Great Depression Survival Kit - What You Must Have to Protect Yourself and Your Family

By DEREK CLONTZ
Your World Report

Global economic collapse that could leave billions of people without access to adequate medical care for a year or longer is a terrifying specter on the horizon, say experts - but you can protect yourself from a health disaster with an inexpensive medical survival kit that includes the items we recommend below:

1. Five or more gallons of fresh distilled water, bottled, for flushing wounds and other sterile purposes in emergencies.

2. Bandages, gauze, sharp scissors, tweezers, throw-away scalpels, disposable gloves, adhesive bandages, needle and sterile thread and other rudimentary medical and surgical tools.

3. Several bottles of rubbing alcohol.

4. A year’s supply of aspirin or any other pain reliever of your choosing, prescription if you can get it, over-the-counter if you can’t. Herbal stress relievers such as Rescue Remedy and no-stress capsules can help with anxiety  generally, as related to the economic crash, and specifically as related to trauma or injury.

5. Several 8-oz. bottles of colloidal nano-silver liquids  that can be used in lieu of or in addition to prescription antibiotics for dental and systemic infections. Potent trace-mineral “wound sprays“ derived from purified sea salts have a long shelf-life and will come in handy for direct application as needed.

6. A supply of anti-bacterial, immune-supporting herbs to defend against bacterial outbreaks and epidemics or, if it should happen, a terror attack against the U.S. For sheer affordability, as we gave judged in our long experience with herbals, Carnivora Venus Flytrap Extract and high-powered, guaranteed-potency Cat’s Claw products are excellent choices.

7. A supply of any good anti-viral formulation that contains licorice root, goldenseal root extract, and St. John’s wort extract for additional support against viral outbreaks.

Many people already have these herbs on their medicine shelf already. Survivalists, for example. almost certainly have them stashed away, as do herbalists and people who prefer natural medications over synthetic pharmaceuticals.

8. Toilet paper - and lots of it. Not necessarily a medical need, but important for people who are used to it. Considered a joke by some. survivalists have long made it clear that TP, like ammunition for guns, will become extraordinarily valuable during an economic meltdown.

The Department of Homeland Security and other authorities include the items below for the most comprehensive possible kit to meet any emergency: 

Dressings (sterile, applied directly to wound)

• • Pads
    • Sterile eye pads
    • Sterile gauze pads
    • Sterile non-adherent pads
    • Burn dressing (sterile pad soaked in a cooling gel)

Bandages

• Gauze roller bandages - absorbent, breathable, and often elastic
• Elastic bandages - used for sprains, and pressure bandages
• Adhesive, elastic roller bandages - very effective pressure bandages or durable, waterproof bandaging
• Triangular bandages - used as slings, tourniquets, to tie splints, and many other uses

• Adhesive bandages (band-aids, sticking plasters)
  • Straight adhesive bandages
  • Moleskin— for blister treatment
  • Butterfly (knuckle) bandages and wound closure strips

Instruments

• Adhesive tape, hypoallergenic
• Trauma shears, for cutting clothing and general use
• Tweezers
• Lighter, for sterilizing tweezers or pliers etc
• 20-cc syringe with catheter tip for wound irrigation with sterile saline solution
• Rubber suction bulb, for clearing the airway of an unconscious patient

Equipment

• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
  • Gloves, disposable non-latex
  • CPR mask or other breathing barrier such as a face shield
• Scissors
• Eye cup or small plastic cup
• Torch (also known as a flashlight)
• Instant-acting chemical cold packs
• Sterile eye wash (commonly saline)
  • Sterile saline (used for cleaning wounds where clean tap water is not available, but note that even clean tap water should be converted to normal saline by adding salt)
• Swabs, sterile non-woven
• Space blanket (lightweight plastic foil blanket, also known as “emergency blanket”)
• Alcohol rub (hand sanitizer) or antiseptic hand wipes
• Thermometer
• Penlight

Medication

• Antiseptics/antimicrobial
  • Povidone iodine wipes (use for first-aid disputed)
  • Benzalkonium Chloride (use for first-aid disputed)
  • Alcohol pads - used to prep unbroken skin for injections etc. or to disinfect equipment such as thermometers.
• Antibiotic pills (use for first-aid disputed)
  • Antibiotic ointment - single, double, or triple antibiotic ointment in petroleum jelly base (use for first-aid disputed)
• Antiseptic/anesthetic ointment, fluid or spray, for example Lidocaine
• Anti-fungal cream
• Anti-itch ointment
  • Hydrocortisone cream
  • Calamine lotion
• Painkillers / fever reducers
  • Acetaminophen
  • Ibuprofen - anti-inflammatory, often more effective than acetaminophen.
  • Aspirin
• Anti diarrhea medication such as Loperamide Immodium
• Oral rehydration salt
• Antihistamine
  • diphenhydramine (brand name Benadryl)
• Aloe vera gel - used for a wide variety of skin problems, including burns, sunburns, itching, and dry skin; used as a substitute for triple-antibiotic gel to keep a wound moist and prevent bandages from sticking
• Burn gel - a water-based gel that acts as a cooling agent and often includes a mild anesthetic such as lidocaine and, sometimes, an antiseptic such as tea tree oil
• Epinephrine auto-injector (brand name Epipen) - often included in kits for wilderness use and in places such as summer camps, to treat anaphylactic shock.
• Poison treatments
  • Activated charcoal
  • Syrup of ipecac
• QuikClot is a hemostatic agent sometimes included in first aid kits, especially military kits, to control severe bleeding.
• Tincture of benzoin— improves tape adhesion to skin, toughens cracked skin

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