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1. Like most things, you can find evidence for about everything you look for. However, I will tell you that the most common modern clinical practices are:

   1) Doxycycline is not commonly used for conjunctivitis–except maybe if chlamydia is suspected. Topical erythromycin is most common. Fluoroquinolones are used for contact lens wearers or if there is a chance of pseudomonas.

   2) Eye patches for corneal abrasions have not shown benefit and may have some harm according to meta-analyses of the literature.

   3) Every toxicologist/herpetologist I know says the Sawyer extractor doesn’t work.

   Keep up the good work with the health education!

   1. We really appreciate your input. We want to learn as much as we can. We have a couple of questions.

      Re #1. Yes, we understand topical erythromycin is what is generally prescribed for conjunctivitis. It’s what we’ve been given in the past. But the doctors teaching the courses and writing the books are assuming (as are we) that our society has completely collapsed and that topical erythromycin is no longer available. The overseas pharmacies I’ve checked (All Day Chemist and Inhouse Pharmacy) don’t carry it. We have a little left over from an infection, but what kind of shelf life does it have? Is there risk sharing someone else’s tube (or eyedrops), assuming a few months have passed? Could a DIY topical ointment be made by crushing an erythromycin tablet? (Somehow, we think we couldn’t crush the pill fine enough.) What would you use for the ointment base?

      Back to the overseas pharmacies, All Day Chemist carries azithromycin, tobramycin, and moxifloxacin ophthalmic drops at reasonable prices. Would they be effective for problems we’re likely to see in a TEOTWAWKI situation? What kind of shelf life do you think they would have past the “use by” date?

      Re #3. For people who already have the Sawyer extractor, in case of snakebite and there truly is no hospital and no anti-venin, would you use it anyway to help calm a patient down? Do you think the extractor works for insect stings?

      1. Thank you for the discussion.

         Moxifloxacin eyedrops are a good all-round treatment for bacterial conjunctivitis. I have no idea about the shelflife, although since it is a liquid I doubt it will keep as long. You could probably get away with taking oral antibiotics, and don’t necessarily need to make a topical solution from a pill. (Too bad we’re not fish, so we can’t use fish antibiotics:) Keep in mind that the vast majority of conjunctivitis is viral and needs no treatment. Also, doxycycline can cause some problems with children.

         Regarding using the Sawyer extractor as a placebo: I say go for it. If you have a treatment that will cause no harm but might have a psychological benefit, why not use it? The trick is to not give the patient a hickey or cause tissue damage to with the extractor.

         1. Thank you!

2. Excellent article, I would add to the home medicines , organic apple cider vinegar which can be used for many different ailments. The pills are more palatable for certain uses, IE; blood pressure. I have used Neosporin, or triple antibiotic salve for conjunctivitis effectively. Raw honey for burns, some types of skin infections. There are many natural alternatives to prescription meds, valuable information in any situation where access to a doctor is limited.

   1. ACV and honey will be touched on in part 6. ACV, honey, and other natural remedies have so many uses. We’d love to see articles on them. But the emphasis for this article was acquiring the traditional medical supplies and medications, before they become even more regulated (or unavailable).

      Interesting note on the triple antibiotic.

      Do you think any raw honey will work? Do you think Manuka honey has a significantly greater benefit than other raw honeys?

3. For kidney stones, my Dr prescribed Flomax to help dilate the urethra to help with passing them. This helped as the stones were smaller than 2.5 mm. I do not know the maximum size of a stone that can be passed naturally.

   1. Interesting. We’ll pass this info along to our son to share with his doctor. Thank you so much!

4. I have been manufacturing mild silver protein for over 25 years and at strengths of 500 ppm and also 1500ppm. Shelf life of these products is now over 25 years. Many doctors are using these in IV infusions as well as oral doses. DMSO is added to the IV infusions to help penetrate deep tissue.

   SNAKE bites, in every third world country and in some hospitals here in the south a micro current stun gun is used to neutralize the venom. I have seen it used in Belize and Mexico when I worked with doctors in both countries. In many cases all that is available is a pair of jumper cables and a 12 volt battery and it works.

   1. I mean no disrespect, and only post about this because it could be harmful. Please do not hook yourself up to jumper cables and a battery, or otherwise apply electicity to yourself. Even if electricity could theoretically break down the proteins in venom, you will cause much more damage to your own tissue, and maybe even electrocute yourself.

