Disclaimer: I am not associated with MedCallAssist in any way, nor do I receive commissions on purchases or ad revenues.  They provided me with a kit for this review.

It’s no coincidence that people in third world countries have shorter life spans, higher infant mortality rates, and poorer health in general.  Top-notch, timely health care is a luxury for the wealthy and for most of us living in first world countries.  However, if you believe, as I do, that treacherous and uncertain times lie ahead for America, then you’ll be glad to know about the MedCallAssist Kit.  This medical kit, along with the 24/7 medical consultation included, may be just what you or a loved one needs someday in the future when medical care is hard to come by.

MedCallAssist is a company that started out with the goal of providing fully equipped medical kits to people and companies who do business far from any sort of medical care, such as commercial fishermen, loggers and adventure travelers.  Recently, they’ve seen the need of branching out and making the kits available to people in the survival and preparedness community.

Bottom line:  On January 1, the kit prices will be $350 for the contents only and $375 for the contents and a sturdy canvas bag.  However, when you use coupon code survivalmom on checkout, you’ll receive a discount of $100 per kit.  This discount is exclusive to Survival Mom readers and is good through January 31, 2012.

Now, on to my review.

Beyond “just” first aid

The MedCallAssist Kit is far more than just a first aid kit.  Although it contains a supply of products typically found in the average first aid kit, it goes far beyond those basics.  (See complete list of contents here.)  Because the kit comes with an assortment of prescription medications, I asked a nurse friend to review it with me.  Patrice spent many years as a nurse in a California emergency room and now has a business teaching first aid, wilderness first aid, and CPR.

A nurse’s review

image by Lower Columbia College

Patrice was pleasantly surprised by the assortment of antibiotics and other drugs that are included in the kit.  You’ll find azithromycin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, loperamide, cimetidine, ciprofloxacin, cephalexin, and epinephrine, among others.  Worried that you won’t know what to use and when?  With the purchase of a kit, you’ll have access to medical advice 24/7, along with an impressive instruction booklet that comes with the kit.  Patrice was very impressed by the information in the book and the color photos.

She liked the quality of the medical non-latex gloves that are included and the disposable skin stapler to use in lieu of suturing a wound.  She recommends Lidocaine to numb any area that needs a suture/staple.  Lidocaine is available through MedCallAssist as an add-on to the kit.

The kit also contains loads of OTC (over the counter) products and tools such as scissors and tweezers.

Patrice noticed the brand names of the different supplies and mentioned that she buys hers’ from the same source.  Overall, she gave the kit a big thumbs up and has been telling others about it.  At the Survival Mom discounted price, $250/275, it’s a great deal.

Is there anything to add?

Some injuries will require large amounts of bandaging supplies, and Patrice recommended adding many more rolls of gauze and other trauma dressings.  From her experiences in ER, she knows what she’s talking about!  She also recommended adding saline to flush out wounds, and I suggest adding packets of rehydrating solution for cases of diarrhea and vomiting.

MedCallAssist offers additional products, such as a defibrillator, oximeter (to measure the oxygen level in the body), splints, and a blood pressure cuff.  You can read the entire list of add-ons at the bottom of this page.

The future of medicine in America?

image by Jose Goulao

Already Americans are feeling the effects of changes that have been made in our system of medical care and insurance.  Companies are dropping health care as a benefit or increasing the amount of money employees must contribute.  Insurance companies are raising rates, and everyone is waiting for the other thousand or so shoes to drop if/when “Obamacare” goes into full effect.  What will medical care look like ten years from now?  The answer is, no one knows.

The MedCallAssist Kit can be an important stopgap between hoping something goes away because the funds aren’t available for a doctor’s appointment and a trip to the hospital because a condition has become life-threatening.  Many preppers, homesteaders, and survivalists live long distances from medical care.  This kit fills a need for these families as well.  Even hunters would be smart to have something this well-equipped.

With the availability of medical advice on a 24/7 phone line, a medical professional will be able to advise you if the medications and supplies in the kit are enough for a particular situation or if a face-to-face visit with a doctor is required.  Either way, the kit and phone service will provide a lot of peace of mind.

Q&A

I thought you might have more questions about the MedCallAssist Kit and the company, so I asked some of them for you!  Jathan Nalls, one of the medical professionals with the company answered them.

Survival Mom:  The kit comes with prescription medicines.  How is that possible without a prescription?

