Before I even start, I have to say that you must talk with your doctor and find out whether your use of any of the products mentioned in this post, or indeed anywhere on this site, is appropriate for you. All statements are only personal opinion, and have not been approved by any authority or agency or anyone else whatsoever. And read our disclaimer statement.

Additionally, some people are allergic to honey. You must never use honey if you are allergic to it, or put it on anyone who is allergic to it. You could initiate an anaphylactic reaction that could be life threatening.

(Read Part One)
(Read Part Two)
(Read Addendum)

I’d like to share some of my experiences with using honey for wound care on myself. They are personal, and may not be applicable in any given situation to any other person. But perhaps they will be interesting to read as entertainment. This post is long, but it’s something I cannot break into parts. Please bear with me and read it all the way through, or please do not even start reading it.

First, how effective is honey? A study reported in the Annals of Burns and Fire Disasters
“shows that in burn wounds infected by multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, honey may be useful for controlling infection.” That is a double-tough situation, and to me it is indicative of what honey can do for a wound.
(more…)

Before I even start, I have to say that you must talk with your doctor and find out whether your use of any of the products mentioned in this post, or indeed anywhere on this site, is appropriate for you. All statements are only personal opinion, and have not been approved by any authority or agency or anyone else whatsoever. And read our disclaimer statement.

Additionally, some people are allergic to honey. You must never use honey if you are allergic to it, or put it on anyone who is allergic to it. You could initiate an anaphylactic reaction that could be life threatening.

(Read Part One)
(Read Part Three)
(Read Addendum)

After researching the kind of honey used for treatment of wounds, I found that most sources said that local honey was best. That makes sense to me, because perhaps the more local it is, the better suited it is for the disease-causing organisms of a particular area. We get an organic, raw, unfiltered honey produced within 15 miles of our house, when it is available. When it is not available, I get one made about 50 miles away. I ‘feel’ that the more local honey does better, but I have no solid proof of that. Both of them have been effective when I’ve used them, so maybe there is no difference.
(more…)

Before I even start, I have to say that you must talk with your doctor and find out whether your use of any of the products mentioned in this post, or indeed anywhere on this site, is appropriate for you. All statements are only personal opinion, and have not been approved by any authority or agency or anyone else whatsoever. And read our disclaimer statement.

Additionally, some people are allergic to honey. You must never use honey if you are allergic to it, or put it on anyone who is allergic to it. You could initiate an anaphylactic reaction that could be life threatening.

(Read Part Two)
(Read Part Three)
(Read Addendum)

I’m not allergic to honey. I do not know anyone who is allergic to honey. So I use it on wounds.

If your mouth dropped open just now, you are in good company. Mine did that when I first read about using honey on wounds. I was looking through my copy of the best wilderness emergency first aid book ever written, A Comprehensive Guide to Wilderness & Travel Medicine, by Eric A. Weiss, M.D. when I saw that he recommended honey for first aid treatment of open wounds. Frankly, I didn’t believe it. I said to myself, okay, he gives very wise information on just about everything he writes about, so he’s entitled to one clunker. (more…)

It seems as though a person could just sit down at their computer, spend a few hours looking at different websites  and gaining knowledge about emergency preparedness, and then order a bunch of stuff and then they’d be done and ready and prepared.

But it doesn’t work that way. There are levels of knowledge, each deeper and wider than the next. I don’t know anyone who has all the knowledge. And I’ve known some very competent people.

So you can’t wait until you have all the information and techniques and insider secrets that takes years to learn. You have to start preparing now, with the knowledge you have. You will make mistakes. You will get some things that you will shake your head at someday and wonder how you could have thought that was a good idea. (more…)

Before I even start, I have to say you must talk with your doctor and find out whether your use of any of the products mentioned in this post, or indeed anywhere on this site, is appropriate for you. All statements are only personal opinion, and have not been approved by any authority or agency or anyone else whatsoever. And read our disclaimer statement.

And truly, a person must also learn the proper technique before using any of the products mentioned, or they may do more harm than good.

That said, I’d like to talk about a very difficult subject. Burns. If you get queasy thinking about medical problems, please stop reading now.

Burns can be life-threatening, even when they affect a relatively small portion of the body. A person can go into shock from any degree of burn. The more severe a burn, the higher the likelihood of shock, and the greater the chance a person can die from it. (more…)

Even with all the gyrations of the stock market, most people in the United States do not think it is time yet to start preparing for a future emergency event. Things are bound to start looking up. It’ll all blow over.

Most visitors to this site don’t think it’s time, either. And this group is way ahead of the curve, because they’re at least reading about possibilities. But when it comes to actually starting to store things… well, it’s expensive, it’s a bother, things may not go that far downhill… there are a thousand reasons not to do it.

I recently came across the most eloquent reason for doing it now. It is impossible to argue with.
(more…)

That is the current headline on MarketWatch.com, which I’ve been looking at during the last fifteen minutes or so of stock trading each day.

I must shamefully admit that it is somewhat of a guilty thrill, a schadenfreude. It’s sort of like watching a collision spectacle such as the ones that happen on California’s central valley freeways when the thick, impenetrable fog huddles in the low spots along the road. A single accident turns into a 100 car pile-up.

Frankly, it’s exciting. If you are early on the scene, you can sometimes see cars still coming on at 70 or 80 miles an hour through the fog at the last moment before they crash into the ones that (more…)

In the previous post, I mentioned the U.S. naval blockade of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 that almost led to nuclear war. Did you know there is a bill in Congress right now that includes the following language:

Congress… demands that the President initiate an international effort to immediately and dramatically increase the economic, political, and diplomatic pressure on Iran to verifiably suspend its nuclear enrichment activities by, inter alia, prohibiting the export to Iran of all refined petroleum products; imposing stringent inspection requirements on all persons, vehicles, ships, planes, trains, and cargo entering or departing Iran….
(Underlining is mine for emphasis. For the full text of the legislation, here is a link to the Library of Congress website.)

Most people who have read this language, including international law attorneys, understand it to mean that it authorizes a naval blockade of Iran. (more…)

FEY
Etymology:
Similar to Old English fah, meaning ‘hostile’, and Old High German feigi, meaning ‘doomed’.

Okay, I think I can run with that. The news of the day is certainly hostile, and maybe has elements of the other one, too.

I would like start with what Senator Obama’s running mate, Senator Joe Biden, said at a fund raiser in Seattle on Sunday:

“Mark my words. It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy…. Watch. We’re going to have an international crisis, a generated crisis to test the mettle of this guy…. As a student of history and having served with seven presidents, I guarantee you it will happen.” (more…)

Some time ago, I put together a few first aid materials in a case that could fit into my gym bag. Not much. Just the basics. Some Quik-Clot®, pressure bandage, gauze, other bandages, EMT scissors, glucose tabs, CPR mask, flashlight, gloves, alcohol wipes, trach kit, tourniquet.. a few other things. I wanted to be prepared in case something happened on the road or in the gym.

I’d load the bag into the car every time I used it, and I was getting tired of it. I mean, what are the chances, really, of needing it? That’s what I was asking myself. But I sighed, and threw it into the car anyway. Maybe for the last time. I headed into town.

About halfway there, traffic slowed for an accident. A moped rider had been creamed by a car. He was in the center of the road, bleeding and unconscious.

Amazingly, a friend of mine who is a Fire Dept. EMT had seen the accident happen and was kneeling over the victim. A critical care nurse from the local hospital got out of her car and joined him.

I parked safely, put on my hazard lights, and walked over with my bag. “Need any gear?” I asked.