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Emergency preparedness by medical condition

What people with diabetes, kidney failure, home oxygen, asthma, severe allergies, blood thinners, seizures, pregnancy, a new baby, dementia, addiction treatment or heat-sensitive medicines can do to prepare, and what official guidance says to do if a disaster cuts you off from your doctor for a while.

Education only. This is not medical advice. MedRise is not your clinician, and nothing here creates a doctor-patient relationship or replaces your own care plan. Follow your own doctor's instructions first. Never start, stop or change the dose of a prescription medicine on your own: reach your doctor, a pharmacist, a telehealth service or an urgent care. Every point below is summarized from the official or medical source listed at the bottom of the page.
Emergency happening now? Call 911. Follow evacuation orders from your local officials, even if this page says something different.

For every condition

Five rules that apply to everyone

  1. Keep a written plan from your own clinicianAsk your doctor now: what do I do if I can't reach you for three days? Write the answer down. Condition-specific plans (an asthma action plan, a seizure action plan, a sick-day plan for diabetes) are the best thing you can have in a disaster.
  2. Carry a paper medicine list and extra supplyName, dose, timing, prescriber and pharmacy for every medicine. Refill early before storm season and ask whether your plan allows a longer supply. See the medicine hacks on the families page for Medicare and uninsured programs.
  3. Don't change doses on your ownRationing, doubling up or stopping a medicine suddenly can be dangerous. If you're running out, a pharmacist is often the fastest person to reach, even at a different pharmacy or in a shelter.
  4. Tell shelter staff about your medical needsMedicines, devices, pregnancy, dialysis, dementia: say so when you check in so staff can plan for you.
  5. Know when it's an emergencyEach section below lists warning signs that mean call 911 right away. If you're not sure, call.

Print your emergency cards: insulin, dialysis, oxygen

Diabetes and insulin

If you use insulin or medicines that can cause low blood sugar.

Prepare now

  • Pack extra insulin or tablets, a meter, strips, lancets and pen needles
  • Keep fast sugar in every bag: 4 ounces of juice or regular soda, glucose tablets or gel
  • Ask your doctor whether you should carry a prescription glucagon kit, and learn how to use it

If you can't reach your care team

  • FDA: insulin in vials or cartridges, opened or not, can be kept unrefrigerated at 59°F to 86°F for up to 28 days and still work. Keep it cool, never frozen
  • FDA: in an emergency you may still need to use insulin that got hotter than 86°F. It may work less well, so check your blood sugar more often and replace it as soon as you can
  • Low blood sugar (below 70 mg/dL): the CDC's 15-15 rule is 15 grams of fast carbs, wait 15 minutes, recheck, and repeat until you're back in range, then eat a snack or meal

Call 911 if

  • Blood sugar below 55 mg/dL that you can't bring up, or the person is confused and can't treat it themselves
  • They're unconscious, having a seizure or can't swallow safely: don't put food in their mouth. Use prescribed glucagon if you've been trained, and call 911

Kidney failure and dialysis

If you get hemodialysis at a center or do peritoneal dialysis at home.

Prepare now

  • Keep phone numbers for your doctor, your dialysis center and another center nearby, plus a medicine list and at least a 3-day supply of each medicine
  • Ask your center for its disaster plan and the CMS booklet Preparing for Emergencies, which has the 3-Day Emergency Diet
  • On peritoneal dialysis? Keep a 5- to 7-day supply of supplies, as your dialysis team directs

If you can't reach your care team

  • Follow the 3-Day Emergency Diet until you can get treatment. The CDC says following it could save your life. It cuts fluid and high-potassium foods such as potatoes, tomatoes, dried beans and dried fruit
  • Try to get dialysis within three days of your last treatment
  • Call the Kidney Community Emergency Response (KCER) hotline at 1-866-901-3773 or the National Kidney Foundation at 1-855-653-2273 to find an open center

Call 911 if

  • Trouble breathing, chest pain, confusion, or you can't get dialysis and feel very weak or short of breath

Home oxygen and powered medical devices

Oxygen concentrators, ventilators, CPAP, feeding or infusion pumps, suction, power wheelchairs.

