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Crisis Simulation - "Is There A Doctor In the House?"
Crisis Simulation Day 10- Medical Emergency
(Note: This is the fourth installment in a series of threads designed to simulate an unfolding crisis. The purpose of the threads is to determine a "plan of attack" that could be executed quickly if such a crisis were to occur. For more information see Crisis Simulation - Day= -1, Crisis Simulation - Day 1 and Crisis Simulation - Day 2)
Simulated News: More than a week has passed in our town of Martensonville since our last update. Here is the news:
- By Day 4, every business in the town had been picked clean by looting. Not a trace of food or supplies remained. The owner of the hardware store had abandoned his store when he realized that the remaining “customers” had nothing of value to barter with anymore.
- On Day 5, a father and his young son approached the town in a old VW “aka hippie” bus. The sheriff had constructed a roadblock using many of the stranded vehicles from the interstate. The man reportedly told the Sheriff that he and his son had fled a nearby city after rioters had burned most of it to the ground. Along the way, he said that they had passed thousands of destitute people escaping the city on foot, and said to expect them to begin arriving here in a day or two.
- On the morning of Day 7, the town was awoken by the roar of a F-16 fighter jet squadron flying low and fast over the town. The event was followed by cheers of “we’re saved!” and the sound of celebratory gun fire. But several hours later, with no additional military presence observed, many people began to fear that the US was being invaded.
- The public health officer reports that an estimated 60% of all the patients in the hospital, and 90% of the residents in the nursing home have died. Both facilities were overrun with disease as patients were left with no care, no food or water, and to sit in their own fecal matter and urine for days on end. Once the sanitary conditions of the facilities were allowed to lapse, both facilities became death zones. With several staff members succumbing to resistant strands of bacteria, and no supplies to treat these conditions, the remaining medical staff abandoned the facilities.
Simulated Circumstances and Events: In addition to everything else that you must do to survive, your daily life has been dominated by two medical emergencies. There are no doctors or nurses available.
- Case Study 1: While chopping firewood this morning, a loved one accidentally drove the axe into his right lower leg. The same axe was used in the processing of a deer carcass a few days before and though it was cleaned afterward, it definitely wasn't sterilized. Upon arrival to the scene, the following is observed:
- The axe blade is about 4 inches long and is firmly lodged in your loved one's leg.
- There is significant bleeding, but the gash looks rather uniform in nature.
- The loved one is screaming in pain and looks as though he could go into shock at any moment.
- Case Study 2: A couple of days ago, your daughter consumed some "questionable" meat from the remaining freezer supplies. You thought you had cooked the meat well, but you ran out of fuel for the cooking fire on the last batch. The child began to vomit repeatedly later that night and into the morning. She is unable to keep liquids down is obviously running a high fever.
So here come the questions:
- Do you have the necessary medical supplies and skills to deal with these emergencies?
- If you do, what is your plan of attack?
- How might you prevent these situations from occurring?
Once again, thanks for your participation.....Jeff
Captain Sheeple
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A bit off topic,but I suspect we'll be either in a "MadMax" or a "Waltons",scenario in the coming years.
Robie
husband,father,farmer,optometrist
Day 5 I am still glad I live in a town with farm/coop grain filled and over flowing . I have grinder and will use it to grind the grain .
I would not have to do so much because the men would have already been ahead of me here.
be ready to block the three ways into town and have someone watching them or blow up the bridges if need be . Remember we have a mine with the know how and supplies to do it .
Sorry ,but may have to burn the bodies at the vet crematory or start a very large fire .
case situations : Many things you can have stored from your local Vet or farm store . FishMox and iodine . Read up on medicinal plants . I always teased the Vet that he need be on standby if the midwife was not able to make it . To order by mail ,google valley vet . They also have supplement section www.valleynaturals.com
I would vote for Walton's too Jericho or Mad Max would be my fear. Yep still Glad I live in the boonies of farm country .
Hoping everyone is well on the east coast with the storm approaching .
Some potential resources to prepare for this situation: (buyer beware)
ACEP First Aid Manual, 2nd edition (American College of Emergency Physicians) by DK Publishing (Paperback - Feb 16, 2004)
When There Is No Doctor: Preventive and Emergency Healthcare in Uncertain Times (Process Self-reliance Series) by Gerard S. Doyle
Where There Is No Doctor: A Village Health Care Handbook by Jane Maxwell, Carol Thuman, David Werner, and Carol Thuman
Wilderness Medicine, Beyond First Aid, 5th Edition by William Forgey
Herbal Antibiotics: Natural Alternatives for Treating Drug-Resistant Bacteria (Storey Medicinal Herb Guide) by Stephen Harrod Buhner
Wilderness Medicine, 5th Edition by Paul S. Auerbach
First Aid Kit With Hard Case- 326 pcs- First Aid Complete Care Kit - Exceeds OSHA & ANSI Guidelines - Ideal for the Workplace - Disaster Preparedness (Colors May Vary) by Total Resources International
Total Resources International 250-Piece Outdoor First Aid Kit in Red EVA Case by Total Resources International
Adventure Medical Kits Outfitter by Adventure Medical Kits
(PS- I should get paid for all this advertising for Amazon LOL)
Captain Sheeple
Here in MN where "we ain't got time to bleed" - so what I've found should be included in 1st Aid kits and is not:
- Super glue - if you are in the field and can not stitch it - glue it. You can also attempt to put glue on a glove and reach to stick to a leg artery in a pinch (try not to slice open a leg artery in the first place). Get the sides of a wound together right the first time! The glue will stick through blood - just hold together till it does. It can also be used to glue an enemy to a toilet seat.
