Bring Your Own Bandaids- Part 5, by A.&J. R.

In this six-part article, we are focusing on the supplies we will need in order to address the medical issues we are most likely to experience, whether we get to a “Bring Your Own Bandaids” clinic or we have to treat matters on our own. Our lists and discussion goes way beyond the first aid kit, and at the end of each section, we also note essential oils that may be helpful. Pregnancy In a grid-down scenario, pregnancy tests are not used to satisfy curiosity. A few should be stored by every woman as pregnancy can mimic other serious conditions. …




Bring Your Own Bandaids- Part 4, by A.&J. R.

In this six-part article, we are focusing on the supplies we will need in order to address the medical issues we are most likely to experience, whether we get to a “Bring Your Own Bandaids” clinic or we have to treat matters on our own. Our lists and discussion goes way beyond the first aid kit, and at the end of each section, we also note essential oils that may be helpful. Dental Injuries and Problems Dental injuries and problems actually constitute a significant number of visits to the ER today. Unfortunately, we sometimes overlook this part of the body …




Bring Your Own Bandaids- Part 3, by A.&J. R.

We are focusing on the supplies we will need in order to address the medical issues we are most likely to experience, whether we get to a “Bring Your Own Bandaids” clinic or we have to treat matters on our own. Our lists and discussion goes way beyond the first aid kit, and at the end of each section, we also note essential oils that may be helpful. We’ve already covered some pre-existing conditions and common injuries in Part 1. Let’s continue forward in our six-part article. Skin In this section we will take a look at some common skin …




Bring Your Own Bandaids- Part 2, by A.&J. R.

Let’s now focus on the supplies we will require to be able to address the medical issues we are most likely to experience. This goes way beyond the first aid kit. At the end of each section, we’ll also note essential oils that may be helpful. Essential Oils The specific usage of essential oils, the amounts, carrier oils, and contraindications are beyond the scope of this article. The essential oils are included here so that you can see what you may wish to acquire to treat conditions you and your family are more likely to experience. Just as you’ll want …




Bring Your Own Bandaids- Part 1, by A.&J. R.

Disclaimer: The following is for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should always consult your physician for any questions regarding your health or that of a family member. The authors are merely discussing items you may wish to have on hand to care for a family or group, for when a licensed healthcare provider is available but supplies are hard or impossible to come by. We write from the perspective of patients (a Type 1 diabetic with hypothyroidism and his wife who has had her spleen, gall bladder, most of her pancreas, and half a pinkie removed) and parents of …




Medical Supplies, Principles of Use and Purpose, by J.V.

Today’s world climate seems to reinforce more and more the need to be prepared for various situations that might arise. Everything from terrorism to tensions with whatever country it is this week. We all need to do our part to be prepared. This includes the medical side of things. Knowledge and Practice Nothing beats knowledge and practice of a particular skill set. Even without the proper tools, if you understand the principle inside and out, you can think of ways to adapt and use what supplies you have on hand. This is the true meaning of survival– making due with …




Bleeding Control and First Aid Training, by Doctor Dan

For a little background, I teach ATLS (Advanced Trauma Life Support) and BCON (Bleeding Control) training courses frequently. I’m an anesthesiologist in a rural community hospital. I also completed a year of residency training in General and Trauma Surgery during my journey to becoming a physician. Additionally, my family and I are advocates for personal and community preparedness. SHTF Life-Threatening Scenarios Many topics on this forum deal with “WTSHTF” scenarios. Of course, these emergencies, whether short-term or long-term are certainly not outside the realm of possibility. However, I’d also like to challenge all who read this to become better prepared …




Prepper’s Pain Protocol- Part 2, by ShepherdFarmerGeek

If you’re like most preppers, you don’t have a prescription bottle of Morphine on hand to deal with pain. And you don’t think dosing your friend or child with a big swig of whiskey (or two) is all that good of an idea. Over-the-Counter “Pain Pack™” Well, one option is the non-narcotic, over-the-counter “Pain Pack™” concept described at and promoted by Next Generation Combat Medic as “just as good for moderate pain as oxycodone, hydrocodone and even codeine.” Please read all their original information. What follows is but a small tweak of the “Pain Pack™” plan that I’d like to …




