Preparedness minded individuals spend a great deal of time stockpiling food, water filtration systems, survival gear and other tools. Most have some sort of first aid kit or medical kit in their supplies and survival bug out bags. What is often overlooked, however, is serious medical emergencies.
When the SHTF there will likely be no doctors around to provide trauma care and surgery. Which means if you want to save the life of a loved one, friend or neighbor you’re going to have to do it yourself. If you’ve got the proper equipment you’ll stand a much better chance of saving a life (and perhaps it will be your own life that is saved).
In SHTF Survival: First Response Packs for Medical Emergencies, Tess Pennington of Ready Nutrition outlines some essential tools for your medical preparedness supplies, including books, supply lists and where you can acquire them:
When there is a medical emergency, time is of the essence. Typically, medical rescue workers who respond to accidents work swiftly by having their supplies organized and at times, pre-assembled (wound care, trauma packs) to treat patients more efficiently. Having these items pre-packaged cuts down on response time, and gives the responders more of an advantage in properly caring for the wounded. That efficiency can easily be replicated for your medical supplies or added to your SHTF sick room.Medical first response packs can be made ahead of time using most of the medical products that you have on hand. In fact, these first response packs are not limited to medical emergencies, they can also be used for dental emergencies as well. To prepare for a SHTF scenario, it would be beneficial to take into account the most likely medical situations you may come in contact with and plan accordingly.
Pennington provides detailed supply lists for a number of scenarios including:
- Response packs for superficial wounds
- Response packs for hikers
- Response Kits for wounds that require sutures
- Suture Removal Kits
- Response packs for advanced wound care: bleeding wounds, gunshot wounds, stab wounds
- Response packs for advanced wound treatment: open or bleeding wounds fractures, falls
- Response packs for 72-Hour Kits: Intended for the treatment of open or bleeding wounds caused by gunshots, knife cuts or punctures
Everyone should take note of this. Medical supplies and basic knowledge is as important as a ton of beans and million rounds of ammo.By the way,without medical insurance we may have to do for ourselves anyway.Get a copy of the book “When there is no doctor” or any advanced first aid. The Patriot nurse that has had postings on this site has been etremely helpful also. Good luck everyone. Turn off the tv and start reading.
I used Where There Is No Doctor in Haiti. Very good resource book.
Definitely my area of weakness. I have some good pain meds, antibiotics, and the necessary band aids, but if I need medical help….I’m dead
http://www.calvetsupply.com Great prices on antibiotics. Maxi Pads extra absorbent make great bandages and can be purchased in bulk. get an advanced first aid kit and work on building it from there!
Are these antiboitics the same as ones used for people? Can anyone order them?
Chemically they are exactly the same as antibiotics for human use. They are just marked for veterinary use–the only difference. Anyone can order them. Having them can make the difference between a life saved and a life lost.
no they are NOT the same. the anti-biotic is chemically the same (probably comes from the same manufacturing line as human meds) but the delivery method is different. pay attention to the antibiotic dosing (in mg miligrams)and don’t mix topical and oral meds and you should be ok. injections have different mixture ratios so you need to look at the mili-grams of medication per mili-liter (the total volume of solution is not the dose, its the mg of drug in the solution). over 10ml needs to be given in the but or leg. use common sense and you should come out ok!!! DenverNurse
We have the Fish Cillan. It healed an infected dog bite on our goats’ leg. I guess I would use it in a pinch.
Nice try, but most medications including antibiotics have a very short shelf life. You cannot stock up on meds. Just hope your one of the very few like myself who never used a presrciption med.
Otherwise if you depend on pharmacueticals, you might as well be planning your exit!
Not true…you can read a Dr’s point of view on the shelf life of meds right here http://www.survivinghealthy.com/?page_id=27 Don’t fall into the Governments plan to control you even more than they already do!
OK then try it yourself, put a bottle of your most
prized important meications away like insulin
for a year or more in a hot humid climate cause there wont be air conditioning when the shtf, then open it up and see if it still works.
you never tried it because you do not have to. but wait until some charlatan sells you a bottle of meds for your survival pack and it doesn’t work.