Prepare now

  • Fill out the FDA's free power-outage booklet for your device (model, battery life, supplier and power company numbers)
  • Charge every battery before a storm and keep backup oxygen your supplier recommends
  • Ask your power company, fire department and hospital what help they offer during outages

If you can't reach your care team

  • Use battery flashlights or lanterns, never candles or gas lights, when oxygen is in use: it raises the risk of fire
  • Keep devices and supplies clean and dry
  • When power comes back, check the device settings: some devices reset to default after an outage
  • Run any generator outside, 20 feet or more from the house, and keep a battery CO alarm on

Call 911 if

  • The device stops and you have no backup power or oxygen, and the person is struggling to breathe
  • Signs of carbon monoxide poisoning (headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea or confusion) in anyone in the house

Asthma and COPD

If you use a quick-relief inhaler, a controller medicine or a nebulizer.

Prepare now

  • Get an up-to-date asthma action plan from your doctor and keep a copy in your kit
  • Keep refills of your controller and quick-relief medicines; if you use a nebulizer, ask your doctor now about a backup that doesn't need power
  • Have N95 respirators ready for smoke and a clean room with a filter (see the wildfire smoke hacks)

If you can't reach your care team

  • Take your medicines exactly as prescribed. Don't stop them or change your plan without talking to your clinician
  • Follow your action plan's steps as symptoms change, and keep your quick-relief inhaler with you
  • Stay indoors in filtered air when smoke or dust is heavy

Call 911 if

  • Breathing keeps getting worse or doesn't improve after your quick-relief medicine
  • Lips or fingertips look blue or gray, or the person is too short of breath to talk

Severe allergies (anaphylaxis)

If you carry an epinephrine auto-injector.

Prepare now

  • Carry two auto-injectors: an estimated 15% to 30% of anaphylaxis episodes need a second dose
  • Keep them at room temperature, 68°F to 77°F (short trips between 59°F and 86°F are allowed), in the carrier tube, out of the fridge and out of the car's glove box
  • The case isn't waterproof, so put it in a waterproof bag in your kit

If you can't reach your care team

  • If an auto-injector was left in extreme heat or cold, replace it as soon as you can
  • Keep allergy-safe food in your kit; shelters and donated meals may not list ingredients

Call 911 if

  • Any time you use epinephrine: call 911 right after the first dose. If another dose is needed, use a new auto-injector

Blood thinners

Warfarin, apixaban, rivaroxaban, dabigatran, clopidogrel and similar medicines.

Prepare now

  • Pack enough doses and your clinic's phone number; ask your clinic now what to do about a missed dose of your specific medicine
  • Learn Stop the Bleed: firm direct pressure is the first step for any bad cut

If you can't reach your care team

  • Never take a double dose to make up for a missed one. Follow your clinic's missed-dose instructions
  • Don't stop your blood thinner without talking to a clinician
  • Be extra careful with cleanup work, knives and ladders, since bleeding takes longer to stop

Call 911 if

  • Bleeding that won't stop with pressure, vomiting blood, or coughing up large amounts of bright red blood
  • Confusion, weakness or numbness, or a fall where you hit your head

Seizures and epilepsy

If you or someone you care for has seizures.

Prepare now

  • Keep extra anti-seizure medicine and any prescribed rescue medicine, with the instructions
  • Share a seizure action plan with family and anyone you might shelter with
  • Missed sleep and missed doses can trigger seizures, so protect both during an evacuation

If you can't reach your care team

  • During a seizure: time it, move hard objects away, put something soft under the head, take off glasses, loosen anything around the neck, and turn the person on their side when you can
  • Don't hold them down and don't put anything in their mouth
  • Give prescribed rescue medicine only as your clinician instructed

Call 911 if

  • The seizure lasts longer than 5 minutes, or another one starts soon after
  • Trouble breathing or waking up afterward, an injury, a first-ever seizure, or a seizure in water

Pregnancy and the weeks after birth

If you're pregnant, recently gave birth, or are breastfeeding.

