apocalypse/crisis/survival/preparation Options

[FORSAKENR320]

i am curious, how many of you share some level of paranoia about anything? doesn't matter what it might be that you fear, but what steps have you taken to protect yourself in the event of your fear happening? i'm not talking about zombies, or something laughable, i mean something real. tornado plan? those near the south, hurricanes, floods, etc?


(i ask because i saw a news article on yahoo, that was talking about how people are "preparing" more, as a whole, globally)

[Seeker]

N/A

[FORSAKENR320]

you know, i find those survival kits and "first aid kits" to be the most over priced pieces of crap ever. my personal first aid kit cost me about $30 to make myself, but it's got more stuff in it than the $89 first aid kit does.

a little tip:: buy a box of unscented heavy flow maxi pads to put in your medical kits. they work just as well as those "blood stoppers" they have in those over priced trama kits.

also, buy a small box of Pectin. they sell it at walmart in the section where you buy/make perservatives. (about $2 for a box) it's the jelling compound thats in jello. sprinkle this liberally on the wound, and it will jell the blood to stop the bleeding. add the maxi pad to the top, and using a large gauze bandage, TIGHTLY wrap a rock, block of wood, tightly rolled sock, or ball of ducttape directly over the wound. this acts as leverage to keep tight pressure on the wound. if the wound is bad enough to require this in order to get the person to a safe place, additional proceedures will need to be taken. the pectin is easily cleaned out of the wound with the wound solution i mentioned earlier, then you can stitch/ superglue the wound shut. i f it is a puncture wound (like a gun shot or stab wound) these have to be treated differently, though the very first step is the same. STOP THE BLEEDING.

another tip:: if you apply a gauze wrap, and it gets soaked through, add another layer. do NOT remove the soaked layer, this removes the clotting of the blood thats already taken place, and you have to "start over"

i don't know the whole process on treating a gunshot wound, but a stab wound i do know. the first step will be controlling the bleeding. do the steps as above (the Pectin also keeps the wound from sucking in air, which can cause complications) once you are safe, the wound will need to be deep cleansed. this is painful, but it involves spraying out the entire wound forcefully with wound solution. do not use plain water, as it will cause infection. (a sqeeze bottle with a straw, for instance) you can't stitch a puncture wound, and they will need to breath as much as possible. the reason being that the scab will form, and it will be the primary sealing method of the puncture wound (it forms directly to the shape of the wound, etc. a bandage or bandaid is essentially replacing the scab when you apply it) as you move, the scab cracks, causing more leaking, needing direct air to clot and seal it (this is why you don't move victims as much as possible) so you will need to loosely apply sterile gauze to keep the wound clean. if you have iodine, regularly treat and wash the wound and area surrounding it with the iodine to keep out infection. other than that, unless you have advanced medical knowledge, there is not much more you can do. the body takes care of it's self. keeping infection from happening is really the only thing. of course, if the puncture wound is a clean, straight, knife cut, that is gaping open, stitching will definately be required. you should use a Surgeons knot

http://www.troop7.org/Knots/Surgeon.html

there is a continuous surgeons knot that i know for wounds requiring more than 1 stitch, but it's harder to learn, especially if you don't have the 1st one memorized. avoiding infection is usually as easy as applying antibiotics directly to the wound before closing, redness and puffyness is normal. keep the wound covered and dry for at least 48 hours, apply cleansing and antibiotics twice a day.


wow, i just realised i went on a tangent hardcore, and i'm not even sure if what i typed is all completely coherant in the proper steps...

This post has been edited by Psykopath: Jun 15 2009, 04:32 PM

Reason for edit: Requested removal of mask ad by Seeker.