Medical Monday?

[mechmedic]

Once I get to Texas I should have enough idle time to be able to start doing a “medical Monday” post here. It would within the spectrum of my knowledge base. So don’t expect posts on minor surgeries. But I would be things important to everyday life and grid down life for a partisan with a heavy focus on tactical medicine and seconded by preventative care (general hygiene, feet care, patrol nutrition, weather injuries, etc) and until I get a feel for how it goes I’ll let you guys pick the topics for a while.

[Jackalope]

    How about a discussion regarding poison ivy treatment.  In my new AO it's everywhere.  My immediate treatment, if I think I've been exposed, is to wash the suspected area with a strong laundry detergent.  Thus far, I haven't had any issues, so I guess it works.  One of my neighbors has suggested using a goat to get rid of the poison ivy plants.  And. in a timely manner, one my wife's friends was exposed to some earlier today and has developed blisters.  They called their doctor, and the doctor said they should come to the office immediately.  I'm thinking they'll get a prescription for some cortisone cream.  But other than creams and other topical ointments, are there any other treatments?

     I'm thinking that in the event of a SHTF situation that cortisone cream may not be readily available, so are there natural treatments?  Sorry it's not a combat trauma type of medical scenario, but it may be a common problem in wooded, forested areas.

     

[mechmedic]

This is definitely combat medicine. It isn’t all tourniquets and wound packings. It’s also stuff like this.
So Let’s say you’re on patrol and for whatever reason aren’t wearing some sort of long sleeved shirt. You drop to the probe on a security vault only to find you’re laying in a pile of poison ivy.
First when tactically sound, remove yourself from the area and remove all clothing and gear that MAY have come in contact with the plant (so all of it). Go find running water and wash yourself with Fels Naptha. It will combat the oils and wash it off your skin. Also take this time to wash your clothes and gear with the same bar of soap. If you have any still irritated areas go ahead and use calamine if you have it. Cortisone cream is a steroid anti inflammatory drug. Which works but isn’t necessary for treatment. Only if it gets bad. As with anything prevention is the best medicine. Wear long pants and shirts and try not to roll your sleeves up if you’re in an area known to have poison ivy/oak/sumac. Pay attention to where you’re walking to try to avoid it. But it can be used to slow down people chasing you. Unmotivated people will not press an advance if they are dealing with the effects of poison ivy.

[Nemo]

Get the goats.   Got the ivy when I was about 13.  Took a course of desensitization shots.  Not fun just with that. 

Nemo

[Jackalope]

    Thanks mechmedic, great advice!  And yup Nemo, I think we're going to go the goat route.  My wife was talking with her friend about burning the plants, and I freaked out...I'm like NOOOOOOO!   I've heard stories about people dying from inhaling the smoke from poison ivy plants, whether the stories are true or not, it seems like a really stupid idea.  I dread dealing with the plants and goats seem like the best natural solution.  Actually our neighbor mentioned that we could rent goats, which would be an even better solution, get rid of the plants and let the goats munch some where else, and if the plants come back, rent the goats again.

[bennington.camper]

    How about a discussion regarding poison ivy treatment.  ...I'm thinking they'll get a prescription for some cortisone cream.  But other than creams and other topical ointments, are there any other treatments?
 

I have had a long and painful relationship with poison ivy. When I was younger I did a lot of rock climbing in undeveloped places, looking for new routes. One location with a particularly appealing crack system apparently was in the drainage system of an ivy field above. Well, crack climbing requires the insertion of body parts into the crack (different parts based on the width of the cracks), and this particular move required an arm bar. That is inserting an arm into the crack and wedging it to allow your weight to be transferred to the next higher location. As you can imagine, this is not a quick process and required much friction and abrasion of the bare arms (south facing rock, mid summer). Sweat, ivy and torn up skin drive the pleasure deep into the tissues - of course not to be discovered until the next day. It was weeping and bleeding for a couple of weeks with regular wrapping to allow me to sleep...
Anyway that apparently sensitized me to the sap, and in subsequent years any exposure has been traumatic to my skin.
I found a couple of products that seemed to work for me - Ivarest makes a soap to wash the exposed area before it becomes too far advanced, and another product, a cream to be applied to ease the resultant rash/blisters/weeping skin.
Your mileage may vary, however I keep a liberal amount of it on hand these days.
I have tried all manner of 'solutions' over the years from scrubbing, soap and water, the pink stuff, and other topical answers, but none have worked as well as Ivarest.

