The problem is that salt is soluble in water (unlike poop), and when there is a solute in a solution, you have the potential for osmosis to occur. The poop dehydrates because it isn't soluble and because the body is "saltier" than the moisture in the poo causing osmosis to move water into the body. Once you put salt water up there, that becomes the side of the intestine wall with the higher concentration of solute and osmosis changes direction. It would dehydrate you quickly.
If the taps run dry
- Thread starter Propwash
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You probably wouldn't want to put fresh water up there either (lol not that it would be necessary at that point) because it might swell the brain. If you want a back door solution, it should be 0.9% saline. It will also help with electrolyte loss too lol.
Kevin L
A True Doomsday Prepper
Everything you said makes perfect sense. My idea wasn't sufficiently thought out.
Yup, the Robertson family did that to help stay alive during their 6-week drift in a small dinghy after their yacht sank in the Pacific..
-Quote- "We couldn’t drink the water from the bottom of the boat. Mum, a nurse, said if we drank it it would make us ill. But she knew that there was one way we could take the fetid water without being sick – through our backsides. A thirsty man will do anything, so we created an enema system from the rungs of a metal boat ladder."
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/incredible-story-family-who-survived-7892289
In my humble opinion, a physician or RN is going to be seen as very valuable to others in their community. When the water taps stop running, others will want to know how to dig a well for themselves…or be asking you for water. You might not want to let them know you have a well.
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Arcticdude
Top Poster
Water is our number one weak point here. If fuel became unavailable to pump water we'd probably have to leave our place eventually. We have a pond and a couple springs here besides the well. The springs are about a mile apart and the pond is almost a half mile from the house. Drinking water wouldn't be too much of an issue but we wouldn't have water for the garden in its current location. We could put in a garden down by the pond and hand water the plants. Most likely if things got that bad we'd load up whatever we could carry and go over the mountain and down to the river in the bottom of the canyon, about 25 miles away. The river is about 4,000 feet lower in elevation than here, with much milder winters.
Sounds like a solid plan Arctic!
Down by the river sounds like a good idea, Arctic.
rainingcatzanddogs
A True Doomsday Prepper
There are two hand dug wells at BOL 2.
One is the old type you see in movies where you lower a bucket (20 ft) it was put in when Texas was part of Spain. It has been filled in but could be duplicated. The other is also hand dug and filled (@30 feet) and was from the 1960's when there was a small farm house there, but, we haven't found that one yet.
The creek is spring fed but the water downstream is rusty brown from the leeching of the iron laden rock into the water. Too much iron consumed can lead to Hemochromatosis and be damaging to the organs. That water would be better for irrigation rather than drinking.
The well at BOL1 is a typical modern well and @455 feet must have a pump. The neighbors dug a new well a few years back when they went dry during the drought and had to go to 1000' (955' to be exact) to find good water. The first well, they hit was at 500' and was too high in Barium. Even community wells might not be safe. Investigation Finds Radiation in Texas Drinking Water
My husband's family has owned a well drilling/digging business since 1850 and they have always talked about how a bad well can make people sick with everything from tummy trouble (Coliform bacteria) to cancer. They pride themselves in drilling safe wells.
If you plan on digging a well and using it as your primary source of drinking water for any length of time, or giving it to small children or pregnant women, it is a good idea to take the extra step of having it tested. Waiting until TSHTF will not be practical.
One is the old type you see in movies where you lower a bucket (20 ft) it was put in when Texas was part of Spain. It has been filled in but could be duplicated. The other is also hand dug and filled (@30 feet) and was from the 1960's when there was a small farm house there, but, we haven't found that one yet.
The creek is spring fed but the water downstream is rusty brown from the leeching of the iron laden rock into the water. Too much iron consumed can lead to Hemochromatosis and be damaging to the organs. That water would be better for irrigation rather than drinking.
The well at BOL1 is a typical modern well and @455 feet must have a pump. The neighbors dug a new well a few years back when they went dry during the drought and had to go to 1000' (955' to be exact) to find good water. The first well, they hit was at 500' and was too high in Barium. Even community wells might not be safe. Investigation Finds Radiation in Texas Drinking Water
My husband's family has owned a well drilling/digging business since 1850 and they have always talked about how a bad well can make people sick with everything from tummy trouble (Coliform bacteria) to cancer. They pride themselves in drilling safe wells.
