Step Four – Medical Supplies

First Installment

This is a huge subject for me to tackle and I have been debating with myself on how to approach it.  I realize that with the “Affordable Care Act” having been not only passed by the House, Senate and signed into law by the President and now that the Supreme Court upheld 90% or more of it that we are going to be screwed in the future medically.  When martial law is put into effect or we are pushed into World War III we will effectively be without medical care for the majority of the citizens of our country.  The wealthy will always have medical care and the citizens and non citizens that the Big Government wish to give medical care to will be taken care of, but those of us over 55 or that have disabilities such as chronic diseases or birth defects will be given comfort care but no real medical intervention.  If we have problems that will be expensive to treat then we will get what they call palliative care which means alleviating pain and symptoms without eliminating the cause.  This means if you are not important to the government then you will not have surgery for ovarian or prostate cancer or kidney or lung cancer.   They will be glad to give you pain killers though, or help you to die if you choose to give up.  I guess I sound negative but since I am one of the ones that they call a useless eater I will be the one they wish to die so I won’t cost the government health plan any money.  Now with that said I am stepping down off of my soap box.

Now what are the people who want to survive to a ripe old age going to prepare for medically?

Now that we know we cannot depend on the healthcare system to help us we have to prepare and be creative in taking care of ourselves and our love ones.

NUMBER ONE – I am not a doctor or a medical professional of any kind.  What I will discuss in this post will be my thoughts on what I will be trying to do for myself and my family.  I do not give medical advice but I will relate what I have read in my research over the years.  Some of these things may work and some may not work.  I think all we will be able to do is to try by trial and error to do whatever we can to help ourselves. 

Get the advice of a medical professional if at all possible and do not take suggestions as medical advice.  Like I said I am not a medical professional and I will only relate what I have done for my family or what I have researched and feel is possibly a treatment that I would try if we were in a post apocalyptic situation and there is no medical professionals to advise me.  You will do what you think is best and hopefully you will use your common sense and not give up and let someone die when some simple home remedy might have saved them.

Now first off I will say that I learned something recently that was interesting.  Medical Doctors or MD’s are only supposed to be trained to do certain things for patients.  Broken bones and surgery of any kind as well as diagnosis of diseases by use of modern technology are among the things that they are good at accomplishing.  Historically alternative approaches by Naturopaths, Homeopaths, Chiropractors, and holistic medical practitioners were always the mainstream medical practitioners until this century.  In the “old days” what did people do for medical care? They would go to Herbalists or Midwives or depending on the country maybe an acupuncturist.

Guess what folks?  We are headed back to the Shamans of our past but how many of them are left?  Practically none are left in the technological world of today.  The modern medicine  of today have preached against those people who treated the whole person and made them seem like charlatans.  So we don’t trust them and have discouraged the whole lot of them from passing their knowledge on to the present generation.  

Now we have to become knowledgeable about natural medicine and cures without the benefit of many of those we should have held in esteem but instead laughed at them and ignored them.

NUMBER TWO – Do your own research and learn for yourselves what you need to know.

Most who read this post will not have much medical experience.  I doubt seriously that many Dr’s  read my blog.  Maybe that is good because I won’t get as many negative remarks that way.

I could give you lists of things to store and I will give you a list of things that everyone knows they need for injuries and common ailments.  If you cannot afford everything on the list that will follow then think creatively.  If you can’t afford a lot of gauze then go to the thrift store and buy some white sheets, wash them in bleach and detergent on a hot setting then cut into strips and roll your bandages.  Keep safety pins to fasten the bandages or rip the end into 2 parts and tie them to secure the bandage.  If you can’t afford a Sam Splint then buy some very lightweight plywood or heavy cardboard and cut into splint sized pieces and use with your bandages to immobilize sprains or possible broken bones. Reduce the broken bones as much as possible by pulling straight out until the bones go back into place as much as possible.  I did this for myself when I broke both bones in my lower arm years ago.   It gave me some relief until I could get to the hospital.  It turned out okay and they said I not only reduced the fracture but it helped to protect my muscles and nerves and blood vessels until I could get into surgery for a plate in my arm.  They said I had broken it so bad that the bones would never knit properly without the plate because of my age and the severity of the breaks.  I don’t suggest that anyone do this but I wanted to keep my break which was ready to break the surface of my skin from doing that.  I know that a compound fracture that reaches through the skin has a huge chance of a deep bone infection which can ultimately have to be amputated without fast medical care and antibiotics. 

By the way heavy corrugated cardboard cut into splints are more comfortable than wood and mold to you arms or legs much easier. They can also be added to by adding layers to stiffen them or removed to treat rashes or wounds.  Always try to get to a medical clinic, Dr. or hospital for any possible broken bone or serious wound if at all possible.

I would suggest everyone reading my blog to buy some medical books that are written for non medical people.  Next buy a book which is a guide to drugs and their uses.  I would suggest a good herbal remedy book, and a natural remedy book. 

The most important thing is to prevent injuries and illness by using common sense and safety precautions to stay healthy.  If you already have a chronic illness such as diabetes, COPD or any other problem then look into natural ways to help your problem without medical intervention.  There may come a time when you can’t get your medications and when you run out and can’t get more what will you do?  I would suggest learning to eat correctly, exercise and use herbal remedies to keep your problem in check as well as you can manage.  Whatever you do don’t give up.  Keep doing whatever you can to maintain your health as well as you can. 

