Water-borne illness relief kit
In order to create a long-term solution for South Sudan, we analyzed another place that is going through a water-related crisis--Puerto Rico. Recently, Puerto Rico has been hit by multiple hurricanes, resulting in contaminated flood water. People are unable to leave their homes because of the surrounding flood water and, therefore, can not go anywhere.
Because the flood water has been contaminated, the rate of waterborne illnesses is increasing. This then causes another problem because people can't reach proper medical care once they have a waterborne illness, and therefore can't fix or prevent the issue. This is similar to the issues in South Sudan because people do not have access to clean water or needed medical supplies to treat and prevent water-related illnesses. All of this information inspired us to create a water-borne illness relief kit that will contain needed medical supplies onto the impacted area.
Because the flood water has been contaminated, the rate of waterborne illnesses is increasing. This then causes another problem because people can't reach proper medical care once they have a waterborne illness, and therefore can't fix or prevent the issue. This is similar to the issues in South Sudan because people do not have access to clean water or needed medical supplies to treat and prevent water-related illnesses. All of this information inspired us to create a water-borne illness relief kit that will contain needed medical supplies onto the impacted area.
Information
Supplies that would be included in relief kit:
- Waterproof gloves
- Clorox wipes
- Carbon Monoxide detector
- Towel
- Alcohol based hand sanitizer
- Bandages
- Antibiotic ointment
- Household bleach
- Paper towels
- Life Straw
Waterproof Gloves |
During a time of water crisis, it is important that people are not touching the contaminated waters which could be transmitted when they eat or drink. Therefore, waterproof gloves are essential when they are dealing with cleaning up the contaminated water.
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Clorox wipes |
An easy way to clean contaminated surfaces is to use Clorox Bleach Wipes. Using this will kill most of the bacteria on the surface. It is important to clean surfaces where things are being consumed, places people often are, and especially toys or that children will be handeling.
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Carbon Monoxide detector |
Carbon Monoxide poisoning is likely to happen when people are going through a water crisis because people use generators and ovens in the house during a crisis. The issue is that carbon monoxide is odorless and colorless and people do not know that they are breathing it in. Therefore, a carbon monoxide detector is needed in order to see if it is in the surrounding air.
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Towel |
It is important to have a towel so you can dry an area that surrounds you if leaks begin to happen because of a flood or contaminated water is entering an area that it should not be.
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Alcohol based hand sanitizer |
When you are not able to wash your hands with soap and water, because the water is contaminated, it is important to clean hands with an alcohol based hand sanitizer. This is especially important before consuming anything, to make sure your hands aren't contaminated.
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Bandages |
Exposure to flood water when you have an open wound can be extremely dangerous. In order to prevent this, open wounds should be covered with bandages.
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Antibiotic ointment |
For wounds, it is necessary for antibiotic ointment to be placed on the wounds when there is a chance of contaminated water entering.
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paper towels |
When decontaminating water, it is important to filter it through a paper towel first in order to make it less cloudy, foggy, or colored.
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Life straw |
A solution for creating safe drinking water is the Life Straw. The Life Straw filters water as you are drinking it in order to make it safe for consumption.
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