Category: Health and Fitness

Controlling Pain Where There is No Doctor, by Bill R.

Some of you are probably asking yourself what this has to with Survivalism. Pain is our brain’s way of letting us know that something is not right. You touch a hot stove and it warns you to pull away. With any number of things that can set off TEOTWAWKI,  The result will be the same. Traumatic, stressful, pick your favorite term; it’s all the same. Increased stress levels in the body create tension. We have all heard the term ”your psychology affects your physiology”, nothing could be more true. I think it is an excellent idea to go through practice …


Often-Overlooked Readiness: Preparing for Joy, by Carla

I am sitting here and it is raining, and raining and raining and… Four inches so far, nobody can water like God can! After our last rain, everything in the garden had a tremendous burst of energy. The dreary, raining day for some folks though, is especially depressing. I enjoy those occasional days, when I feel like I can actually sit down at the computer without feeling guilty because there is so much to do outside that I really shouldn’t be here. It got me to thinking again about “what if?” How can we defeat those occasional bouts of dreariness, …


Medical Insurance for Prepared American Families, by Pat C.

The American healthcare system is collapsing and it will continue to do so no matter what comes out of the current debates in Washington. As a result, healthcare in the United States will continue to rise in cost. Worse, healthcare will become difficult to obtain; specialty care is already scarce in some areas and many rural counties do not have even one doctor who will accept Medicare patients. There are many reasons for these developments that are too complicated to outline here but it’s important to be aware of these trends because they will affect your ability to obtain care …


Survey Results: Your Favorite Books on Preparedness, Self-Sufficiency, and Practical Skills

In descending order of frequency, the 78 readers that responded to my latest survey recommended the following non-fiction books on preparedness, self-sufficiency, and practical skills: The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery (Far and away the most often-mentioned book. This book is an absolute “must” for every well-prepared family!) The Foxfire Book series (in 11 volumes, but IMHO, the first five are the best) Holy Bible Where There Is No Dentist by Murray Dickson “Rawles on Retreats and Relocation” Making the Best of Basics: Family Preparedness Handbook by James Talmage Stevens The “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course Crisis …


The Jump Kit, by Skyrat

Inside the trunk of my vehicle is a near duplicate of the “jump kit” or “Green Bag” used in my days with the Detroit Fire Department’s Emergency Medical Service Division. When I come across a roadside collision before the local medics, everything I need to start patient care is in the green canvas bag I sling over my shoulder. The supplies in my personal vehicle are very much like those I carried in my street medic days, and reflect a strong basic life support/trauma bias. Basic life support includes those interventions that do not go past the skin, and generally …


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, …


Survival of the Fittest by Mike Hussle

When it comes to preparedness for disasters, people can be very imaginative. Thinking through every possible scenario, difficulty or danger helps them in choices such as, “what type of firearm is the most practical?” “What medicines is it a good idea to have on hand?” Or, “where is a good place to go if it is no longer safe where I live?” These questions are all sound, practical thoughts for anyone who wants to be prudently prepared for emergencies. One factor, however, largely gets neglected, if not ignored. Perhaps that is because you can’t simply purchase this most central and …


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: Any Widespread Flu Will Overwhelm America’s Emergency Medical Services

Dear Mr. Rawles, As an avid SurvivalBlog reader since ’05, I’ve got to say, the quality of your blog continues to go up and up. Just when I think I can’t possibly absorb anything more, new posts appear that make me think, plan, and act. Upon your blog’s advice, I have begun taking an EMT class at a local college to expand my medical knowledge base. What the Paramedic teacher said today in class gave me the chills. We were discussing all manner of diseases and then he touched on H1N1, the Swine Flu and its possible affects upon the …


Health, Hygiene, Fitness and Medical Care in a Coming Collapse, by RangerDoc

Spiritual Fitness Let us start this discussion by confronting a stark fact of life: very few of us, living the life of North American citizens, are fit to survive for a generation in an austere, off the grid, world. First of all, few of us have the philosophical orientation to be survivors. I know in my bones that without God’s help, my family’s ability to survive in a prolonged state of austerity is worse than questionable. As an evangelical Christian, I understand that my own commitment to preparedness is a function of my ongoing submission to God’s will. It could …


Six Letters Re: Adapting Family Food Storage for Gluten Intolerance

James, I found out last year I am gluten intolerant, and my little girl was symptomatic with me. In our case, we found we can’t tolerate any grains–not even corn or rice. Below are some ideas for those with either condition or who are on lower-carbohydrate diets for health reasons. * In addition to beans, other carbohydrate-rich foods that you can store include potatoes, yams, peas, beets and tapioca. To avoid the additives found in some dehydrated foods, I have freeze-dried potatoes, yams, and peas. I also have some home-canned yams and plan to grow more. Beets are only available …


Letter Re: Adapting Family Food Storage for Gluten Intolerance

Hi Jim, I wonder how many other preppers out there have the same issue we just discovered. My wife has always had trouble with her digestive tract. Recently we discovered that she is has Coeliac’s disease which means she is gluten intolerant. She can no longer eat gluten which it seems is in just about every type of prepared food. It comes from Wheat and is obviously in anything that has wheat in it, but it is also in lots of other things including vitamins, tomato paste, some candies, etc. It has been quite an adjustment for us! This makes …


The Mexican Flu and You

In the past 24 hours I’ve received dozens of e-mails from SurvivalBlog readers about the emerging Mexican Flu. Some news stories have included cryptic comments from heath officials, implying that the mechanism of infection makes this particular virus “very difficult to contain.” This leads me to conclude that those infected have a long latency period during which they are infectious, yet, they do not display frank symptoms. This does not bode well for any hopes of containing the spread of the virus. Then we hear a CDC official stating: “The swine flu virus contains four different gene segments representing both …


TEOTWAWKI Medicine and Minor Surgery–Part II: Skin Infections, by Dr. K.

Introduction The skin has three layers. 1. The epidermis is the outermost layer. It protects our bodies from the environment and has pigment cells. 2. The dermis is the middle layer, and it contains hair follicles, sweat glands, oil glands, and capillaries. 3. The hypodermis (or subcutaneous layer) is the inner layer, and it contains layers of fat that provides cushion and insulation for our body… some more than others. Any of these layers can become infected, in whole or in part. In a TEOTWAWKI scenario, that minor scratch could lead to a painful death. Knowledge is vitally important. Understanding …


Walk!, by Snolden

If you value your existence and your life, then walk! I am an Air Force brat who did nine years active duty in the Navy. In other words I moved a lot. Eleven states in the first 33 years of my life. I traveled to all fifty states and a few countries. Every one is different, and areas within each are completely different from the part that you live in. Most people that lived in places I have been do not walk any further than a few hundred yards a day. A mile is a “long walk” for most folks. …