Category: First Aid/Medical

Letter Re: Gauze and Water: A Combat Medic’s Guide to Preparedness Medicine

Background: I converted my wife to prepping, working on the “kids”. Thirty Five years in EMS and 22 as an Emergency Medicine physician: prior work with Appleseed and Western Rifle Shooter’s Association travel course on Grid Down Medicine at its inception. Some austere medical and rescue training and operations, no military (I failed the physical).  I fully endorse your previous recommendations for the various medical education/training resources cited.   I would like to confirm Walker’s position, that for a mobile/bugout situation humping the ruck, his kit and strategy make a lot of sense. Protection from environmental factors, sanitation, water, and …


Seven Letters Re: Type 1 Diabetes–There Has to Be a Way to Prepare

Dear Editor: Regarding primitive means of extracting insulin, I direct your readers to this article (PDF and images available here.)   Note that the term ‘spirit’ in the paper means pure ethyl alcohol, and modern ethyl rubbing alcohol is not suitable as it contains denaturing poisons. It’s known that the mixtures must be kept at ice water temperatures or the insulin will be degraded. This is not intended for a kitchen chemist, some knowledge of chemistry and lab technique is preferred.   Referencing this article is not intended to give medical advice. – A.N. Onymieux   Hey Jim, I read …


Gauze and Water: A Combat Medic’s Guide to Preparedness Medicine, by Walker

First a little background: I am an Army Medic with combat experience. I have been a prepper since before I knew what prepping was. I teach wilderness survival and self reliance to the youth in my community as well as hunt, smith and homebrew. This is my personal take on the medical supply situation on a thirty six to seventy two hour bag basis. I have noticed that there have been several articles not just on this site but just about every other site I frequent about first aid kits and the ideal supply list. First off I have to …


Letter: Type 1 Diabetes–There Has to Be a Way to Prepare

Mr. Rawles, I’m writing this because there has to be a better way to prepare for everyone that feels the responsibility to do so without leaving type 1 diabetics behind.  I’m hoping you or someone reading this may have answers or can help in the search.  I had been prepping for a year or so in small but steady ways.  We had covered a lot of ground, everything from food storage to medicine, woodstove, small solar, guns, gardens, you name it and we continued to punch away at our personal list.  Then it happened, my son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.  It’s …


Letter Re: Secondhand Store Bargains, by Rucksack Rob

As most of the readers of SurvivalBlog know, preparing for disasters can be a lifelong commitment and can be most costly, even when buying used or on-sale items.  However, after 30 years of prepping, I find that I do 40-50% of my shopping at secondhand stores, such as Salvation Army, Goodwill, St. Vincent de Paul, and American Cancer Society, to name a few. If you visit regularly and keep your eyes open, not only will you find a treasure trove of preparedness items, but the employees will get to know you and your products and put them aside and hold them for you …


Top Five Medical Priorities for Survival, by Dr. Bob

I’d like to describe the top five survival priorities, from a medical standpoint.  If you order any survival products, you should do it with some conviction after setting up your top five priorities.  If you order a survival package from us here at survivinghealthy without paying attention to priority #1, you are doing it wrong!  There are not a lot of sites that will discourage you from purchasing from them, but this is not one of those!  Please, prioritize your purchases for survival based on need.  Let’s review the top five medical list.   #1:  Water.  You will live 5-7 …


Letter Re: First Aid: From Sprained Ankles to Gunshot Wounds

Jim: As a CPR/First Aid instructor, I’d like to comment on the recent article: First Aid: From Sprained Ankles to Gunshot Wounds, by Big Country. As an “EMT in training” Big County made a few mistakes in his article. He uses the old mnemonic ABCs for CPR and first aid care, this is an older guideline that was updated in October of 2010 by The International Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR). In collaboration with the AHA, ILCOR produced the first International CPR Guidelines in 2000 and an International Consensus on CPR and ECC Science with Treatment Recommendations in 2005. Once again, …


