Category: First Aid/Medical

Nearly everyone has heard of the famous “lockjaw”, but not everyone knows that the cause is tetanus infection.  Even fewer people have actually seen a case of tetanus, even in the medical circles it is a rare event in the U.S.  There are only 233 cases reported from 2001 to 2008–or 1/10,000,000.  Deaths are even more rare here in the States, and of those 233, 31 were fatalities.  Most deaths were people over 65, presumed to be less than optimally immunized.   There has only been one reported infant case in the U.S. in that time period, and that was …

There are some things in life that you just can’t go cheap on, and there are others that you can. This is an area that is mixed. As many other posts and reviews will tell you, a good survival knife is an invaluable tool that you absolutely cannot go cheap on. Going to Wal-Mart and buying the “Made in China” cheapo knife is going to potentially hurt you WTSHTF. Don’t do that, please don’t. But, with medical equipment, price does not equal performance. Most medical equipment is dirt cheap because it is nearly all disposable these days. That’s okay, medical …

The subject of what not to treat comes up so often in medicine that books have literally been written about the subject both for medical and non-medical folks. I decided to break it down head to toe and try to approach it with a common sense approach. Headaches do not need antibiotics. If an infection is due to bacteria, if it causes headache alone…that would be really unusual and probably cause the person’s death. Some bacterial meningitis infections will benefit from antibiotics, but figuring this out in time and having the right antibiotics is just not realistic. Now, headaches can be caused …

The following is the “Simple Solution” –  Home made Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS) Recipe Preparing 1 (one) Liter solution using Salt, Sugar and Water at home. Mix an oral rehydration solution using the following recipe. Ingredients: Six (6) level teaspoons of Sugar Half (1/2) level teaspoon of Salt One Liter of clean drinking or boiled water and then cooled – 5 cupfuls (each cup is about 200 ml.) Preparation Method: Stir the mixture until the salt and sugar dissolve. Oral rehydration will make the difference between life and death with many serious diarrheal illnesses.  Please make sure you have this formula somewhere …

Two Letters Re: The Rude Awakening of a Spider Bite Dear Mr Rawles: Fitzy describes a classic presentation for a staphylococcal furuncle, which in this day and age is often caused by cMRSA (community acquired Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) colonizing a patient’s skin.  These typically start as small “pimples” or “bites” on the skin surface, usually in areas of warmth and dampness, but any area of the body can be affected.  Most cases start as infected hair follicles or in areas of micro-abrasion or injury, not due to bites. It sounds like his doctor started him on doxycycline when bactrim …

Mr Rawles: Last week I dropped off to sleep and in the night with my legs uncovered due to the room being kind of warm. Some time during the night I was bitten by what was most likely a spider. as I awoke the next morning I started my regular work day. The initial bite was what I considered nothing more then an annoyance. I figured a mosquito might have got me, maybe a spider. I never really had a bad spider bite before. So I was sure it was just something got me, and it was something really itchy …

Serious medical conditions that occur infrequently now will become commonplace at TEOTWAWKI.  Recognizing the symptoms will help you treat these diseases effectively.  Better yet, learn how to prevent them and prepare accordingly. Case #1 It’s been over a year since you’ve escaped the city for your retreat.  Things are going well, though your teenage daughter is tired of hauling water from the creek. One day you walk with her and are alarmed at how winded she becomes.  She’s been acting fine otherwise, still primping and polishing her nails (though no boys are around).  She hasn’t lost any weight and seems …

Jim, My wife just read aloud your touching tribute to the late Ron Hood.   I feel that Ron’s death was a needless loss to the survival community and his family.   If men have their PSA checked annually, there’s no reason this disease should sneak up on them.   I was diagnosed with prostate cancer five years ago when I was 60.   Instead of surgery, which can leave one impotent and/or incontinent, I chose proton therapy at Loma Linda University Medical Center in California, as did my father-in-law.   My current PSA is 0.22. Thank You, God!   …