★★★★★
Two of my favorites are:
Be Your Own Doctor by Rachel Weaver
And
Charcoal Remedies by John Dinsley
These books use mostly simple remedies with good instructions. I have referenced both again and again.
~Mama to Many~
Natural Cures Must-Have Books
I remembered activated charcoal and for my sweetie this brought some relief. But my vomiting was so severe it was coming back up. I used to read the recent posts regularly and had skimmed all the remedies sections. But, in my weakened condition my recall was not good.
I was hit by the realization that in the case of a real emergency, like what is occurring in Houston, we would be without the Internet as well.
I need to build a reference library invade of emergency and want a real paper book library. How thorough is the Natural Cures book and will there be updates say... annual best of? Also what books do other readers recommend?
EC: If you are asking about Earth Clinic's "Nature's Best Remedies" book, sorry no updates planned at the moment. Our community can tell you whether they think it's a thorough book or not!
I ate two slices and within a few minutes I got the most violent cramp in my belly. The only antiseptic that I had was crystals of Potassium Permanganate... So, on the basis that I might be killing myself, I made a fairly dark solution with bottled soda water and drank about twenty ml three times.
Apparently, I probably saved my own life. That's all Folks.
Ec's Top Remedies for a Disaster Preparedness Kit
2. Cayenne to stop bleeding and heal wounds.
3. Apple Cider Vinegar (commercial brand, not organic) to stop food poisoning.
4. First Aid Supply Kit.
Kits
Suggestion 2: Buy a very good bushcraft knife (not a survival knife) and learn how to use it. In an emergency, your knife will become your absolute best friend.
Suggestion 3: Take a good survival course. By good I mean one taught by someone with several years experience. Thoroughly check out the instructors.
Suggestion 4: Stockpile a minimum of 72 hours of light weight, easily transportable food (freeze dried). Also, 72 hours of water - most suggest 1 gallon per person per day. But that generally takes into account water for personal hygiene.
Suggestion 5: Build a well stocked first aid kit. These can be purchased, but most are only a start to a complete kit.
Suggestion 6: Stay away from commercially produced survival kits. These are designed for making money not keeping your butt alive.
The Green Pharmacy
Contrary to popular belief, there have been studies done on lots of plants. There is a federal botanical data base that gives the chemicals and their actions on local and plants from other areas. There is a book titled The Green Pharmacy by James A. Duke (a PHD botanist who spent a lot of years collecting and amassing information for the federal government's data base. He gives information on local plants in the US, plus information on plants found on other parts of the planet. This book should be in every emergency backpack. Other books that should be in there with it is a good reference book identifying these plants and another on identifying edible wild plants. I recommend a trip to your local bookstore for purchasing them now and start looking through them, and some good family hikes to try to see how many you can find should make them more interesting. Field guides on these things will be handier & lighter weights for these hikes. Of course you should also remember a good water supply and enough MRE's (ready to eat meals as used in the military) which can probably be found in army surplus stores as well as on-line in emergency supplies.
Kits
Kits
★★★★★
Your idea about discussing food strategies is excellent. This has been a topic of conversation around here and a number of people I know will be joining local CSA farms. Although it never got off the ground, at one point, people in my neighborhood were talking about doing pot luck dinners maybe three nights a week; each week hosted by a different neighbor who would supply dishes, silverware and clean-up. This might be fun to do in conjunction with a church as well. Many church kitchens have been abandoned but are wonderful for serving up group meals.
Kits
★★★★★
★★★★★
- Kerlex, Kling, or any other brand of roller bandage (6 rolls)used to wrap over dressings and to secure splints.
- 4in. sterile gauze pads (4-6)
- 2in. sterile gauze pads (4-6)
- Sanitary napkins (2-4) used to control excessive bleeding.
- 1 and 2in. adhesive tape (1 roll of each) used to secure dressings and bandages; change every 6 months
- Bandaids (1 box assorted sizes)
- Triangular bandage (3) used to secure broken arms, shoulder dislocations or as a wrap for splints. Can be purchased or made from old sheets.
- Ace bandage for wrapping sprains.
- Sterile water (1 Qt.)used to flush wounds and cool burns.
- Antiseptic solution (1 bottle) used to cleanse wounds.
- Medical scissors
- Tweezers
- Sterile needle for splinters
- Asprin or non-asprin pain reliever.
- Latex gloves (2 pair)
- Anti-diarrhea medication
- Antacid
- Syrup of Ipecac (to induce vomiting, if advised by Poison Control Center)
- Sunscreen
- Tube of petroleum jelly
- Cleaning agent/soap
- Moistened towlets or baby wipes
- Assorted sizes of safty pins
Understand this is for a 72 hr. period. After the Katrina fiasco I think it's safe to say that in a major disaster we all may be on our own for a month or more.
As far as food and water use clear plastic bottles for water. I use the 5 gallon type with a teaspoon of bleach in it and change it every 6 months. Just make sure that on the bottom of the container in the recycle triangle the # is 1,2,4 or 5. Do not use 3,6 or 7; it has to do with how the plastic was produced. 3,6 and 7 are fine just not for long term storage like 6-12 months. NEVER use plastic opaque milk containers. They have micrscopic cavities for bacteria. One gallon of water for one person for one day. You can live 30 days without food and 7 days without water. Campers and hikers use the 3/3/3 saying. 3 hrs. for shelter , 3 days for water and 3 weeks for food. As far as food goes can goods are recomended. I make my own granola bars and put them in a Food-Saver bag to the freezer and rotate them out every 6 months. They're light weight and I know what's in them. Hopfully we'll never have to use this information but it's good to know.
Shawn
P.S. I did this program over 10 years ago and websites weren't as popular as today. I do not have PFD's address.
EC: Shawn, thank you so much for typing all of this information from your manual.
Listerine
★★★★★