Review of OnPoint Tactical's Off-Grid Medicine Course

OnPoint Tactical’s off-grid medicine course is not your typical first aid class. It’s not EMT school. I mean no disrespect towards them at all, but those first responder classes are like baby aspirin. What Dr. Steve provides is more like dilaudid or fentanyl. (No, he does not sell these or tell us how to get them. It’s just for comparison between the types of courses. However, there does seem to be the possibility of developing an addiction of sorts. Three of the people from the February class repeated the August class and brought family members with them.)

A Special Forces Battalion surgeon, University of Utah Medical School faculty member, Utah Emergency Physician of the Year, paramedic– the list goes on. This is Dr. Steve Pehrson, the man behind OnPoint Tactical’s Off-Grid Medicine course. The list of credentials might be as intimidating as it is impressive and could scare some potential students away. However, what isn’t mentioned in his biography and course description is that Dr. Steve Pehrson is this kind of cuddly-looking grandpa with a great sense of humor and surprising lack of the God-complex that seems to afflict some doctors.


When asked what he likes to do for fun he replied, “Teach this class.” It must be true because Steve starts at 8:00 to 8:30, and he’s usually still going strong 12 hours later. Then he’s ready to start again the next morning! And the students are, too.


Dr. Steve somehow provides simple explanations of complex anatomical and physiological processes and chemistry. (If I’d had him as a professor in college, I might have followed through with the original plan of studying medicine.) But familiarity with medicine is definitely not a prerequisite. In fact, in the two classes I have attended, there has only been one person in each class with any formal training in medicine. The rest have been regular people—student, pilot, wilderness guide, computer guy, homeschool mom, et cetera. And while Steve’s experience includes extensive time treating people all over the world during humanitarian missions, as well as treating weekend warriors in the emergency room, parents too will benefit greatly from this class. This is because in addition to everything else Steve is also a family physician.

Before class, Steve emails links to lectures and articles to be reviewed prior to the start of class. This advance class material allows more hands on time. He tailors each class to the students. It is slightly different each time based on what worked in previous classes and the desires of the students. This course is designed for people who want to be prepared for a time when there is no doctor or other medical care available to be able to handle broken bones, disease, serious wounds and blood loss, and other acute and chronic conditions, ranging from infants to the elderly. At the start of class, Steve provides a binder of copies of almost every slide used in his presentation with space for note-taking.

Doctor Steve is not actually teaching brain surgery. He does show what you can do to save a person’s life and quality of life by means of suturing, splinting, anesthesia, supply acquisition, and other skills. He tries to help students accept that there are going to be deaths because the technology we take for granted today will someday disappear. Sstudents are taught how to manage modern medical issues without modern technology, without resupply, and at the same time how to address the communicable diseases that most doctors have never even seen. And because modern medicine isn’t always going to be here, and neither is our pharmaceutical industry, Steve also shares his personal experiences with the use of herbal medicines or brings in other experts in that field.

The vast majority of that 1-2% of the population who prepares for TEOTWAWKI does so at the baby aspirin level. They may have some OTC meds and antibiotics, some sutures, and maybe a surgical kit. Dr. Steve educates you on how to use those tools in your surgical kit and what else you are going to want to have and be able to use, or available for someone else to use. Let’s face it. We know what’s coming, and baby aspirin ain’t gonna cut it.


The following is what I wrote in reply to a question posted in response to this review.

I could have left a much longer review, but I wasn’t sure how much would be appropriate. The course my husband, daughter, and I took was five full days–three 11-12 hour days, one 10-hour day, and one 8-hour day. Again, a lot of that depends on the students’ desires. Lunchtime was always a “working” lunch–20-30 minutes to grab lunch and bring it back for informal discussion and questions. Our cost for the Salt Lake City class, was $795 each; however, it was supposed to be $1100 each, as was the case for the Denver class. Due to technical errors on the website, the owners decided to keep with the advertised $795, but not include the surgical set and many other items but made those available for purchase.

The OnPoint Tactical website (onpointtactical.com) does not provide a whole lot of detailed information on the course, unfortunately. You could try contacting them directly for your specific questions. I hesitate to post Dr. Steve’s email address here, but if you can get hold of him thru OnPoint Tactical, he is great about answering questions. I’ve emailed him countless times since the Denver class in February, and he always responds in great detail about the medical questions, proper procedures, dosages, sources for supplies, etc.

