Last week at The Preparedness Experience we did a live video and talked about SHTF wound care, sanitation and cleanliness. This week we want to expand on that a bit and talk about SHTF injuries and prevention for preppers.

Some of you may know that I recently had emergency appendix surgery, and while it isn’t a “major” surgery compared to some others, it is life threatening if not taken care or. This led me to think about what I would do in a SHTF scenario when and if surgery was not an option.

The harsh truth is that there are a number of illness, injuries and preexisting conditions that could be game changers in any sort of disaster scenario. Because of advancements in medicine and technology the average lifespan has doubled in just 100 years. In a SHTF situation, all of that changes.

SPP264 SHTF Injuries and Prevention for Preppers

This weeks show isn’t a “how to survive this or that” type show. As preppers we are trying to find the answer to every question, but the truth is, sometimes there just isn’t an answer. These days when we get sick or injured it’s easy to get the help we need, in a SHTF situation we could find ourselves on our own.

Listener Questions

We started off this weeks show talking about the video about SHTF wound care, sanitation and hygiene we did last Sunday and answered a couple of good questions we didn’t get to that night.

• Crystal: What are the items we should probably be stockpiling that we’re just not thinking of? I have soaps but for general sanitation, do we need cans of Lysol? Lots of bleach? What am I probably not buying??
• John: Thank you both for all that you do. I look forward to your new podcasts each week and you’re both by far my favorite prep related podcasters out there. I appreciate your down to earth approach to prepping while still emphasizing it’s importance.  My question for Lisa is, if you could only grab one first aid / medical supply in an emergency, what would it be and why.

Avoiding Conflict…

We hear all the time about all these trauma supplies and how to stop major bleeding or treat major injuries. While all these supplies are important to have, our focus should be getting out (or away) before these supplies become necessary.

Don’t get me wrong, trauma supplies and skills are very valuable, but just like concealed carry, it’s something we need to have, but hope to never have to use. Our best chance to survive any situation is to stay out of it in the first place.

This is why getting critical intelligence, paying attention to how a situation is unfolding, and planning are so important. By avoiding dangerous situations we can “live to fight another day” as they say.

Unavoidable Injuries or Illness

Having my surgery led me to think about how I would have handled that situation if the S had hit the fan. The truth is, there isn’t an easy answer. How much medical help that would be available all depend on how bad the disaster scenario is, and some conditions require professional medical help.

In the show we talked about what some of the alternative might be, and most are less than desirable. If you are able to have a surgeon in your MAG group that would be ideal, but it doesn’t guarantee anything. Other options include having to travel into areas that you were trying to avoid to seek out medical help.

Unexpected Surprises

A broken rib or sprained ankle at home could be no big deal, but if you are bugging out could be a huge issue. While injuries do happen, and some are just unavoidable, most accidents are the result of over confidence or plain old not paying attention.

Unexpected injuries in a SHTF situation is another example of why the lone wolf approach is not a good idea. If we find ourselves with a broken are or broken leg we are going to need help from others.

Preexisting Conditions

Injuries or illnesses that require periodic medical attention will restrict your SHTF planning and execution. The rule of thumb is to get away from people when the S hits the fan, but with preexisting issues, you may need to stay around where the help is.

This is also why it’s important to go to the doctor and make sure there are no preexisting conditions you didn’t know about. The healthier we are going into any disaster scenario, the less likely we are to have unexpected surprises.