In the Harvard survey on Puerto Rico, 14.4% of households could not get their medicines in the months after Maria. For anyone who depends on insulin, dialysis, oxygen, blood thinners, or heart medicines, the reserve and the plan can be the difference between life and death.
Talk to your doctor now : ask for prescriptions that allow a 90-day fill if possible, and ask what to do if you run out of medicine. Printed list per person: medicine, prescribed dose, doctor, pharmacy, allergies, diagnoses (chapter 2 ). Keep it in the kit and in your wallet. Many states allow a pharmacist to dispense, without prior authorization, an emergency supply of most medicines (not Schedule II), and some extend that limit when a disaster is declared. Check your state's rules and bring your bottle or your list. Insulin: according to the FDA, insulin in its original packaging (vial or cartridge, open or unopened) can be kept unrefrigerated between 59 and 86 °F (15–30 °C) for up to 28 days. Do not use insulin that has frozen. Keep a cooler or insulated case and protect it from extreme heat.Dialysis: ask your center what its emergency plan is and which alternate center would treat you. Ask what emergency diet they recommend if you cannot make your session.Electric medical equipment: sign up with your state's emergency assistance registry (chapter 1 ), notify your electric or gas company, and have backup power (23.5). A registry does not guarantee they will not cut your power.Over-the-counter medicines you already know (pain, fever, diarrhea, allergies, oral rehydration salts), always per the label. Your pets' medicines (flea treatment, any that one takes on a chronic basis) for 30 days. Spare glasses, hearing aid batteries, wound care supplies (chapter 7 ). 