First Aid: From Sprained Ankles to Gunshot Wounds, by Big Country

As an avid outdoorsman, survivalist, Eagle Scout and Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) in training I know the importance of first aid and how it can mean the importance of  life and death. The proper first aid training is crucial in an ever changing world. I will discuss how to make a proper Individual First Aid Kit (IFAK) that you can use for self and buddy aid. How to treat sprains, broken bones, environmental emergencies, bleeding control and sucking chest wounds. IFAK- Choosing the right bag or case is very important. Make sure it can hold all of your gear and …


Letter Re: A Surgeon’s Observations on Survivalism

I read with interest the data on food inflation recently on your blog. This confirms my own recent observations about food and hardware store items. Additionally, I have observed a drastic shift in the behavior of the people around me. When you think of survivalists you don’t generally picture of a bunch of guys and gals in surgeons scrubs discussing weapons. But they do, now. I have been a surgeon for over twenty years, and in the last two years much has changed. Conversations that used to begin with, “Have you ever seen a case of…?” now begin with, “Gold …


Letter Re: The Occupy Protests as an Illustration of Refugee Camp Living

Mr. Rawles, I wanted to stress for G.R. in Texas that refugee camp living is far worse than anything experienced at Occupy Wall Street. Those were comparatively small encampments of comparatively wealthy people (in a global perspective, I work with populations who make less than $1 a day), with largely similar ideological frameworks, in cities that provided a fair number of basic services. I’ve visited several refugee camps supported by tens of millions of dollars in foreign aid and I can say that when you have more than 10,000 people together aid money is barely enough to get basic supplies …


Letter Re: Staple Foods Storage By The Numbers

JWR- Dr. Ted is incorrect. "Dropping below 15% protein risks Kwashiorkor – it’s the reason why those starving kids in the television commercials have fat bellies – lack of protein actually causes more fat to be deposited!" More fat is not deposited. [A swollen belly in these cases is a symptom of] edema (fluid) that collects in the abdomen or feet. It comes from the capillaries when there is a lack of protein in the diet and the liver cannot produce enough albumin. Thus the blood is hypo-osmotic and fluid is lost into the peritoneum, also called third-spacing. – J.W.M.


Letter Re: The Occupy Protests as an Illustration of Refugee Camp Living

JWR,   I found this article interesting: Protesters Coming Down With the “Zuccotti Lung”. Park conditions put demonstrators at risk for variety of sicknesses, officials say. The weather and conditions at the “Occupy” protests are likely a microcosm of a post-Crunch refugee camp, along with the attendant diseases and problems associated with lots of people living close together in raw weather.   I think this should give pause to those who believe they can simply pack up and head out into the local woodlot and survive a Crunch-type event. You may leave home healthy, but inevitable contact with other folks will …


Letter Re: Uses for Colloidal Silver

Sir: I have seen a lot of things online about colloidal silver being an option to protect yourself from the barium aerosol chemtrails being sprayed over my city. I don’t know how I feel about the idea of inhaling silver particles into my lungs. Do you have an opinion on this subject? Have you used a colloidal silver inhaler system yourself? I trust your advice and I await your response. Thank you, – Diana X. JWR Replies: First, I must mention that I’ve concluded that chemtrails are an elaborate myth. (An example of Urban Folklore that has been debunked.) The …


Dealing With Ankle Injuries in TEOTWAWKI, by Dr. Bob

The ankle is a frequently injured joint currently with the grid up and will be even more often with the grid down.  Ankles are easily turned, or rolled, with uneven ground, curbs, trees, rocks, etc.  Walking in general and walking in rough terrain are assumed to be more likely in TEOTWAWKI situations.  Almost everyone has had an ankle sprain in their lives, and many people have actually “broken” their ankles.  There will be no local doctor’s office and certainly no X-ray availability without a grid, so how do you take care of an ankle injury and how do you know …


Preventing and Surviving Rape in TEOTWAWKI, by Dr. Bob

This is not a happy topic.  At an e-mailer’s request and already on my mind, we will review some cold hard facts about a very uncomfortable subject matter.  Nearly every post-collapse movie or book that is produced will touch on the reality that criminals resort quickly to raping people.  It’s just what they do…that is the reality. It can bee seen in fictional dystopian movies: The Road Warrior, The Book of Eli (one of my favorites), A Clockwork Orange (one of the most disturbing rape scenes), and others reference the increase in rapes with the breakdown of society.  This is also …