General health and home remedies

[thatGirl]

Hi fellow preppers,

I was talking to a friend the other day about potential issues in the uncertain future, and he mentioned that he was worried about what his diabetic girlfriend would do if she could not get insulin shots.  I'm in pretty good health over all, and haven't looked much into it, but I thought it might be useful to talk about what preps people are stocking for medical purposes beyond your first aid kits.  Reading a few articles recently, I realized that small health issues can become a larger concern if you end up having to rely solely on your prepped items.   

For instance, I just read that some folks with asthma can have attacks from taking NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) like ibuprofen and aspirin.  Also, sulfites commonly found in dried fruit and pickled goods can exacerbate an attack.

TG is allergic to penicillin, so I read a little about olive leaf extract as a natural alternative. 

For me, I tend to think more about what plants might be useful, aloe for burns, goldenseal and echinacea for infections, but I would like to expand my thinking of what's needed.

What kind of prepping precautions are you all taking for you and your family's common and uncommon ailments?

[crudos]

Something we do is harvest plantain (not the banana-looking fruit) and make it into a salve to help with just about any kind of skin aliment, like burns, bites, rashes, etc...... Unfortunately due to our move this summer, we were not able to harvest any this year. Stuff works wonders.

http://www.prairielandherbs.com/plantain.htm

[Grudgie]

Apple cider vinegar is cheap and has a near indefinite shelf life. I have heard it has a lot of medicinal uses but I use it as a natural cure for strep throat and general sore throats. Gargle it for a minute every hour on the hour for a few days.

I'm looking for natural cures for pneumonia if anybody has any tips. And I hear antibiotics that people use can be bought in pet stores in the form of fish medicine.

[thatGirl]

I found some info on natural remedies and on injecting hydrogen peroxide into veins for pneumonia, but I am not a medical professional and cannot say how to do it safely.  Here are a couple of links I've found so far, but I'm going to have to do a more extensive search.

http://www.healthy.net/scr/article.aspx?Id=3168&xcntr=2

http://www.gracermedicalgroup.com/resources/page_01.php

It seems that hydrogen peroxide is good for a number of things, but the shelf-life appears to be questionable.

http://chemistry.about.com/b/2012/07/03/hydrogen-peroxide-shelf-life.htm

I've been wanting to look deeper into antibiotics and alternatives.  Other countries like India where commonly used antibiotics can be purchased over the counter are having outbreaks of various treatable illnesses because people are using antibiotics too much and developing a resistance...

http://www.nature.com/news/india-moves-to-tackle-antibiotic-resistance-1.11392

[Reaver]

Slice and dice onions. Coat them with a huge amount of sugar. Put tin foil over the top & drop it in the oven overnight.
( No heat just storage )
The next morning there will be a slop of juices. Save the juices and do what ever you want with the onions. The juice makes one hell of a cough syrup.

Grandmother learned my papa that and he learned me.  [URL=http://www.smileyvault.co

[special-k]

Colloidal and ionic silver seems to be the "third rail" on many forums... divided between those who believe the fear-mongering propaganda, and those who have actually experienced its nothing short of miraculous effects.

Personally, I have stocked NO pharmaceutical industry antibiotics.  Instead, I have the supplies to produce an indefinite supply of colloidal and ionic silver (even in a grid-down situation).  All i can say, is after years of experiments, I FEAR NO INFECTION... bacterial, nano-bacterial, viral, or fungal.

[thatGuy]

Speaking of fungus,

Menthol whether synthetic or naturally derived is a great cure for foot fungus.

It can also aid in the delivery of pain meds via Vasodilation. It is also a mild pain killer in its own right. As well as being a counter irritant which is good for the ol' sore throat.

[JohnyMac]

As mentioned in the past my brothers wife is a RN. She has been collecting various items. 

My grandmother was an RN too. She told me that they use to cure Gonorrhea &/ or  Syphilis by injecting arsenic into the patient. You inject the arsenic until the patient tasted copper in their mouth.

As Grudgie wrote, apple cider vinegar has many uses. Living on the boat for years and me of fair skin; I would get sunburned often. My wife or I would dab apple cider vinegar on my sunburn. 

Now my wife is a juvie diabetic. She is on the pump now which has really helped her manage her diabetes. We keep a one years supply of insulin on hand as well as bits & pieces for her pump. With all of that said, my wife knows that she will only have one year to live post TEOTWAWKI if we can not obtain the RIGHT insulin. In part, that is what the precious metals were purchased for.

This is a good subject you started ThatGirl. Gang, lets keep it going. If your grandparents are still alive ask them what they used for 'X'.
       

 

[Deathstyle]

As far as handling diabetes, the patriot nurse did a vid about handling that and possibly reducing its threat.

Also if you google ?selco? and ?before its news?, you'll find a story of selco surviving in sarajevo for a year with no power grid. I believe he mentioned that among the biggest killers were fungal skin infections.