Jathan:  Our company is headed by an emergency physician and there are three more on staff.  Each kit is “prescribed” to an individual or family based on their medical history, anticipated needs, and other factors that we take into consideration.  Our kits do not contain any controlled medications nor will we prescribe them.  Additional meds are available upon consultation, on a case-by-case basis.

Survival Mom:  Will this kit take the place of actual visits to a doctor or hospital?

Jathan:  We want this service to be helpful to clients who want to control healthcare costs and get quality medical consultation and access to treatment during difficult times.  However, we definitely do not want to take the place of their local physician.  If a family has a sick child in the middle of the night and the nearest ER is an hour away, we’ll talk with the family and advise them how they should proceed.  If our physician feels that an ER visit is warranted, that will be advised.  As you know, nothing compares to a face-to-face visit with a physician who can do a hands-on exam and order more testing.

Again, the bottom line

Even at $350 and $375, these kits are well-priced.  Add to that, the availability of a 24/7 phone line for medical consultation, and it’s a pretty awesome package.  Currently, the MedCallAssist website lists kit prices of $250/275, but these are scheduled to increase on January 1.  As a Survival Mom reader, your price will continue to be $250/275 if you use coupon code survivalmom upon checkout through January 31, 2012.

© 2012, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

image by TimmyGUNZ

What can people do to prepare if they do not have a medical background?  Find someone who does!  Try to make connections with people in the medical field now while there is still time.  Go learn as much as you can about how to take care of each other.  I’ll be hosting occasional, “Outback Medicine” Conferences.  (Teaching medical skills is the focus and passion of this ole’ doc!)

The level of knowledge needed to treat other humans in crisis is quite astounding!  Yet, in a collapse situation, there won’t be much choice as to how much training your present “caretaker” will have.

In our present modern society, it’s one of the things that frustrates good Doctors everywhere, the fact we see lesser informed “providers” all around us, treating patients so cavalierly and wrongly!  We literally have to “clean up their mistakes” (which can be fatal at worst!) and see the bad results of these “wrong treatment” situations right here in our emergency room!

This is one of the reasons many doctors who are aware of the coming collapse wish to provide for lay persons the skills and knowledge of how to care for others, using properly taught medical care and skills.  At least whatever we can teach others, will be a jump ahead if the world does collapse.  However, due to our licenses and necessary alignments with today’s government, along with its’ regulators who will take away medical licenses if we speak out on issues like this today, literally, providing training and information is something doctors can’t speak out about it!

The point is, you should be able to learn as much as possible now about how to care for each other if a time comes when there is no Doctor around to provide the best care.

Suggestions:

• Take an EMT class from a community college.
• Acquire basic medical books as listed here (#5 on the list).
• Take a wilderness first aid and wilderness first responder course.
• Research the chronic illnesses and diseases your own family suffer from and begin acquiring the medicines and equipment for treatment, if possible.

Related articles:

• Thoughts on Medical Training for TEOTWAWKI
• Medical Planning and Training for Uncertain Times
• Book review: The Prepared Family Guide to Uncommon Diseases

© 2012, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

The Prepared Family Guide to Uncommon Diseases by the editor of the insightful Paratus Familia blog is one of the few books that I grew to like the more I read it.  I’ve consulted it for my daughter’s earache and searched it for remedies for a chronic cough.  The main intent of the book is to provide information about and treatment options for diseases we don’t see very often in our sanitized 21st century world.  However, the book also contains home remedies for symptoms such as dehydration, diarrhea, sore throat, and coughing.  In the appendices they’ve included a helpful shopping list of medical supplies, a conversion chart, and a list of recommended resource books.

One section has been written by a medical doctor, Dr. Grattan Woodson, and is devoted to influenza, a likely culprit in the event of a future pandemic.  Dr. Woodson shares suggestions for avoiding the flu in the first place, flu symptoms, and then how to treat the flu at home.  The information is excellent and helpful with any episode of the flu.

This book is particularly helpful for preppers and the survival minded because it’s written by preppers who understand the dangers of our precarious future, and it covers a wide gamut of diseases as well as everyday symptoms.  I give it a big thumbs up.

You can buy this book at Paratus Familiar Press for $21.94, which includes shipping.

© 2012, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

image by TimmyGUNZ

A typical first aid kit provides only the barest minimal supplies that a well-equipped home should have when it comes to health and medicine.  After giving this a good deal of thought, here are 23 additional items you should begin stocking or establishing now.  Some will be easy to acquire, others, not so much.