For diabetes type 2, I found that Cinnamon and Chromium Picolinate are helpful for people who cannot get their pills or insulin.  If you have Type 2 diabetes then consider stocking up on both of these items. Remember that diet and exercise are the most important factors in controlling blood sugar.  Eat 4 or 5 small meals made up of protein and complex carbohydrates such as fresh vegetables minus white potatoes and make sure you eat whole grains and not white rice or white breads and definitely not processed stuff such as cakes and other non nutritive foods.  Sugar should be avoided and if you need something sweet then eat small amounts of fresh whole fresh fruits and avoid juices.  Stay hydrated by drinking water not diet or regular soda’s.  Artificial sweeteners are not healthy to use even for diabetics.  If you have to use a sweetener then consider Honey but keep the amount down to the minimum.  Honey is sweeter than white sugar so remember to use it in very small amounts.

Speaking of honey, I have read that it is a miracle remedy and can help to heal severe burns, severe wounds and is great for making home remedies for sore throats and coughs.  Do a search on honey and cinnamon and see what all it can do.


http://www.angelfire.com/az/sthurston/honeyandcinnamon.html/

http://www.earthclinic.com/Remedies/honey.html

Two other items that have many uses are Baking Soda and Apple Cider Vinegar.  Separately they have many uses and this is something that is a good natural remedy for many problems, digestive disturbances, rashes, and poison ivy treatment are a few things that they can do. http://www.earthclinic.com/Remedies/acv_baking_soda_cures.html

Then you can make natural antibiotics from garlic, Echinacea, wild indigo, tea tree oil, oil of cloves, comfrey, oregano, and don’t forget colloidal silver.  If you have a variety of these things and the directions for their use you might be able to treat many illnesses and injuries and heal them or at least keep them from getting worse until your body can fight off the disease.

http://naturalhealthdossier.com/2012/03/mother-natures-natural-germ-fighters-2/

Please above all else do your research for your family’s health problems.  Find natural remedies and procedures.  Stock up on the items you will need.  If you need certain pharmaceutical medications talk to your pharmicist and find out if he/she knows of any over the counter medicines which could be used to help control your illness.  Many over the counter remedies used to be obtained by prescriptions only, such as Naprosyn or Alleve.  When I had a 2 year bout with fibromyalgia you could only get it by prescription.  Now you can buy it in any drug, grocery or convenience store. 

The herbs that will help different problems might not be easily gotten so consider doing a search  for non-hybrid seeds for them.  Things like lavender, echinacea, oregano, ginger, horehound, and garlic.  These are just some of the things you can grow that might help many problems but not all of the ones that might be helpful.  Spices like cinnamon, cloves, and turmeric we can’t grow so easily or not at all so consider stocking up on these and you will have them for future use if needed.  I bought lots of cinnamon because my husband and I have diabetes but I also bought empty gelatin capsules so I could prepare the cinnamon to be taken without having to mix it with applesauce to swallow it.  We may not always have applesauce to do that with.   Think ahead!

I have learned a couple of things that have helped me in a few circumstances that seem odd but they proved to be 100% effective for us.  Vicks Vapor Rub or the equivalent worked miracles for my granddaughter when she caught the H1N1 flu a couple of years ago.  You just rub it on the feet and put socks on and it calms the cough to almost nothing so she could sleep and with a high fever she needed a lot of sleep.  Also warm showers for fevers with gradually cooling the water temperature for 5 to 10 minutes brings the fever under control more quickly than just giving a child Acetaminophen .  Childrens fevers seem to spike rather quickly and very high.  Keep the fevers under control without over medicating as much as possible.  Try to have the child drink as much water, apple juice and chicken broth as possible.  They usually won’t drink much but encourage them to sip.  Dehydration can make them much more ill than just the fever will do.

Remember, antibiotics won’t help viruses, but they can help bacterial infections so save any antibiotics you have or you buy for bacterial infections.  It won’t hurt to try other treatments for viruses though.  Garlic, echineacea, cloves, or oregano won’t reduce your ability to fight future infections so it couldn’t hurt to give that chicken soup with lots of garlic in it, or some teas made with ground cloves or oregano in it to see if they may ease the virus.  Echinacea could also be made into a tea or taken by capsule form.  Vitamin C can be a help for colds and flu as well.  Stock up on it or have Tang in your food storage for the Vit. C that it contains.

If you have a bacterial infection such as a cut that gets angry looking or swollen then soak the cut in warm epsom salts water then treat the  wound with antibiotic ointment or cream and start taking echinacea orally at the very least.  Colloidal silver would be a great wound treatment as well as you can take it orally to fight the infection from within.  Check into how to make your own colloidal silver.  I will write more about it later and give you links to you tube where several people show how to make it.

These are just a few things for this subject and I will write much more later.  Medical is such a huge subject that each individual will have to research their own illnesses and chose what to stock up on for themselves. 

The last thing I will add to this first installment on Medical is that “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”!    So always try to prevent injuries and illnesses as much as possible.  We will talk about that as well more in depth later.

God Bless.