Putting a Priority on Health and Medical Preparedness

Gaye Levy, Contributor
Activist Post

A little over a year ago, I wrote about the importance of good health and good physical fitness to long term survival.  After huffing and puffing during a recent hike, I realized that the time had come to reassess my personal health and fitness goals and to bone up on personal medical preparedness.

Somewhat egging me on was a recent reminder from Dr. Bones (aka Dr. Bones at the Doom and Bloom Nation and co-author with Nurse Amy of The Doom and Bloom Survival Medicine Handbook), that this is one area of survival prepping that tends to fall to the bottom of the priority list.

But surely, we are remiss if we overlook the positive aspects good health and both physical and mental fitness during times of stress. I don’t know about you, but for me the ultimate stress would be a major natural or man-made catastrophe.

Think about it. You might have six months of food, six months of water, a sustainable food garden, a fully stocked first aid kit, tools, supplies and generators that would allow you to live off the grid if the SHTF.  But what if you had to flee? What if you had to grab your boots, bags and backpacks and really get the heck out of dodge? Could you make it? How far could you walk in dangerous weather conditions or uncertain terrain? And the stress. Could you cope?

The Personal Fitness Inventory

These are all important questions that might be answered by taking a personal health and fitness inventory by asking the following questions:

Health:  What the state of your general health?  Do you take a lot of prescription drugs?  Is your weight in proportion to your height?  Do you check your blood pressure regularly and do you see a dentist at least once a year for a general checkup and cleaning?

Fitness:  Do you exercise regularly?  How far can you walk briskly without getting winded?

Mental Balance:  Are you happy?  Can you cope with the stresses of daily life?  Do you consider yourself mentally “balanced”?

It is my belief that these three survival tools (health, fitness and mental balance) work together so that improvement in one area should help the other two.  Want some recommendations?

1. If you are overweight or have a curable health condition, what are you waiting for? Now is the time to start that diet, fix that bum knee, and yes, get those teeth taken care of. Stock up on some supplements (a multivitamin, calcium, magnesium, fish oil) and don’t forget to take them. Even if you don’t have health insurance, shop around for some low cost clinics and make the investment in your health.
2. I believe that the best piece of fitness equipment is what nature gave us, our own two feet. That means that with comfortable clothes, some hiking shoes or sneakers and the will to move, we can get in shape pronto. All that is required is a bit of time, some place to go, and if you are so inclined, an mp3 player with music or an audio book.
3. Mental balance is a toughie because what works for one, may not work for someone else. The Mayo Clinic says that the effects of stress on the body include:

Headache
Back pain
Chest pain
Heart disease
Heart palpitations
High blood pressure
Decreased immunity
Stomach upset
Sleep problems

Evaluate the stresses in your life and work on the one or two items over which you have some control.  For example, if the clutter in your home is driving you nuts, take an hour a day for the next week to de-clutter your living space.  When that it done, tackle the next item.  The key is to set aside and forget about those items you cannot control – you will only frustrate yourself and set yourself up for failure.

It always surprises me how great a difference even the smallest change can make to one’s well-being.

Without being overly simplistic, working on these three aspects of health preparedness will go a long way toward seeing us through a disaster, a personal or economic crises or even when the SHTF.  But there is more to it than simply good health. 

Medical Preparedness – An Open Letter to Preppers

Remember I mentioned Dr. Bones?  Well Dr. Bones  (who along with Nurse Amy are, in my opinion, the go-to source for learning the skills needed to get through almost every emergency medical situation) has provided me with an Open Letter to Preppers regarding the importance of medical preparedness.  (And not to worry, I will give you a link so you can download a copy to share with your family, neighbors and friends).

Hey Prepper Nation,

After gathering food and building a shelter, many people in the preparedness community consider personal and home defense to be the next priority in the event of a societal collapse.  Certainly, defending oneself is important, but have you thought about defending your health?

In a situation where power might be down and normal methods of filtering water and cleaning food don’t exist, your health is as much under attack as the survivors in the latest zombie apocalypse movie.  Infectious diseases will be rampant in a situation where it will be a challenge to maintain sanitary conditions.  Simple chores, such as chopping wood, commonly lead to cuts that could get infected. These minor issues, so easily treated by modern medical science, can easily become life-threatening if left untreated in a collapse scenario.