A few items are notated with an *,  to be used 0nly by individuals with advanced medical training.  If this isn’t you, don’t cross the item off your list.  There may very well be a doctor, nurse, EMT or other individuals with training nearby, and if you have the supplies they need, it will be a huge advantage to keeping someone alive.

1. N-100 High Filtration Face Mask/Respirator!  The N-100 seals to the face and provides more filtration protection than the N-95.  It also has an exhalation valve.
2. Security (in your own treatment area) - Being able to live and work in a secure area is a must for the melodramas that come with all urgent/emergent medical cases.  This is especially true of hysterical family members and friends when a loved one’s life is in jeopardy.  It may sound strange, but you need to have a plan to deal with medical issues in a secure area.
3. Acquire and practice: medical skills and ability, knowledge, concentration, control (over the scene and medical situation, as these “patients” are very alive – and you want to keep them that way), stamina, will, training, and expertise.
4. Cell phone spare battery!  This may be your own life-saving connection (if cell phone’s still work, that is) to the outside world.
5. Reference Materials - Merck Manual, JP Sanford (antibiotic guide), Tarascon’s Pharmacopea (Rx index), CPR & Cardiac Care guides, etc.
6. *Penrose Drain Tubes - can be used as tourniquets or drains, etc.
7. *Suction Device, manual operation (non-electric) – for anyone choking needing “suction” or as you “intubate” (i.e. stick a tube into an airway – only for advanced care professionals, mind you).
8. *Foley Catheters - for urinary blockage relief, but also for a make-shift “chest tube” when necessary!
9. *Nasogastric Tubes and Large Syringe - can be used for “Rectal IV” instillation when an IV cannot be accessed!  (We’ve used this very successfully in the U.S. as well as in Haiti.)
10. Bouillon cubes - to mix with water for an electrolyte solution to drink, when very ill.  The solution can also be administered rectally with the concept above as well.  Very handy to know and have on hand in a pinch!
11. Antibiotics - will be a must-have in any post-collapse scenario!
12. *Oropharyngeal Airways or OP Airways - can save a life right in front of you – if you know how and when to use them!  Check my website, Outback Medicine, for a schedule of coming training conferences.
13. Fluids.  Pedialyte is best, not Gatorade!
14. Over-the-counter medications.  See list here.
15. LED Lights - You will need lights at night: headlamps, strobes (possibly for attracting moving vehicles or people nearby), reflective cones (on the road), reflective vests, powerful LED flashlights (for runners or operations with kit) & possibly a “surgical light”, for which we use a 12-volt car light connected to a car battery!
16. Blankets - hypothermia is a real danger outside when any patient is traumatized!
17. Ear Candles - easy to carry and use to provide relief with ear pain!
18. Organic (not synthetic) Natural Multi-B Vitamins - ”Little Red Rocket Boosters” are the best for this as they are the best organic multivitamins we’ve ever found.  We’ve tested them in our actual private practices, where people who take these Red Rocket Boosters say they, “feel better, do better, sleep better, think better, look better (just kidding!) and have less fatigue!”  You can’t ask much more out of a relatively cheap cost “food” vitamin that that, can you?
19. Large Commercial Trash Bags - used to contain waste, worn over your torso as a make shift “rain coat” (don’t forget to punch three holes in the “top” for your head and two arms), or for “shields” when dealing with bloody/infectious messes!
20. *Needles & scalpels, with the knowledge to use them properly.  Training is necessary to use these items, and DO NOT USE this stuff if you don’t know how to do so, ever!
21. Reflective Cones - mentioned above, but these are often nowhere around when we need one – “outside” in the “Outback” (or on the side of the road)!
22. Emotional Stress Treatment - Have on hand extra meds you and family members are already taking.  If you run out of special meds that treat acute episodes, it will definitely be a time to panic!  This one’s tough, but we also need “comfort items” that may not have to do with “medical care” at all, post collapse!  Think of things like candy, DVD’s, animals in our care that we love, protective and security for our living situations type items.
23. Learn quick now to “Think Prevention First”!  I wish I had time to explain all that this entails.  If we thought this way as a nation – before the accidents occurred – well, I’d be out of a job, wouldn’t I?  PREVENT IT BEFORE IT HAPPENS is the best mode of “medical care” in the world, and we spend a lot of time teaching people how to do this in our “Outback Medicine” conferences…because that’s what we do everyday, as well: PREVENT IT FIRST!

