How to survive with a minimum supply of food and water in an emergency

It is hard to imagine that in the 21st century you can find yourself with limited access to food and water. But the events of recent months have shown that in the civilized world there is a threat of forced starvation of adults and children.

It is very difficult to prepare for the conditions of life during the war as much as is required for one hundred percent provision of food, because its duration is unknown to anyone.

Compliance with several important rules will significantly increase the chances of survival even with a minimum supply of food and water.

What is more important: water or food

Most of the kitchen drawers will always have food supplies: packages of pasta, buckwheat, rice, long-term vegetables, sugar, salt, cookies. And this is only part of what can be stored for a long time. Particularly thrifty housewives are able to hold out for several weeks in conditions of limited access to products.

But despite the fact that the availability of food is so important, drinking water supplies are several times more important. This is explained by the fact that without it, many vital processes are disrupted, and as a result, a person can simply die (with a loss of more than 20% of the fluid). The first symptoms of dehydration are felt after 4-5 hours: thirst, dry skin and mucous membranes, dizziness. Due to the lack of water intake for several days:

• electrolyte and acid-base balance is disturbed;
• body temperature decreases;
• there is a thickening of the blood and its serious oxidation;
• the body accumulates a lot of toxic substances;
• arrhythmia, impaired respiratory function and nervous activity appear;
• protein starvation occurs. ^[1]

The acute need for water occurs in 2-4 days. A healthy adult is able to last 5-9 days without it. Patients, children, elderly people will feel the serious consequences of fluid deficiency as early as 4-6 days.

Cases are described when dry fasting lasted more than ten days, and doctors managed to save such patients. So, in 1947, in the city of Frunze, doctors brought back to life a 53-year-old man who had not drunk or eaten for 20 days. And in 1985, in Mexico, a nine-year-old boy was buried under the rubble after an earthquake. He had to wait 13 days for help. All this time the child was starving and had no access to water. Rescuers found him unconscious, and a day later the boy began to talk and walk. ^[2] But these cases are more the exception than the rule.

Lack of food, but with the ability to drink, increases the chances of survival. Without any special consequences for the body, you can starve for two weeks. According to Katie Cowbrow of the British Nutrition Association, the maximum is about two months. ^[3].

Consequences of fasting depending on the duration

The state of a person and the outcome of fasting depends on its duration. The first three days there is no particular threat to health, because the body uses its own energy reserves: glycogen, adipose tissue. There is only a slight weakness, blanching of the skin. Breath odor occurs as the body stores saliva for food.

On days 3-7, the feeling of hunger weakens: the body perceives fasting as a pattern. He begins to use all possible sources of energy, starting with adipose tissue and ending with muscle. At this stage, glucose reserves are depleted, and ketones that are dangerous to the body are produced in large quantities. There is a sharp weight loss. The main danger of the first week of fasting is a significant decrease in blood pressure, as a result of which a person can lose consciousness and be seriously injured when falling. If water stops flowing into the body, even a fatal outcome is possible.

In the second week without food, the body is quite seriously depleted, so it begins to use the tissues of such vital organs as the liver and heart. If a person of a large physique with a large amount of adipose tissue, then it will become a source of energy. For a thin or sick person, the situation is much more complicated.

During the third or fourth week of fasting, the state of health rapidly deteriorates: muscle atrophy, weakness, and problems with the musculoskeletal system are observed. Almost all chronic diseases that a person suffers from are exacerbated. There is a deficiency of vitamin B1, as well as a decrease in body temperature.

Lack of food for more than a month causes severe thiamine deficiency. Vision deteriorates significantly, double objects in the eyes are possible, frequent loss of consciousness.

Starving for more than six weeks, a person is in serious danger. At this stage, problems with the functioning of the brain appear, which can lead to blindness and hearing loss, as well as a lack of reaction to others. Prolonged lack of food completely exhausts the body – death can occur due to impaired cardiac activity or accumulated toxins. ^[4]

Starvation death is one of the most terrible, because it is long and painful. It is worth using all possible ways to survive even in the most difficult conditions.

What food is important to stock up

It is difficult to predict whether hostilities or some serious disaster will begin in a certain locality. But stocking up, if possible, is worth it. It is advisable to immediately transfer them to the shelter, because it is quite realistic that you will have to live there for more than one day.