@Meds, you are correct that insuulin is one of the meds that does have a short shelf life, but many do not. Vacuume pack them to keep the air out, keep them in a dark place at a reasonable temp and many will last a few years. Check out patriot nurse on youtube. She has done extensive research on the subject.
the drug companies put short exp dates for liability and “profit turnover” reasons. most meds, if kept in a cool dry and DARK place will keep MUCH longer. some meds will not keep more than a year or so others will keep 15 or more. ciparo will keep for a long time. the internet has several articles on the militaries study. the military agreed not to publish their results under pressure from the drug companies but some info is available. also note while most new antibiotics and drugs just go ineffective some older antibiotics actually get stronger or toxic. stronger isn’t better!!! I lost the hearing in my right ear do to over dosing of older ototoxic antibiotics. do research and use good judgement. patriotNurse and usmcerdoc on youtube are good places to start
I have antibiotics like azythromycin, which have an expiration date about 18 mos out.
keep meds in origional packaging!!! if they are not moisture resistant (like blister packs) or light resistant wrap them in aluminum foil (for light protection) then place them inside a sealed mason jar or vacuum bag. bottles and packaging from the manufacturer are sealed in controlled conditions and provide the best protection possible for the particular med.
I can recommend Chinook Medical http://www.chinookmed.com/ (I am not affiliated with them). They do a lot of sales to military and law enforcement. They sell just the kind of first aid stuff needed for this, and I have placed a number of orders with them. My only other source was a very large set of surgical instruments I ordered from a good vendor on Ebay. Do it now. It doesn’t cost that much, and when things really go downhill this stuff–like all good prep stuff–will be in demand so high you won’t be able to get it anymore.
I second the recommendation for Chinook. I am a customer, and receive top notch service from them.
Medical emergency equipment is badly overlooked by almost everyone. My girl is an RN, and they (FEMA) told her office that if a pandemic broke out, there would be no federal aid coming. Local communities would be on their own to deal with it. This means that there would be no supplies coming in, and no real amount of help coming in either. She didn’t pay attention at the time, however, and thought I was nuts for piling up gear.
Numerous disasters later (earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, etc…) she’s starting to get on board and help out in this regard.
The best things to do are to start out taking emergency CPR and first aid classes. They should be offered locally at a tech college or similar type school. Construction workers have to take these for various reasons, and you can find out the class schedule and pay to attend too. Not too tough.
Next up would be a discussion with a doctor or nurse, telling them what you’re trying to do, and developing a list of books, supplies, and tools to buy. Most will help, but they’ll try to steer you to calling 911. You could say that the kit is for a hunting or fishing trip to Alaska, and once the plane drops you off, you have no way to contact the outside world for 7 days.
You can do advanced classes too, and continue to develop your kit, but this would be a good start.
My wife’s daughter is an RN and when she was working in the local hospital they had a disaster training scenario where the hospital, FD, PD, fake victims all get together and play “what the hell do we do now”. Oh baby this was enlightening. Basically; if you are not close and convent, baby you are on your own.
Example; about four months ago a small plane crashed about two and a half miles SW of our house. My wife’s daughter, her husband and I were the first ones there. It was a good two mile up and down as fast as you can go rough hump. Me, I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I’m 58. Unfortunately there were three fatalities no survivors, an adult female and two children were killed. As I am trying to explain to the ignorant 911 operator that we were standing beside the downed aircraft and that “NO there are no roads up to the crashsite” and that we humped it up in to here to assist. I told her that it was either foot, off road vehicle or a helo is the only way in here. About that time we look back down towards the freeway and there is no less than 18 emergency vehicles sitting there looking at us. (Fire trucks, SO, CHP, and a command vehicle/monster RV)
We got the fire out and scowered the site looking for any other victims, did what we could do and about an hour later we walked back out got in the pick-up and had to drive back down past the quote; first responders. The first question out of my son in laws mouth was, what are you doing down here? The crashsite is up there. Their response was, the victims were killed on impact, what’s the point? We said if we didn’t get there how would you have known?
On the way back to the house we all came to the same consensus, if you are not injured in a convent place for the first responders to get to, you are probably on your own. That is unless there happens to be a News camera around.
The “first responders” often emphaticly state that they have no legal duty to provide assistance.