Listen to my interview with the Doc:

the-survival-mom-show-20.mp3 (MPEG Layer 3 Audio, 13.7 MB)

the-survival-mom-show-20.wma (Windows Media Audio file, 13.7 MB)

Get to know the Outback Doc at his website and blog, Outback Medicine.

© 2012, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

Stocking up on plenty of over-the-counter (OTC) medications and supplies is a very important part of preparedness.  The availability of medical supplies will certainly affect how and what you are able to do for your patient, like this fact or not!  Another consideration is that each treatment category and problem requires many specific and different things to have on hand, from tongue depressors to otoscopes to blood pressure cuffs to whatever, many different medications included.  Fact is, the list of things we have to have on hand and in supply to treat patients is enormous!

You should definitely get as much as YOU can get in this category and afford today.  Always stock up on:

1. Pepto-B (generic Bismuth is just fine, too)
2. Mineral Oil
3. Epsom’s Salts
4. Bacitracin
5. Neosporin
6. Alcohol
7. Hydrogen Peroxide
8. Witch Hazel
9. Contact Lens Solution
10. Nasal Spray, Afrin,
11. Primatene Mist*
12. Robitussin
13. Acetaminophin/Tylenol
14. Ibuprofen
15. Zantac/Ranitidine
16. Fiber like Metamucil & Benefiber
17. A hoard of organic-natural (i.e. never “Centrum”!) multi/B-vitamins
18. Vitamin C
19. Aspirin
20. Pedialyte
21. Mag Citrate…and many more!

Buy these now because they won’t be there when the SHTF, I promise!

Listen to my interview with the Doc:

the-survival-mom-show-20.mp3 (MPEG Layer 3 Audio, 13.7 MB)

the-survival-mom-show-20.wma (Windows Media Audio file, 13.7 MB)

© 2011 – 2012, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

image by TimmyGUNZ

How should you prepare for a world in which medical care is either non-existent, difficult to access, or prohibitively expensive?  Gain treatment knowledge now, ASAP!  Come to one of our teaching conferences.  Get ready to take care of everything from simple to complex, and have enough supplies on hand.  Stock up on everything!   You will need everyday items such as “durable (medical) goods” and “equipment”, much of this being available over the counter today.

It’s also very important to gain a working knowledge of alternative herbal, “medicine,” now.  Learn how to treat minor ailments and symptoms using herbs.  3000 years of herbs…that can’t be all wrong, now can it?

At some point, in a collapse scenario, you will need to be able to somehow secure professional medical services , to include everything up to potential, necessary operations.  Nothing will stop people from getting ill and needing operations then, as now, and it may be more necessary then than now, actually. Without an available surgeon around, how do you prepare for these operations?  Most probably this will have to come from the closest surgeon in garage operation, post collapse!  (Ha.  You think I’m kidding, right?  Go to Haiti and find out!)

For this, you need to try to cultivate a relationship with a physician who lives in your local area, one who has the necessary equipment and advanced medical care experience.  A specialist possibly, but more likely an M.D.  This will not be easy to do in today’s world, I know, but when the SHTF (as I’ve seen occur in Haiti), those who have special skills will become available for doing just what they were trained to do before, even if it isn’t in a pristine hospital or clinic.  You may have to travel, and it may cost a lot of money (or whatever we are using at the time for “money”), but when your life or a loved one’s life is in jeopardy, you’ll do just about anything to get this help, I promise!

In that day, there will be very few “unnecessary operations” compared with what goes on right now.  Your job then will be to become what we medical professionals call a, “desirable patient”.  You will need, most likely, some form of payment to cover the cost of whatever medical care you can find.  Here’s where barter comes back into this country’s picture as in the days of old.   Yep, it’s going to be VERY different then, and staying healthy now would be one of the best means of avoiding or preventing dire medical issues in the future.   PREVENTION is the Key!”   This word needs to come back into our vocabulary now ASAP!

Listen to my interview with the Doc:

the-survival-mom-show-20.mp3 (MPEG Layer 3 Audio, 13.7 MB)

the-survival-mom-show-20.wma (Windows Media Audio file, 13.7 MB)

© 2011 – 2012, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

image by Stephen Cummings

Antibiotics are used at specific doses for specific illnesses; it’s important to have as much information as possible on medications that you plan to store, so consider purchasing a hard copy of the latest Physician’s Desk Reference. This book comes out yearly and has lots of information that just about every medicine manufactured today.  Online sources such as drugs.com are also useful, but consider a hard copy for your library.  You never know when we might not have a functioning internet.

