Poleshift First Aid Knowledge and Prep

[Corey Young]

http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=6190&p...

 

Something we will all face during the pole shift is the prospect of injury to ourselves or those around us. Whether we choose to help or not is part of our school house choices (as per the Zeta's). So here are some links that may be helpful in recognizing common things that happen with such a violent event (Please note that this is just a reference guide and people can place any help advice they have here as well)

Immediate aftermath

 

Gangrene

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0004484/

 

Blood Loss - Internal

http://www.firstaidanywhere.com/internal-bleeding.html

 

Blood Loss – External

http://www.survival-center.com/firstaid/bleed.htm

 

Head Trauma (included Concussions)

http://kidshealth.org/parent/firstaid_safe/emergencies/head_injury....

 

Broken Bones

http://firstaid.webmd.com/broken-arm-treatment

 

http://www.firstaidanywhere.com/first-aid-for-fractures.html

 

Dislocated Bones

http://www.lpch.org/DiseaseHealthInfo/HealthLibrary/orthopaedics/di...

 

Sprains and Muscle Strains

http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00111

 

Bruises

http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/guide/bruises-art...

 

Stitches

http://www.instructables.com/id/Stich-Yourself-Shut-Sugery-at-home/

 

If you have to do any medical practice requiring stitches etc… FIRE is your best friend. It is a universal sanitizer for instruments. Also saline water* is also a great thing to have on hand (if Salt is readily available)

 

*Remember that the water needs to be boiled etc… to ensure that it is clean!!

 

And even in the aftertime, we will need to be on the watch for things that may develop in people

 

Things to be on the watch for:

 

Hypothermia

http://www.princeton.edu/~oa/safety/hypocold.shtml

 

Heat Exhaustion

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/heat-exhaustion-000075.htm

 

Dehydration

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001977/

 

Diarrhea

http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/diarrhea/

 

TB

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuberculosis

 

Malaria

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001646/

 

Dengue

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dengue_fever

 

Giardiasis (or Beaver Fever as it’s commonly known)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giardiasis

 

Medical Kit Prep

I would recommend that you get yourself some non-toxic fishing wire and a fish hook for possible stitches that need to be done on a person with a deeper cut.

http://www.equipped.com/medical.htm

 

 Here is other information that will be useful as well from Zetatalk and from other contributers to this NING:

Zetatalk

http://poleshift.ning.com/profiles/blogs/survival-motivation

 

http://poleshift.ning.com/profiles/blogs/aftertime-food-production 

 

http://poleshift.ning.com/profiles/blogs/zeta-movie-part-2-b-the-ca... 

 

 

NING Blogs

 

http://poleshift.ning.com/profiles/blogs/nancys-motherload-of-survival 

 

http://poleshift.ning.com/profiles/blogs/urban-and-wilderness-survival 

 

http://poleshift.ning.com/profiles/blogs/my-very-basic-pole-shift 

 

http://poleshift.ning.com/profiles/blogs/when-the-pole-shift-occurs 

 

http://poleshift.ning.com/profiles/blogs/a-message-from-the-hope-el... 

 

http://poleshift.ning.com/profiles/blogs/survival-preparation-medic... 

 

http://poleshift.ning.com/profiles/blogs/report-on-survival-prepara...

 

 

 

 

 

[Chris]

1. You should have something for suturing to close wounds that shouldn’t be left alone to heal. For dog or animal bites the wound should be left open and not sutured due to high rate of infection. Instead the wound should be cleaned and dressed daily. There are options on Ebay for purchasing, search surgical sutures (on US Ebay). Generally you want non-absorbable sutures 3/0 or 4/0 for larger or more serious injuries and absorbable for something delicate like on the face. Generally around $25-30 (including shipping) for 12 individually sealed satchels with the needle and thread. To use the sutures you will require the suturing forceps which can be bought in a suture pack with other tools for around $16. There are many videos on “how to suturing” on youtube and the basic method is the simplest to learn and one should try to remember how to do it.

