Monthly Archives: February 2012

Book Review: Where There Is No Doctor

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by David Werner with Carol Thuman and Jane Maxwell

After posting my review of The Doom and Bloom Survival Medicine Handbook, I’ve had questions about how it compares to Where There Is No Doctor. Where There Is No Doctor is a medical reference that many have heard of, but few know much about. I thought it would be useful to review this also, and allow people to make the comparison themselves.

Where There Is No Doctor is published by Hesperian Health Guides. Hesperian is a altruistic nonprofit organization that publishes medical guides to “provide knowledge for action, and inspire action for health”. They have an open copyright and encourage the free and wide dissemination of all their material. They have many additional references available including: Where There Is No Dentist, Where Women Have No Doctor, A Community Guide to Environmental Health, and Water for Life.

Where There Is No Doctor is an incredibly useful reference that all preppers should have. NO EXCUSES, IT’S FREE! Just download the PDF. I’d recommend both printing it (it’s about 450 pages), and also storing it in a digital format (like a flash drive) that you can easily take with you.

The Hesperian publications are known for their simplicity of expression and copious illustrations. Their goal is to make them suitable for use by ordinary people in their homes and communities. They were originally written for rural Western Mexico, for a tropical and subtropical environment. They cover, in appropriate detail and diagrams, almost every medical problem and injury that is likely to occur in those areas. Their focus is primarily a third-world village audience.

Since the native culture, baseline medical understanding, and society is different than ours, much of that isn’t directly relevant to us. For example, they discuss the efficacy of traditional medical beliefs and whether they work or not – and why. However, in a collapse, our world will not be vastly different than theirs is today. Ironically, with their understanding of local plants and traditional healing methods, they will be better prepared than those of us who today depend on our family doctor or local ER.

There is also an involved discussion on diet and nutrition. While this is not as relevant in our current day-to-day lives, in a collapse–when you will be required to make each meal from scratch with locally available products–it would be very useful.

At the end are “The Green Pages”, 60 pages of prescription drug information. This section  contains appropriately detailed directions of how and when (and when not) to use prescription medications. The book concludes with a helpful glossary, index, and list of additional resources.

Because they are aware that some villages are very remote and medical assistance can be difficult to reach, they give as much information as possible to facilitate local care. But this book wasn’t written for a collapse, and they do encourage seeking out, or traveling to, additional medical assistance as necessary. Of course in collapse, as Dr. Bones and Nurse Amy stress, there won’t be much additional medical assistance anywhere.

Don’t underestimate or disregard this book because you feel it’s for those people in those countries. Yes, they discuss some regional and societal issues, but most health problems are similar for all of us no matter where we live – especially in a collapse.

My recommendation: download and print yourself a copy (it’ll only cost you the price of the paper) review it, and keep it in your medical reference library next to your copy of The Doom and Bloom Survival Medicine Handbook. Both of these books are very good; used together I believe they provide the best collapse medicine resource library available today.

(Wednesday: Sarah’s View: Time To Order Seeds)

What I Did This Week To Prep 2/3/12

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Reading, and writing my review of, The Doom and Bloom Survival Medicine Handbook this week took a lot of my time, so not as much other stuff got done.

Sarah and I did do a fair amount behind the scenes on the the blog site itself. Sarah does the technical side and I handle the personal networking aspects. Is this a prepper topic though? I believe it is – especially since our blog is about prepping. But any blog you write allows you to teach and learn; it also may have the potential to develop into a business and/or give you more personal independence. Sarah upgraded us from WordPress.COM to WordPress.ORG. WordPress.org is the WordPress software that must be self-hosted (we went with Host Gator for that) but allows for greater flexibility and expansion potential. I’ve been corresponding more with people in the online prepper community; strengthening relationships and starting new ones. We’re also bringing on a new monthly contributor to our blog (more on her next week). Along those same lines, we’re considering having a (different) guest blogger write a post for us each month. So if you–or anyone you know–are interested, send me an email or facebook message (my contact information can be found on the About Trace page).

