- Watch The JD Rucker Show every day to be truly informed.
Former paramedic and Drumm Emergency Solutions founder Jake Drumm says that preparing for medical emergencies before SHTF should include more than just buying a ready-made first aid kit.
At a self-reliance festival held in Tennessee on June 12, Drumm said that preppers need “to get training, learn how to use the equipment you have and have basic knowledge on mid- to long-term care.” (h/t to TheEpochTimes.com)
Drumm teaches classes on how to manage first aid emergencies in austere environments, like post-tornado or hurricane, a vehicle accident, a shooting or generally if emergency medical services (EMS) aren’t available.
Before SHTF, you need to learn how to do medicine “when you don’t have the stuff to do the medicine,” he said. This also means thinking beyond the initial care.
Drumm explained that the leading cause of death for the one to 45 age group is accidents. At least 50 percent of those are blood-loss trauma. Drumm warned that a person can bleed out in three minutes and his five top first aid kit recommendations reflect those statistics. (Related: Prepping must-haves: Medical supplies and first aid kits.)
Combat-approved tourniquet
Make sure your first aid kit has a combat-approved tourniquet and that you know how to apply it, for how long and how to release pressure without poisoning the body. Knowing this helps prevent the permanent damage they can cause.
Quality pressure bandage/Israeli bandage
A quality pressure bandage or Israeli bandage will help stop bleeding. Drumm advised that it’s important to learn how to apply pressure to stop bleeding when SHTF.
Wound-packing gauze
Drumm said you need a wound-packing gauze, preferably a military-style dressing that comes with a hemostatic agent to aid blood clotting.
Chest seal
A chest seal is used to treat any penetrating trauma to the chest, like a bullet wound. But like with any emergency situation where first aid is required, there are important steps to follow.
After you call 911, make sure that the area is safe then prepare yourself by putting on protective gloves. Next, assess the patient’s wounds.
If you see a deep puncture wound to the chest wall or if you think there is one, apply a chest seal. Take proper steps to keep air out of the chest cavity.
Applying a chest seal won’t hurt the patient, even if their wound isn’t deep enough for air to enter the chest cavity.
Remember that some injuries such as gunshot wounds will have an entrance and an exit. If the victim has been shot, always check if the bullet exited the body. Both holes must be sealed to avoid a pneumothorax or collapsed lung.
When providing emergency treatment for a chest wound, follow these steps to apply a chest seal:
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- Dry the area thoroughly. Some chest seal kits will have gauze for this purpose.
- Prepare the seal. If you are using a store-bought seal, remove the backing to expose the adhesive (the sticky part). If you are making your own, prepare the material and cut pieces of tape.
- Apply the seal. Follow the instructions for the seal.
- Monitor the patient until emergency personnel arrives. If they are having trouble breathing, you may need to “burp” the chest seal or apply a new one.
The best time to apply a chest seal is after the patient exhales so their chest has the least amount of air in it.
If society collapses, do you have the medical supplies you need? Check out “The Medic,” or as I like to call it, the Big Daddy of first aid kits.
Protective gear
Drumm said your first aid kit should have protective gear like gloves and eye protection. You can also use a pair of racquetball goggles.
HITMAN and SHTF
If SHTF and emergency services are not immediately available, many factors should be considered when caring for an injured person. Drumm uses the acronym HITMAN to run through the often intimidating, but very crucial, prolonged field care essentials.
HITMAN is the list to use beyond the initial 15 minutes of emergency care, explained Drumm.
H = Hydration, hypothermia, hygiene and high anxiety
Two measures of how well someone is hydrated are how frequently they urinate and the color of their urine. Lighter-colored urine is better.
According to Drumm, the number one cause of death is exposure or hypothermia in austere care environments.
Maintain proper hygiene by keeping yourself, the patient and your equipment clean to prevent other illnesses or infections.
Lastly, avoiding “high anxiety” is important for first aid. Drumm advised that you should learn how to calm down when things go south so you can properly take care of injured people after disaster strikes.
I = Infection and increased temperature
Maintaining proper hygiene and keeping your tools clean will help prevent infections.
Before SHTF, learn how to care for someone with a fever. With limited exceptions, “as long as that fever’s controlled, as long as you’re drinking and eating, that fever is not going to kill you,” advised Drumm.
T = Tourniquets, trends and tidy up
Drumm highlighted the importance of knowing how to use a tourniquet and how long to leave it on. He also encouraged people to learn the protocol for tourniquet conversion because releasing a tourniquet that has been left on for too long can be fatal.