2. Buy 500ml Betadine Iodine solution. I bought several bottles around $13 each, though you could find it cheaper. This is a top notch surgical disinfectant that is usually non-irritant and can be transferred into multiple little wash bottles and put into survival kits for a quick access anti-biotic treatment at all times. It can be used to clean areas before surgery, when bandaging, or for continued wound treatment. I couldn’t find this on Ebay but you might have luck at a chemist around you.

3. The next thing that would be valuable would be fish anti-biotics. In the US you can purchase this easily from Ebay with the same active ingredient (say 500mg amoxicillin) they give to people in regular anti-biotics. Get a good amount of this if you can as it’s usually pretty cheap (unfortunately not an option for me, they don’t sell it in Aus) and could be very important later.

4. Vitamin C powder – You can purchase up to kilograms of this on Ebay and it can be used to treat snakebite. While it’s not accepted professionally many people have had personal success with treating their pets from snake bite in Aus (some of the worst snakes). Considering the difficulty of obtaining anti-venom as it’s not sold to public and is around $900 per injection, and the low success rate for animals anyway who often require multiple injections, definitely have some Vitamin C powder if snake bite is likely in your area. It can also be used for other bites or stings including spider and other infections.  It can be injected near the bite, swallowed or projected with a plastic syringe to squirt into a dog or other animal’s mouth after mixing with water. A sachet of powder in your medical kit of around 250g for multiple treatments with a cup and plastic syringe (few actual syringes encase subject cannot swallow). Dosages aren’t an exact thing, but around 15g initially and 10g the next hour, then 5g an hour or two later and keep that up for awhile (for dogs), with smaller dosages regularly for the next few days until recovery (total treatment around 60g for large dog).  For people you can buy Vitamin C tablets in 500mg or 1000mg and can eat a large amount of them if bitten (powder is cheaper and can be consumed with water). Vitamin C is not harmful on the body, there is possibility of diarrhea but no real need to worry about overdosing side effects, it’s better to take more but do take it consecutively over time.

5. High dose vitamin and mineral supplements. If someone is being treated for something serious and they’re recovering they could be very run down and need extra sources of nutrients as food may not be in a good situation and even if it is you may still be deficient in key minerals. There’s a lot of information about how having low mineral and vitamin levels leads to disease and a weakened immune system. Try to find high performance or high dosage Vitamins. A good cost/benefit option I have found is Cenovis Mens daily in AUS($11-19 for 120 servings), but compare with that and find one you like with as high mineral/vitamin levels as you can at a reasonable price.

6. Military bandages. Search in Ebay. They have a plastic tightener so you can apply pressure to the wound to stop bleeding; they are sterile and take up little room which is good if you’re on the move while they can still be used for large injuries. They generally cost around $8-10 per bandage. If you need to stop gunshot bleeding or large lacerations they are very effective.

If you want to put loose items like pills into your first aid kit that might be in a bag for each person you can use film canisters. You should have nail cutters, tweezers. A large supply of paracetamol, aspirin, ibuprofen would also be good (usually very cheap when buying a cheap brand).  Be sure to recycle older products in your first aid kit as time progresses. These can all be obtained without prescription and most can be obtained through Ebay if you cannot find any local sellers. These are some of the things I think would be useful and are things that I have bought, hope it might help.

[Corey Young]

@Will,

Great points to add, any form of first aid training would be an invaluable skill to have. The one thing to keep in mind is that when researching plants and animal life that would be of some help in the aftertime; the new climate of your area will come into play. Make sure to keep an eye on the new geography the Zeta's have mentioned and base your plant/bug/animal knowledge on that information as well.

Take Care

[Will]

Another comment/suggestion that might get you pondering.