• ·         Overuse can foster the spread of resistant bacteria, as you’ll remember from the salmonella outbreak in turkeys recently that made so many people ill.
• ·         Potential allergic reactions may occur that could lead to anaphylactic shock (see the section on this topic earlier in this book).
• ·         Making a diagnosis may be more difficult if you give antibiotics before you’re sure what medical problem you’re actually dealing with.  The antibiotics might temporarily “mask” a symptom, which could cost you valuable time in determining the correct treatment.

image by edenpictures

You can see that judicious use of antibiotics, under your close supervision, is necessary to fully utilize their benefits. Discourage your family members from using these drugs without first consulting you.

image by farlukar

There are various others that you can choose such as Azithromycin, but these selections will give you the opportunity to treat many illnesses and have enough variety so that even those with Penicillin allergies with have options.  Cephalexin, although not in the same drug family, has been quoted as having a 10% cross-reactivity rate with Penicillin.  Let’s discuss how to approach the use of antibiotics by using an example.

image by artwitsyl

Once you have identified Amoxicillin as your treatment of choice to treat your patient’s ear infection, you will want to determine the dosage.  As Otitis Media often occurs in children, you might have to break a tablet in half or open the capsule to separate out a portion that would be appropriate.  For Amoxicillin, you would give 20-50mg per kilogram of body weight (20-30mg/kg for infants less than four months old).  This would be useful if you have to give the drug to a toddler less than 30 pounds.  A common child’s dosage would be 250mg and a common maximum dosage for adults would be 500 mg.  Luckily, these dosages (even in veterinary equivalents) are exactly how the commercially-made medications come in the bottle. Take this orally 3 times a day for 10 to 14 days (twice a day for infants).

© 2011, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

image by Helena Liu

I’ve only been on the essential oils bandwagon for a few months now, but I’m a complete convert.  I tend to be a very skeptical person and when a friend told tales of the wondrous things her little bottle of lemon essential oil could do, I rolled my eyes. Not only were there too many varieties for any human to comprehend but they seemed quite expensive.

Eventually, I decided to purchase just one bottle and once I began using it on occasion, I realized just how far a single drop or two will go.  One bottle might last several months or longer.  I’ve been adding to my collection each month, and here is what I have.

• Peppermint oil — I bought this because if there’s one ailment of my kids that’s hardest to treat, it’s the tummy-ache.  Did they eat something bad?  Did they eat too much?  Are they eating too little?  Did they forget to go poop?  Is it their appendix?  I can easily treat a cough or the sniffles, but tummy aches are, well, a pain to deal with.  A drop of peppermint oil in a small glass of water can help soothe the stomach, and it’s also handy for fungal infections — not that my kids would ever have anything to do with fungus!  Naturally, as luck would have it, neither kid has had a stomach ache since I bought the oil.
• Eucalyptus oil — I don’t remember why I bought eucalyptus oil originally, but I use it often as a topical pain reliever.  Several weeks ago I developed some pain on top of my left foot. It’s an odd place for a patch of burning pain, and I didn’t know how to deal with it.  One day I spread a drop or two of eucalyptus oil over the area, and the pain was gone, immediately.  It has worked every time since.  We’ve put a few drops in our humidifiers at night as well, and is on my short list of remedies the next time one of the kids has an ear ache.
• 

  essential oils distillery, image by Graham King

  Lavender oil — This is one of the most versatile of oils, and I’ve used it to relieve my son’s headache one night by rubbing a bit on both temples and my daughter has used it to help her get to sleep.  Its uses are numerous: antiseptic, antifungal (again, with the fungus!), analgesic, relaxant, anti-inflammatory, and may even reduce cholesterol levels.

