[Health] Basic Medicine

theozarker · Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2006 9:48 pm Post subject: Re: [Health] Basic Medicine

There are many good sites on the internet with information about medicinal (as well as edible)herbs. Some suggestions, though:

Avoid sites that have info, but are selling various herbal concoctions - too many of their herbals all have "miraculous" properties that will cure everything that ails you - LOL. Botanical sites are good and usually have pictures. Local universities often have botanical websites. Also, state and local conservation offices sometimes have sections on their websites of local wild herbs - although I've found them reluctant to indicate medicinal uses. Ours sells a very good book on wild edibles (Missouri).

Another suggestion is to search the internet for "wild medicinal herbs - (your state)". Some herbs grow wild in most states, others only in certain areas of the country or certain areas of your state. Also, some old area history books have sections on what herbs were used by pioneers in your area.

When you have a list of such medicials from your state (and area of your state), look them up on several sites with pictures as they often are hard to distinguish in the wild. Also there are many medicinals that have look-alikes that are poisonous. For example, yarrow, which is a good all round medicinal, is quite similar at first glance to wild hemlock, which is deadly poisonous. But the leaves and umbrels are different in the way they grow on the two plants.
So pay attention to the pictures/descriptions of flowers, umbrels, roots and leaves, as well as which parts of the plant are used (some parts may be poisonous while other parts are medicinal) and how they are used - teas, ointments, decoctions, etc.

I've found a number of these wild plants (usually called "weeds") growing in my own back yard - even though I live in a fairly large town.

The same rules apply to wild edibles.

Have fun, but be safe.

theozarker

Jellric · Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2006 11:17 pm Post subject: Re: [Health] Basic Medicine

Doly · Expert Joined: Dec 03, 2004 Posts: 4041

Praetorian · Coal Joined: Aug 03, 2006 Posts: 7

Suprised no one has mentioned tampons for deep wounds yet. They work extremely well.

SF Medic Field Manual is something worth looking in to.
Have competed EMT-B cert. and on my way to Paramedic.
Tons of suplus first aid kits.

nwildmand · Intermediate Crude Joined: Jul 12, 2006 Posts: 561

Praetorian · Coal Joined: Aug 03, 2006 Posts: 7

nwildmand · Intermediate Crude Joined: Jul 12, 2006 Posts: 561

theozarker · Posted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 8:21 am Post subject: Re: [Health] Basic Medicine

seahorse2 · Expert Joined: Oct 18, 2004 Posts: 1966

Tampons have been mentioned on some other threads, like a survival list. Tampons are regularly used in adventure racing as a blood stopping/mass trauma bandage, along with duct tape which is far superior in my opinion than medical tape for anything, including wounds.

I was in the military, and it would surprise me if a tampon was used to treat a sucking chest wound. First, tampons aren't an issue bandage, so if the story were true it would imply an improvision by the soldier involved. For treating a sucking chest wound, the soldier is taught to turn the casualty on the injured side, thus, blood from the deflated/wounded lung won't run into the good lung and drown the victim. Then, the plastic wrapper holding the typical issue army bandage is used on the entry wound and exit wound (if there is one) to seal the wound and stop air flow. Then, wait for the evac. Doctrine may have changed over the last three years, but I kind of doubt it.

smallpoxgirl · Moderator Joined: Nov 08, 2004 Posts: 6473

A "sucking" chest wound implies that the chest wall integrity has been comprimised and everytime the person takes a breath in air is sucked into the chest. In most cases, such a wound would also disrupt the integrity of the lung so you can get air escaping into the chest that way. As air builds up between the chest wall and the lung, the lung collapses sort of like squeezing a sponge. While it's not ideal, a person can do just fine with only one functioning lung. The real problem comes if enough air builds up on one side that it starts to push on the structures in the middle of the chest. This is called a tension pneumothorax. Pretty quickly, the big veins going into the heart get piched off. The heart then doesn't have any blood to pump, and you die.

