Traditional Remedies in prolonged SHTF

[Lupinus]

So watching a show recently about some traditional/old remedies I got to thinking they would make for good SHTF/TEOTWAWKI use, as they are natural and in some cases pretty darned easy to come by.

Thing's like using maggots to remove dead flesh from a bad wound. Not only is it a very old technique it is one modern doctors are actually revisiting with great success. And others like leaches to increase blood flow to a damaged limb. Again a very old technique and one modern doctors are again using. In one case a man had his fingers replaced through surgery and leaches were used, they removed the old blood and caused new blood to flow into the area until the body could grow new vessels.

Also many herbs and plants have proved very good remedies for a number of things throughout the centuries.

Any thoughts on using more "traditional" remedies in prolonged SHTF situations when more traditional remedies might not be available? And learning what plants with good medicinal properties are in your area or that you can easily grow?

 

[NMshooter]

Honey.

Seems to work similar to antibiotic gel when placed on wounds.

I have tested this myself, on a knife cut, and it healed quicker than normal.

Tastes pretty good too.

 

[Lupinus]

interesting

good quick energy booster too lol

I know antibiotics and stuff are preferable but I am speaking in terms of prolonged SHTF, or you wind up stuck in the woods (plane crash, boating accident, use your imagination) and either didn't have enough supplies or they ran out.

I think knowing what natural remidies you could tap into as a substitute would be a good thing to learn.

And if you have smoke and big cookies you can even get your own honey lol

 

[RyanM]

Honey is actually better than most topical antibiotics. It's especially good for rashes, burns, scrapes, blisters, and other injuries that damage a relatively large but shallow area of skin. It contains just enough hydrogen peroxide to kill most harmful bacteria (while the harmless bacteria on your skin are immune to it), and the sugar and other nutrients help with regrowing skin.

Sphagum moss is a natural source of iodine, and can be used as a wound dressing if necessary.

Tannins make a good poultice for pretty much anything from bug bites to hemmorhoids. Tannins are found in oak and some other tree barks, and in tea. You can get the tannins out by boiling the bark or tea for a few hours, then let the "tea" cool and soak a cloth in it to use as a poultice. Tannins are why tea tastes bitter if you steep it too long. Drinking a small amount of tannin "tea" will also stop diarrhea, but can cause kidney problems. Eating white clay or wood ashes are also supposed to help. A foot soak with tannins is good for getting rid of stinky feet. Basically, tannins are good for just about anything external.

 

[Lupinus]

Wine also had tannins, grape skins have a very large amount.

Though Im sure a lot of people have better thingsi n mind for wine then cuts and stinky feet lol

 

[Dionysusigma]

Take Zippo fluid/denatured alcohol/similar flammable liquid, a spent medium-caliber rifle case (.308, 7.62x54R, 7.92x57, etc.), and a cigarette paper/ bit of non-polymer cloth measuring .5" x 2"--fill casing with liquid, insert paper/cloth, let it sit for a moment or two, and light the tip. Viola! A wind-resistant candle that lasts for 30min or until you accidentally tip it over

Either that, or light a Frito. That works too (but only for ~1min).






What?

 

[kahr404life]

If your talking about external bleeding don't forget hot steel. Take the steel and heat it up untill its very hot. Place the steel on the external wound, the blood and skin will char stopping the blood flow. Rinse off with cool water and you are good to go (I saw it in a movie ). All jokes aside this is a good thread.

 

[justashooter]

...others like leaches to increase blood flow to a damaged limb. Again a very old technique and one modern doctors are again using. In one case a man had his fingers replaced through surgery and leaches were used, they removed the old blood and caused new blood to flow into the area until the body could grow new vessels.

actually, it's just the removal of blood that is required. arteries are larger than veins, and more easily reconnected after a severing. veins tend to reconnect spontaneously if given enough time. ask me how i know.

 

[Koobuh]

Herbal medicine is a good place to start

And no, not those 'herbs'.

A lot of your capability depends on where you live in the world. Availability of plant life varies significantly even inside a particular region (elevation, habitat type, etc.). Thus, knowing what a medicinal or useful plant looks like, where it grows, and even if it is available/useable at that time of year will consume most of your effort in this regard.
That said, there are a few basic usages that are widely available and easy to prepare.

Mints and Catnip- taken as a weak tea, will help with stomach upset and help calm a person.
Stinging nettle- taken as a weak tea, will reduce diarrhea symptoms (just don't take too much, or brew it too strong- getting plugged up is another problem).
Plaintain (land lily-pads)- crushed and moistened with warm water, will help with hemorrhoidal swelling, and is useful as a wound dressing.
Sphagnum moss- can be used as a wound dressing without addition. (already mentioned)
Birch-bark- a strong tea will help with most varieties of pain; it contains the basic ingredient of aspirin.
Herbal medicine is potentially dangerous, as is foraging for wild plants to eat, as many useful plants are similar or related to poisonous ones. A thorough and THOROUGHLY READ (by you, of course!) illustrated guide book will help protect your safety and that of others.
This stuff can be useful in everyday life as well- for example, keeping an herb garden is a good way to not only have fresh cooking ingredients, but to have a remedy available for simple problems. This is a type of country wisdom that has largely been lost these days.