As to how often the class is offered, I know that Dr. Steve wants to hold many, many more. He knows what is coming, and there just aren’t going to be prepared doctors available for everyone who needs them, with all the necessary supplies. The problem has been a matter of how to best get the info out to people.

As far as experiences, where to begin….

–Maintaining medical records, how to take a proper patient history, asking exact questions. How did that bone fracture occur? Without x-rays, you need to be able to figure out exactly how that bone broke to set it properly

–How to tape a badly sprained ankle (and how to tell the difference between a sprain and a break without X-rays) so that the injured person can continue walking without crutches

–Different suture techniques and materials and their various uses–and when not to suture.

–Proper sterilization of tools and supplies–without an autoclave

–Moving patients

–People with conditions that modern technology manages today but who will die without our technology, sooner or later, and being able to accept that–and accept that their families will be angry if you make the decision not to treat and save precious resources for those who can be helped. Like burn patients–even a burn covering 10% of the body can be life-threatening. A burn covering 25-30%? That person will use up a heckuva lot of resources, and will die anyway. What are you going to do?

–Anesthesia–how to administer local anesthetics, how to obtain them (yes, you can legally purchase and possess lidocaine and epinephrine–and those two alone can be very, very beneficial)

–How to use OTC meds to be the equivalent of prescription strength meds

–Checking vitals

–Various medical bags, what he carries, what is pointless, how to package and pack supplies for ease of use, etc.

–Where to get supplies, especially reusable supplies

–Dehydration, and how to hydrate without an IV (because inserting an IV is a perishable skill, and it’s really hard even for trained personnel to put an IV into someone who is seriously dehydrated)

Unlike the attached picture suggests, this class is all indoors, other than the brief plant walk we took with the herbal medic Sam Coffman.

The herbal portion of the class covered two days. It covered the process of making herbal tinctures, the importance of understanding the herbs you use (do no harm), combining herbs to achieve the best results, herbal antibiotics.

Again, this is not first aid. It’s not EMT school. This is stuff most parents would love to know before having children (you know, like whether that cut requires a trip to the ER, whether that sprain is going to heal on its own, whether you can handle that shoulder dislocation yourself and avoid the ER altogether, etc.). It’s stuff every serious backpacker and homesteader should know–the stuff all of us really should know even if TEOTWAWKI never happens.

 © 2019, PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com 

Alternative Medicine: Usnea--Part 2

Disclaimer.  I am not a licensed health practitioner.  This is just another post on an item you might wish to have available if needed so that a physician can treat you and your family as best as possible.  No medication, including those available over the counter, should be taken without consulting a physician.  Information shared here is for educational and entertainment purposes only.  It is not medical advice nor a substitute for licensed medical care.  A qualified, licensed physician or other medical provider should be consulted before beginning any herbal or conventional treatment.

In Part 1 of the Usnea series, we discussed gathering this fine herb and powdering it for use in wound management.  In Part 2 today we'll cover the preparation of an Usnea tincture and why you are really going to want to have some of this DIY wonder drug herb in your preps.

First off, let's discuss what a tincture actually is.  Herbalists have their own language and in the educational process it's kinda important to understand what they're talking about.  So here we go:

A tincture is a liquid herbal extract--you know, like the vanilla extract you use for making cookies and other tasty things.  In the herbal world, tincture generally refers to concentrated liquid herbals extracted by alcohol.  Alcohol is most often the solvent of choice because it is food grade and because (this is the important part) it can extract the herbal constituents that are poorly soluble in water (if you want your herbal medicine to do its job, you have to get the active compounds from the plant to your body).  The specific alcohol used to make tinctures varies by herb.  Some herbs have more water soluble compounds in them as well, so a lower-proof alcohol (i.e., one that has more water in it) is used to make those tinctures.