Last month I wrote a post on the Gerber EAB Lite Utility Knife. There has been discussion on TSP Forum where several people complained about the clip easily breaking off the knife. I’ve carried mine, clipped to my pocket everyday, for several months now without any issues. But just to do some follow-up, I contacted Gerber’s Warranty Department (by email). I told them we have several EABs and expressed my concern about the clip weakness, and asked them for a couple extra clips to keep on hand. They, no questions or hassles, sent me three replacement clips – no charge for shipping or anything. In summary, it’s a good little knife, good customer service experience, and I haven’t had any issues with the clip.

Finally, after reading the Doom and Bloom book, I decided we need to continue actively working on our medical preps. Because of my background, knowledge, and willingness, I’m sure one of my primary roles in a collapse will be as the medic. I believe I need to do as much as I can now to prepare for that role. So, coincidentally, last week on the Doom and Bloom blog, Dr. Bones wrote, Over The Counter Drugs When You’re the Doctor, that included a thorough list of OTC drugs to stock up on. This week he wrote, Must Have Antibiotics, Antifungals, and Antivirals. So, we’ve earmarked some money for additional fish antibiotics (Antibiotics In Your Preps) and are going to stock up on more OTC meds when we go to Costco. How much is too much? Tough call. But they store for a long, long time (Expired, or Not Expired… That is the Question), they’re relatively cheap, they don’t take too much space to store and–in a collapse–they’re irreplaceable.

What did you do?

(Monday: Book Review: Where There Is No Doctor)

Book Review: The Doom and Bloom Survival Medicine Handbook

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by Joseph Alton, M.D. and Amy Alton, A.R.N.P.
(aka Dr. Bones and Nurse Amy)

Dr. Bones and Nurse Amy, of the Doom and Bloom Hour, are my definitive ‘collapse medicine’ experts. So I was thrilled when I heard they had published a  medical survival book and I immediately ordered a copy. When it arrived, I spent several days pouring through it.

I could not be happier, it is outstanding! Dr. Bones and Nurse Amy have written a first of it’s kind, an incredible medical reference in the–previously non-existent–category of collapse medicine.

They tell you what to do when, “Help is NOT on the way” ever.

Collapse: The situation after a TEOTWAWKI event; modern society, infrastructure, and systems as we know it will no longer exist.

Collapse Medicine: Medical care that will be provided when “there is no access to modern medical care, and there is NO potential for accessing such care in the foreseeable future.”

First aid books tell us, when treating a critical patient, to first stabilize then transport to a hospital emergency room. This one doesn’t. This one can’t – in a collapse there won’t be any. This book is written in plain easy to understand English, and it is written for you. You, the non-medical provider who takes it upon his or her self to assume the medical responsibilities for the group; doing your best to keep your people as healthy as you can.

The book begins by teaching you how to become a medical resource. It provides detailed lists of Likely Medical Issues You Will Face, Medical Skills You Will Want To Learn, and Medical Supplies you’ll want/need (including a thorough list of what to stock in your medical kit).

There is not only a valuable section explaining Natural Remedies (including a chapter on Essential Oils) but, whenever possible, it shows you how to effectively use them in conjunction with traditional (allopathic) pharmacology. Someday the only medicines available may be the ones you can grow and gather.

This book is as all-encompassing as I believe it can be. From respiratory infections to fractures to hypothermia to pregnancy and delivery, the chapters and the knowledge continue. There is even a detailed chapter on suturing; including when–and when not–to close a wound. If you can think of a medical problem that you may have to deal with in a collapse, there’s information about it in this book and more. Then, to further your medical education, they include a list of medical reference books you can add to your library and YouTube videos that demonstrate the procedures discussed.

The book concludes with information I don’t believe you’ll find written anywhere else; on the medically controversial topics of stockpiling medications (prescription and over-the-counter), how to use antibiotics (without a doctor’s guidance), and what drug expiration dates really mean.

Finally, I especially appreciate that they dedicated the book to me – okay, all of us. We, who will take on the medical responsibilities when there are no others; the ones who your group will affectionately call ‘Doc’. To us, Doctor Bones and Nurse Amy write, “…we both dedicate this book to those who are willing to take responsibility for the health of their loved ones in times of trouble. We salute your courage in accepting this assignment; have no doubt, it will save lives.”