When it comes to trends, you need to keep thorough notes of vital signs and treatments, including times. In extreme circumstances, you won’t always remember everything and forgetting important details like vital signs may have negative consequences.
Tidy up means constant cleaning, especially when treating a wound in a survival scenario. It can be difficult to stay clean in an austere environment so you have to remind yourself to keep yourself, the patient and the area clean.
M = Medications
Many Americans take prescribed medication on a daily basis, like antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications or antipsychotic drugs. When SHTF, you may need to stop taking your medication or you will have no choice if your supply runs out.
If you are prepping with a family member who takes prescription medication regularly, develop a plan to wean them off their medication over a 30- to 90-day period. This could be “the most important thing for planning for austere medicine scenarios,” said Drum.
A = Analgesia, alimentary and associated problems
Before SHTF, prepare a plan for pain control. This can be challenging because you won’t always have access to analgesics or painkillers.
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Alimentary refers to nutrition and digestion. If you’re taking care of a patient, they will need to eat and drink. They will also need to urinate and poop.
N= Nutrition, night-night (sleep) and no-go
Nutrition is the caloric intake you need to survive. A patient with burns to 40 percent of body surface area requires 10,000 calories in a 24-hour period.
“No-go” refers to the decision to stop care and let someone die. This may sound harsh, but it’s a real consideration with medical planning.
No matter how much you try to help someone, people get sick or injured and die – and you can’t always treat them. For example, if a patient has a 50 or 60 percent burn and you don’t have pain control, fluids and a way to treat infection, the patient is going to die, said Drumm.
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“You will not fix everything. We are humans. But you can do some stuff to get prepared now that will make any sort of crisis much easier to manage,” he concluded.
Before SHTF, get first aid training, prepare a first aid kit and learn how to use all the items in it so you can help people who need medical attention.
Visit EmergencyMedicine.news for more first aid tips that you can use when SHTF.
Watch the video below to know how to prep an everyday carry or EDC first aid kit.
This video is from the Geordie Prepper channel on Brighteon.com.
More related stories:
- Prepping before SHTF: 16 Items for your survival first aid kit.
- SHTF first aid: Suture options for medical emergencies.
- Why you need a first aid kit and trauma kit for various medical emergencies.
Sources include:
Five Things New “Preppers” Forget When Getting Ready for Bad Times Ahead
The preparedness community is growing faster than it has in decades. Even during peak times such as Y2K, the economic downturn of 2008, and Covid, the vast majority of Americans made sure they had plenty of toilet paper but didn’t really stockpile anything else.
Things have changed. There’s a growing anxiety in this presidential election year that has prompted more Americans to get prepared for crazy events in the future. Some of it is being driven by fearmongers, but there are valid concerns with the economy, food supply, pharmaceuticals, the energy grid, and mass rioting that have pushed average Americans into “prepper” mode.
There are degrees of preparedness. One does not have to be a full-blown “doomsday prepper” living off-grid in a secure Montana bunker in order to be ahead of the curve. In many ways, preparedness isn’t about being able to perfectly handle every conceivable situation. It’s about being less dependent on government for as long as possible. Those who have proper “preps” will not be waiting for FEMA to distribute emergency supplies to the desperate masses.
Below are five things people new to preparedness (and sometimes even those with experience) often forget as they get ready. All five are common sense notions that do not rely on doomsday in order to be useful. It may be nice to own a tank during the apocalypse but there’s not much you can do with it until things get really crazy. The recommendations below can have places in the lives of average Americans whether doomsday comes or not.
Note: The information provided by this publication or any related communications is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice. We do not provide personalized investment, financial, or legal advice.
Secured Wealth
Whether in the bank or held in a retirement account, most Americans feel that their life’s savings is relatively secure. At least they did until the last couple of years when de-banking, geopolitical turmoil, and the threat of Central Bank Digital Currencies reared their ugly heads.
It behooves Americans to diversify their holdings. If there’s a triggering event or series of events that cripple the financial systems or devalue the U.S. Dollar, wealth can evaporate quickly. To hedge against potential turmoil, many Americans are looking in two directions: Crypto and physical precious metals.
There are huge advantages to cryptocurrencies, but there are also inherent risks because “virtual” money can become challenging to spend. Add in the push by central banks and governments to regulate or even replace cryptocurrencies with their own versions they control and the risks amplify. There’s nothing wrong with cryptocurrencies today but things can change rapidly.