Other solvents to make tinctures for internal consumption include vinegar and glycerin, both of which have their advantages and disadvantages.  While alcohol has the benefit of being a premier solvent for both acidic and basic (alkaline) constituents, vinegar is effective really only for obtaining alkaloids.  Because it is acidic, vinegar can't do a good job of extracting acidic components.  Glycerin is similar to alcohol, but it is just not as effective in extracting active components.  But because it is sweet, it's easier for children to take.  Glycerin and vinegar tinctures are not as medicinally powerful as alcohol tinctures, so more of those preparations need to be taken to achieve the desired degree of efficacy.  Those who wish to avoid alcohol may think their problems have been solved.  Not so!  Remember, glycerin and vinegar are just not as effective at extracting the chemical constituents.  While this is fine if you are merely treating common colds and sore throats that are going to resolve on their own anyway, if you're dealing with a serious condition, say tuberculosis, you may be missing something critical.  And glycerin and vinegar tinctures have relatively short shelf lives.  Bummer.

So what to do?  Stay with me here, to the very end.  There are other options, I promise.

First off, let's consider the amount of alcohol actually consumed with a tincture, and the amount of alcohol consumed at other times, you know, when no one is looking.  Like chocolate chip cookie dough.  Tinctures are often administered in numbers of drops.  That's not that much alcohol, and it is definitely not tasty or desirable in any way.  My chocolate chip cookie recipe calls for two teaspoons of vanilla extract per batch of 36 cookies.  Using my dropper (and droppers vary), that works out to five drops per cookie, and I probably eat half my cookies before they're baked.  What about you?

How about smoothies?  In our house, we add a teaspoon or two of vanilla per quart of smoothie.  Going on the conservative side for estimation's sake here, we'll use one teaspoon per quart, and that works out to 1/4 teaspoon per one cup serving of smoothie.  And we never even give a thought to the amount of alcohol we're consuming in these situations.

Now consider that you could be trying to save a life.  Is the amount of alcohol in a few drops or 1/4 teaspoon excessive?  OK, I understand.  Really.  It still makes me uncomfortable.  Not to mention it still tastes really nasty.  So here's one more work-around since the vinegar and glycerin tincture solutions to the alcohol problem failed you.  Add your drops of alcohol-based tincture to very hot water and let sit.  Alcohol boils off/evaporates.  Voila!

TINCTURE

Now back to Usnea.  As stated in Part 1, Usnea is really good stuff for treating wounds.  But it is so much more.  Usnea tincture can be used to treat skin infections and abscesses (you don't even take it internally in this case), vaginal and fungal infections (well, kinda, but at least you didn't ingest it), and upper respiratory infections (well, same).  However, that's not all.  It's effective against MRSA.  Even more remarkable is that it eliminates tuberculosis.  And not just the tuberculosis of 100-140 years ago that every immigrant into this country was screened for at Ellis Island and Angel Island, and that could be easily cured with antibiotics a few decades ago.  It kills the antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis that we apparently no longer screen immigrants for, but seem to be welcoming with open arms.  That tuberculosis.

Are you interested now?  I thought so.

The instructions for making Usnea tincture come from Stephen Harrod Buhner's Herbal Antibiotics book (reviewed here), which I very highly recommend.  His entire chapter on Usnea and producing the tincture are found here, without any mention of his name.  It's just been completely plagiarized, and it's been there for over four years.  I don't understand how people get away with stuff like that.

Of course, I can't guarantee how long it will be there, but for those who want to take a look before committing to purchase, there it is. The following directions come directly from Stephen Buhner's book:

Again, the immune-stimulating polysaccharides are most efficiently extracted with heat. To do this, when you are making your tincture, heat the herb first in the water you are going to use for tincturing. The best way is in a slow cooker (or, failing that, on low heat, covered, overnight in the oven).

Use a tincture ratio of 1:5 (1 part herb to 5 parts liquid). The liquid should be composed of half water and half pure grain alcohol. So if you have 5 ounces of herb, you will use 25 ounces of liquid—12.5 of water, 12.5 of alcohol.

Put the powdered herb in the slow cooker, add the 12.5 ounces of water, and stir well. It will turn into a kind of mush. Cover and then cook on low heat for 48 hours. Let cool enough to work with it without burning yourself, then pour into a heat-tolerant jar (Mason or equivalent), add the alcohol when the mix is still warm but not hot, and then put on the lid and shake well. Let macerate for 2 weeks, then decant and strain out the herb. Bottle and store out of the light.


