Category: First Aid/Medical

Letter Re: The Formulary Book Mentioned in the Novel “Patriots”

Mr. Rawles: First, I’d like to thank you for your novel “Patriots”. I bought it and read [the 31 chapter edition] in 2002, and loved it. I implemented many of your suggestions, and have my bug out bags prepared and ready. I especially have medical supplies on hand. I have been trying to remember the name and author of a “formulary” book I believe you mention in Patriots. You said it was out of print but showed how to make things like paint, if you had no paint. You said it was a fixture on American farms at the turn …


Survival Labor and Delivery, by John O. MD

The return of home delivery is a fact that most of the survivalist community needs to face, and is a topic I have seen relatively little written about. My own experience derives from 10 years experience as an Emergency Physician, delivering 3-4 infants a year in situations either where the woman has had no prenatal care whatsoever and arrives in our emergency room (ER) [in] crowning [condition]; or as a private patient upstairs who progresses so quickly that her private obstetrician (OB) can’t make it to the hospital in time. This has skewed my experience toward “normal” presentations where the …


Letter Re: Asian Avian Flu is Still a Major Threat

JWR, I am currently working on the construction of a pandemic flu vaccine facility (way too far away from my intended retreat locale, but I need to be able to afford my retreat 🙂 and I have a couple insights that most people and some medical folks might not have. First, the new cell culture flu vaccine facilities will have the ability to adapt to mutating strains during production – within reason, and in-process flu vaccine production can either be stopped, or the pandemic vaccine added to the regular vaccine. That is something that is not possible with even the …


Letter Re: Asian Avian Flu is Still a Major Threat

Jim, I am a regular reader with 40+ yrs of prepping and a 10 Cent Challenge subscriber. My current career is as a Hospital Staff Respiratory Therapist. We recently had a seminar on the coming Avian Flu Pandemic that scared the heck out of me. The timeline for human to human vector is 3 to 5 years, if it follows the current rate of mutation. It will probably come out of Thailand, and with air travel, will quickly spread around the world, with entry to the US through the major international airports. With luck and area quarantines, they may be …


Are You Preparing Without Physical Fitness? How and Why to Get Physically Fit, by Flhspete

Introduction The more physically fit one is overall, the better your odds are you will survive WTSHTF. Or, maybe you don’t believe that survival preparations should include physical fitness. U.S. military forces emphasize solid fitness in part because the higher the fitness level, the more an individual can maintain acceptable performance levels while under stress. Police SWAT units emphasize high levels of fitness for the same reasons. Organized units like these are highly effective also because they conduct rehearsals of established SOPs until it is ingrained to the point that they are able to perform under any conditions. They are …


Two Letters Re: Tourniquet Pros and Cons

Jim, I’m afraid you’re out of date on tourniquet use. It’s been a couple years since we were in the Army, and the world in general has shifted gears on tourniquets. In Iraq and Afghanistan, [we read] “no iatrogenic injury has been reported, even with tourniquet times up to 8 hours.” (Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, 76th annual scientific congress.) US Army literature on the subject has indicated that if the limb can be saved, it can still be saved three hours after a tourniquet is applied (U.S. Medicine, May 2005) Tourniquets got a bad rap, probably deservedly, in WWII. …


Two Letters Re: Tourniquet Pros and Cons

JWR, You were right on with your advice as far as setting tourniquets. One thing that I totally fail to understand when it comes to some of my preparedness oriented brethren is their desire to mickey mouse/improvise a solution when one already exists. Also, thanks for the recommendation on TraumaDEX, it looks to be as good or better than some of the other offerings, and wow is it cheap! ($11/50 applicators). While all of these gizmos are neat, just like in your novel “Patriots” there was someone there with honest to god medical training. While becoming an RN or LVN …


Two Letters Re: Questions on Blood Clotting Agents

James: See this link for a PDF that provides a short article by two medical doctors concerning the different clotting agents. Anyone contemplating a [blood clotting agent] purchase should read the article. – Bill N. Dear Mr. Rawles, I may be “just a dentist,” but hopefully I can offer some insight into the gentleman’s question regarding ferric sulfate as a coagulant. He is correct that it is a coagulant. I use it every day in a 15.5% aqueous solution to control minor intraoral bleeding (modern dental impression materials and tooth colored filling materials don’t do well in the presence of …


