Survival Medicine Hour #354 This Survival Medicine Hour 9/15: Hurricane Irma has wreaked havoc on Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, and our hosts Joe and Amy Alton, aka Dr.Bones and Nurse Amy have now had two different homes survive destruction in a year: Their place in Gatlinburg on Ski Mountain, where 100 homes burned to the foundation last November as part of a huge human-set wildfire, and now their home in South Florida from Hurricane  Irma’s winds. We’ll talk about

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EARTHQUAKE SAFETY A 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck Mexico City on Tuesday, September 19, collapsing buildings, killing at least 250, and injuring hundreds more throughout the region.  The latest tremor event came hard on the heels of an 8.1 magnitude quake off the coast just 2 weeks ago, which killed almost 100 and even generated a small tsunami wave. Various aftershocks measuring up to 4.9 have been recorded since Tuesday’s quake hit at 1 pm local time. Although there is no

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7 Serious Infections from Contaminated Food and Water   Recently, I watched a few episodes of “Naked and Afraid“, a series that puts two individuals in extreme environments with few supplies and, for some reason, no clothes. In this program, many of the participants come down with various infections; some of which cause bowel disturbances. Life then becomes, well, even more miserable than walking around for three weeks naked in the jungle. Epidemics characterized by diarrhea and dehydration have been

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How to Handle Dental Emergencies In Survival Situations (This article by Joe Alton MD was first published in MD Creekmore’s thesurvivalistblog.net) Medical preparedness is an important part of surviving a disaster scenario and, indeed, many believe that they can handle any emergency if the grid goes down. For those who are trained to stabilize and transport, that may be true for typical injuries due to trauma. The true survival medic, however, is the end of the line for medical care,

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The Special Operations Forces Tactical Tourniquet (SOFT-T) is one of the most popular tourniquets made, with many selecting it as their item of choice to control severe extremity bleeding. The SOFT-T is reliable, sturdy, and easy to apply, especially when only one hand is available to the casualty. The US Army Institute of Surgical Research reports a 100% effectiveness rate in stopping hemorrhage. Tourniquets like the SOFT-T are used in a life-threatening situation, and its ease of application is a

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Hurricane Irma, already a powerful storm, is steaming its way towards the Caribbean and the U.S. East Coast. With Texas and Louisiana still reeling in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, it’s just one more reason to always be prepared for disasters.   You only have to read the news to know that hurricanes are dangerous, but they don’t have to be life-threatening for those who prepare.  Unlike tornadoes, which can pop up suddenly, hurricanes are first identified when they are

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HERBAL TEAS IN AUSTERE SETTINGS In long-term disaster settings, even prepared medics may end up using their entire supply of commercially-made medicines. As such, caregivers should consider the medicinal benefits of the plants in their own backyard as additional tools in the medical woodshed.   Due to their longevity, essential oils are probably some of the best natural products the medic can stockpile. Producing them, however, requires knowledge, experience, and equipment. In addition, you’ll need a lot of plant material.

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Survival Medicine Hour #354 In this episode of the Survival Medicine Hour with Joe Alton MD and Amy Alton ARNP, aka Dr. Bones and Nurse Amy, our hosts discuss the difficulties in achieving sterility off the grid when it comes to techniques for procedures and for the proper cleaning and maintenance of important instruments. Plus, skin conditions that the medic will likely have to treat after a disaster, including contact dermatitis, psoriasis, stasis dermatitis, shingles, and much, much more. To

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SKIN PROBLEMS AND TREATMENTS Treating medical problems in a remote homestead or after a disaster won’t always be about gunshot wounds and broken bones.  Sometimes, little things can make people miserable and affect their ability to contribute to group efforts. Skin inflammation, called “dermatitis“, is one of the issues that a caregiver can’t ignore if the group is going to function at 100% efficiency. This condition has various causes and varies in appearance from case to case, although most present

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SURVIVAL MEDICINE HOUR #353 In this episode of the Survival Medicine Hour, Joe Alton MD, aka Dr. Bones and Amy Alton, ARNP, aka Nurse Amy discuss the types of nuclear weapons and the damage they cause in the form of shock and heat waves. Plus, the different types of radiation emitted by detonations of nuclear bombs: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, X-ray, and Neutron radiation. Also, what are the damage zones for, say, a Hiroshima type bomb and what are the chances

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