My home was flooded during severe weather. What should I do with food and medicines that got wet?
After a flood, be cautious about handling foods and medications that were exposed to flood water. They may be contaminated with toxins or germs that can cause illnesses. here ‘s some information that may help you determine what to discard and what to keep .
Medications
Any medications — pills, liquids, drugs for injection, inhalers or skin creams — that have come into contact with flood water or contaminated water should be discarded.
If a drug is a vital discussion, you may use it only if the contents appear to be unaffected — for model, the pills are dry — and only until a substitute can be obtained. If a pill is wet or discolored from contact with water, consider it contaminated and throw it out .
If the ability was out for an extend time, drugs that require refrigeration should be discarded. If it is a vital medicine, such as insulin, keep using the medicine only until you can replace it. The medication will not be effective through its original exhalation date .
Contact your sophisticate or pharmacist vitamin a soon as possible after a deluge to get surrogate medications .
Refrigerated and frozen foods
If the electricity to your home was away, foods in the refrigerator or deep-freeze may be spoiled. As a general dominion, an unopened refrigerator will keep food cold for about four hours. Food will last about 24 hours in a half-full, unopened deep-freeze and about 48 hours in a full unopened, deep-freeze.
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If the power has been out longer than four hours or you ‘re uncertain of how long, throw out any perishable foods in the refrigerator, such as dairy products, meats, fish and leftovers. Throw out perishable freeze foods that have thawed in the deep-freeze .
Canned and dry goods
Do n’t eat any food that may have come into contact with flood water. This includes food packed in plastic, composition and cardboard containers, deoxyadenosine monophosphate well as home-canned food. Discard food and beverage containers with screw caps, snap lids, crimped caps, twist caps or impudent tops .
commercially fix food in undamaged all-metal cans or rejoinder pouches can be saved. Retort pouches are the flexible, sealed, plastic-and-foil pouches that are used to package foods that are traditionally sold in cans, such as soups or tuna .
You ‘ll need to remove the labels from the cans. Thoroughly wash and rinse the outside of the containers and then disinfect them for 15 minutes in 1 tablespoon bleaching agent to 1 gallon of safe drink in water, or 16 milliliters of bleach to 4 liters of water system.
Write the name of the food and the exhalation date on the containers after you ‘ve disinfected them. Use these food items ampere soon as possible .
With
Pritish K. Tosh, M.D .
- Safe drug use after a natural disaster. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/emergency-preparedness-drugs/safe-drug-use-after-natural-disaster. Oct. 20, 2020.
- Food and water safety during power outages and floods. U.S. Food and Drug Adminstration. https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/food-and-water-safety-during-power-outages-and-floods. Accessed Oct. 20, 2020.
- Keep food safe after a disaster or emergency. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/keep-food-safe-after-emergency.html. Accessed Oct. 20, 2020.
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