Six Letters Re: Questions on Blood Clotting Agents

Sir: In reply to Bill H.’s questions about Ferric chloride to stop bleeding. In the U.S. Ferric Chloride is recognized as a styptic in veterinary medicine and should be used at a concentration of 10%. Lower concentrations are progressively less effective as a styptic but become useful as an astringent. Ferric subsulfate is currently used in the U.S. in human medicine as a styptic. I see it used frequently in our hospital in the surgery department. The typical use is at full strength or 20%. Alum is another potential styptic used at 0.5 to 5% solutions (yes, the stuff for …


Letter Re: Questions on Blood Clotting Agents

Sir: As a hobby machinist, I spent some time prowling sites catering to the hobby. Did, when I was out of work for a while and had the time. A most interesting reference showed up on several “foreign” sites. (Outside the u.s.) Posters were recommending the chemical Ferric Chloride as a coagulant. According to the texts, it would stop heavy bleeding on contact. Presumably, it chemically cauterized the wound. I have spilled it into minor scrapes, by accident. It felt like a cautery iron, or worse. I lack knowledge of biochemistry. But I am aware that both iron and chlorides …


Disaster Proof Your Home, by “Decay”

In today’s survival forums much emphasis is placed on issues such as Bug Out Bags (BOBs), Main Battle Rifles, or Bug Out Vehicles (BOVs) These are important but I feel that it is critical that we also remember to return to the basics in an emergency situation. It was through my neighborhood Emergency Training program that I was reminded how fragile our homes, apartments, and neighborhoods can be during and after a disaster. Before flooding, hurricanes, tornados, famine, pestilence, plague, war or martial law. You and your family should get prepared so that you will be ready for anything that …


Letter Re: Eye Protection, Flushing, and Infection Treatment

One thing I haven’t seen on your blog is eye treatment. Nothing can put you out of action faster than an eye problem. Recently, I developed a bacterial infection in my right eye which was treated with a prescription oral antibiotic. I also used eye drops to help lubricate the eye and relieve some of the irritation. There are many different eye drops available. I used Allergan Refresh Tears which I bought at Costco. For my situation, my doctor said it was a good choice. My doctor informed me that I could have acquired the infection in many ways including …


Letter Re: Constructing a High Efficiency (Low Current Draw) Refrigerator

Hi Jim There was an article on your blog a few weeks ago about converting a chest freezer into a low wattage refrigerator. I decided to make one of these as it is a great idea. I purchased a 7 cu ft freezer at Home Depot for $200 and then bought this device (the Johnson model) and that was all that I needed. I first used it as a freezer and put a Kill A Watt [current monitor] on it. It averaged 1.13 KW per 24 hours. I then used the thermostat and used it as a refrigerator and tested …


Raising Goats for Self-Sufficiency, by Freeholder

It seems like more and more people are becoming aware of the need to grow some of their own food. Usually they start with a garden, and maybe some chickens or meat rabbits. But eventually, if the family has room for them and the zoning allows, they decide that they need their own milk supply (with a little home-grown veal or chevon [goat meat] as a bonus). Cows have their place, but in many situations goats are a better choice. They are smaller and easier to handle; less expensive to purchase; require less room; and can eat, and even thrive …


Reader Poll Results: Your TEOTWAWKI Resume — 100 Words and 100 Pounds

Some of these stretched the 100 word limit. (I skipped posting one that rambled on far beyond the limit.) The poll’s premise in a nutshell: “If someday you went to the gates of a survival community post-TEOTWAWKI and pleaded the case for why you should be let past the barricades and armed guards to become a valuable working member of the group, would you get voted in? Taken objectively, would you vote yourself in?”   I am a shoe maker (not just a repairman) can repair saddles tan leather have done ranch work mechanics weld gardening skills set a broken …