• Thieves oil — This is an interesting oil blend.  There’s a legend from the days of the Black Plague that a group of thieves were caught robbing the dead bodies of plague victims.  Somehow, they didn’t get sick and confessed that they rubbed an oil concoction over their bodies.  It was a mixture of clove, lemon, cinnamon bark, eucalyptus, and rosemary.  Friends swear by this oil, and Roxanne Griswold of Ready Made Resources has written about it in an article on her blog.  It has been lab-tested and proven to kill airborne microorganisms on contact.  It’s useful as an antiviral treatment, an antiseptic and antibacterial, and to treat infections.  Plus, it smells really, really good!
• Lemon oil -- This oil can strengthen the immune system and is energizing.  A study in 1995 found that citrus fragrances boost immunity, relaxation and decrease depression.  I’ve also read that a glass of lemon water each day is a great boost to overall health, and a drop of this essential oil in water is a good substitute for a squeeze of fresh lemon.  It’s also a powerful antiseptic.
• Wintergreen — I wanted an oil that would effectively soothe my husband’s sore muscles, which have a tendency to turn into painful spasms.  Poor guy.  A few drops of wintergreen oil can be diluted with another oil (a pure vegetable oil, for example), and I have a massage oil to rival Icy Hot.  This winter if any of us come down with respiratory problems, this oil is an effective treatment when used with a diffuser or vaporizer.
• Orange blossom — I originally bought this just as a scent to add to my homemade cleaning mixtures.  The label said it was, “cheering,” and if there’s anything I need when I’m cleaning, it’s cheer.  It can also be used to heal scar tissue and for digestive problems.

The oils on my Wish List are: oregano, thyme, clove, grapefruit seed, and tea tree.  If you’re just starting out, think about what physical ailment is most common around your house and buy an oil that addresses that issue.  Another strategy is to start buying the oils that are most versatile, such as lavender and peppermint.

As far as application goes, some of the oils can be applied directly to the skin but some are too intense, such as wintergreen.  All essential oils can be used with a diffuser, a vaporizer, or mixed with another oil.

I interviewed Debbie Montano, an essential oils expert, on my radio show recently, and you can listen to that episode here, the-survival-mom-show-15.wma   Also, Ready Made Resources sells Young Living essential oils, which is a high quality brand and the one I most often purchase.

Why all the sudden interest in essential oils?  Well, it could be just a fad for some people, but I expect our health care system to become far more expensive than it is now and far less accessible.  Soon, the days of a quick trip to the pediatrician’s office will be a thing of the past due to either very long waiting periods or prohibitive prices.  It will be up to us to have a foundation of knowledge when it comes to first aid and taking care of basic ailments.

Essential oils, herbs, and home remedies are easy to learn and the supplies are easy to acquire, at least for now.  Plus, it’s kind of fun to try out a new oil when someone  has a headache or sore muscles.  In most cases, these alternative remedies can’t cause any harm and often, they can do a great deal of good.

© 2011, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

image by edenpictures

The year is rapidly approaching its end, and for many of us, an annual physical is something we’ve either been procrastinating or have forgotten about altogether.   Schedule an appointment today for that all-important annual visit and then make a pledge to address any and all health issues in the coming New Year.

While you’re at it, ask your doctor a few survival-related questions.

1. I’d like to have an extra month or two of my prescriptions.  Could you give me a prescription
2. In case I am not able to get my prescription for ______, is there an alternative you could suggest?
3. Am I a candidate for any future chronic health issues?  What can I do right now to avoid them?
4. Am I up to date with my tetanus shots?
5. Is there a way to lessen my dependence on my prescription medications?
6. What can I do to boost my immune system?
7. Is there a doctor (or specialist) you could recommend in _________?  (Your bug out location.)

Additionally, become familiar with home remedies, medicinal herbs, and the use of essential oils.  While a medical doctor may not suggest alternative approaches, you can certainly find others is the naturopathic field who will.

Your doctor sees thousands of patients each year, so don’t worry about asking these questions for fear that he or she will remember you and track you down when the SHTF!  There’s no reason to mention your concern for a future natural disaster or, perhaps, a time when medical care isn’t as accessible as it is now.  There are numerous prepper doctors out there, and you just might find that yours is, too!

Make that appointment this week!

© 2011, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

image by tiny packages

I hit the jackpot this last weekend, and it was a pretty big one.  My kids and I were doing the estate/garage sale route, and one of the estate sales we visited had a huge amount of medical supplies at rock bottom prices.  When I saw boxes of latex exam gloves for a dollar a box, I grabbed them all!  Also on the shelf were boxes of bandaids, sterile gauze pads, rolls of adhesive and gauze tape, and antibiotic ointment packets.  In all, I spent $8 and left with a ton of supplies for our first aid kits!

Very often, elderly patients receiving in-home care accumulate supplies just like these.  They’re perfectly good, sometimes come in never-opened packages, and are a quick and easy way to stock up. You also may find stethoscopes, thermometers, heating pads, and a lot more.  Keep an eye out for estate sales, in particular, especially if you live near a retirement community.

© 2011, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.