Don’t you owe it to yourself and your family to devote some time and effort to obtain medical knowledge and supplies?  The difficulties involved in a grid-down situation will surely put you at risk for sickness or injury. It’s important to seek education so that you can treat infectious disease and the other ailments that we’ll see.  There will likely be a lot more diarrheal disease than gunfights at the OK corral.  History teaches us that, in the Civil War, there were a lot more deaths from dysentery than there were from bullets. 

Some say ‘Beans, Bullets and Band-Aids’, but I say ‘Beans and Band-Aids, then Bullets’.  I suppose, as a physician, that’s not too surprising.

If you make the commitment to learn how to treat medical issues and to store medical supplies, you’re taking a genuine first step towards assuring your family’s survival in dark times.  The medical supplies will always be there if the unforeseen happens, and the knowledge you gain will be there for the rest of your life.  Many medical supplies have long shelf lives; Their longevity will one of the factors that will give you confidence when moving forward.

It’s important to know some illnesses will be difficult to treat if modern medical facilities aren’t available.  It will be hard to do much about those clogged coronary arteries; there won’t be many cardiac bypasses performed.  However, by eating healthily and getting good nutrition, you will give yourself the best chance to minimize some major medical issues.  In a collapse situation, an ounce of prevention is worth, not a pound, but a ton of cure.  Start off healthy and you’ll have the best chance to stay healthy.

When I say to obtain medical knowledge, I am also encouraging you to learn about natural remedies and alternative therapies that may have some benefit for your particular medical problem.  Essential oils, herbal remedies, and other time-honored methods of healing should not be overlooked as you put together your medical supplies.  I cannot vouch for the effectiveness of every claim that one thing or another will cure what ails you; suffice it to say,  that our family has an extensive medicinal garden and that it might be a good idea for your family to have one, also.  Many herbs that have medicinal properties grow like weeds, so a green thumb is not required to grow them.  Many of them do not even require full sun to thrive.  Even the White House garden has a collection of these beneficial plants.

I’m not asking you to do anything that your great-grandparents didn’t do as part of their strategy to succeed in life.  In a collapse situation we’ll be thrown back, in a way, to that era.  We should learn some lessons from the methods they used to stay healthy.  Those homespun skills will give you a head start to being an effective medic for your family.

The non-prepper members of my family wonder why I spend all my time trying to prepare people medically for a collapse situation.  They tell me that I can’t turn everyone into doctors, so why I should try?   Am I trying to turn you all into doctors?  No, there’s too much to learn in one lifetime; even as a physician, I often come across things I’m not sure about.  That’s what medical books are for, so make sure that you put together a library. You can refer to them when you need to, just as I do. 

I AM trying to turn you into something, however: I’m trying to make you a better medical asset to your family and/or survival community than you were before.  If you can learn how to treat common illnesses and injuries in times of trouble, I will have succeeded in my mission.
Dr. Bones

Good advice and a reminder to all of us that our work is never done.  We must continue to educate ourselves and continue to acquire skills so that we can truly be an asset rather than a burden to our survival community.  And to that end, here is a download link so you can share this message: Medical Preparedness: An Open Letter to Preppers and their Families and Friends.

The Final Word

Surviving the unthinkable is something I hope we will never have to do. But if the worst happens, I want to be in top shape both mentally and physically. This is not rocket science. It is simply a commonsense solution to some universal problems we Americans have when it comes to taking care of ourselves.

Read other articles by Gaye Levy here.

Enjoy your next adventure through common sense and thoughtful preparation!

Gaye Levy, the SurvivalWoman, grew up and attended school in the Greater Seattle area. After spending many years as an executive in the software industry, she started a specialized accounting practice offering contract CFO work to emerging high tech and service industries. She has now abandoned city life and moved to a serenely beautiful rural area on an island in NW Washington State. She lives and teaches the principles of a sustainable, self-reliant and stylish lifestyle through emergency preparation and disaster planning through her website at BackdoorSurvival.com. SurvivalWoman speaks her mind and delivers her message with optimism and grace, regardless of mayhem swirling around us.