Prepare now

  • Ask your prenatal provider now how you'd get care, and where you'd deliver, if your usual hospital closes
  • Keep a copy of your prenatal records and medicine list in your kit
  • Learn the CDC's urgent maternal warning signs, which apply in pregnancy and for a year after delivery

If you can't reach your care team

  • Tell shelter staff you're pregnant, and get prenatal care even if it isn't with your usual provider
  • Rest, drink clean water, and avoid hard physical work and disaster cleanup
  • If you have a mental health condition, keep following your treatment plan

Call 911 if

  • Any urgent maternal warning sign, or signs of preterm labor: a low, dull backache, vaginal bleeding or a change in discharge, pelvic pressure or cramping

Babies and formula

If you feed an infant.

Prepare now

  • Breastfeeding is the safest way to feed a baby in an emergency; plan to keep it going
  • Formula-fed babies: stock ready-to-feed formula, which needs no water, plus bottled water and disposable cups

If you can't reach your care team

  • Can't clean bottles and nipples? Feed with single-use disposable cups
  • Powdered formula only: use bottled water until officials say the tap water is safe, and use the exact water and scoop amounts on the label
  • Never water down formula to make it last. It can be extremely dangerous for babies

Call 911 if

  • A baby who is feeding poorly, very sleepy or hard to wake, or has trouble breathing

Dementia and memory loss

For caregivers of someone living with Alzheimer's or another dementia.

Prepare now

  • An ID bracelet and clothing tags, a recent photo, and copies of the power of attorney and insurance cards
  • Extra medicines, incontinence products and a favorite comforting item
  • If they live in a facility or go to a day center, learn its evacuation plan and who is responsible for moving them

If you can't reach your care team

  • Stay calm: the person often takes their cue from your tone
  • Keep routines and familiar items close, and don't leave them alone in a crowded shelter
  • Alzheimer's Association 24/7 Helpline: 1-800-272-3900

Call 911 if

  • They wander off and can't be found, or have sudden confusion that is much worse than usual

Methadone or buprenorphine treatment

If you get medicine for opioid use disorder.

Prepare now

  • Ask your clinic now about its disaster plan, take-home doses and how to reach staff if it closes
  • Carry photo ID and proof of your program and dose: guest dosing at another clinic usually requires them

If you can't reach your care team

  • Contact your home program first; if you can't reach it, go to the nearest opioid treatment program or emergency department and explain your treatment
  • In past disasters, clinics gave patients a week of take-home doses before closing, so ask before a storm hits

Call 911 if

  • Signs of overdose: very slow or stopped breathing, blue lips, or someone who won't wake up

Medicines that make heat more dangerous

Water pills, some blood pressure and heart medicines, some mental health medicines, anticholinergics, stimulants and antihistamines.

Prepare now

  • The CDC lists diuretics, anticholinergic drugs and some psychotropic medicines among those that raise heat risk; an ACE inhibitor or ARB combined with a diuretic can raise it more
  • For children, it lists antihistamines such as diphenhydramine, ADHD stimulants, tricyclic and SSRI antidepressants, and diuretics
  • Before summer, ask your clinician for a hot-weather plan for your medicines and for when to seek care

If you can't reach your care team

  • Don't stop or change a medicine on your own because of heat: ask a clinician or pharmacist
  • Stay in air conditioning as much as you can, and drink fluids unless you've been told to limit them

Call 911 if

  • Signs of heat stroke: 103°F or higher, hot red dry or damp skin, confusion or passing out

Save these numbers

Hotlines that work nationwide

Disaster Distress Helpline: call or text 1-800-985-5990

Free crisis counseling 24/7 for anyone struggling after a disaster. Press 2 for Spanish. Deaf and hard-of-hearing callers can use ASL Now or their relay service.

Kidney Community Emergency Response: 1-866-901-3773

Help finding an open dialysis center during an emergency.

Alzheimer's Association Helpline: 1-800-272-3900

24/7 support for dementia caregivers.

Emergency Prescription Assistance Program: 1-855-793-7470

Free prescriptions for uninsured people in a declared disaster area where the program is active.

Power, water and medicine hacks for the whole household

General education, not medical, legal or compliance advice. MedRise is not an emergency service and cannot respond to emergencies. For decisions about a specific person, program or hospital, talk to a clinician, your institution or your own advisers.

Sources

Where this comes from

Sources last checked November 14, 2026. Rules and links change: open the official page before you rely on a figure.