Everything I've ever been taught about chest wounds was to dress them with an impermeable dressing that is taped on three sides. This functions as a one way valve. Air can't get sucked into the wound, but if the chest starts to build up pressure, the air can hopefully get out so you don't get a tension pneumothorax.

There are a number of products used for bandaging severe wounds. While tampons could have some applications, I've seen a lot more of the military medic types talking about using maxi pads. Also Quick Clot and "the Isreali Bandage" come highly recommended.

Duct tape would be good for first aid on wounds. For longer term bandaging (days or weeks) I'm not sure it would be so great in that it's going to hold in a lot of moisture and wouldn't breathe very well.
_________________
"We were standing on the edges
Of a thousand burning bridges
Sifting through the ashes every day
What we thought would never end
Now is nothing more than a memory
The way things were before
I lost my way" - OCMS

Loki · Expert Joined: Apr 08, 2006 Posts: 1298 Location: Cascadia

I've recently started becoming interested in herbalism and went on a book buying binge. I've found the following to be the most useful books so far:

James Duke, The Green Pharmacy
David Hoffman, Medical Herbalism
Michael Moore, Medicinal Plants of the Pacific West (he has also written books for other regions)

I also recently picked up The Complete German Commission E Monographs, which is often referenced by the other books. Haven't had a chance to examine it in any detail, but I do know it's highly regarded by many herbalists.

I recently took a wilderness first aid course that was very useful. I highly recommend taking a course like this. I'd like to do a wilderness first responder course next, and maybe a wilderness EMT course if I can find one in my area. For wilderness first aid, Paul Auerbach et al.'s Field Guide to Wilderness Medicine is worth getting. This is the "short" edition (700+ pages), but there is also a longer version (2300+ pages).

gg3 · Posted: Tue Jan 02, 2007 4:04 am Post subject: Re: [Health] Basic Medicine

Following is a list of herbal analgesics & anaesthetics originally posted by Ludi in a topic that had to be closed & deleted due to abuse.

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Regarding herbal pain treatment, here is a list of plants useful in this regard:

Red pepper Capsicum spp
Willow Salix spp
Evening primrose Oenothera biennis
Ginger Zingiber officinale
Lavender Lavandula spp.
Mountain mint Pycnanthemum muticum
Peppermint Metha piperita
Sunflower Helianthus annuus
Eucalyptus Eucalyptus globulus
Rosemary Rosmarinus officinalis

For sedation:

Lemon balm Melissa officinalis
Valerian Valeriana officinalis
Lavender
Passionflower Passiflora incarnata
Chamomile Matricaria recutita
Catnip Nepeta cataria
Hops Humulus lupulus

Reference: "The Green Pharmacy" by James Duke

Dr Duke's website: http://www.ars-grin.gov/duke/
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Notes (my notes; not in original posting):

Willow bark (willow salyx above) brewed as tea yields aspirin. This is a case where standardization of materials, procedures, and dosages, is important to avoid a potentially dangerous overdose (see below). One of the first symptoms of aspirin OD is ringing in the ears; it takes a considerable quantity to produce anything more dangerous than that, but one can never be too careful.

Menthol, i.e. mint extracts, are highly useful for relieving cough and somewhat alleviating sore throat. Standardized menthol, 2.0 milligrams, in a cough drop (hard sugar candy base) is quite sufficient; stronger preparations up to 10.0 millilgrams may be useful in some cases but can leave you with a burning or numb sensation on your tongue. Interestingly, for sore throat as such, any kind of coating preparation, e.g. honey alone or slightly diluted with alcohol such as whiskey, will work well at minimizing the irritation that causes pain when you swallow.

Opium poppy is legal to grow for ornamental purposes. After the crap hits the fan chances are no one will care if you're slitting open the capsules to produce opium for medical use. Paregoric is tincture of opium, in an alcohol & water base, and can provide standardization of dosage. Caution, this stuff is physically addictive and should be used only under the specific direction and observation of a physician (they won't be worrying about losing their licenses after the crap hits the fan either...).