And as Ive told some of the cocky ones I know I have no legal obligation to allow you to “help” me…its a long story!
excellent…and you are right big mo about the future problems with insurance, hospitals, and yes even drs. who are already turning away patients. knowing what to do, when to do it, and how to do it in an emergency medical situation is really important stuff and not just for the professionals..
They just finished a report on the news about people here in South Florida operating on themselves because they have no health insurance. The first words out of their mouths in the Emergency Room are not; “”where do you hurt” or “what seems to be the problem, it’s “do you have health insurance?” Unless you are bleeding, you go to the back of the line without health insurance.
My family and I no longer pray to God to save us when the SHTF; rather we pray that He take us quickly, painlessly and together when it’s our time to go.
God Bless & good luck to all who post here.
Free download of the book, “Where There is No Doctor” (This book is available in a number of languages)
This is a medical book written in plain English with lots of pictures. It covers first aid, common illnesses, nutrition, a number of medical problems – treatment and prevention. This book is used extensively by health workers in many countries.
Scroll down the page to – English titles for download.
http://www.hesperian.org/publications_download.php
Excellent. Thank you.
You are welcome! Hope you find the information helpful! 🙂
This was a really good reference. I downloaded most of the stuff on the page, figuring it might come in handy. I now have two folders on my laptop, one for people med info, and one for pet med info. You’d be amazed what you can download for free, but the hesperian link was a real good shot! 🙂
This is outstanding information and an invaluable resource. I just linked to the site and download to IPAD was a breeze. Thank You!
STRAC50
Just punched this up on the Red Cross website. This would be a good, low cost, way to get going in this area. Lots of good stuff on this page.
http://www.redcross.org/portal/site/en/menuitem.86f46a12f382290517a8f210b80f78a0/?vgnextoid=aea70c45f663b110VgnVCM10000089f0870aRCRD
Take an ETT or EMT course. Get the basics down and then get a copy of ST31-91B, US Army Special Forces Medical Handbook brought to you by USA-IMA at Ft. Bragg. Should be available from Pallidin Press. Fairly technical but with the basics down, it is complete to include obstetrics and dental.
Put some antibiotics on the list. The above book will line you out on the most usable. And remember, antibiotics are only for bacterial infections and you MUST follow the complete regimen. If you get a virus and no doctor, just hope you live through it. Anti-virals are something you can’t store and usage by other than a trained medical expert might be fatal.
Living out where I do, prevention is critical. Nearest medical help is 50+ miles away and poor at best. Nearest hospital well over a hundred miles. Most folks get medivaced to Anchorage at extreme expense. And I can’t afford it.
As I recall another book that got good reviews was “The Barefoot Doctor.”
Don’t forget to bone up on taking care of your pets in a SHTF scenario. Here’s a good link to some starter info. It’s a pain in the ass downloading each article, but doesn’t take that long.
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=20
I practiced my ability to stich up a wound on a friends dog, was at a party where a few dogs decided to get into it, and one bit the back of my friends dog..Nice sized gash..to the bone.
we were out in the sticks and i got out my first aid kit and stiched the ol boy up..
my friend took the dog to the vet a few days later, and the vet said who ever did this did a great job, bring the dog back in 5 more days and he would take them back out. gave him some pills to combat possible infection (even though captain morgan was on duty at the field opperation table)and sent him on his way.
it might be a bit tuffer to stich on my wife or kid or another person..but you do what ya gotta do..eh?
VRF – good story! Shows the use of alcohol too, which you demonstrated using as a sterilizing agent. I have several plastic 1.75 liter bottles of low-end vodka, which can be used to clean wounds too.
I have all the books, first aid kits, emergency surgical kits, but that is not enough. I’m sure this topic has been brought up before, but we also have to look beyond modern medicines. What will you use once your access to Walgreen for whatever the reason is gone.
I got involved with Herbs and Essential oils 6 months ago and have had already improved my health with them, my wife has had the same kind of success. I have over 60 herbs I am experimenting with, learning how to make tinctures, poultices. What herbs can you grow in your local climate.
We are doing our best to prepare for all of our needs, but my wife threw me a curve ball last weekend. She asked what will we do without our family Chiropractor?
We both use him much more than we do our family physician. Gotta work on that one.
I might “feel out” your chiropractor with regard to SHTF planning. My buddy’s chiropractor is part of his team- I have to admit, I’m glad to know him! The worst thing that can happen is your chiro isn’t open to prepin, I just think it can’t hurt to ask.