As indicated above, Usnea is one of the herbs that should be extracted with pure grain alcohol (95% or 190-proof).  That's the truly hard stuff.  It's sold under the name of Everclear or Mohawk.  I'd never bought coffee or Coke in my entire life, let alone anything alcoholic (except vanilla extract and the like), so buying Everclear was going to be a real trip.  I remembered talk from kids in high school about getting Everclear.  I never really paid attention, though I understood from their conversation that it was powerful. (Even the folks at Everclear say it is not to be consumed alone, but should be mixed with something.)  I searched the alcohol aisles of all the local grocery and drug stores for Everclear to no avail.

I was getting ready to make my first trip ever into a dedicated liquor store when I read online that Nevada prohibits the sale of Everclear within the state.  WTH?!  We have legalized gambling, pot, and prostitution, but no Everclear.  And neighboring Utah, which prohibits gambling, pot, and prostitution, does sell Everclear.

Talk about irony.

Usnea, Part 1
Usnea, Part 3

The Medicinal Uses of Usnea 


© 2019, PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com

Expanded Food Storage: French Fries

One of the primary challenges in becoming prepared to deal with future events, and especially in getting family members to join enthusiastically with us in our planning, lies in facing the fear of the unknown, like what are we really going to have to eat, as well as the fear of the known--AACCKKKKK!  YOU DON'T REALLY EXPECT ME TO EAT THAT, DO YOU?!?!

And you know, it's been my observation in the many food storage classes that I've attended, and much of what I've seen online (fortunately, there are some notable exceptions), that most people are going to be really sad when TEOTWAWKI hits.  The vast majority will be sad that they didn't store enough; and many of those that did store enough food calorie-wise will wish they'd put a little more thought into what they were going to be eating.

When the trucks stop rolling, life will definitely change without fresh produce and frozen foods.  But just because doom and gloom are on everyone else's menus, doesn't mean it has to be on yours.  And that's exactly where the focus of the weekly blog post on expanded food storage will be.

Today's star is home-canned potatoes.  The kids actually beg for them.

("How can this be?" you ask.  "Did the woman raise her children in a cave?  Do they only get ice cream at Christmas?"

Truth be told, plain cut up and canned potatoes don't actually send tingles down anyone's spine here.  I like canning and I like having all my jars full all the time, and canned potatoes don't do anything for me, either.  They're kind of a hassle to can because they have to be peeled first, and if you're using them for mashed potatoes, well, the texture just isn't quite right.

But is there anyone in your world that doesn't like French fries?  Probably not.  (But even if there is, great.  That's more fries for everyone else.)

So the first step in winning "Mother of the Year" is to buy a French fry cutter (you can get a cheap one from Amazon for about $13--I think mine lasted 2-3 years, probably 60-80 quarts of fries).  Use the large blade (1/2"); the smaller size fries will break too easily.  Then buy a bag or box of No. 2 Russet potatoes; these are large potatoes, but not the monster size they serve at church dinners.  You need to scrub the potatoes well, but they don't need to be peeled.  (In canning, potatoes that will not be eaten as French fries must be peeled to remove all dirt.  Dirt is where we get botulism spores.  Botulism kills.  However, French fries will be fried at very high temperatures--350-400 degrees--for several minutes, creating conditions to render harmless any botulism toxin that may have developed.)  Cut the potatoes with your French fry cutter.  Follow instructions from your Ball Blue Book (you do have a copy, right?) but reduce the initial boiling time for the potatoes from ten minutes to three minutes.  Drain the potatoes and let cool until you can handle them comfortably.  Carefully stack the potatoes on their sides in a wide mouth quart jar, add one teaspoon salt per jar, and fill to within one inch of the rim of the jar with boiling water.  Process per instructions from your Ball Blue Book  and your pressure canner.

When it's lunchtime, open the jar and shake the fries out into a strainer.  Rinse and drain well to remove any excess starch.  Deep fry in peanut oil at 350-375 degrees until fries are golden brown.  The amount of time this takes is going to vary based on how many fries you put in the fryer and how large your fryer or pan is.  I usually cook 1/2 quart at a time.  (One more tip:  If we're in the middle of TEOTWAWKI and you are having to guess as to whether your oil is hot enough for frying yet, drop a few kernels of popcorn in the oil.  When the temperature hits 350 degrees, the popcorn will pop.)  Salt, eat, and prepare yourself to be showered with praises.