[JohnyMac]

Mechmedic, TEXAS It's hotter than haiti's there. Oh the life...

First, thanks sir for doing the Monday Medical post. I am looking forward reading it. Next, poison ivy is no fun. I remember getting poison ivy on my face when I was 11 or so. My grandmother who was a RN I might ad, applied some aerosol spray to the blisters on my face. After the third or fourth application my body started to convulse. I was rushed to the hospital by my father. The ER team injected me with something and within 15-minutes the convulsions stopped.

The Doctor gave my dad some cream to apply to the poison ivy blisters and told him to loose the OTC poison ivy spray.

I am sure we all have poison ivy horror stores to share.

[patriotman]

I love the idea! And what a great topic to start with!

[mechmedic]

I’ll have to look into the Ivarest. And I do not have any horror stories from poison ivy. Unless we were doing water activities, pants were a requirement whenever we went on camping trips with the scouts. RN’s try to do good but outside of a sterile hospital environment most fall short compared to any outdoorsman with a simple knowledge of wilderness first aid. Most that I have talked to refuse to actually learn from the required continuing education and just treat it like a check in the box. Bad habits form in any work environment but it’s especially dangerous in the medical field. So now that we’ve done the first one, what are some ideas for the next one? No suggestions are outside of the realm of possibilities. If I don’t know much about the subject it will provide a learning opportunity for me as well. This should be a fun thread for everyone. I know I’m excited for it.

[JoJo]

 When/if SHTF a lot of us will be using mussels that we didn't use before. That means Cramps.
 How about a summary on how to prevent, stop and cure cramps?

[Nemo]

When/if SHTF a lot of us will be using mussels that we didn't use before. That means Cramps.
 How about a summary on how to prevent, stop and cure cramps?

That means muscles.

Nemo

[Kbop]

When/if SHTF a lot of us will be using mussels that we didn't use before. That means Cramps.
 How about a summary on how to prevent, stop and cure cramps?

my favorites, bananas - lots of potassium.  When i played football the cure seemed to be potassium, calcium and magnesium.  this was recommended by the team doc.  I found a supplement that worked well and still use it today when needed.  maybe your doc could make a recommendation based on your health status.

[JoJo]

When/if SHTF a lot of us will be using mussels that we didn't use before. That means Cramps.
 How about a summary on how to prevent, stop and cure cramps?

my favorites, bananas - lots of potassium.  When i played football the cure seemed to be potassium, calcium and magnesium.  this was recommended by the team doc.  I found a supplement that worked well and still use it today when needed.  maybe your doc could make a recommendation based on your health status.

 Not my health status, just a summery suggestion. 

[JohnyMac]

Since we are in the summer months...Cramps is a good one and i would also like to add ticks and tick removal.

In the winter hypothermia, frozen appendages (Don't write what you were going to Jackalope) , e.g. fingers, toes, ears, and the like.

When making suggestions think about being in a guerrilla situation. Simple ailments like open cuts, getting debris in ones eye, tooth ailments, etc.

Have fun.

[bennington.camper]

my research on muscle cramps ( and I have had my share in the middle of the night) tells me that it is not potassium as I previously learned, but magnesium that needs to be increased. I have supplements that I now take after strenuous labor or using muscles that I haven't used in a long time, especially before bedtime.
This has been working for me, your mileage may vary...

[mechmedic]

Muscle Cramps it is! Then followed by cold weather injuries!
I will start my research over the weekend when I have time! It may take a week for some of this since I will just be getting home from NTC, but I will get them out.

[bennington.camper]

I suggest burn care as a topic as well.
Identification of the degree and appropriate response for each.

Then knife or axe or saw laceration cleansing and treatment.

[patriotman]

All of these topics are great.

One more: blisters

[JoJo]

 Mechmedic your going to be busy for a very long long time. We need that information so here's Good Luck to you.

[Nemo]

Stab wounds.  You cannot just pack or plug or band aid them.  A few hours then what?  Suture the opening but what about inside?

Nemo

[mechmedic]

I’ve got a list running. Thank you all for the ideas. Busy is good. Gives you guys important information and keeps my medical knowledge fresh and up to date!