Valerian root is quite effective as a muscle relaxant and sleeping aid. It stinks to high heaven but that's a small price to pay when you've got a muscle sprain or cramps or are too wound up to sleep. As with any sleeping aid, small doses, and do not take frequently or you may not be able to sleep without it.

Marijuana is most useful as an anti-nauseant, though it's also reported good for relieving chronic pain. Caution, some of the stronger strains can cause nausea and vomiting from overdose (as little as two large "tokes" or "bong hits" for someone who is not accustomed to the effects), so be careful and use in small quantities. It's easier to control the dosage when smoked rather than when eaten e.g. in cookies. Also, extreme caution, do not use anti-nauseants or anti-diarrheals (e.g. opium) in cases of food poisoning or infectious illness, unless high fever and dehydration are present and a significant threat. Reason why is, if you prevent your body from getting rid of the poison or infectious agent, you could end up far sicker for far longer, up to & including dead.

Preparations of a type of clay called kaolin are also useful for treating diarrhea. Do Not use random clay samples; very often they contain traces of toxic heavy metals that can cause neurological damage i.e. make you permanently stupid. Look up the old formulation for Kaopectate for more information. Fruit pectin is also useful in this regard (Kaopectate used to = kaolin + pectin. Nowadays it's a bismuth salycilate compound similar to Pepto Bismol.)

"Caine" drugs (novocaine etc.) are useful topical anaesthetics; I don't know of natural sources aside from coca which does not grow in North America. Thus probably worthwhile to stockpile novocaine ahead of need, along with the injection syringes needed to use it for dental applications. The other useful thing for dentistry is nitrous oxide, which was originally produced in the pre-petroleum era so it should be easy enough to produce in the future. N2O must be mixed with oxygen in proper ratios or it can cause serious brain damage.

With all anaesthetics & analgesics, it's important to be very careful and monitor the doses and reactions. When using herbal compounds it's all the more important to have an MD on hand to monitor the patient's condition.

Sustainable communities would be well advised to have basic biology / chemistry / medical labs on-site for preparing standardized herbals as well as other purposes such as water testing etc. For example when dealing with willow bark, you want to produce a uniform product (e.g. grind it up & mix the ground-up material uniformly) and then assay it for potency. A second assay should be done on the tea that is brewed from a standard sample. This will give you the information needed to produce dosages that are equivalent to standard aspirin tablets.

The ideal qualifications for a pharmacist for sustainable community are similar to those for a compounding pharmacist or pharmacologist under normal conditions, plus the do-it-yourself ethic. However you do not want someone who is enthusiastic about dosing people up with all manner of odd preparations. What you want is someone who is level-headed and has a serious appreciation for the risks involved with any medication, herbals included. Better that they be too strict about handing out the pills and potions, than too liberal.

kestrel91316 · Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 6:04 pm Post subject: Re: [Health] Basic Medicine

I don't know about tampons, but large menstrual pads (maxipads) are a great quickie would dressing. We used to put them in our mountaineering first aid kits.

Plastic wrap is good for sealing a sucking-type chest wound. You also need something bulky for padding, like maxipads, or a cloth diaper, or wadded-up clothing.

Honey makes a FABULOUS wound dressing, particularly for large, infected, or chronic wounds. The high osmotic pressure of the honey sucks moisture out of any bacteria in the wound. For the same reason bacteria won't grow in jelly or jam, they won't grow in honey. It is messy - you have to clean the wound and rinse well and then reapply daily. Honey has been used with success in refractory bedsores, and one of the veterinary journals I get had an article on it a few years ago, using honey to manage wounds in a horse and a dog.
_________________
Kestrel

You must be the change you wish to see in the world. - Gandhi

Loki · Expert Joined: Apr 08, 2006 Posts: 1298 Location: Cascadia

Came across an interesting article at the SurvivalBlog today: Wound Care: An Emergency Room Doctor's Perspective