The latest books on top of my pile include:
- You’ll probably recall my mentions of Enola Gay, the editor of the excellent Paratus Familia blog. I recently received a review copy of her new book: The Prepared Family Guide to Uncommon Diseases. This book covers 20 uncommon diseases including Bubonic plague, Cholera, Malaria, Radiation Poisoning, Smallpox, Typhoid Fever. Also includes a special section dealing with home treatment of Influenza. The book has recipes, treatment of symptoms, shopping lists and more. Much of the information is also applicable to more common diseases. For example, the details on making your own Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) apply to any disease that creates diarrhea. The book was compiled by Enola Gay, Grace Tome, and Maid Elizabeth with Maurice Masar, MD, LMCC, FRSPH. On Saturday afternoon, I spent about an hour and a half reading through it. It is an amazingly succinct compilation of 20 uncommon diseases that are mostly now eradicated in First World countries, but still prevalent in Third World countries. Presumably, these could easily reemerge in the event of a TEOTWAWKI event. The book covers the disease symptoms, treatment of symptoms and recipes for hydration and treatments. Many of the diseases mentioned are most easily cured by antibiotics, of which Enola and the good doctor give a list in the book. [JWR Adds: Since it is often very difficult to procure a decent stock of antibiotics for disaster preparedness through a local doctor, I recommend that SurvivalBlog readers in the U.S. use the consulting services SurvivingHealthy.com. Following consultation, they can provide responsible adults with a variety of antibiotic preparedness packs.] The author’s provisos include the following: “This book is not intended to replace your family doctor or other health professional. We merely compiled facts and put them together in a format we found convenient and easily readable. We did our best to eliminate non-essential medical terminology and present nothing but the absolute bare essential information needed to identify, treat and contain disease.” The Prepared Family Guide to Uncommon Diseases is available from Paratus Familia Press for $17.95 + $3.99 postage. They take payment via postal money orders or PayPal.
- The Big Book of Family Eye Care
by Dr. Joseph Di Girolamo. An excellent general reference. Unlike the typical first aid books, Di Girolamo’s book goes into considerable detail about eye anatomy and there are detailed chapters on eye injuries and systemic diseases. In her review on Amazon, reader Vicky Henzel sums up the book: “This is definitely a book that everyone needs to have. It is written at a level the average everyday person can understand. No matter how hard my own doctor tries to explain things, I’m still leaving feeling like I didn’t totally understand what was said. This book takes care of that. I feel like I’m sitting down having a regular normal conversation. It’s easy to read and easy to understand. It’s also an awesome reference to have for in between my visits with my own doctor. It would be a mistake to not have this book in your home.” Likewise, I recommend getting a copy of this book for you home medical library. An eye injury that might be considered “minor” in the present day might be a threat to one’s vision or even their life, in a world without modern medical care.