Category: First Aid/Medical

Letter Re: Three Abstracts on Public Health in Ghettos During the WWII Holocaust

James, In light of the recent shooting by a Nazi whacko in Washington at the Holocaust Museum, I think it is important that we remember the victims and impact of a totalitarian government deliberately starving, looting, and otherwise dehumanizing its citizens. (The articles were published in Hebrew but the following abstracts are in English) – Yorrie in Pennsylvania (a retired physician) Clinical Manifestations of "Hunger Disease" Among Children in the Ghettos During the Holocaust Hercshlag-Elkayam O, Even L, Shasha SM. Western Galilee Hospital, Nahariya, Israel. The harsh life in the ghettos were characterized by overcrowding, shortage of supplies (e.g. money, …


Letter Re: Portable Oxygen Condensers

James, I recently installed an AuraGen system similar to the current listing on eBay (#330329068735) onto a customer’s Bug Out Vehicle (BOV), a 1986 Chevrolet Suburban 1 ton (modified with some parts that were originally incorporated in the M1008 CUCV). This customer also is afflicted with COPD and uses a 110 VAC Oxygen generator. The Auragen, being a military designed system is far more durable, far more rugged, and most importantly, far more versatile than an inverter placed into any vehicle electrical system. Being a mil-spec unit,.EMP is also not an issue as it meets the military requirements for such …


Letter Re: Advice For Older Preppers With Limited Mobility

Hi James, Thanks for your many years of great work. While I was enjoying and learning so much from your books and the web site, I was also growing older and have physically “lost the edge”. More accurately, I reaped the unintended consequences of 55 years of smoking and now have a tough situation Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). This is [best described in layman’s terms as] a combination of bronchitis and emphysema. I have not smoked for three years and my breathing is now stable at 51% of normal. This ailment is not unusual in the senior community, and …


Letter Re: Anesthesia for Traumatic Times

Jim – I’ve been reading your blog for a while now. Just thought I’d weigh in briefly on the anesthesia issue. For background, I am a general pediatrician with experience in emergency pediatrics. Also, I am a fellow of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine. Three quick points: 1. Under the vast majority of circumstances it is possible to work on mild to moderate traumatic injuries in children without anything more than local anesthesia. Papuses work great and should be considered as part of an advanced medical kit that is intended to treat children. If a papuse is too expensive or …


Three Letters Re: Anesthesia for Traumatic Times, by Scott N., EMT

Dear JWR: As a practicing anesthesiologist, I felt it necessary to respond to Scott N.’s article about TEOTWAWKI anesthesia. First, let me complement Scott N. for the well written article as well as bringing up the issue in the first place. Although it may be interpreted as self serving, I also have to strongly agree with JWR’s admonishment that this is not something to “try at home”. In a sense, we in the anesthesia field have somewhat become victims of our own success. It wasn’t that long ago that the risk of anesthesia (not the risk of the surgery) was …


Anesthesia for Traumatic Times, by Scott N., EMT

Introductory Proviso from JWR: The following article is intended for educational purposes only. DO NOT attempt to administer anesthesia without the proper training. There is a very fine line between unconsciousness and death, and this path should be tread only by a trained specialist. This is a very delicate art (and science) that requires advanced training, constant practice, and some advanced monitoring equipment. All vital signs must be closely monitored closely. Even for someone with an “MD” after their name, it is EXCEEDINGLY EASY to mess up, and the consequences of doing so are tremendous. (In short: If you are …


Two Letters Re: Dealing with Uninvited Guests

Dear Mr. Rawles I would like to add one last letter in response to “Uninvited Guests” and to let your readers know that the only effective means to control head lice is by “mechanical” removal. We were unfortunate to live, for a time, in an area of the country where head lice had become resistant to the OTC treatments. This is because most people did not realize that in addition to the application of something such as Rid, one must also clean one’s living quarters, as well as systematically go through the lice sufferer’s hair—strand, by strand, by strand…. Now …