Related posts:
Hamburgers
Hamburger buns
Ketchup
Mayonnaise
Milk shake  
Tomatoes  

© 2019, PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com  04.19.20  11.06.21

Plastic Straw Mini Packages

Straws.  Remember what a great treat it was to be able to use a straw with your soda at a restaurant?  Because you hardly ever got to use one at home?  And how much fun you had blowing bubbles in your milk?  As a child, weren't straws just a thing of beauty?

Yeah, those same plastic straws being banned in Seattle and in cities throughout California and other oh-so-progressive locales.  If only we could be so cool here.  Alas, we are mere deplorables living in flyover country.  Sadly, we'll just have to console ourselves by coming up with creative uses for the suddenly much-maligned humble straw.  Embarrassingly, we aren't even recycling them.  How we can even dare to show our faces in public remains a mystery.

Actually, you can recycle your straws for this project, as long as they have been thoroughly washed and dried.  But we almost never go to restaurants and don't have jumbo straws here, so we had to purchase new ones.

Plastic straws are perfect tiny waterproof packages for a myriad of items that we like to keep in emergency evacuation bags, medical kits of all sizes, camping kits, etc.

So what exactly do we use plastic straws for?  Lots and lots of things! 

• Pills:  Generally in single doses.  I make an exception for chewable baby aspirin, because if someone is having a heart attack, you want a lot of it.  Right now!  Some pills can fit in regular straws; some require jumbos.  They're perfect for boo-boo kits, IFAKs, car kits, and advanced medical kits without having to carry whole bottles around. 
• Medicinal powders in medical kits:  Powders, like activated charcoal, can be very messy;  straws contain the mess better. I use jumbo straws for these.
• DIY single uses of creams:  Triple antibiotic and Benadryl and other creams (also toothpaste).  Sure, you can buy single uses of triple antibiotic and many creams, but not all.  So far I haven't been able to find single use packages of Benadryl cream, something I really like to carry in my kits.  And it can get a little pricey if you're building kits for a lot of people or if you only need one or two packages of items that are only sold in large quantities.  Small straws for these items. 
• Food:  yeast (the yeast sold in single packs in grocery stores often doesn't work for me, so I buy one-pound bags), powdered eggs, Parmesan cheese, dehydrated butter, spices, salt, sugar, pepper, etc.  Yes, you might get the little paper packages of these items, but they aren't waterproof and straws are. 
• Waterproof matches:  make sure the end you are sealing doesn't have the business end of the match.  Just sayin'.

So how do we do this?

First, get yourself some straws.  You shouldn't actually need that many, as you can get quite a few packages out of each straw.  My grocery store sells jumbo straws, but only colored ones.  Amazon has clear jumbo straws, but of course, they're more expensive.  Clear straws are nice, because you can easily see what's inside, but you're probably still going to have to label each straw anyway.  Colored straws just kinda look fun.  And if you actually remember what pills, powders, foods went into which color, you can find them more quickly.  For example, Benadryl, that little pink magic pill, always goes in a pink straw.  Aleve (naproxen sodium) is a little light blue pill, so it goes in a light blue straw.  You get the idea.

Then gather the rest of your supplies and items to put in the straws.

SUPPLIES NEEDED:

• straws
• pliers
• tea light or birthday candle
• matches
• ultra fine tip Sharpie
• something to work on, like a plate or a pie tin
• filler items
• medications and creams
• medical powders
• food items
• strike anywhere matches
• whatever you want to have

General directions:  Light candle.  Crimp straw closed in pliers with just the tiniest bit of straw hanging out.  Melt that end in the candle flame to  seal it. 

For dry items:  Seal the first end, fill, put pliers on filled end, cut to size, seal. 
For wet (cream) items:  Cut the straw, fill by squeezing the cream in, and seal ends.  Ends with liquid on them may take a few attempts to seal.

Caution:  Do not do this with hand sanitizer.  You know, alcohol.  You know, very flammable, as in, burn your fingers right off.

Links to related postsc:
Mini Sewing Kit in a Straw
Cotton Ball Fire Starters
Duct Tape Suture in a Straw  

© 2019, PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com   05.10.20

Usnea, Part 1

Disclaimer.  I am not a licensed health practitioner.  This is just another post on an item you might wish to have available if needed so that a physician can treat you and your family as best as possible.  No medication, including those available over the counter, should be taken without consulting a physician.  Information shared here is for educational and entertainment purposes only.  It is not medical advice nor a substitute for licensed medical care.  A qualified, licensed physician or other medical provider should be consulted before beginning any alternative or conventional treatment.

