Medical & First Aid Preparedness Guides

How to assess abdominal injury for internal bleeding in a field setting. Physical examination, signs of hemorrhagic shock, specific organ injury patterns, and evacuation criteria.

When and how to use activated charcoal for poisoning and overdose. Correct dosing, timing, contraindications, and what it cannot treat. Field protocol for austere settings.

How to grow, harvest, and apply aloe vera gel for burn treatment. What the evidence supports, proper application technique, and which burns require more than aloe.

Recognizing and treating acute mountain sickness, high altitude cerebral edema, and high altitude pulmonary edema. When to ascend, when to hold, and when descent is non-negotiable.

Recognize and treat anaphylaxis in the field. EpiPen technique, dosing, and what to do when epinephrine is unavailable. Life-threatening reaction protocol.

Practical guide to sourcing and using antibiotics for preparedness. Fish antibiotic equivalents, dosing, coverage profiles, and responsible use principles.

Complete guide to antihistamine types, uses, dosing, and preparedness stockpiling. First-generation vs. second-generation, when each is appropriate, and critical role in anaphylaxis response.

How to respond to anxiety and panic attacks without medication. The physiology behind panic, evidence-based calming techniques, distinguishing panic from cardiac emergencies, and preventing escalation.

Recognizing appendicitis without imaging. Clinical signs, perforation timeline, antibiotics as bridge therapy, and the decision framework for when evacuation is impossible.

Managing asthma when pharmacy access is lost. Inhaler stockpiling, dosing extension, natural bronchodilators, trigger management, and recognizing when asthma becomes life-threatening.

Distinguishing local reaction from systemic anaphylaxis, epinephrine auto-injector use, biphasic reaction monitoring, and mass envenomation from multiple stings.

How to use broadleaf plantain as a field poultice for insect stings, bites, and splinters. Identification, preparation, and clinical applications in austere settings.

How to build a legitimate long-term medication supply. OTC essentials, strategies for obtaining prescription supplies, shelf life realities, and storage conditions.

How to design, plant, and maintain a medicinal herb garden focused on preparedness. Priority species, growing conditions, harvest timing, and preservation methods.

Classify burns by depth and total body surface area. Field treatment for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree burns including cooling, dressing, fluid replacement, and evacuation criteria.

How to grow, prepare, and use calendula for wound healing and skin conditions. Evidence-based applications, preparation methods, and storage for field use.

Recognizing and preventing caregiver burnout during extended emergency scenarios. Why caregivers are at elevated risk, early warning signs, practical prevention, and how burned-out caregivers harm the people they serve.

Differentiate cellulitis from abscess, identify MRSA risk factors, and perform incision and drainage when medical care is unavailable. Full field technique.

Evidence-based uses of chamomile for digestive problems, sleep, and anxiety. Preparation methods, dosing, and important allergy warnings for field use.

Field protocols for chemical and electrical burns. Decontamination technique, neutralization dangers, electrical injury assessment, and critical evacuation criteria.

How to assess and triage common childhood illnesses without physician access. Severity criteria, red flags, safe home management, and when evacuation is non-negotiable.

How trauma manifests differently in children by developmental stage. What helps versus what harms after traumatic events, regressive behaviors, and when a child needs more support than adults can provide.

Step-by-step choking response for adults, children, infants, pregnant women, and obese patients. Partial vs. complete obstruction and when to call 911.

How to use clove oil and whole cloves for emergency dental pain relief. Eugenol mechanism, application technique, and what cloves cannot treat.

How to prepare and apply comfrey poultice for sprains, bruises, and bone support. Includes preparation, dosing limits, and safety warnings about internal use.

Current American Heart Association CPR protocol for adults, children, and infants. Compression rate, depth, ratio, and AED use. Updated 2020 guidelines.

Recognition and management of crush injury syndrome (traumatic rhabdomyolysis). The reperfusion danger of removing crush, aggressive fluid resuscitation, and preventing acute kidney failure.

Assess dehydration severity in the field, make oral rehydration solution (ORS) from scratch, and know when dehydration requires IV fluids. WHO and CDC protocols.

How to manage dental abscess when care is delayed. Antibiotics, drainage facilitation, and recognizing the life-threatening progression to Ludwig's angina.

Managing diabetes without pharmacy access. Insulin storage without refrigeration, extending supplies, recognizing DKA and hypoglycemia, and long-term management strategies.