[special-k]

Poison Ivy relief...

Note:  Poison ivy, oak, and sumac all have the EXACT SAME offending substance.  No matter what anyone says, if they are allergic to one, they are allergic to all.

Everyone knows that Calamine and topical steroid are nearly worthless when it comes to relief.  After I became allergic to poison ivy late in life (I used to roll in the stuff with no problem), I went on a frantic search for relief.  After trying several internet recommendations, I finally found one that actually works... OATMEAL... with a small tweak not found on the web. Instead of putting oatmeal in the bathtub and soaking in it (which is a huge mess, requires a lot of oatmeal, and will likely ruin your plumbing); make a salve out of it.  It's simple.  Here's how:

Make a small quantity (1 cup) of oatmeal using "old fashion" oats, but use 2-3 times as much water than is recommended.  Water & oats only.  After simmering for a few minutes, pour it through a tea strainer into a bowl.  Discard what's left in the strainer.  Let bowl cool, cover and refrigerate.  This "juice" will thicken into a gel.  Wash any other medication and "crust" from the affected area(s) and apply the oatmeal salve liberally.  Relief starts immediately and is very long lasting.

[JohnyMac]

Thanks Deathstyle.

Keep in mind; once you have a dead pancreas it is dead. It will not produce insulin no matter what you may do. Hence juvenile diabetes (Level I) Vs. weight or on-set diabetes (Level II).

[Grudgie]

Colloidal and ionic silver seems to be the "third rail" on many forums... divided between those who believe the fear-mongering propaganda, and those who have actually experienced its nothing short of miraculous effects.

Personally, I have stocked NO pharmaceutical industry antibiotics.  Instead, I have the supplies to produce an indefinite supply of colloidal and ionic silver (even in a grid-down situation).  All i can say, is after years of experiments, I FEAR NO INFECTION... bacterial, nano-bacterial, viral, or fungal.

I'd like to hear more please. Can silver coins be made into anti bacterial remedies?

[special-k]

I'd like to hear more please. Can silver coins be made into anti bacterial remedies?

Almost all silver coins contain some percentage of other metals (not good).  The only exception I know of is the newer Canadian silver dollars that are 99.9999% pure.

It's best to use silver wire... usually 14, 12, or 10 gauge.  Use "3 nine" (99.999%) or "4 nine" (99.9999%) only.  It's available on the web and sold in different lengths.

[thatGirl]

I'm sorry to hear that you and your wife have such a serious health problem to worry about while prepping, JM, but it's good that you're addressing that the best you can.

I read through some of the previous medical/health posts and some good stuff started going around, just a little disjointed.  I also read some requests to create and devote a whole new section to all of this, which was denied by mine fuhrer, TG.  I'm going to work on him to figure out a way to make all of this great info more accessible and keep people posting these great ideas.  TG also mentioned putting a spreadsheet together that could be filled in with plants, there health benefits, and where they grow readily.  We could also make one for over the counter items, such as apple cidar vinegar, or arsenic for all the single folk contracting vd.  That way, people can pick items that will work to their best advantage to prepare for many ailments with as few different preps as possible.

Here are a couple of things I found that may be useful for JM's wife's juvenile diabetes and revisiting Grudgie's pneumonia concern.

Opuntia species (Prickly-pear cactus) can be used to treat wounds, burns, contusions, warts and recent studies suggest that the juice may be effective in lowering blood sugar in cases of juvenile-onset diabetes, particularly where chronic hyperglycemia prevails.  WebMD- Prickly-pear cactus provides info on why the fruit juice lowers blood sugar and , although this article suggests that you should not juice your own cactus fruit, you can click here to see how you would go about it.  I would suggest keeping a pair of good tweezers close, in my experience you will need them!
   
Petasites palmatus (Coltsfoot) can be used as an expectorant and cough suppressant and has been used to treat chest colds, wooping cough, asthma and viral pneumonia.  It can also be applied topically for arthritis.  Note: Coltsfoot contains a group of alkaloids that may be harmful if consumed in large quantities.  WebMD- Coltsfoot says that it has a lot of sideffects and drug interactions, so beware!!!

[JohnyMac]

Personally TGRL I like the spreadsheet idea; However I tried to post an Excel spreadsheet outlining our teams preps, per person awhile back but the software that powers this site will not allow an Excel spreadsheet to be posted.

Another thought: Maybe we sign up for a generic yahoo or AOL or whatever address and we can post spreadsheets. We could also leave msg's as drafts so they don't go into the ionosphere for the guys in the white coats to read and monitor. 

Man am I getting paranoid or what??

 [img]http://www.arrse.co.uk/at

[thatGirl]

I'll see what other possibilities the internets may provide us for sharing spreadsheets, JM.  I use Google Documents a lot to share spreadsheets with folks, so that might work, but it seems like we should be able to come up with something that doesn't make you tinfoil hat tingle.