OKPrepper,
I agree with you. My Dad has been taking herbs and has improved his health. He had a stroke and is diabetic, but now eats healthy and takes herbs. He checks his blood and blood pressure every day, but doesn’t have to take insulin or blood pressure medicine anymore.
I have been growing herbs this year – first time. It is a learning process! I keep reading about the many uses of tea tree oil, but I am told tea tree won’t grow here in this climate. What do you use instead of tea tree oil?
Also, I like to have a couple aloe plants (for treating bug bites, cuts, burns, etc.) at all times. I continue to transplant them as they get bigger. They will grow for a long time and get really big, but never reproduce and will finally die. Then, I have to go out and buy a small one and let it grow. Any suggestions?
My aloe plants get huge and small shoots come up all over,I dig em out and start them in other pots,it even blooms on a big ole stalk covered with white flowers and a ton of pollen…good thing none of my family has allergies,I found they put up shoots better if theyre in a larger pot,say a five gal bucket,hope that helps.
Reb,
Thank you for the suggestion! I will transplant my aloe plants each in a large 5 gallon bucket.
KY Mom
What you’re talking about takes lots of learning and some good amount of practice. Why not write up an article and send it to Mac? Herbal medicine is good to go. All of our modern medicine has it’s origins in herbal medicine. Drug companies routinely take herbal meds, refine them, re-package them, lie about what they’ll do, and then sell them to the population for a 5000% mark-up. It’s a truly remarkable scam.
Good news: I know several RNs and doctors on a personal basis.
Bad news: They suffer from normalcy bias.
I guess when the S hits the F they will be the exception when it comes to allowing non-preppers into our retreat, that is if they even make it that far.
I’m an RN, and don’t have Normalcy Bias.
Unfortunatly everyone around me does.
Ditto here.
Afraid not.
There are many of us just as prepared or more so than non-medical professionals.
Did you ever consider that maybe those of us who prepare are not as apparent to you because it is probably safer to maintain a low profile because we don’t necessarily want to be compelled at gunpoint in a shtf situation for our services???
as for me… i’ll meet them out in the open… give them a days rations if i have some to spare and send them packing with a warning that they won’t get this close again and live. I don’t need them scoping out my gear and taking inventory. medical people, as a whole, are more aware of human nature and what happens in emergencies. nursing home nurses know that if a fire breaks out more than half the residents are going to die because you simply can’t get 20-40 (for 2 people) total care patients out in under 2 hours. didn’t you see the luggage trains filled with old people at airports in new orlines???
I keep trauma/gun shot wound bandages in my range bag, my car and my residence. Even if you’re not checked out as a paramedic you might be able to save a life if you can stop the bleeding until the patient gets proper care.
Greetings Everyone!
Great topic!!
Nice to get names of real sources.I’ve seen P.Nurses’ videos and their great stuff.Just spotted this at Blacklisted:Nuclear Expert: Radioactive Rain-Outs Will Continue For a Year – Even In Western U.S. and Canada – Because Japanese Are Burning Radioactive Materials.I hope it’s not too off topic.
When the SHTF here in Memphis we expect NO HELP from first responders what so ever.They’re “private” agencies for the most part.I expect them to do a “Spanish Pause” when things get a touch beyond normal.Still trying to get “prepped” but there’s so much to purchase and only so much money.Just when to the local Ald. Store and peppers were $2.99 for three!!!THREE PEPPERS!! and everything else in fresh food was about as decidedly expensive.There’s no inflation.Ya sure fur that.And the people in Washington are giving the War dept. 20-40 Billion more buried in the “cuts”??? My oh My,we’re not in Kansas anymore are we Toto!
Sorry if this is off topic.Just wanted to pass it on…
Best to Everyone!!
GFG
Found this website on survivalblog.com http://www.survivinghealthy.com/ You can buy antibiotics and other meds on here…the Dr. becomes your online DR…which is perfectly legal…until the Feds decide to interfere 🙁
Well we have radio/tv preachers…why not internet Drs? 🙂
what happened to the web site?not their anymore.
I just carry my favorite doc around, but she’s not that heavy, yet. When I pick her up to move, she hikes her knees.
