Safety: October 2007 Archives

Following on yesterday's suggestion to photograph or videotape documents and home contents, here's a local company that does just that and is offering a discount. Reporter Julia Scott lays it out in her story about Epoch Archiving in Chatsworth.

The other proactive thing to do is buy that disaster preparedness kit. I'm as guilty of not doing this as anyone, and while I tease my husband when he says I should keep a pair of sneakers in each car, I know he is probably right.

Other than shoes, the basics to have on hand, according to the Red Cross, are:
-- One gallon of water per person per day
-- Three-day supply of non perishable food
-- First aid kit
-- Essential medications/eyeglasses

See their Web site for more checklists.

All I can think about today is how scary it must be for a mother or father who is trying to decide whether to pack up the kids and head for safer ground or stay and try to salvage their house and valuables. The fires engulfing so much of the region still seem a world a way from most of central Los Angeles -- I can here children playing outside my window just as they would on any summer day.

But I can only imagine what so many families are having to deal with at the moment. A quick scan of Peachhead finds a lot of messages expressing concern and vowing prayers for firefighters and homeowners in the affected areas. And Peachheaders are offering a few good tips too. One post urges people to start photographing or videotaping the contents of their homes as a digital record in case they need to film an insurance claim.

Another good idea is to either take important documents with you, or make sure they are stored in a fire safe box in the house. And as officials keep repeating today, if you're in a questionable area, just get out. Don't go back for the pets or the pictures. Just go.

Everybody's talking about drugs today. Under pressure from the FDA, Johnson & Johnson and Wyeth today announced recalls of cough and cold medicines for kids under two citing safety concerns. The safety of these medications has been under scrutiny for a few years. As a parent, I'm obviously happy that possibly dangerous drugs are being looked at.

But what excites me even more is that all this attention might unveil the truth about these medicines, which took me three years of motherhood to figure out: whatever you think about the safety of chemicals like dextromethorphan -- the main ingredient in Robitussin and other syrups -- THEY DON'T WORK. At least they never did much for my kids.

When daughter number 1, the one that can't handle being sick, had a cough, she was determined to be miserable -- and force me to miserable with her -- all night long, cough syrup or none. The syrups seemed to have no effect on her whatsoever. Once I made the mistake of giving her one of the antihistamines in a Robitussin or Pediacare (I blessedly can't remember which). She was bouncing off the walls until dawn.

The only thing that has ever helped my little Tazmanian devil is Benadryl. The stuff seems to help her drift off and stay that way without the hyperactive side effect of those horrible antihistamines. I'm glad I finally learned my lesson and I only stock B and tylenol for headache now. I just wish this nugget of knowledge had come with my baby instruction manual.