   2. How long of a pulse is required to neutralize venom?

5. Keep in mind that some people are allergic to clove products. I discovered this by accident 5 years ago when a dentist used a temporary filling material containing eugenol that caused the entire side of my mouth to swell and probably also damaged the root in that tooth.

6. I found ciprofloxacin/dexamethasone ophthalmic ointment to be effective for conjunctivitis. That would be useful item to keep around.

7. Considering mosquitoes. Deet is quite toxic but for many of us whom mosquitoes think are candy it s the only thing I ve found that works. So i put on long sleeves and pants then spray the clothes , back of my hands cover my eyes with my hands and spray lightly my face. We did this while living in the bush in Alaska where there are Lots of mosquitoes! My friend didn’t want to use any sprays on her little girl. She was bit a lot and wouldn’t stop scratching the bites. They ended up getting very infected. She had to go to the doctor for antibiotics and because her daughter was young and it was difficult to keep her fron scratching it took a long time for it to heal up. So heads up. Prevention can save a lot of misery.

   1. We’re not huge fans of Deet here, but sometimes in life you have to “pick your poison.” Is it Deet, which might be somewhat toxic to you, or a mosquito bite which could carry disease? I had a class member ask about chemical leaching from plastic water bottles stored in the car for emergency. So I asked her, “Do you want to suffer from dehydration, or risk the chemicals in the water bottle?”

8. Please note allergies of those under your care. There are a lot of things that people never know they are allergic to until someone brings it in to the environment.

   I see a lot of use Lavender. Please cut back on the use of it. There is a good portion of the population that are allergic that do not even know it until they come in direct contact with it. I have seen anything from a mild rash, runny nose, to outright right anaphylactic shock reactions. I see claims of it calming for people and this and that about it. Not so much for everyone.

   Make sure that who ever is taking on the responsibility of in depth healing that they know ALL allergies. One simple remedy could put someone else in a world of hurt, something no one wants when there is no one else to call for help.

   1. Anyone can have an allergic reaction to anything at any time. When TEOTWAWKI hits, everybody will be responsible for their own medical records and history.

      We have merely provided information in this article. We have no interest in promoting one item over another. Lavender happens to be a very commonly used essential oil that appears to provide relief for a number of ailments. Just because some people have a reaction to it does not mean others should not know about it or be able to use it. A significant number of people are allergic to penicillin, but it is still recommended and used, though maybe not as a first choice.

      There’s no way to cover med school and medications in a short article, and we aren’t physicians. People have to take responsibility for their own health care, especially when TEOTWAWKI hits. We’ve listed some items that people may want to have in their tool kits, whether they’re for a doctor to use, as is hopefully the case, or whether they have to treat their loved ones themselves in an emergency.

9. For heat stroke and prostate problems, prevention is key. And easy. Water.

   Heat stroke and associated conditions are properly referred to as elevated body temperature most often due to dehydration. Water…before you feel really thirsty.

   Ditto the prostate gland. Drink plenty of water so that your urine is the color of straw. When you finish, squeeze that muscle behind the scrotum, ten times (Kegel exercises). Though not fatal, prostatitis is painful.

10. Once you get dehydrated, at some point, you will have depleted your body of electrolytes. Drinking water plain, without sodium, magnesium, calcium etc., will do nothing but further dilute your bloods salt balance, and usually lead to vomiting what water you may have kept down, and further dehydration. In other words, you’re in serious danger of moving from simple heat exhaustion to full on heat stroke. You must try drinking sports drinks and get some electrolytes into your system or you are screwed Get to an emergency room as quickly as possible.

    1. Yes, dehydration depletes the body of electrolytes and can be fatal. But an ER may not be an option in the future. In the dehydration section we mentioned the other methods of restoring fluids and electrolytes. Putting in an IV is going to be extremely difficult for someone who is not trained (and according to nurses is a very perishable skill); it’s much, much more difficult when the patient is dehydrated. Other options, much more do-able for the lay person include rectal administration via enema bags, and hypodermoclysis, which involves injecting fluid subcutaneously. You can read more here: https://www.aafp.org/afp/2001/1101/p1575.html. Obviously, if we have a functioning medical system, you would get your patient to a hospital.

11. I’ve had BPH for years, it got bad where I was urinating five times a night. Started taking a tablespoon of organic pumpkin seed oil each day. Within two months it reduced having to urinate at night down to twice a night. Pumpkin seed oil is loaded with zinc. Absorbs better than a hard pressed pill…

    1. thank you for your comment!

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