Letter: Updated Survival & Austere Medicine Book

Hugh, As many of your readers already know, the newly revised, highly recommended book, Survival & Austere Medicine: an Introduction, has been published free online in .pdf format (click the picture!). There are several editions online. Make sure you download the 2017 3rd edition edited by the group collectively known as RAWTWMDBM. Available in Hardcover And now this 2017 edition (589 pages) has been published in hardcopy by Lulu. It’s available in hardcover with black & white illustrations for $29.25; paperback black & white for $19.28; paperback with full color illustrations for $111.91; and hardcover full color for $126.35. This …




What To Do and Not Do When a Pandemic Starts- Part 2, by Scientist69

  In part 1 of this article series, I explained the difference between a pandemic and an epidemic as well as virus transmissions. We also went through some basic biosecurity measures, including items to have on hand and how to use them, including some detail on various disinfectants. Now, let’s move forward in our discussion on dealing with pandemic-causes viruses. Vaccination Vaccinations have gotten a bad reputation, unfortunately due to the occurrence of some rare issues such as allergies to vaccines, autoimmune responses, et cetera and a whole lot of misinformation. Generally, if you had regular vaccinations, you might have …




Letter Re: Israeli Battle Bandages Expiration

HJL, I have a question about the vacuum sealed Israeli battle bandages. They have an “expiration date” on them: what does that mean, in terms of medical and common sense applications? My thinking is if I need it and have it, who cares how old it is… Thank you and thanks for all you do. RJH. HJL’s Comment: While many medical items have expiration dates that are critical (like insulin), some are there only because of legal liability reasons. If you pull out a bandage that doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to or has some problem that complicates it’s …




Radiation Issues In Nuclear Blasts- Part 2, by Dr. Bones of doomandbloom.net

This is the second part of this article on radiation issues in nuclear blasts. We’ve defined radiation and various types of bombs as well as radiation’s effects on living things. Today, we’ll look at what we can do to prepare for radiation exposure, treat its effects, and more. Radiation Sickness The medical effects of exposure are collectively known as “radiation sickness” or “Acute Radiation Syndrome”. A certain amount of radiation exposure is tolerable over time, but your goal should be to shelter your group as much as possible. Terms For Measuring Quantities of Radiation To accomplish this goal, we should …




Letter: Stop the Bleed Training

Stop the Bleed HJL, Recently the University of Washington’s Harborview Hospital  has begun teaching bleeding control to healthcare providers as well as ordinary citizens. WHH is the nearest Level 1 Trauma Center in most of the northwest, including Idaho and Montana. The class is called Stop The Bleed. The idea is that-just like everyone should know CPR- everyone should know how to stop severe bleeding. The class is about 2 hours, divided between lecture and hands on training. The class teaches how to recognize life threatening bleeding and proper usage of tourniquets. Which ones to purchase, and how to properly use wound …




Nurse’s Perspective for Survival, by L.S.

As a nurse who believes in making preparations for long-term survival, it has come to my attention that there are a few simple preventive healthcare measures that everyone should consider. However, obtaining important preventive healthcare and taking general measures related to maintaining general health is often overlooked or delayed because of the focused attention to the more obvious important prepping activities, such as having enough food, water, or a safe, sheltered environment.

Tetenus Vaccine

Since my favorite approach to staying healthy is a more naturopathic way, I must admit that I am not a strong advocate of most vaccines in general. This is due to a variety of chemicals that are added into vaccines with subsequent recorded side effects of some vaccines after administration. However, there is one particular vaccination that I do believe is important to obtain in emergency preparation. This is the tetanus vaccination.




Experiencing Anaphylaxis, by Breathing Better Now

This year, I dealt with anaphylaxis and it really clarified some issues with our prepping. Though I have been a prepper most of my life, I didn’t realize that was what I was until eight years ago. Most of the prepping that I did was food storage. I did it for stewardship not prepping for the zombie apocalypse. I would buy supplies in large quantities when they were at “rock bottom”, once-a-year sale prices. Each time an item we used would be on sale, I would buy as many as I could afford and use before the expiration date. My wakeup call was the 2008 presidential election. I still remember sitting in disbelief at the outturn of the vote. Confused, concerned, and motivated, I did not see much hope for the future of my country or my children. After a few weeks of shock, I decided to take action.

A local group

I started researching all things prepping.