Survival and Austere Medicine, 3rd Edition

Survival and Austere Medicine, 3rd Edition, is written by the Remote, Austere, and Third World Medicine Discussion Board Moderators, who are not named, but include a veterinarian, emergency room physician, family physician, surgical physician assistant, nurse, and biomedical engineer.  They've got experience with the military and NGOs in pre-hospital, remote, austere and third-world conditions, such as a prepper in a societal collapse or civil war might expect to encounter.  Their belief and approach is that intelligent lay people with basic medical knowledge, skills, and equipment can be trained to delivery high quality medical care for 80-90% of health problems.

Are you skeptical?

On the first page of the first chapter is a list of the twenty most common reasons patients came to see one physician, representing about 95% of his consultations:

• sprains and minor fractures
• colds and fever
• minor wounds, some infected, most needing only to be cleaned, a few needing suturing
• vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, including appendicitis (which if found early can be treated with antibiotics)
• allergic reactions and rashes
• asthma
• ear infections
• urinary tract infections
• burns
• dental problems
• skin infections
• chest infections and chest pain
• fainting
• mental health problems
• STDs
• early pregnancy problems

With training, references, and adequate supplies, most of these conditions are very manageable for an intelligent layperson.  How many people in Venezuela right now would love to be able to care for their loved ones themselves instead of trying to find a doctor or hospital to help?  In the socialist paradise our politicians are creating for us, we'd better be prepared.

The top twelve list of prescribed drugs:

• acetaminophen (Tylenol)
• OTC antihistamines
• OTC anti-inflammatories
• oral contraceptives
• flucloxacillin (antibiotic)
• throat lozenges
• augmentin (antibiotic)
• loperamide (OTC anti-diarrheal)
• nystatin (and other antifungals)
• hydrocortisone cream
• inhalers
• morphine

Yeah, the morphine is a bit beyond our reach in this country, but everything else we can manage.  Antibiotics can be purchased from overseas pharmacies.  Local ranch and feed stores sometimes carry fish antibiotics or you can buy them online.  Interestingly, they happen to be in the same dosages and many look exactly like the same stuff the local pharmacy gives you.  The federal government is gradually tightening loopholes, so this option may not be around forever.  (Alton's Antibiotics and Infectious Disease is a great resource for learning more about this option.)  Most of the off-grid medicine books will have clear information on exact antibiotics and dosages to treat diseases.

So that's their premise--an intelligent layperson with training, skills, and knowledge (and supplies!) can manage an awful lot of common conditions, conditions which might even be life-threatening.

One of the best things about this book is that it's free to download (click here to download).  Of course, if you want a hard copy (which I highly recommend), you'll have to pay for your printing and binding costs, and that could run $20-30. 

Now, I understand that many readers already have an off-grid medicine book, or even two.  Money and shelf space for another book, and a substantial one at that--it's 614 pages on 8.5x11" paper--are limited for a lot of us.  Is acquiring this book really necessary?

I believe it is.

As I research topics to be posted here, I consult numerous books and online resources.  And I shouldn't be surprised, but constantly am (someday I'll learn!), that some conditions are not covered by one or another.  It is never one book that is lacking everything or one book that has everything.  One might barely touch on an illness, while another goes into great depth, or at least as much depth as a layperson in TEOTWAWKI needs.  So having a few resources is a really good idea.

One great advantage of this compilation over others dealing with medicine post-collapse is that these authors have actually practiced medicine off-grid and in remote areas, in stark contrast to others whose practice has been limited to their homes and offices and hospitals.  Much more so than other physician-authors, they have had to improvise treatments when the usual supplies were not available and/or when higher care would have to be delayed.  Kinda like what we may face post-collapse.

The extremely detailed table of contents, fifteen pages long, will get you to your topic of concern quickly.  The fact that one of the authors is a veterinarian is useful adjunct to other medical texts because you're getting some advice for treating pets and livestock as well. There's a chapter on medicinal herbs and various preparations.  Throughout the book, the authors encourage you to ponder the ethical questions of triage--who gets treated, especially when supplies are limited.  That really needs to be determined now, and not when there's a crisis and it's harder to think.

There are a lot of topics addressed in here that I haven't seen elsewhere:

• pre-term delivery
• administering capsules and tablets to an unconscious patient
• peritonsillar abscess
• pancreatitis
• sugar for infected wounds
• maggot therapy for wounds
• malnutrition and treatment for deficiencies
• performing an appendectomy
• performing a Caesarean section
• ectopic pregnancy removal
• skin excisions and lumpectomies
• surgical instrument acquisition and quality

 It's a great reference, full of information not included in other off-grid medicine books, and it's free.  What's not to love?

Want your own copy?  Click here for the free download.

Links to related posts:
Armageddon Medicine  
Alton's Antibiotics   
OTC Pain Relievers