Field reduction techniques for shoulder, finger, and hip dislocations. When to attempt reduction, step-by-step technique for each joint, and post-reduction care.

Water rescue priorities, drowning resuscitation sequence, and secondary drowning warning signs. Key differences from standard CPR protocol.

What the evidence actually says about echinacea for immune support. Which species work, how to prepare them, dosing protocols, and when it genuinely helps.

How to make elderberry syrup and tincture from black elderberries. Evidence for influenza reduction, correct preparation to avoid toxicity, and dosing.

Complete protocol for assisting childbirth when no medical help is available. Normal delivery, cord management, placenta delivery, and recognizing complications.

Field treatment for the three most common serious eye injuries: foreign body, chemical exposure, and blunt trauma. Irrigation technique, what you can treat, and what requires urgent evacuation.

When to treat fever, when to worry, and how to reduce it. Age-specific thresholds, medication dosing, cooling techniques, and fever patterns that indicate serious infection.

When to suture a wound in the field, basic interrupted suture technique, materials needed, and what complications to watch for. For true grid-down emergencies.

When and how to extract a tooth when no dentist is available. Indications, instruments, anesthesia, technique, and post-extraction care. For genuine grid-down emergencies only.

Cross-reference table of fish antibiotics and their human medication equivalents. Dosing, indications, storage, and critical warnings for austere medical use.

How to assess fractures in the field: identifying fractures without X-ray, open vs. closed classification, neurovascular status, and what determines urgent evacuation.

How to prepare and use garlic for antimicrobial purposes. Allicin activation, dosing for oral and topical use, and evidence for effectiveness against bacteria including MRSA.

Managing gastroenteritis from dehydration prevention to antibiotic use. When to worry, how to maintain hydration, bacterial vs. viral differentiation, and the red flags that change management.

How to support grief in a disaster or grid-down scenario. What grief looks like in a crisis, what helps, and what to watch for in yourself and others.

Evidence-based strategies for maintaining group cohesion, morale, and function during extended emergencies. Leadership communication, conflict management, and the predictors of group collapse.

Differentiating heat exhaustion from heat stroke, cold water immersion protocol, and why speed of cooling determines survival. Classic vs. exertional heat stroke comparison.

How to use QuikClot and Combat Gauze to control life-threatening bleeding. Indications, technique, and comparison of the leading hemostatic dressings.

Evidence-based reference table of medicinal plants and their pharmaceutical equivalents. Active compounds, preparation methods, and dosing for grid-down medical scenarios.

Complete guide to making herbal tinctures using alcohol extraction. Folk method and weight-to-volume method, solvent selection, fresh vs. dried herb, dosing, and storage for long-term preparedness.

How to apply honey wound dressings for antibacterial wound care. Which honey to use, proper application technique, and wound types that benefit most.

Learn correct tourniquet placement for life-threatening limb bleeding. Step-by-step instructions with common mistakes to avoid.

Managing high blood pressure when medication access is lost. Lifestyle interventions with real data, stockpiling strategy, monitoring without electricity, and hypertensive emergency recognition.

Field assessment of hypothermia severity, rewarming techniques by stage, and critical mistakes to avoid. Includes cold water immersion protocol.

How to splint fractures in the field using improvised materials. Position of function, padding technique, and how to check if the splint is working.

Options for feeding an infant when commercial formula is unavailable. Breastfeeding support, relactation, donor milk, homemade formula risks, and solid food introduction.

Recognizing and managing kidney stone pain in the field. Distinguishing kidney stone from other causes, pain management protocols, stone passage support, and when kidney stones become emergencies.

Recognizing and responding to miscarriage in austere settings. Types, hemorrhage assessment, when it becomes life-threatening, and what to expect during recovery.

Evidence-based guide to natural antiseptics for wound care. Preparation, application, and actual antimicrobial effectiveness of honey, garlic, tea tree oil, and others.

Immediate assessment and care for a newborn in a field setting. Airway management, temperature control, cord care, and first-hour priorities.

What oil of oregano actually does, what the evidence supports, correct dosing, how to dilute it safely, and what it cannot replace. Practical field applications.

Complete OTC medication stockpile reference. What to buy, how much, shelf life, storage conditions, and rotation schedule for a household medical preparedness kit.

Complete reference table for OTC and herbal pain management. Dosing, mechanisms, combinations, and stacking protocols for different pain types.

Recognizing and treating dehydration in children and infants. ORS preparation and administration, severity assessment, and when dehydration requires IV fluids.

