The Survival Medicine Handbook: A Guide for When Help is Not on the Way Revised & enlarged Edition

My husband and I live on a farm. Our purpose in doing so was to leave all the trappings of the corporate America lifestyle. With nothing but optimism, we gladly gave up the old lifestyle in favor of the new one. We didn't kid ourselves; we knew it wouldn't be a piece of cake, but we were ready to put in the work. What was the one thing we hadn't considered living deep in the backwoods? Emergency medicine. Our farm is at the top of a mountain and we fall all the time. Most falls result in bruises and nothing more. Twice, however, my falls have required stitches. What if... We often ask ourselves what if questions. What if my husband hadn't been there and I couldn't drive myself to the emergency room? What if he were home and the roads were blocked, which happens in the boonies all the time--especially after a major thunderstorm or a tropical storm/hurricane? We bought The Survival Medicine Handbook both on Kindle (for tips on what to stock up on and to educate ourselves) and the printed version for emergencies. I can't recommend this book more highly. It is really jam packed with extremely valuable information--both for the emergency and for preparing ourselves in the event of one. Every family should have one. Whether you live in the city, the suburbs or in the backwoods, you don't know when access to a hospital will be hindered. It's truly a must have!

1. If you think reading this book is going to make you an MD; It's not.2. If you are adding this to your general knowledge of how to deal with common health and possible life savingscenarios, in a grid down environment or even while in a remote camping location. It helps, (if the time comes,who else, in your group, has taken the time to learn how to heal?)3. This book contains a wide range of potential medical issues that one may have to encounter in a grid downscenario, (or just camping), while being the only person to address those issues. ( there may be issues that youare not willing or are able to address). But it gives the fundamentals.4. This book is a GREAT starting place for people who want to know more about basic survival medical treatment.5. If you buy this book, It provides you with a wealth of knowledge to build on.

A great book...I was a medic in Air Force...and I had so many supplies stashed away for emergencies...but we camefrom the NE...and we had a building just for supplies...and had so many acres of woods...I did it all over again...down here...and wewere burned out...and I have not been able to gather what I had saved and kept for so many years.A good book...thank you to you both! When we lived up in the Yukon and Northwest Territories in the 70's...many of yoursuggestions were used by the people in the "bush"...but even then the Beavers could fly people out to medical facilities...may havetaken them quite a while...but at least there was a rainbow for some at the end. If everything collapses...as it seems to be doing...andpeople are not thinking or preparing...it is a shame. They should be having classes to educate people...but so many are so complacent...that I feel like giving them a huge shake...heavens half of the population are ostriches with their heads in the ground. Thank you for your book! I wish I had access to some important things that I once had. A great job ...congratulations to you both!

Pros:The writing style is clear and easy to read. And the treatments are written from the perspective of hospitals and advanced equipment not being available, which is what I'm looking for.Cons:The sections on the most common types of injuries (cuts, puncture wounds, infections, burns, food poisoning, etc) are too short. There's only so much space but...The book spends too much time in my opinion on non-medical information, such as "how to protect a house from a forest fire" and stuff like that.I think too much time is also spent on alternative remedies (eg. essential oils). I would guess that 1/3 of each treatments section is devoted to these. While I wouldn't mind a chapter or 2 listing alternative remedies that you might try if you don't have the standard medication (this is for the collapse after all). In my opinion there isn't enough scientific evidence for these treatments to spend so much time on them. They also often take the form of "here's a list of 10 essential oils that might help", and I'm sorry but that's just too vague.Some useful information is missing. I'm not a medical expert, but I've had a few ailments over the years which I've read up on specifically, and when the book addressed these I felt like it skipped over a lot of useful info. For example, the section on heartburn doesn't include the fact that your stomach opens on the right, so laying on your left side can alleviate it. Or when lice treatments are discussed, they mention that the active ingredient is permethrin, but they don't mention that this is a commonly available pesticide. These are just a few examples.I know the Authors needed to include a warning not to attempt these procedures if a real hospital is available. But I would have preferred that to be just in one place, instead of sprinkled throughout. Like yes obviously you should not pull someones teeth if there are real dentists around. Perhaps there could have been a chapter outlining what to do differently if a hospital *is* available.One last thing. I think sometimes the level of technology you're assumed to have is *too* low. Lack of electricity is often assumed, as well as lack of almost all electronic equipment. I think this is a bit too pessimistic. Even with the grid down, generators, solar, etc could be used. And equipment like EKGs and other vital monitors could be obtained cheaply from china (for preparedness, not after a collapse obviously). It might even be possible to scavenge some of that stuff, who knows?Overall I'd say this reference isn't bad, but it could be better. I bought the "FM 4-25.11 First Aid: Army First Aid Field Manual" as well, and this is much better than that in most ways. There are a few typos and formatting errors, which although not a big deal, indicate to me that the content wasn't heavily scrutinized.

Essential reference book, but read it first and keep it forever.