In NZ we all live a short distance from either a lake or the sea. I think it's going to be very important to be able to swim more than just a "dog paddle".  Swimming in unknown waters, like crossing streams and rivers, will be common place on our travels & consequently will very likely be dangerous and injuries likely to take place.  We in NZ, all learn to swim when at primary (1st graders type) school. Then, in our teens we get outdoor education & go bush or into the mountains, lake , rivers & its drummed into us, (taught & reminded) about the dangers of those places and the dangers of crossing unfamiliar water and exposure.

I strongly believe that there is great value in courses on Bush FIrst Aid or Alpine Survival which includes making do with what we are carrying before help is called, or arrives. I did one course which was WONDERFUL & put on by Mountain Safety or Search & Rescue organisations. It was & has been truly invaluable.  We in the "after time" of course will find help won't be there of course and neither will many of the medical supplies that are spoken of in the lists mentioned above. The last Links from Zeta and Ning, I do find as a very good start.

The ancient cultures or aboriginals of our respective homelands, knew what to do and the majority of that knowledge will be far more important than it is today, when we can rush down to the Pharmacy/drug store.  I suggest getting books, do courses, & gain the knowledge. eg. what plants of the area where you live, can assist with what ailments/injuries you have or come across.  eg. I get skin cancer & for years used a Dr. (GP) to burn it off with dry ice. For the last 10 years, I now use a milk weed from our garden & it works famously! Even my quack was astounded & genuinely interested. The knowledge came from our old Maori.  

In NZ, it is they, the older Maori, who have the precious knowledge of the local native plants & that wisdom (& of course, other knowledge) will be SO TOTALLY & UTTERLY valuable to health & living in the coming "past," but as well as that, our Asian immigrants will also be valuable for their knowledge for when we, in NZ move latitudes into the tropics, which we know little of.

Sorry about the length. I have a 'passion' in this area.

So..... what's going to be our options after the Band Aids & Paracetamol runs out? How are you gonna help that young mum who has mastitis? And that guy who has been injured with a thigh artery bleed? That kiddie with an infected cut foot, caused by glass in what was the street?

ttfn

[Will]

Excellent think.  I mean to post this.  There is another book , other than, "Where There Is No Doctor".

 It's,  "Where There Is No Dentist," which I believe will also be needed in the future.  

I seal my books in a kevlar bag which has one side being see through so as one can determine what book is sealed in the bag.  Some of the bags have a Zip lock seal as well as being able to initially being sealed with an electric iron or heated surface like a bit of heated rod.  The bags I get to seal items in are from a Yankee company SORBENT SYSTEMS, in California & they will post to foreign countries.  They would be excellent for medical supplies as well.  They are strong bags but even though kevlar, for some reason, mice still chew through them for the grain I have put in some of them.  The bags of medical supplies, I'd recommend putting in the military cartridge cases which come in various sizes. Some pretty much the size of a shoe box & I managed to find some about 400mm approx 800mm long (14" x approx 30'' long.)

They are (usually) not only water proof but very robust and well worth the effort to go hunting for.

Best wishes and happy hunting.

[Mario V-R]

awesome!!!

[Merrilee Daniels]

Wonderful organization of information so I won't have to search several books. I am copying the info and keeping it in my aftertime package, with some food item and medical items all double sealed in plastic. Thank you for organizing all of this.

[Rebecca S. Barnhart]

Thank you very much for putting this together for everyone, it was wonderful.  I took all this information and put in a Word document and a PDF for those who would like hard copies but can't attach to this.

[polynes]

I bought a book what is is very helpful for the Aftertime; it is translated in many languages, for example:

- German title "Wo es keinen Arzt gibt" von David Werner
- English: "Where there is no doctor" by David Werner
- Spanish: "Donde hay no doctor"

[ann s.]

@Corey:  Sure thing.

It is not the case that survivors will have to distill drinking water forever, but I agree that for medical uses distillation is probably best anyway.

[Corey Young]

So true @ann s.

Its important to distill the water as much as possible before boiling it to ensure that the water can be used in any medical practice.