As for physical precious metals, many Americans pay cash to keep plenty on hand in their safe. Rolling over or transferring retirement accounts into self-directed IRAs is also a popular option, but there are caveats. It can often take weeks or even months to get the gold and silver shipped if the owner chooses to close their account. This is why Genesis Gold Group stands out. Their relationship with the depositories allows for rapid closure and shipping, often in less than 10 days from the time the account holder makes their move. This can come in handy if things appear to be heading south.
Lots of Potable Water
One of the biggest shocks that hit new preppers is understanding how much potable water they need in order to survive. Experts claim one gallon of water per person per day is necessary. Even the most conservative estimates put it at over half-a-gallon. That means that for a family of four, they’ll need around 120 gallons of water to survive for a month if the taps turn off and the stores empty out.
Being near a fresh water source, whether it’s a river, lake, or well, is a best practice among experienced preppers. It’s necessary to have a water filter as well, even if the taps are still working. Many refuse to drink tap water even when there is no emergency. Berkey was our previous favorite but they’re under attack from regulators so the Alexapure systems are solid replacements.
For those in the city or away from fresh water sources, storage is the best option. This can be challenging because proper water storage containers take up a lot of room and are difficult to move if the need arises. For “bug in” situations, having a larger container that stores hundreds or even thousands of gallons is better than stacking 1-5 gallon containers. Unfortunately, they won’t be easily transportable and they can cost a lot to install.
Water is critical. If chaos erupts and water infrastructure is compromised, having a large backup supply can be lifesaving.
Pharmaceuticals and Medical Supplies
There are multiple threats specific to the medical supply chain. With Chinese and Indian imports accounting for over 90% of pharmaceutical ingredients in the United States, deteriorating relations could make it impossible to get the medicines and antibiotics many of us need.
Stocking up many prescription medications can be hard. Doctors generally do not like to prescribe large batches of drugs even if they are shelf-stable for extended periods of time. It is a best practice to ask your doctor if they can prescribe a larger amount. Today, some are sympathetic to concerns about pharmacies running out or becoming inaccessible. Tell them your concerns. It’s worth a shot. The worst they can do is say no.
If your doctor is unwilling to help you stock up on medicines, then Jase Medical is a good alternative. Through telehealth, they can prescribe daily meds or antibiotics that are shipped to your door. As proponents of medical freedom, they empathize with those who want to have enough medical supplies on hand in case things go wrong.
Energy Sources
The vast majority of Americans are locked into the grid. This has proven to be a massive liability when the grid goes down. Unfortunately, there are no inexpensive remedies.
Those living off-grid had to either spend a lot of money or effort (or both) to get their alternative energy sources like solar set up. For those who do not want to go so far, it’s still a best practice to have backup power sources. Diesel generators and portable solar panels are the two most popular, and while they’re not inexpensive they are not out of reach of most Americans who are concerned about being without power for extended periods of time.
Natural gas is another necessity for many, but that’s far more challenging to replace. Having alternatives for heating and cooking that can be powered if gas and electric grids go down is important. Have a backup for items that require power such as manual can openers. If you’re stuck eating canned foods for a while and all you have is an electric opener, you’ll have problems.
Don’t Forget the Protein
When most think about “prepping,” they think about their food supply. More Americans are turning to gardening and homesteading as ways to produce their own food. Others are working with local farmers and ranchers to purchase directly from the sources. This is a good idea whether doomsday comes or not, but it’s particularly important if the food supply chain is broken.
Most grocery stores have about one to two weeks worth of food, as do most American households. Grocers rely heavily on truckers to receive their ongoing shipments. In a crisis, the current process can fail. It behooves Americans for multiple reasons to localize their food purchases as much as possible.
Long-term storage is another popular option. Canned foods, MREs, and freeze dried meals are selling out quickly even as prices rise. But one component that is conspicuously absent in shelf-stable food is high-quality protein. Most survival food companies offer low quality “protein buckets” or cans of meat, but they are often barely edible.
Prepper All-Naturals offers premium cuts of steak that have been cooked sous vide and freeze dried to give them a 25-year shelf life. They offer Ribeye, NY Strip, and Tenderloin among others.
Having buckets of beans and rice is a good start, but keeping a solid supply of high-quality protein isn’t just healthier. It can help a family maintain normalcy through crises.
Prepare Without Fear
With all the challenges we face as Americans today, it can be emotionally draining. Citizens are scared and there’s nothing irrational about their concerns. Being prepared and making lifestyle changes to secure necessities can go a long way toward overcoming the fears that plague us. We should hope and pray for the best but prepare for the worst. And if the worst does come, then knowing we did what we could to be ready for it will help us face those challenges with confidence.