- Duct tape - but if you use it to hold a wound together - do NOT rip it off! CUT IT!! all wounds should be bandaged over with gauze and then taped.
- A good grade honey - which has a complex oxygen / hydrogen molecule that can act like hydrogen-peroxide in drawing out infections as well as aid a diabetic in a pinch or dress a burn against infection. For a burn - smear honey as soon as possible and dress with a cold wet clean cloth.
EGP
EndGamePlayer
We also learned Kinesiology seems WAY out there, but it works.
I was thinking that a town council meeting would need to be called to asses the resources . Our town has greenhouses that grow flowers to distribute afar ,these could be used of growing food . We used to have a hatchery that might need be resurrected . Hopefully you all still have small meat locker operations . There are many people that just can't do this for them self .
Loved the farmer videos you put up yesterday . BUY LOCAL .
You know I think we' USA 'has little to zero clothing and shoes made here . This may be one of the things that takes a while to get back on line when we run out of oil . Seems stupid that we ship the cotton overseas to be made into clothes to be shipped back . Then when we are done with them we ship the used back overseas to clothe the poor countries. Right now it is supposed to be cheaper that way, but with little oil will it always ? Doubt it . Our closets will not be overflowing and we would again need to watch out for our own sweatshops.
How did we get by before oil ? May need to think back that way if we can not find a replacement . We will just keep fighting over the little bit left ,I am sure.
Most of us probably have enough shoes and clothes in the closets and drawers to clothe a small village. With all the cheap China stuff for years, and even some high end clothes kept for many years, I doubt if shoes and clothes will be high on the list of items we're missing, at least for 3 or 4 years!
I saw a statistic that the US at 4% of the world population uses 50% of all prescription drugs. What's it going to be like when everyone runs out of Prozac at the same time?
Lauren
What's it going to be like when everyone runs out of Prozac at the same time?
Ssshhhh....your foreshadowing! Just Joking
Captain Sheeple
A little different path here . Listen to your parents and grandparents . If we are down a while with the tech. It will be helpful to know their saying like Red sky in the morning sailor take warning ,red sky at night Sailors delight . Sun Dogs and Moon Dogs means there will be a change in weather .
Here if the wind blows from the south for 3 days we will get rain. Also the oak leaves curl up,
How many people do you meet that do not know North from South ? Probably more and more with GPS . My dad used to take us out and make us find our way back. Taught us to look for land markings and such. Told us that there were people that could not find their way out of a wet paper bag.
If we run out of prozac .....hops ,lobelia, and chamomile will have a high price put on them .
My wife is an RN and I have basic first aid training, so we have the skills at least for THESE situations I think. Our first aid bag is substantial and very well stocked, so cleaning, disinfecting, and dressing the axe wound is doable. Any possible infection from the wound would be much more problematic; strangely enough we do happen to have some Cipro, but not more than a couple week's worth I think and there's no guarantee this infection would respond to it. But like Full Moon mentioned you can potentially use fish antibiotics from pet stores if you have any on hand. Supposedly it's the same stuff used for humans and many people use it, but still it seems like the thing you'd only want to use in a life-and-death emergency when nothing else is available. I'm less familiar with the antibiotics used for other animals and livestock like Lbart mentioned, but I wouldn't be surprised if that was also the same formulation as the human brands. Anyway, it can't hurt to buy some now and store some in a proper environment just (and only) for a worst case scenario. It's already on my "to do" list, but I think I'm going to bump it up on the priority scale and see if I can take care of that this weekend. So make that another on the "wish I did" list on Day -1.
As for the food poisoning, I don't think there's anything we could do except as Lbart mentioned keep them well hydrated and keep the fever down. If she can't keep liquids down, maybe we can scavenge some IV's from the hospital or rig one up ourselves with products from the house and our first aid bag.
As for prevention, I don't have much. Perhaps whoever is chopping wood can wear my Carhart biberalls and my boots... it'll be hot, but it's tough stuff and would offer some protection. Also make sure people learn to recognize when they're getting too exhausted, which will make their movements sloppier. A lot of accidents happen that way. As for food poisoning, probably the best ways to prevent that is by ensuring there's alternate cooking fuel/methods available and by cutting any meat in smaller, thinner slices that have less chance of having undercooked center portions (it would likely save on cooking fuel too). And using some of the available alternate methods of preserving meat and creating an underground storage cellar may help keep food from spoiling too fast.
- Nickbert
"An economist is a man who knows a hundred ways of making love but doesn’t know any women." -Art Buchwald
As my husband is a physician and a surgeon, he has lightly commented in the past the only "true" emergency is hemorrhaging, so I am prepared to handle the axe in the thigh scenario with plenty of clean (from the OR but not sterile) packing gauze. Probably enough for two large wounds. After stopping the bleeding, I am not prepared for the possible/probable infection. I would have to rely on my homemade soap, hydrogen peroxide (NOT a first choice by any means) and alcohol, as in rubbing. I do have some penicillin and other antibiotics for my animals and guess they could be used in a pinch. That may not be a bad idea: all the local feed stores sell bottles of penicillin & other antibiotics with no prescriptions. If the choice is worsening gangrene and being shot up with cow penicillin, I'd try the penicillin. (Of course this is simulation and not to be taken as medical advice.)
As far as the food poisoning, stay hydrated and hope it will pass. Reminds me to go ahead and purchase my Berkey filter so at least we'll have clean drinking water to maintain hydration with.
You're scenario reminds me of The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Hope it stays closer to the depression scenario in the 30's.
Lauren