Some claim that Usnea, also known as old man's beard (among many other names) is "found everywhere."  It most definitely is not.  "Found everywhere" does not apply to deserts; indeed, Usnea favors moist environments, and it especially favors conifers.  If you spend a lot of time looking, you may find some in the desert, but if someone's life is depending on it, it's going to take a long time to find enough.  Usnea  does not grow in cities.  Which basically covers everywhere I grew up and where I live now, and probably where a lot of readers live.  But if you happen to live where there's a bit more humidity in the air, and there are some orchards or forests, and outside of the city, you might just find some right at or near home.  Otherwise you'll have to make a trip. 

For those of you who still have one last hurrah of camping season to enjoy before winter sets in, be on the look out for Usnea.  We gathered some ourselves earlier this month while camping at Lake Tahoe.  Tempting as it is to pick it off the trees, try only to it gather from downed branches or trees.  We really want to allow what's on the trees to continue growing.  The Usnea lichens aren't actually making the tree sick (so you're not doing the tree a favor by picking it off); they are a sign that the tree is already sick. Plucking Usnea off the tree just isn't socially acceptable (among herbalists, obviously; the rest of the world could care less) --kinda like picking your nose in public.  Of course, when gathering Usnea off the ground, don't pick up the stuff that's been all stepped on.   At any rate, it shouldn't take more than half an hour to gather a grocery sack full of it.  (Of course, it could take a lot longer--it all depends on the health of the trees in the area you're collecting.)  That's probably the amount that you want, especially if you had to make a special trip to obtain it.

Usnea barbata.  If this is what grows around you, you'll collect a lot very quickly.

This is Sugar Pine Point State Park in California, where we collected our Usnea. Yes, all that lichen growing on the tree on the left is Usnea.  It's not the barbata or longissima species, but it is definitely Usnea, and that is all that matters.   In fact, Stephen Buhner thinks the smaller tufted varieties exhibit a bit more medicinal strength. 

Why, actually, do we want this stuff as preppers?  I thought you'd never ask.

Usnea is actually a top natural antibiotic, and not in the sense that "Oh, well, if I run out of the leftover or fish antibiotics I stored, then this might work...," but in the sense that this is what many people, including doctors, are turning to as a means of eliminating bacterial infections. 

WOUND POWDER

First off, Usnea makes an excellent antibacterial wound powder.  Simply sprinkle the powder on top of your wound and then cover with a bandage.  That's it.  Seriously.

OK, a little more info then.  First off, you're probably going to want to be really sure you're actually getting the right stuff.  After all, there are like six hundred-ish  species of Usnea.  They're all good for medicine, really.  But some are nice and long, like the first picture, and some are small and tufted, like the lower picture.  Some are grayish-green (first picture), and some are yellow-green (second picture).  Apparently, you usually find only one kind and color of lichen on any given tree, but up at Bucks Lake this summer we found the longer gray-green and the shorter yellow-green varieties growing on the same trees.  So if you're comparing what you've gathered with pics here or online elsewhere, you've probably gotten the right stuff.

But just to be sure, because we are using this for medicine, take a few minutes, say ten to fifteen, and soak a little bit of your Usnea in some warm water.


Then separate out one strand and hold each end between your thumb and forefinger.  Now slowly stretch out the strand.  It should be a bit like elastic, and it should go back into shape when you release it.  If you stretch it so much that it snaps, you'll be able to see the inner white cortex, like a very fine white thread (OK, you should be able to see it if you don't need reading glasses yet).  Usnea does this; Spanish moss does not.  Usnea has a white cortex; Spanish moss has a black cortex.


To make your wound powder, place an ounce or so of Usnea (after removing other plant matter and debris) in a blender or coffee grinder and process until it is a powder.  If you look closely, you will see that you have a very fine green powder (the outer sheath) and fine white threads (the inner cortex).  Sift the Usnea through a fine mesh strainer to separate the powder from the cortex.  This fine green powder is what you want for treating wounds.  Don't throw the white threads away; they can be used for other medicine-making. (More on that in another post.)