I think all narcotic pain relievers will be in great demand and short supply. When the SHsTF, most of the drug freaks will be probably be hitting the pharmacies.My wife is not a nurse or a pharmisist, but she orders,administers and distroys hundreds of prescription drugs everyday and has done it for over thirty yrs so she would know what to take and when to take it, problem with her is if I had a serious nose bleed, she’d faint from the sight of blood.
When I was in the Army,a lifetime ago, we had morphine in our med kit, I wonder if they still carry it?
Tordal (sp) and Dalatin (sp) work much better with lower side effects..
I have passed kidney stones..ask me how I know
But don’t give toradol to anyone with a broken bone.
It can significantly delay bone healing and shouldn’t be used longer than about 48 to 72 hours for any reason.
I’d advise lay people to seek out nurses, physicians and other medical professionals for advice in these situations. Seek them out to join your core circle.
There are many of us who see the writing on the wall. Don’t assume we do not.
Go to borderlandbeat.com everyday to see the future of your country. Lock and load.
as a former ambulance medic, I tend to over do it with the medical supplies myself. But my experince tells me that unless you are planning on starting your own field hospital and be a surgeon, you will never have enough of what you need.
Improvising will be the key to this type of situation. You will have to look back about 100 years to see how things were done. Amputaions were common. Are you prepared to ampuate a leg if you have too? How would you do it?
What about teeth? Tooth extractions would be come common place. have the equipment for that?
How about sutures with no pain killer, no novicain and using a needle and thread?
Eyes? What about changing eyeware? Do you wear contacts? Hearing? Hearing aids?
How about diagnostics? B/P cuff and stethscope? pen lights?
Stocking up and band-aids, pads and rubber gloves can help but do you know if you can bring yourself to deal with amputations and blood and guts? The smell that goes with it. the total shock of seeing someon without thier face or limb.
stocking up and reading stuff is fine but in practice it’s a different situation. Think back to how things were done a hundred years ago. if we end up in a situation where thier is no doctor there will be no cars, electricy and hospitals either.
You will need to improvise. But first ad formost you will need to know if you can mentally handle it.
You speak the truth….Ive seen some things I wish I could forget but at the same time it has helped me to be able to help people without passing out….
Rachel,
I think you just rained on everyones parade.not many people are thinking about ears,eyes,teeth, I don’t know what an eye ache is, but a tooth or ear ache is enough to make some people commit suicide. I also think anyone who has been in actual combat will be a little more cautious when sticking their head out a door or walking up to strangers. I can handle all the blood and guts even with my own family, it’s just that seeing them in severe pain and knowing that there is nothing I can do about it worries me.Even having pain killers and not knowing how much to administer could be fatal.
amen. all these fancy things you see advertised by large medical corps will be gone in a hurry. the only long term methodology is “old school”. that being said Florence Nightingale Showed us the way to effective health management with limited resources and knowledge. Learn from her experiences in the Crimean wars and add to it the knowledge of infection control, triage, wound management and manpower management and we begin to learn how it needs to be done.
The lists in that article amounted to a glorified first aid kit one can buy anywhere. Non-latex gloves, alcohol wipes and bandages are fine. That’s a foundation. What I hoped to see was stuff above the skinned knee level. Such as what do we need for a sucking chest wound? Or to deal with a fractured elbow, both when there is no professional medical care? I have purchased things from Chinook, buymedvet and North American Rescue. Some things above my skill level, yes. Thinking was if I had the necessary stuff and insufficient skill somebody who was qualified but lacked the stuff … serendipity. In any case, better than nothing.
Somebody said health professionals suffer from normalcy bias. I extended every effort to get the professionals I patronize to see “why prepare.” Some very smart people are so thoroughly brain washed that until it happens they won’t see it.
Doing what we can to prepare won’t be the perfect solution. it won’t be close to the standard of care we have now. But it will be one hall of a lot better than nothing.
When it all goes to hell, the human animal is 96 percent similar to the higher companion animals. Most office physicians aren’t surgeons. But every veterinarian is.
Most veterinary meds are re-packaged versions of human meds.
Good luck to all who prepare.