Also:
Vinegar- applied to a mouth sore, it will sear the opening. Just don't get it on your teeth.
Lacking a fire or an iron, a freshly fired brass casing of rifle caliber should be sufficient to cauterize a wound.

 

[RyanM]

Oh, for mouth sores, the best remedy I've found so far is plain old table salt. Stick your finger in some salt and get a layer of salt stuck to your fingertip, stick the finger on the sore, and hold it there until you can't take the pain anymore. Wash, rinse, repeat. Usually, the sore is much smaller by the next day, and completely gone by the day after that.

 

[72Rover]

Herbal remedies

The spores of puffball species (Lycopodium, IIRC) of mushrooms have styptic properties. Just be sure you can identify friend from foe....

Years ago, I was attending my best friend's outdoor wedding. That morning, I had cut myself shaving, and during the ceremony, I absent-mindidly scratched the scab and started bleeding again. Not having *anything* absorbent, I looked down to find a puffball growning out of the lawn under my chair. (Figured *maybe* the mushroom flesh might work like the dried spores.) Much to the amazement of the guy in the next seat, I plucked it, sliced it in half with the Swiss army knife and applied it to the cut. Instant styptic....

 

[Lupinus]

actually, it's just the removal of blood that is required. arteries are larger than veins, and more easily reconnected after a severing. veins tend to reconnect spontaneously if given enough time. ask me how i know.

Uhm...viens and arteries s are not defiend by size but purpose in the circulatory system. Arteries carry oxygen saturated blood from the heart. Veins carry blood which has released the oxygen and collected waste gases like CO2 back to the heart and lungs.

It has nada to do with size.

 

[RyanM]

He meant that arteries are larger than veins. Not that being bigger makes an artery an artery, but that arteries are, in general, bigger than veins. In the extremities they are, at least. They also have much thicker walls, which makes suturing easier.

 

[justashooter]

He meant that arteries are larger than veins. Not that being bigger makes an artery an artery, but that arteries are, in general, bigger than veins. In the extremities they are, at least. They also have much thicker walls, which makes suturing easier.

sure enough. doc sewed back all he could find, but told me was gonna turn black and fall off anyway.
took 6 months for my, ahem, extremeties, to return to normal color.

 

[Lupinus]

ok fair enough I misunderstood then, my apologies.

Point is leeches speed up the process and can make for a better recovery.

 

[mr_dove]

I have a book called "the US army survival handbook"

it details:
1. the maggot treatment for infections
2. drinking ground chalk, charcoal, or dried bones for diarrhea
3. eating tobacco or kerosene for intestinal parasite

there's probably much more but I'm not all the way through it yet.

 

[Lupinus]

I have that too but when I moved it got misplaced. It is around here somewhere just havnt been able to find it.

 

[Smuggs]

Natural medicine is often quite effective, The problem is that many of the usefull plants are touchy about preperation and dosage. Take care to ID the material and to know the proper dosages

 

[William P.]

I have a book called "the US army survival handbook"

3. eating tobacco or kerosene for intestinal parasite

If you do this don't plan on being very mobile for a while. You will be sick as all get out. And I mean SICK. But then again you were already sick.
These are remedies that make you feel much worse before you feel any better.

Not really natural but I always keep a good supply of super-glue around me. Probably the best thing in the world for closing smaller wounds when stitches aren't available.

-Will

 

[goon]

For the record, the salt on the mouth blister thing works. It is also known as "the test of manhood" in our household. It is literally enough to make a grown man cry.

 

[stevelyn]

The US Army Special Forces Medical Handbook is a handy item to keep around and study from time to time.
Don't overlook veterinary grade medications such as antibiotics.

 

[scotjute]

Prickly pear ...

can be applied as a type of poultice. Also can be eaten both the pears and the pads (tender ones). Its usually easy to raise (or find here in Texas).
Aloe-Vera is also good for certain skin infections. Easy to raise.
I've also gotten Agave (blue type I think) to grow here near Waco. Not sure if it has medicinal value, but the heart can be cooked and eaten or used to make mescal (refined to make Tequila).

 

[c_yeager]

Make sure that the remedies are specific to your geography as availibility is a very relative term. Honey is really darn easy to find in the grocery store (its a couple isles over from the bactine) but if you dont have any honey bees in your area dont count on it being all that "available".

 

[Lupinus]

and even if there are bees if you dont have a bee suit dont plan on it being easy to get.

Good thing about honey though is it doesnt go bad so you can buy it and not have to worry about it spoiling....kinda like yoho till its opened, that doesn't spoil either till its opened