Childhood viral diarrhea is a common fatal illness of children in third world countries-and rarely fatal here. This is not because we have good drugs-it's a virus, antibiotics do not work on it-its the iv fluids we give the kids. Little ones dehydrate fast, and once dehydrated, everything stops working.
Diarrhea and dehydration can successfully be treated under austere conditions without SU fluids by administering Oral Reyhydration solution (ORS), which can be prepared with fairly common ingredients or from commercial packets mixed with water.
In a post-disaster environment where medical care and sanitation systems have collapsed, diarrhea is likely to emerge as a major killer, as a consequence of several different diseases, such as cholera, that may flourish in such an environment.
I strongly encourage anyone interested in survival to learn how to make, and prepare to make and use, ORS.
The home recipe is to simply mix 8 tsps of table sugar and 1 tsp of table salt in a quart of boiled and cooled or filtered water.
The more technical recipe is:
2.6 g Sodium Chloride
2.9 g Trisodium Citrate Dihydrate (OR 2.5 g Sodium Bicarbonate)
1.5 g Potassium Chloride
13.5 g Anhydrous Glucose (OR 14.85 g Glucose Monohydrate)
1 L clean water
The easiest method is simply to buy the commercially available pre-mixed packets and mix as needed with clean water.
Once mixed, the solution will last about 24 hrs without refrigeration.
Google "oral rehydration salts," or "oral rehydration therapy" for more information.
Also, remember that most diarrheal diseases are a result of oral-fecal contamination, so simple handwashing, proper waste disposal and other basic field sanitation techniques offer a lot of protection.
Jeff
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