If you plan on digging a well and using it as your primary source of drinking water for any length of time, or giving it to small children or pregnant women, it is a good idea to take the extra step of having it tested. Waiting until TSHTF will not be practical.
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Sounds good to me too, just need to plan a weekend before too long and get a good look around as to where would be a good place, where is firewood, where could you get into a cave, set a tent up, dig an outhouse and such other preps (before all is frozen and un-recognisable later) Cut a few trees down to dry for firewood, make a few notes where you could hide some traps and extra clothes or fuel and cooking stuff which the animals can not hurt, maybe in metal boxes. You know more than me anyway, just talking to myself.
The average sea water has 35g salt per liter, try it at home for a week and see what happens... Science strongly suggests that the Robertson story is a lie (or at least that part of the story is). Who is going to take one for the team and find out? Kevin? Propwash?Yup, the Robertson family did that to help stay alive during their 6-week drift in a small dinghy after their yacht sank in the Pacific..
Quote- "We couldn’t drink the water from the bottom of the boat. Mum, a nurse, said if we drank it it would make us ill. But she knew that there was one way we could take the fetid water without being sick – through our backsides. A thirsty man will do anything, so we created an enema system from the rungs of a metal boat ladder."
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/incredible-story-family-who-survived-7892289
We need an emoji coin flip where the coin flip reveals randomly after an hour of being posted lol.
The medical term for that is a "Saline Enima." The salt draws water into the colon until your body expels it.
It all still sounds like some kinda game played on the ultra-rich in their shower while underway in their expensive yachts surrounded by saltwater.....
I'll just keep mopping up the dew from the grass with a towel, lettin the dew drip off my car in the morning, catching the dew and fog in nylon nets and collecting from the Donau.....don't need an enema, got enough enemy problems without it.
I'll just keep mopping up the dew from the grass with a towel, lettin the dew drip off my car in the morning, catching the dew and fog in nylon nets and collecting from the Donau.....don't need an enema, got enough enemy problems without it.
Arcticdude
Top Poster
That's not a bad idea. Except this would be a one way trip. The hike to the river would take us from our place at 5,000 feet over the ridge that's 7,500 feet, then almost straight down for 6,500 feet. The elevation at the river is about 1,000 to 1,500 feet. I don't think I could make the climb back up the mountain. There's an old mining road that goes from my place down to the river, but that's about a 60 mile hike down one of the steepest grades in the country and has as many curves as a can of worms.
Once down at the river there is a lot of game and fish, from deer, elk, bear and birds to sturgeon, salmon, steelhead, trout, bass, catfish and bluegill. There's a lot of old gold and copper mines in the area too. I like the idea of stashing some supplies in one of the old mines. I might take my jet boat down to the river and see if I can access the area just west of us. The nearest road that I could tow my boat on is well over 100 miles.
I did not know or even think you would be "making a hike" out of the inspection of the area. I thought more you could pack your truck and a trailer with the absolute needed and just drive for a few hours to disappear there.
Maybe it would be better to get a plan together to cut down some trees and disguise the road leading to your house and ranch. Make the road entrance completely unvisible and lead strangers to just keep driving and thinking the area is a "firewood" dump. Sweep the tire tracks and disappear behind the trees.
Maybe it would be better to get a plan together to cut down some trees and disguise the road leading to your house and ranch. Make the road entrance completely unvisible and lead strangers to just keep driving and thinking the area is a "firewood" dump. Sweep the tire tracks and disappear behind the trees.
Arcticdude
Top Poster
My thoughts about leaving this place is only if we had to because fuel was no longer available to run our generator for pumping water. Our place is two miles off the county road through 3 gates. The gate on the county road is kept locked. The other 2 gates have electric (solar) openers and can be locked too if necessary. We're completely surrounded by National Forest lands and there is no other private land near us. We're about as private as one can get in the lower 48 any more. Our house is tucked away in a small valley surrounded by trees and can't be seen until the last corner on our driveway about 300 feet away.
Why would they lie?
Incidentally in the full book one of them refused pointblank to be enema'd by nursey, perhaps he was too shy..
(I think he was the hitchhiker)
Kevin L
A True Doomsday Prepper
I did more research, and you're correct. My idea wasn't sufficiently thought out or researched, and a salt water enema would worsen dehydration.
Back a long, long, long time ago, in a land far, far away...when I was a hospital orderly, I administered quite a few saline enemas when patients got constipated (it seems like everyone gets constipated in the hospital)