Also, I talked to TG about why we can't start a new section for all of this, and he seems to be worried about liability issues of not having a medical professional to moderate those threads.  So if anyone with the right credentials is interested or knows someone who is interested in babysitting medical threads, maybe we can get that going as well.  Due to past experience, this person probably needs to be willing and able to put up with all of the offensive and downright stupid things that get said on this forum, especially all of the sputum and bile that I'm guilty of posting.

[Outonowhere]

Also, I talked to TG about why we can't start a new section for all of this, and he seems to be worried about liability issues of not having a medical professional to moderate those threads.

Thats what disclaimers are for 

[thatGirl]

FYI- I just added some links with more info to a previous post of mine about cactus fruit juice lowering blood pressure and using coltsfoot to treat pneumonia. 

[thatGirl]

Also, I talked to TG about why we can't start a new section for all of this, and he seems to be worried about liability issues of not having a medical professional to moderate those threads.

Thats what disclaimers are for 

Yeah, but until scumbag lawyers quit finding loopholes in the system through which to impale the pockets of small business owners and other everyday citizens, I wouldn't put my faith in a disclaimer to protect me.  I've known a lot of good folks that lost earnings and/or integrity in frivolous lawsuits.

I also failed to mention earlier that, beyond the liability issue, TG wants to prevent anyone getting hurt from bad advice.  I can't argue with that...

[thatGuy]

Even though I hate you all... I still care.

[JohnyMac]

Walker,
I understand what you wrote and agree with most of it. If I remember correctly, you have medical experience either while in the military or currently.

I don't think anybody is promoting giving gonorrhea patients arsenic as a cure. Heck, to your point, I couldn't diagnose gonorrhea if my life depended on it.

I can diagnose pneumonia though as I have had this affliction more than three times in my long life and bronchitis more times then I can count. I know what sun burn is. I know what dehydration looks like. Etcetera.

Last, if we are not going to have a 'sticky note' on this subject that is cool. May I suggest a pretty good book; Where there is no Doctor by David  Werner and several other co-authors.

Last, I hear if you put a horse shoe over your bed facing up, you will be lucky. 
   

[thatGirl]

You bring up some valuable points Walker.  I strayed from the original intention of this thread with the hydrogen peroxide info, but for the most part, people seem to be posting home remedies that shouldn't be a health risk. 

The fact of the matter is, I could walk into a natural health store and buy a mess of herbs and supplements that will put my health at risk, and people need to be aware of that.  People tend to confuse natural for safe and healthy, which is by no means the case.  My sister asked me a few years ago about why organic solvents have organic in the title, being dangerous and all.  My sister is a smart woman, but had never taken a chemistry class.  I had to explain that organic in the classic sense simply means, carbon containing, which is virtually every compound on the planet, good and bad.   

I think there's a way that we can talk about all of this in terms of potential scenarios while making the appropriate distinctions between, this is safe to do on a daily basis now and, this is your absolute last resort in the worst case scenario. 

Walker, I understand that you would want to leave your work at work after a long day, but would you be willing to discuss how we can address these issues and concerns without being negligent?  I saw your medical test modules in the survival section, those are fantastic!     

[thatGuy]

I'm with you Walker, alt-medicine is by no means a replacement for the modern western style and there is no herb that can replace real training.

What would you recommend for stress? Like.. oh say, the stress of running a public pool without a life guard...

[Grudgie]

I've decided to buy some Canadian silver maple coins to make collodial silver with. If I get pneumonia in SHTF it's lights out for me. Pneumonia is the 6th leading cause of death in America and I will not be able to find antibiotics. My only hope could be colloidal silver. This and inhaling h202 mist from a spay bottle.

Silver coin is looking like a great investment because it is being used up and increasing in demand in emerging electronic technologies such as solar pannels. People are saying that within the decade silver could very well tripple in value due to supply and demand. Silver is also udeful for preppers because I am finding out that it can be used to make colloidal silver which is kind of a home made antibiotic. Think if people in your community were getting colds and flu and you had the only 'antibiotics' around. Your silver investment would be worth its weight in gold.

If you have any questions ask Special K because I am only just finding out about Colloidal silver. All I know is you make it with a jar of water, silver, some batteries, and cables.

[thatGirl]

Honey and Turmeric- cuts, scrapes, burns, and sore throats
Honey can be used on wounds to draw moisture out, kill bacteria, and can either dry to form a bandage, or be used with a bandage to keep the wound from sticking to it.  You can also mix 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric with 1 teaspoon of honey to make a paste to apply topically to wounds, or to eat in the case of sore throats to lubricate and sooth. 

Honey and lemon- coughs
When I was a kid my mom would sometimes have me drink a mixture honey and lemon juice instead of cough syrup.  You want to add enough lemon juice to keep the honey from being a choking hazard, but not enough to lose the viscous property of the honey.

Warning:  You may not want to replace your box of band aids with honey packets if you're in bear country, unless you're hoping to win a Darwin Award.