Anyone here have any recommendations on basic medicine, medical books, or maybe even herbal remedies? I have a first aid kit but need books on how to use this stuff and make do with whatever may come up in the future!

Thanks!

A few suggestions: "Where There is No Doctor: A Village Healthcare Handbook" by David Werner. It is written for people in developing countries where there are few supplies.

I'd get hold of an old EMT textbook for lots of info on emergencies and getting people stabilized.

As for herbs, it would be good to learn about the weeds in your immediate area. Some of the most common, like plantain, can often be the most useful. Then learn to make salves and tinctures and cough syrups, etc. So you probably want to get an herb indentification handbook for your state, along with another herb book that tells what they are good for and how to make preparations. There are lots of good ones.

Since oil provides most of our modern medicines, a return to holistic methods is a no-brainer for the Post-Peak world. People who know their herbs and their medicinal properties will never have to worry about starving or having adequate shelter, that's for sure! Having some books on the subject, at least, should be a priority for all of us preparing for what's coming.

Ever wonder what the "medical schools" of the future are going to be like?

Good suggestions. Agree about herbs and Where There Is No Doctor. I think it's good to learn basic healthcare, Peak Oil or no.

Here are some other suggestions:

1. First aid and EMT courses. The main thing I got out of these courses was an increased awareness of how people get into accidents and a determination to avoid them.

2. Books or courses on first aid or medicine for outdoor activities --assuming that in a post-peak future you'll be doing more things outside. A classic is Wildenerness Medicine: Management of Wilderness and Environmental Emergencies. 1500 pages, encyclopedic, expensive. Perhaps worthwhile for a group.

3. Survival Guides, like the ones published by the armed forces. They help get you in the right mindset. One thing I remember is the advice from a guide for tropical survival; you probably won't be killed by big animals or human beings; it's that cut you neglected to clean that will do you in (infection).

4. Books and publications for nurses. More understandable and hands-on than the ones for doctors.

5. Family Medical Guide. The ones that have a troubleshooting chart that helps lead you to a diagnosis ("Painful eye -- Q: Have you injured your eye? Yes: Is there any visible damage to the eye? etc.)

Several different titles are available. We've been happy with the American Medical Association Family Medical Guide, but others are good too. This is the healthcare book we use most frequently.

6. Publications from the editors of the University of California Wellness Letter. For example: The Wellness Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Family Resource for Safeguarding Health and Preventing Illness. They also have one on food and on physical fitness. Authoritative and easy to read.

That's a good one, Where there is no Dentist is also good. By that I mean the advice they give seems ok to me as a non-medical person.

A funny thing that's kind of relevant to this topic happened to me just last week end. On saturday I woke up with a sore elbow, and by Sunday it was red and inflamed, and I had a slightly elevated temperature. My Dad, who's a nurse, suggested I go to the hospital. There they gave me IV antibiotics, and said that if I'd waited any longer I would probably have had to stay for a few days. I asked what would have happened if for some reason I couldn't have got treatment for it. The doctor replied that the infection would have spread to the joint, causing loss of movement in that arm. It would then have probably become septic, likely causing death.

The crazy part is the infection was spontaneous- I didn't even have any prior injury to that elbow. I hadn't hit it, and the skin wasn't even broken-I'm young, fit and healthy. The whole incident reminded me of how we take good health and modern medical care for granted. So I guess antibiotics would be an extremely important part of any medicine-related plans.

One book I have, 'Survivalist's medicine chest' by Ragnar Benson, talks about storing and using vetinary medicines including antibiotics. I guess it would be better than nothing, although I'm inclined to be skeptical as a lot of Benson's other books are hard to take seriously.

Yeah, isn't he the one who recommends lowering your food bill by eating road kill?

Oh, and here's another then: Herbal Antibiotics
by Stephen Harrod Buhner

I have seen this one. He says that Oil of Oregano is the most potent herbal antibiotic known, and is more effective than many of the pharmaceutical drugs on the market. He also says that herbal antibiotics are superior to pharmas because they knock out bacteria on several levels, rather than just one. Apparently the bacteria can adapt rapidly to pharmas because it's a simple and refined compound, but herbals are complex molecularly, so bacteria never seem to figure out the code. I hope I said that right.

