That was one of the gems that Dr. Steve shared in his off-grid medicine course. It's something taught to all students in medical school. And what is means is this: Common things happen commonly. The child in the waiting room is more likely to have an ear infection than appendicitis. The young adult is more likely to have type-2 diabetes than a gunshot.
We naturally gravitate toward the sensationalized rather the common. If we decide to learn something new, it has to be something cool, different, unique. Quick and easy would be really good, too. Macho survivalists want to learn how to DIY an appendectomy on themselves, sans anesthesia. But learning to satisfy the essentials of good nutrition to stay healthy in the first place? Leave that to the grannies. They want to be able to stitch up that GSW or finish off an amputation or place a tourniquet (and argue about which tourniquet is best). They want to be able to treat the rare injuries, the zebras, that likely aren't even once in a lifetime or once in a family's lifetime, but can't manage the common problems (the horses). They don't know which OTC meds are best for which conditions or when to suture and which wounds must be left open.
Spending money on stuff is easier than learning a new skill. The acquisition of that box of ammo, bottle of fish antibiotics, or solar rechargeable penlight provides an immediate reward of having accomplished something. And with online shopping, you receive that reward twice--once when you purchase, and again when it arrives.
Learning a new skill takes time. It's not glamorous or sensational. On top of that, the macho guys are even ridiculing your choices, which makes it harder. They're sure the hoof beats coming are zebras, and it's silly to waste time preparing for horses, mules, or donkeys. So you just have to put your head down and plow on.
Which brings us back to the problem with zebras. For a very long time the US, figuratively, has been a nation of horses treated by horse doctors, horse doctors that have been trained to treat only horses. Not zebras. Even though zebras bear some physical resemblance, there are significant differences. Because the zebras carry some vastly different diseases. And those diseases have symptoms and presentations that are quite similar to those for horses, but the treatments may be totally different. The horse doctors might have read about these zebra diseases, but they have never seen them. Most American doctors have never seen even one case of the following:
- diphtheria
- tetanus
- rabies
- scabies
- mumps
- German measles
- cholera
- yellow fever
- typhus
- tularemia
- plague
- anthrax
- botulism
- measles (though this is changing with increasing numbers of people who are not immunized)
When American doctors hear hoof beats, they think horses. Scabies gets diagnosed as psoriasis. Improperly diagnosed rabies patients are given steroids for pain and sent home. Is it influenza, or anthrax? The symptoms are very similar. What about plague or tularemia? Even with experience, these can be hard to differentiate. Without experience? You probably don't want to go there.
Unfortunately, many of those hoof beats in the distance are in fact coming from zebras. Most physicians in US have never seen the actual zebras making a comeback and crossing our borders. Measles is only the beginning. Lots of other communicable diseases are on their way. We currently have the problem of physicians unable to identify more exotic diseases now, while the technology is available to help them. What happens when our society collapses? They will not have their technology to help them diagnose anything.
Now, there are a few horse doctors who hear the hoof beats of zebras in the distance. Some of them teach off-grid medicine to preppers. Some write books or blogs. No one physician covers everything, so it's best to acquire at least two or three different sources--hard copies. Make sure you're prepared to deal with the ailments common to horses. That's what you'll see the most of. But it would also be wise to have the means of dealing with communicable diseases, parasites, and infectious diseases of third world countries, as well as bioweapons. Zebras can be heard in the distance.
Links to related posts:
Cholera
Rabies
Scabies
Tularemia
Typhus
Armageddon Medicine
Survival and Austere Medicine, 3rd Edition
The Survival Medicine Handbook
For further reading:
https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900041016/utahn-dies-from-rabies-a-first-since-1944.html
https://www.healthline.com/health/psoriasis/psoriasis-vs-scabies
© 2019, PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com 04.23.24