Letter Re: FDA Restricts Over the Counter Sales of Bulk-Size Hemostatic Supplies

Sir; I try to keep a gun shot trauma kit with my shooting range supplies; when I was ordering some new medical supplies from North American Rescue I was informed that the public can no longer purchase Quikclot ACS+ or any other such hemostatic from them. The operator proceeded to tell me that the [U.S.] Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began regulating these products mid-May because “they go inside the human body.” I was able to order some of my other products in the “scrape and light cut” size” but none of the larger quantity hemostatics. Perhaps some other SurvivalBlog …


Four Letters Re: Dealing with Uninvited Guests

Mr. Rawles, I have read and enjoyed your blog for some time now and thank you for it daily. Regarding the recent post on control of head lice, I have found simple light cooking oil to be startlingly effective. Massaged through the afflicted’s hair and scalp and left for a few hours the oil is meant to suffocate the lice and eggs. I have used this several times, once I needed to repeat the processes to be effective, but in most previous infestations, once was enough. This treatment can be made apparently more effective by including some Tea Tree oil …


Letter Re: Dealing with Uninvited Guests

Mr. Rawles I have been a faithful reader for about a year now and would like to take this opportunity to thank you and your contributors for the wealth of information found on this site. I would also like to thank Anon T. for his article on quarantine procedures, though I’m wondering if it should be expanded to include “debugging”. I’m referring to head lice, body lice, crabs, bedbugs, mites, and fleas. Nobody wants to believe that it will happen to them. It doesn’t even have to be a WTSHTF scenario. In today’s economic environment many people are losing their …


Biological Threat Assessment and Containment, by Anon.T

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When either you or your group is confronted with a biological threat [such as a pandemic or biological warfare], you must determine the following before making decisions either for yourself or for your group. 1) What is the threat? 2) What is the incubation period prior to showing symptoms? 3) How contagious is the threat? 4) By what means is the threat contagious? 5) What is the morbidity rate? 6) What is the mortality rate? Once you have determined these things, you can make sound decisions that can get you and your group through a trying time. Quarantine: In the …


Three Letters Re: Stocking Up on Prescription Medicines

Jim- I want to publicly commend “SH from Georgia” on his excellent and concise article on stocking prescription drugs for a TEOTWAWKI scenario. I agree with just about every point that he has made. Adding metronidazole to the list is a great addition, and his comment about having medications on hand so that a physician might use them to your benefit is a point that I was contemplating, as well. Of course, the list of “med-prep” logistics that one could store is lengthy, and will be limited by 1. budget; 2. knowledge base, and 3. storage ability. SH’s list is …


Three Letters Re: Stocking Up on Prescription Medicines

Jim, In regards to stocking up on prescription medicine your readers may want to use the book “Wilderness Medicine“ by William Forgey, M.D. as a good starting point. A couple of other “beginner books” are “Where There Is No Doctor“ by David Werner and “Where There Is No Dentist“ by Murray Dickson. Amazon.com is running a special on all three books for $42. [JWR Adds: The latter two books are available for free download, but I recommend getting hard copies for your survival reference library.] I took the book “Wilderness Medicine“, to my doctor’s office and discussed the list of …


Letter Re: Stocking Up on Prescription Medicines

James, I have just visited with our family physicians about a stockpile of prescriptions medications. Seems that two of them are "preppers" and are putting a plan together for their families. They physicians are more than willing to write scripts for meds, they really are supportive of the plan and like the Wal-Mart list. For some reason, they will not recommend specific drugs, they will prescribe but not recommend. I wonder if a pharmacist and Ranger Doc might be willing to put together a specific list of recommended prescription items and you could put it in the blog. This would …


Two Letters Re: That Post Die-Off Fragrance

Mr. Editor: In regards to EM Joe’s post regarding “That Post Die-Off Fragrance,” I too spent 30 years in Public Service as a Forensic Investigator attending and investigating numerous death scenes and autopsies involving decomposing bodies. I used to use copious amounts of Vicks Vapor-Rub, both on my upper lip and even stuffed up the nose. One day, while attending an autopsy on a real “stinker”, the pathologist conducting the post mortem exam observed me and my faithful jar of Vicks and informed me that if I used enough of the stuff I would eventually erode away the mucus membranes …