by SP
I thought that the ariticle posted today by a trauma surgeon / prepper was very good and overlaps many of the things that I have been pondering. I will repeat several main points and add my 2 cents.
His article is recommended!
1. Trauma care will be minimal. There is no operating room, anesthesiologist or surgical ICU waiting. Prevention of injury becomes of paramount importance. If you shatter your knee bones with an ax while chopping firewood, at best you can hope to be permanently disabled and walk with a brace and crutch for the rest of your life.
Wash wounds with clean water, soap (or a small dash of betadine in clean water). Wash out visible dirt/gravel. Put a clean cloth over the surface. Lie down and rest. Rinse wounds gently 2-3 times a day. Apply direct pressure to control bleeding. No tourniquets.
Don’t travel or work alone. We will need team-mates to provide care when sick or injured.
2. Avoid fecal-oral contamination. The single greatest factor in the increased human longevity this century is the flush toilet that removes fecal material from our living environment. A close second is the abundace of clean tap water lets us wash our hands before we eat, wash food and eating utensils. Infectious diarrhea is a major killer in the 3rd world, much of which is spread when bacteria in feces get into our food and drinking water.
Think very carefully about where your latrine is placed. Keep it well away from the garden, pond, or drinking water. If someone can advise more about human-manuer composting, rather than simply burying the latrine, I would like to learn more about this. A pit or trench latrine well removed from living and eating areas. A bar of soap hanging from a rope (“soap on a rope”) with a bucket of water for cleaning hands close to the latrine.
3. Treatment of diarrhea. Most diarrheal illnesses kill via dehydration and electrolyte disturbances, not by overwhelming infection. Oral fluid replacement can be very helpful and turn most diarrheal illnesses around even if antibiotics are not available. 1 quart of clean water, 6 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp of salt. Then “drink until you pee.” (Potassium, magnesium, zinc and bicarb all play a role too…..)
4. Home made shoes to prevent foot injuries. Sandals can be made from old tires and a leather strip. Pevention is the name of the game as a bad foot laceration or puncture that gets infected can be life-threatening.