Thank god my job provided me with the training (Tactical EMT) and the free medical gear to go with it. My closet is a make shift ER. I DO KNOW HARM- I have treated GSW’s, Broken Bones, Car Accidents and many Medical Emergencies. It is only a collateral duty for me, full time LEO but I love being a medic. North American Rescue makes some nice products if you can spring for it. Best advice I can give is learn how to use a Tourniquet, simple to use but learn how to place it on someone and yourself one handed and in the dark.
DCAM,
are you by any chance looking for group to join?, everything is provided except medical care lol.
Check out borderlandbeat.com today, wednesday. See if you could treat any of those wounds. That’s what you’ll be up against soon. The feds want open borders with Mexico and Canada. Canada, ok. Mexico, no way Jose. The pics and vids you see are a daily occurance along the border. There are more, even more horrific videos on that website if you look and have a strong stomach.
In a couple more weeks I’ll be a CNA and in the spring I start school to become an RN. It’s 2 years, and everyday I think ‘God, I hope I can do it before the SHTF’. It’ll be a great set of skills to have, both for our own survival and for bartering. I just don’t know if I’ll make it, but I ain’t stoppin’!
For those of you who want to have natural stuff for a backup here are some starting tips.
Essential oils to look into (watch out for anything that is from young living, I have no idea on the quality of their oils but they recommend some unsafe practices)
Peppermint oil – will get rid of headaches, including migraines and is great for muscle rubs.
Lavender oil- will heal burns better than fresh aloe.
Cinnamon oil- anti-bacterial great for use in cleaning and sanitizing.
Clove oil- numbs pain, other uses. Very very toxic if ingested.
Thieves blend/4 thieves/purify (other names too)- all I can say is read up about it and then stock up.
fennel- repels fleas and mosquitos
lemongrass- repels mosquitos
Plants:
Peppermint- antispasmodic, expectorant, antibacterial, look into it, it is an amazing plant.
Rose bush (no chemical sprays used on them including fertilizer). Use for making rose tea and rose water. Has lots of good stuff going for it.
Garlic- the wonder drug of the natural world. Antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, anti parasitic. Fresh works better than the capsules.
Rescue remedy/5 flower blend flower essence.
Also if you can stock up on chamomile tea, green tea, lavender tea, and maybe some ginger and lemongrass tea. Just store it in airtight containers or bags.
I would also stock up on apple cider vinegar and baking soda.
Like I said it is by no means everything that could be useful but this is where I would start.
B.B.
Thanks for the info.!
Also, if you have anyone in the family who has frequent urinary/kidney infections, kidney stones, etc…stock up on cranberry tea. It is helpful as a treatment and if taken daily will act as a good preventive. (a cup of cranberry tea – it is caffeine free and has no sugar)
If your local store doesn’t carry it, order it online from http://www.celestialseasonings.com
It is cheapest if you order the tea by the ‘6 pack’. It will keep for a long time.
Word of advice….study up on choosing the APPROPRIATE antibiotic for infections.
For example: Pen V K for a dental infection would be an appropriate choice for someone not allergic to penicillin.
It us not the antibiotic that I’d choose for a respiratory infection.
Would you know the appropriate antibiotic to choose for a person allergic to penicillin?
You’re looking at spectrum and sensitivity…and where in the body that antibiotic is going to concentrate.
Antibiotics concentrate in a variety of tissue/bone areas and or have either a broad or narrow spectrum.
If you do not have a clue which and when an antibiotic is appropriate you could do more damage than you do healing.
Just a caveat from an ER/Critical care RN…
A friend, who is “in the club” confided that when a family member died from cancer some time back, the care givers left several large injectable syringes of morphine with them for the last days. He still has them, stashed away in a cool basement locker, closed in a metal ammo can. Are they likely to still be safe and effective? and how much would be safe to give, to ease the pain of say a gunshot wound, or abdominal stitches?(where hopefully the patient isn’t expected to die?)
I am a prepper MD, trying to avoid normalcy bias. I have decided I cannot stock a whole hospital but I can store appropriate antibiotics with dessicants and deoxygenators to increase shelf life. The trick is knowing when antibiotics would be needed as opposed to symptomatic treatment. I can also echo the previous statement about the reading certainly is helpful but when it comes down to difficult situations experience leads the way.
Gee! did I scare everyone away? I thought I’d get at least one reply by now.