistically in the stomach. So proper handling of food would also be a big factor in surviving it up.
When in doubt: over cook it.
I’m only a lowly RN; so I can likely chime in without cheating (too much), although it’s great to have a doc aboard. Do you know anyone in the Salt Lake Valley area that can get ne a script for a sealed narc kit? I’m a member of the local volunteer medical corps, and out like one for my jump bag.
First, we’re all going to have to be much more aware of hygiene in a WCS than we are now. Consider this last influenza outbreak back east. The hospitals are already nearing capacity and ED’s are triaging in the parking lots. How much of this could we prevent with the judicious good hand-washing techniques? Take a page from public health nurses: Wash your hands often. Keep alcohol-based hand sanitizer in your car and on your person. Consider avoiding the casual handshake until the flu season is passed.
In a WCS, the situation will be that much more dire. Keep your hair short, your nails clipped, and your clothes clean. Boil your water. Don’t eat from dented or bulged cans. Consider self-quarantining your family or group. Don’t let anyone in without a thorough physical assessment, in addition to any other screening tools you may use (psychological assessments, interviews, etc.). If the person has any questionable symptoms (e.g. lesions, cough, fever, malaise, etc.) you may want to consider sending them on down the road.
The CDC puts out a great infectious disease manual annually. It has information on identifying diseases by symptoms and treatment options. Additionally, if you’re serious about preparedness, one can procure bulk powdered veterinary antibiotic suitable for storage and easily titrated by weight. Of course, that’s not an EOTW answer, because personal supplies won’t last forever. They are good for getting your family over the hump in a temporary break in societal continuity (think the movie Contagion.
Great stuff, as always Bo. I love the professional insight we get around here.
I keep thinking how in zombie flicks they’ll let a person into the group with a bite, at first. Then the person slowly turns and goes on a rampage inside the perimeter. Oops. Well, screw that. Anyone wants inside my fortifications, he or she is getting a through head-to-toe assessment, including a complete examination of skin. Don’t like it? There’s the door, right there. I don’t need that noise. I am an inch from not letting vetted members of my group, circle of friends, or family passed my defenses in a WCS.
Simple quarantine procedures would do a hell of a lot of good.
So, after a harrowing escape, Bo, you and your team are now inside your defense perimeter, you notice some unsightly dental marks on your arm, what would you do?
Allow me to quote part of the last stanza of Kipling’s famous verse:
When you’re wounded and left on Afghanistan’s plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An’ go to your Gawd like a soldier.
In a known zombie apocalypse (which I am not really worried about), when you know the fate of the bitten, there’s not much left to do but make your peace with your family and friends, part out your kit to the survivors, take the largest caliber sidearm you own and one magazine, walk out into the world and, well…
That, or make yourself into a human bomb and take out as many as you can.
Having gotten First Aid certification and all intentions to keep it current. If there was no doctor in the party, I’d be looking at grabbing up medical books. that’s horrible to the Professionals. but in the wake of an apocalypse and no other recourse, someone’s got to do some thing. I’d also be taking my herbology books with me, looking for plants to identify and use.
When I took a nutrition class in collrge, I learned there is also a lot to preventing some diseases by eatting propperly. So adequate food, adequate rest, keeping clean are a most.
As the first initial outbreak, it’s going to be getting what you have on hand and scavenging. Until there’s that ideal the surivovers can make a safe zone.
Funny lesions and gangrene wouldn’t be fun. Much as I’d want to help, the pragmatic realist is going to have to realize at what point can someone not be helped, send them away or put them down mercifully. I really wouldn’t want to be tested on that point.
But I’d be doing the best I could in regards to food, rest and hygiene as those would be the first steps to preventing a disease outbreak.
Hey, as for the whole herbology book. Have you considered finding and talking to a medicine man about what they may know? Good friend of mine is a medicine man in training, and I get a bit of knowledge here and there when asking about it.
when he gets his job ask him for $10,000 then you can pay for an apartment!
That makes about as much sense as a rabbit with a pancake on its head…
I do have a lady in my area who’s worked with herbs and she’s someone I’ve asked questions about different plants with.
For your hover over text you typed
“Now, ;ets talk about Plan C” just wanted to point out the (;).
heh, i only have a plan A and C. Hide in my storeroom A. Plan C wrecklessly drive my car into a horde.
This is a moot point for me, but has anyone tried to synthesize their own penicillin? I’ve heard that, given a microscope, it isn’t TOO hard to do. Unfortunately, I’m allergic to penicillin.
Wow, a lot of the people on this site are older than me, with a brief skim of this page. This has made me reconsider how I see people on the internet, and how we do not know everything about them. That’s a good thing to be reminded of every now and then.
I fought in the civil war.
Is that you dad?
You haven’t changed a day.
You would get someone who works in the hospital, like a doctor or nuse to join your group and have them be their medic.
Brilliant idea.
looting with a cop nooooo
Rick didn’t mind. He knew the reality of it and so does Murphy.
Well,assuming just the people are zombies,use an electronic response Website,or previous Google answers to learn of your condition. Considering internet isn’t down, I’m young so i dont know much about Why or if the internet would shut down. Would the zombies just magically blow up all internet? Or would they eat the Telephone/intenet lines?Or how would it shut down?
No electricity = no innertubez.
It takes a lot of juice to keep those servers cold.
Yes, but many of them are connected to main power networks, and those would probably be the last ones to go, so assuming you or someone you know has a smartphone or a hot spot, then you will be able to read for the first couple of days after any main outbreak.
Or start printing out thousands of webpages as soon as the first signs of outbreak occur.
True,And As someone said,Get Medical books.Or Plan f,Is ask a doctor zombie,(Lol Jk)