He says that herbal antibiotics will probably be the medicines of the future, because the pharmas just aren't working all that effectively anymore. If we'd stop feeding it to livestock to make them gain weight, it would be a big help, because they're peeing antibiotics into the ground water, and we're all getting dosed whether we eat meat or not. If you don't believe me, Google it.

Anyway, I have healed several stubborn skin infections with tea tree oil (according to Buhner, much less potent than oregano). It soaks deep into tissues, and smells like piny kerosene. It works better than antibiotic ointment from the drugstore, and heals fungus infections as well.

DITCH MEDICINE

by

Hugh Coffee

http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0 ... 43-4849137


http://www.alpharubicon.com/prods/ditchmed.htm

Suger is good for more than Diabeties!!!!

Glad that Chocky brought up antibiotics and dental care -- two of the big wins of modern medicine. Can you imagine having a bad wisdom tooth and no way to get it out? Pretty miserable, even life-threatening.

Some of the other big wins would be birth control, aseptic methods of delivering babies (to keep infant/mother mortality low), and clean drinking water (to avoid diarrhea and intestinal parasites - widespread in the past and in many 3rd World countries).

It seems to me that some of the most effective treatments of modern medicine are inexpensive, and should carry over into a post-Peak future.

On the other hand, herbs and alternative treatments are great way to deal with the minor aches and complaints that now take up so much of our medical resources. Headaches, feeling blue, upset stomach, psychosomatic ailments, etc. As stepka points out, herbs can even serve as antibiotics.

The nice thing about herbs is that they are cheap and accessible ("poor man's medicine" was what I've heard them called). And they are usually, but not always, mild and with few side effects.

What will probably have to go, in a low-energy society, are the ineffective and wildly expensive treatments often given towards the end of life. I don't remember the figures, but a large % of medical expenses are devoted to these last-ditch treatments.



Sounds reasonable to me! If the animal is still fresh, it would probably be better for you than cheap hamburger, from cattle raised on God knows what.

Seriously! Don't knock it till you've tried it. I've had plenty of friends that eww'd and arg'd until they smelled the deer steaks cooking on the grill. Suddenly the idea of eating road kill didn't seem so bad.

I suspect if you could visit a slaughter house, you would find that what goes on is probably way worse than what the average fresh roadkill has been through.

I'm not suggesting eating skunks or something, but I wouldn't eat one of those if somebody shot it either.

I wouldn't be surprised, I was thinking more along the lines of his home-built claymore mine and home-made 40mm grenade launcher books. A slam-fire 40mm grenade launcher made from waterpipe and held together with hose clamps doens't sound very useful or safe to me

Like Bart said, I'd think some modern practices should carry over well no matter what happens, such as good hygiene, sanitation and to a certain extent good nutrition. Without a well functioning modern healthcare system though, I think we'll have to get used to the idea that people are going to die or become permamently disabled all the time due to diseases and problems that are easily treatable now.

Nice topic

Boil water with solar oven !
A good antiseptic : honey

Birth Control topic :
http://www.peakoil.com/fortopic2656.html

Schneider
French-Canadian

Well,i wanted to learn a bit more on the "Where there is no Doctor" book..

This is what i have found at http://www.nitro-pak.com/product_info.p ... cts_id/260 :

Very simple reading and understanding. An excellent resource when traveling out of country when no, or limited medical help is available such as when visiting a way out village or in the event of a major disaster "

Hey hey,isn't exactly what is coming !? Hmm,i think it will be the Christmas Gift for myself from myself .. another book for my library

Schneider
French-Canadian

great topic. this is stuff i like to know even before i learned about PO and got all hinky.

Seeings there is little chance of working hospitals after PO I was wondering if anyone had knowledge of how to sterilise a wound. Didn't people use fire for sterilisation in the past? (I know this has a special name but I can't remember it) Also I was wondering if anyone knew of any herbs that would be good to put on/in a wound to make it heal up faster and avoid infection.