Alton Amy - The ultimate survival medicine guide : emergency preparedness for any disaster

DISCLAIMER

The information given and opinions voiced in this volume are for educational and entertainment purposes only and do not constitute medical advice or the practice of medicine. No provider-patient relationship, explicit or implied, exists among the publisher, authors, and readers. This book does not substitute for such a relationship with a qualified provider. As many of the strategies discussed in this volume would be less effective than proven present-day medications and technology, the authors and publisher strongly urge their readers to seek modern and standard medical care with certified practitioners whenever and wherever it is available.

The reader should never delay seeking medical advice, disregard medical advice, or discontinue medical treatment because of information in this book or any resources cited in this book.

Although the authors have researched all sources to ensure accuracy and completeness, they assume no responsibility for errors, omissions, or other inconsistencies therein. Neither do the authors or publisher assume liability for any harm caused by the use or misuse of any methods, products, instructions, or other information in this book or any resources cited in this book.

No portion of this book may be reproduced by any electronic, mechanical, or other means without the written permission of the authors. Any and all requests for such permission should be sent by email to .

Copyright 2015 by Doom and Bloom TM , LLC

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Brian Peterson

Cover photo credit: Thinkstockphotos.com

ISBN: 978-1-62914-770-3

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-63220-261-1

Printed in China

This book is dedicated to my wife, Amy, the person who first made it clear to me that this book was needed by those who want to be medically prepared in times of trouble.

Joseph Alton, MD

I dedicate this book to my husband, Joe, a man dedicated to his mission: to put a medically prepared person in every family for any disaster.

Amy Alton, ARNP

In addition, we both dedicate this book to those who are ready to serve as medical resources in times of disaster. We salute your courage in accepting this assignment; have no doubt, you will save lives.

Joseph Alton, MD, and Amy Alton, ARNP

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.

Theodore Roosevelt

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Joseph Alton practiced as a board-certified obstetrician and pelvic surgeon for more than twenty-five years before retiring to devote his efforts to preparing families medically for any scenario. He is a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the American College of Surgeons, and served as department chairman at local hospitals and as an adjunct professor at local university nursing schools. He is a contributor to well-known preparedness magazines and is frequently invited to speak at survival and preparedness conferences throughout the country. A member of MENSA, Dr. Alton collects medical books from the nineteenth century to gain insight on off-the-grid medical protocols.

Amy Alton is an advanced registered nurse practitioner and a certified nurse-midwife. She has had years of experience working in large teaching institutions as well as smaller, family-oriented hospitals. Amy has extensive medicinal herb and vegetable gardens and works to include natural remedies into her gardening strategies.

As Dr. Bones and Nurse Amy, these medical professionals host a medical preparedness website at www.doomandbloom.net and produce video and radio programs under the Doom and Bloom TM label. Dr. and Ms. Alton are firm believers that, to remain healthy in hard times, we must use all the tools in the medical woodshed. Their goal is to promote integrated medicine; in this way, they can offer their readers the most options to keep their loved ones healthy in a long-term survival situation.

INTRODUCTION

Most outdoor medicine guides are intended to aid you in managing emergency situations in austere and remote locations. Certainly, modern medical care on an ocean voyage or wilderness hike is not readily available; even trips to cities in underdeveloped countries may fit this category. Despite this, we all expect that the rescue helicopter is on the way.

What is your goal when an emergency occurs in a remote setting? The basic premise of emergency medicine in the field is to

Evaluate the injured or ill patient.

Stabilize their condition.

Transport them to the nearest modern medical facility.

This series of steps makes perfect sense: you are not a physician and there are facilities that have a lot more technology than you have in your backpack. Your priority is to get the patient out of immediate danger and to a hospital. Transporting the injured person may be difficult to do (sometimes very difficult), but you still have the luxury of being able to pass the buck to those who have more knowledge, technology, and supplies.

This is a perfectly reasonable approach. One day, however, there may come a time when a pandemic, civil unrest, or a terrorist event may precipitate a situation where the miracle of modern medicine may be unavailableindeed, not only unavailable, but even to the point that the potential for access to modern facilities no longer exists.

We refer to this type of long-term scenario as a collapse. In a collapse, you will have more risk for illness and injury than on a hike in the woods, yet little or no hope of obtaining more advanced care than you, yourself, can provide. Help is not on the way; therefore, you have become the place where the buck stops for the foreseeable future.

Few people are willing to even entertain the possibility that such a tremendous burden might be placed upon them. Even for those stalwarts who are willing, there are few books that will consider this drastic turn of events. Yet the likelihood of such a situation, over a lifetime, may not be so small.

Almost all guides on wilderness or developing-world medicine usually end with Go to the hospital immediately. Although this is excellent advice where and when hospitals are available and functioning normally, it wont be very helpful in an extreme event, where the hospitals might be out of commission. We only have to look at Hurricane Katrina in 2005 to know that even modern medical facilities may be useless if they are understaffed, undersupplied, and overcrowded.