How to distinguish pneumonia from bronchitis without X-ray. Clinical findings, severity assessment, antibiotic selection, and when pneumonia requires evacuation.

Recognize and respond to life-threatening postpartum hemorrhage. Causes, assessment, uterine massage technique, and when to escalate.

How to monitor a pregnancy without physician access. What you can assess yourself, what supplements are essential, the warning signs that require evacuation, and how to track gestational age.

Evidence-based psychological first aid for disaster and crisis scenarios. The STOP model, stabilization techniques, and what to do when a person is overwhelmed.

How to recognize and manage PTSD in yourself and others during and after disasters. Symptom identification, evidence-based coping strategies, group dynamics, and when professional help is essential.

How to assess respiratory infection severity in the field. Distinguish upper vs. lower respiratory infection, pneumonia signs, and when antibiotics are warranted.

How to assess rib fractures, manage pain, recognize dangerous complications, and distinguish simple rib fractures from life-threatening chest injuries.

How to safely taper medications when supply runs out. Drug classes that require tapering, protocols for the highest-risk medications, and symptoms that indicate dangerous withdrawal.

Complete sanitation guide for grid-down scenarios. Latrine construction, handwashing protocols, waste disposal, and preventing the disease outbreaks that kill more people than disasters.

Managing epilepsy without pharmacy access. Anticonvulsant stockpiling, seizure first aid, status epilepticus recognition, triggers to avoid, and medication tapering if supply runs out.

The real effects of sleep deprivation on decision-making and safety, strategies for managing unavoidable sleep loss, sleep banking, and optimizing sleep in austere conditions.

Recognizing inhalation injury and CO poisoning, emergency treatment, and why normal pulse oximetry is dangerously unreliable in CO exposure.

Evidence-based snakebite response. The correct treatment protocol and the dangerous myths that kill people. Pit viper vs. coral snake management.

Identifying black widow and brown recluse bites. Clinical presentation, treatment options, and the difference between systemic and necrotic presentations.

When to suspect spinal injury and how to manage it in the field. NEXUS criteria for clearing a spine, field immobilization, and evacuation protocol.

Managing substance withdrawal when medical care is unavailable. Which withdrawals are life-threatening, assessment tools, symptom management, and danger signs.

How to place a temporary dental filling using ZOE cement (Dentemp), dental wax, and other materials. Step-by-step technique and what to expect.

Managing hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism when medication access is lost. Levothyroxine alternatives, dosing extensions, symptom monitoring, and which thyroid conditions are most dangerous without treatment.

Correct tick removal technique, identification of tick attachment time, and recognition and treatment of the major tick-borne diseases including Lyme disease and RMSF.

Step-by-step toothache management when a dentist is unavailable. Pain relief options, identifying the cause, and knowing when a toothache becomes a dangerous dental abscess.

Field management of traumatic amputation. Tourniquet application, hemorrhage control, wound care for the stump, handling the amputated part, and evacuation priorities.

What turmeric and curcumin actually do for inflammation. Bioavailability problem and how to solve it, preparation methods, therapeutic doses, and what turmeric cannot treat.

How to recognize and treat a urinary tract infection in the field. Simple vs. complicated UTI, antibiotic options, prevention, and when a UTI has progressed to kidney infection.

How to prepare and use valerian root for sleep and anxiety in austere settings. Evidence, dosing, preparation methods, and important limitations.

Species-by-species identification of North American venomous snakes by region. Venom type, range, distinguishing features, and clinical significance.

How to prepare and use willow bark as a natural aspirin alternative. Salicin extraction, dosing, and which willow species to use.

Step-by-step wound irrigation technique for field conditions. Correct pressure, volume, and solution to reduce infection risk without access to a hospital.

When to use butterfly strips, steri-strips, skin staples, or leave a wound open. Field decision guide for wound closure without a surgeon.

How to identify wound infection early, track progression, and manage it when antibiotics are unavailable. Signs of local vs. systemic infection with treatment protocols.

Step-by-step wound packing for cavitating wounds where tourniquets cannot be used. Technique, materials, pressure maintenance, and when to use hemostatic gauze.

Learn how to assess wound severity in the field using MARCH protocol. Classify injuries by type, depth, and contamination level to prioritize treatment.

How to use yarrow as a field wound herb. Identification, hemostatic application, preparation methods, and realistic limits of this widely available wild plant.