You can either apply the powder directly to the wound and then cover it with a bandage; or you can put a layer of gauze down first.  In rare instances, Usnea may cause contact dermatitis.  If you experience any irritation, it's probably best to discontinue use immediately.  The dressing should be changed daily.  Within twenty-four hours you should see substantial improvement in the wound.

Package some of your Usnea in plastic straws to add to your medical kits.

Also, Usnea does not have to be made into a powder before applying it to a wound; the whole lichen can be applied directly.  It does, however, take up a lot more space that way.  Or you're banking on the idea that you will be able to find it when you need it. And that's something no self-respecting prepper would ever do.

Note.  Usnea, in addition to its attraction to bacteria, also has a certain affinity for heavy metals such as found in car exhaust.  So when collecting it, make sure you are at least 300 feet away from roads.  When we're trying to help someone who is ill or injured, it kinda defeats the purpose to expose the patient to heavy metals.  Just sayin'.

Links to related posts:
Usnea, Part 2
Usnea, Part 3
 

Expanded Food Storage: Introduction

By way of introducing this category of the blog, I'd like to share an experience with my son, KOTPE. In the spring of 2009, my sixteen-year-old son and CrOO (chief rototiller operating officer) was requested to double our garden plot to nearly ¼ acre.

He wasn’t exactly thrilled about that, but he recognized the need to prepare and learn. However, KOTPE insisted that if he was doing all this work, we had to plant a whole lot more corn and watermelon.

Deal!

It was a great year for the garden, and we were blessed with an overabundance of corn and watermelon (along with everything else). After having corn and watermelon with every single dinner for a few weeks, KOTPE began to object.

I was really surprised.

So I asked, “KOTPE, didn't you insist on planting more corn and watermelon?” KOTPE got that deer in the headlights look on his face. “What would you have done in my situation? If your hard-working children had insisted on more corn and watermelon—their favorites—would you have planted it?

“Yeah.”

“Would you have been really surprised when they got tired of eating it?”

“Yeah.”

It was an invaluable lesson for us all. Regardless of what our favorites are, we must have variety. Flavor fatigue really does happen, and that was at a time with lots of other food available, and without any outside stresses.

So this category of the blog will focus on fabulous food (storage) that everyone will be really happy to eat.

Basic Food Storage: Introduction

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been counseled for nearly 100 years to have on hand at least a year's supply of food, medicine, clothing, cooking fuel, and other basic commodities to sustain life.  When we hear the phrase "year's supply" at church, most people think only of the food and leave it at that.  When people begin their "year's supply," they begin with food.  And it's a good place to begin.  It takes a bit of time and money to build one's food storage, and food is something most of us eat every day.

I've been doing this for over 30 years now. I had my basic long-term year supply of food storage before I had a husband or car or (my own) home.  My husband did not come with food storage when we married. (Well, he asked if I really wanted what was in his parents' crawl space.  I was a little creeped out by the idea of eating food that had been stored under the house.  For years.  With the spiders.)

From the date of our marriage we started to ramp up our storehouse of supplies.  We used wedding gift money to purchase long-term food storage items like wheat, rice, oats, and beans.  And not only did we have to obtain lots of food, but we also had to continue building up a supply of insulin and all related medical supplies.  About two years after our marriage, my husband started working at a local hospital and began acquiring other medical supplies.  I worked on diversifying our food supply.  And while we maintained a good supply of food, we didn't always rotate well (not recommended).  But we rarely had to toss anything.  As sometimes happens, especially with a young family, we took a snooze for a few years, really good years.  My husband's career was going well, I supplemented with writing, and we had three children.  Life was really good.

Then September 11 happened.  That was a bit of a wake-up call, to say the least.  Food storage became a bit less of going through the motions of following wise counsel, and a bit more of recognizing that the time may come when this food actually does sustain our lives.  And without getting political, our society continues getting crazier by the day.  Food storage and medicine, and really everything our family, any family, needs to survive is no longer theoretical.  Scriptural prophecies warn us that difficult times are coming.  Even a cursory study of history echoes this.  We have to be prepared.

The posts in the Basic Food Storage category will be aimed at developing an understanding of why, how, and where these particular items are stored, and how to use them in a way that will make everyone's tummies happy.


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