The best options for long-term food reserves are foods that do not spoil and do not require cooking:

• biscuit cookies;
• crackers;
• kozinaki, cereal bars;
• dried fruits, sunflower seeds, pumpkins;
• nuts;
• chocolate;
• dried fish, dried meat;
• loaves;
• fruits and vegetables that can be kept for at least a few days: apples, carrots, citrus fruits;
• canned food that does not require storage in the refrigerator: fish, meat, vegetables and fruits;
• homemade seamings;
• salt, sugar, flour, if it is possible to cook on a stove or fire;
• Mints that help freshen up your mouth and conserve water. ^[5]

It is advisable to stock up on instant cereals. They can be cooked and consumed without cooking: buckwheat, oatmeal, corn grits. Semolina is also suitable, because it is edible even raw. But the most important thing is drinking water, because without it, even in the presence of food, it is hard to stretch for a long time.

What if there is no stock

It is not always possible to stock up on the products listed above, so you have to go out of what you have. If food is scarce, healthy adults can switch to complete starvation. And it will be even more beneficial for the body than taking small portions with insufficient calories. Our body is accustomed to a certain amount of food, so such fractional nutrition will lead to faster exhaustion. Energy will be taken from adipose and muscle tissue, and as a result, dystrophy.

Staying in a shelter, a person spends few calories, so the first three days it is important to overcome the feeling of hunger. Further it is already decreasing. But it is important to remember that those who work physically: carry water, chop wood, equip the premises – must have a reserve of strength. They should not completely refuse food, as well as children, pregnant and lactating women, the sick and the elderly. If possible, the diet should be at least 500-1000 kilocalories. Both the fasting and the consuming need to drink water.

By fasting, you can save food as much as possible, because it is not known how long you will have to hide in a shelter. But as soon as a person begins to feel a serious breakdown, you need to slowly get out of it. In this case, it is recommended to consume no more than 30 kilocalories at a time per day, gradually increasing portions and calorie content of food. It is advisable to combine food with salt and vitamins in order to replenish the electrolyte balance and get rid of the deficiency of nutrients.

If there is no food at all, then in order to survive, you will have to eat everything that is possible. No matter how it sounds, but the meat of animals and birds will help not to die of hunger. And in spring and summer, you can add some of the plants to food: nettles, dandelions, sorrel, make tea from branches of cherries, currants, raspberries.

Where to get water

The situation is much more difficult if there is no drinking water. Even the largest reserves of it can run out over time, so you will have to consider alternative methods of extraction.

Several options for where you can get water:

• from pipes in the basement or rooms in an apartment building;
• in the toilet bowl – there it is clean enough to drink;
• from the boiler;
• melted snow (relevant in winter), rainwater. Such water must be salted, otherwise it will not be possible to get drunk.

Natural springs, wells can be contaminated with potentially hazardous elements, so it is advisable not to use the water from them for drinking. In extreme cases, before use, it must be disinfected and filtered as much as possible. If the liquid, after intense shaking, foams or has an unusual smell and color, it is better not to drink it. ^[6]

Water filtration and disinfection methods

It is difficult to say which is worse – not drinking water at all or putting yourself at risk of poisoning. None of the options should be the only alternative, so it is important to use every possible means to turn industrial water into drinking water.

The simplest is boiling for at least 10 minutes. After cooling, drain the water into the container so that the sediment remains at the bottom. But given that there is not always access to gas, light or fire, other methods can be used:

1. Tablets with active chlorine: it is enough to wait 30-60 minutes until they are completely dissolved, and you can be sure that 99% of the pathogenic flora is not in the water. But it is important to strictly observe the dosage.
2. An aqueous-alcoholic solution of iodine: you can use it only in extreme cases to protect yourself from dehydration. This cleansing option is not suitable for people with thyroid problems. To disinfect the liquid, 3-4 drops of iodine per liter are enough, but before drinking, you need to wait 30-60 minutes. Water will have a characteristic smell and taste, but it will save lives.
3. Potassium permanganate can also be used for this purpose. 1-2 grams is enough per liter of water. The solution should be only slightly colored, and not have a bright pink color. Otherwise, problems with the gastrointestinal tract are possible.
4. Activated carbon can become a natural filter to remove unpleasant odors and some impurities. You will need five tablets per liter of water. It is better to grind them and, wrapped in gauze or cloth, lower them into a container with liquid. Cleaning in this way will take at least 8 hours. ^[7]

To get the most safe water for drinking, you can simultaneously disinfect and filter it. And be sure to drink at least the minimum required amount to be able to support the functioning of the body.

Such methods of survival are relevant not only during military operations. They can also come in handy in the event of any other disaster that changes our usual life:

• heavy snowfalls that can paralyze a settlement for several days;
• epidemics: from the latest – coronavirus, which has demonstrated that it is more than relevant to have stocks;
• man-made disasters – a nuclear explosion at a nuclear power plant, a fire at the production of chemicals;
• natural disasters – floods, storms, hurricanes, tornadoes.

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