Tag: medic shack

The Medic Shack: Amputation – First Aid and Post Aid

Chuck at The Medic Shack talks about amputating injuries, first aid for them, and post aid while using photos from his son’s recent injury. So be warned of finger amputation photos through the link.

This post is on Amputation. What first aid and also post aid needs to be done.

NOTE: Some of the images at the end of this are graphic. They are of my son’s finger and the wound. 

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Background

Normally when I write a blog post its from current events, past experiences both civilian and or military. This time I am using my youngest son as our topic. This past week (Tuesday the 4th of August) he had a pretty normal day at work. He works at a motorcycle accessory shop. Sells gear and he is about the most requested tire man in the city.

People bring him tires to mount that they bought from all over. From the store he works at to mail order The reason he is so requested is he cares for the customer and the motorcycle. Never scratches or damages a rim. He recently did a set of tires that the rims cost 2 grand each. Personally requested by the bike owner. Not bad for a 19 year old young man. Today’s post ties in to one from may on one we did years ago on Emergencies 

Where did my finger go?

He and his manager were moving out the old tire machine for the brand new one the store bough. As they were lifting it on the pallet the old one came on, the bead breaker slipped out of position, dropped down and amputated his lift index finger between the 3rd knuckle and the nail bed. (Knuckles are counted from nearest to the hand to the finger tip. Think of drawing and angle from the cuticle backwards from that point at a 45 degree angle to the 1st knuckle. If folks have taken my classes or shooting classes from some of my friends, you have heard me say that a traumatic injury is not a painful as it looks. For a while at least.

According to Ryan it felt like he pinched his finger. Not to bad. He went to keep lifting and he looked down and saw the blood covering the floor and tire machine. His mechanic glove was torn and the end of it was missing. The body has amazing self preservation tools. I’ve know gunshot victims who were shot, walked down a flight of stairs with a suspect in custody, put them in the patrol car and then died.

First Aid

STOP THE BLEEDING! This cannot be stressed enough STOP THE BLEEDING. Even an injury like my son Ryan has can be dangerous if the bleeding is not stopped. When blood is spilled on the floor it looks 5 times as much as it is.

The blood loss Ryan had was about ¼ a cup 60 cc more or less. It looked like more. MUCH more. 2 fluid ounces is not much in the grand scale of the body. An adult will have approximately 1.2-1.5 gallons (or 10 units) of blood in their body. The average us 1.2 gallons or 5 liters

Now the scary part. The ½ cup of blood he lost was in the first minute! And it was not pure arterial flow. It was a mixed flow. The finger tips do not have large arteries in them The vessels are about 1/32nd of an inch in diameter (.79 mm). DIRECT PRESSURE.

Ryan has been trained extensively in first aid. Well he HIS my and his mom’s son. Growing up in a medical family has advantages. He squeezed below the wound and yelled he needed something to help hold it. His manager and the vendor grabbed shop towels and put pressure on it. Sat him down with his hand higher than his heart and called 911.

If at all possible retrieve the amputated part, wrap in clean cloth or sterile bandage material, place in a baggie, and place that baggie into one containing ice. This gives the surgeons the best chance of re-attachment.

To tourniquet or to not tourniquet.

There is a sorted history on the tourniquet. Lets go back to the 1980’s As an old medic, when we had a wound that needed a tourniquet, we put it on, marked a “T” on the patients forehead with date and time of application. If your patient was going to be with you for a few hours, every hour or so we would loosen the tourniquet for a short time to allow blood to the part below the tourniquet. The reapply it.

This did not work as well as expected. For a tourniquet to work it has to be tight. TIGHT. When it is applied correctly. Tissues will be damaged. When tissue is damaged there is swelling. We call it edema. So when we let off the tourniquet, let some blood down, then re applied it, the bleeding would stop and all was good in the world. Until the patient bled out. What happened was when the tourniquet was re-applied, it compressed the edema, and stopped the flow. But once the edema had been moved, the tourniquet was now loose…(continues)

Click here to read the entire article at The Medic Shack.

The Medic Shack: Prepping 101 – Water

Chuck at The Medic Shack talks about water preparedness, including storage and sanitization in Water – Prepping 101 the Basics.

As the SARS-2-Covid-19 bug I coming for another round for us. And as we dig further and further into the latest high tech gadget to make sure our homes are free from the Virus. So do you have enough water? A lot of people found they had holes in their preps, or came up short for needed supplies. Also a lot of people found out that they didnt prep at all. So I decided to bring back the prepping 101 series. But do it as a prepping 101 Dont’ forget the basics. What are the basics?

  1. Store water (safely)
  2. Make sure you are able to cook the food you’ve stored
  3. Implement an off-grid waste system (Trash and toilet waste)
  4. Pack a bug out bag with a bug out plan

How many folks here store water? How do you store it? Do you rotate?? What do you do to preserve it?

As a child of the NM desert living in South Carolina, the waste here is DEVASTATING to me. Folks here literally let it run down the street! (Whoa panic attack coming on. DEEP breath) In a state where the water table is measured in inches rather than the hundreds of feet back home………

Back on topic. In our house we store 3 types of water. Yup y’all heard me. 3 types Bottled, Bulk and other. Bottled water. We store, on hand for each person 3 cases each Sounds like a lot, but in reality its only about 15 gallons. (Depending on the size of the case you buy.  YMMV.)

Why Bottled?

First its easy. Easy to store easy to grab and go with and easy to use in an emergency. Don’t be sucked into the Designer Waters. There is not a bit of difference between Great Value brand bottled water and the 5x as much case bottled by the leading cola company. 3 cases per person.

Bulk water.

Here is where storage becomes and issue. Bulk can be anything from 5 gallon bottles to the 300 gallon cube /caged containers and larger. The issue with storing large quantities of water is keep it “pure and sanitized”

Back in the day.

Decades ago, Chris and had a water bed. It was NOT a good storage idea. Well it was’t a good Idea to have to sleep on your storage Keeping it clean and drinkable was tough. Heated water loves to grow bugs. But it gave us and idea. We tried twin sized bed bladders. They worked but they are a pain to handle. And they need a frame to support them.

The 21st century.

Thankfully today bulk water storage is easier. We use a couple of things. First is the 360 gallon “Cubie” container. That contains rain water that is sanitised for dinking if needed, but it is our “Other” water. It is to flush the toilet, wash dishes, wash hands and people. In a pinch we can drink it safely. Also its to water our garden. South Carolina has lots of rain. So refilling it is not an issue Its big,. Its bad and a hurricane isnt moving it. In the house we have racks of 5 gallon containers. We use this 4 tier high bottle rack.

Each person in the family has 1 rack 20 gallons of for each person. Also just ordered one of these pumps for the 5 gallon water bottles. My wife has trouble lifting it on the dispenser. This will make it a lot easier. This is the one we bought.

More bulk.

Under each bed is a 50 gallon bladder. Today the one that we used has been replaced by a better one for what we paid for ours. The new one is 60 gallons tougher and no plastic taste that ours had for a long time.

That is a lot of water!

It seems so. 1 360 gallon cube container. 4 5 gallon bottles of water per person. 1 50 gallon water bladder per person. It comes out to 730 gallons of water in our house. Thats a metric poop ton (As my eldest Jake says!) of water. According to the EPA we use about 300 gallons per person per day. That 730 gallons we have put by will only last a 2 people 2 ¼ days give or take. Most medical people suggest that we drink at least 4 quarts (1 gallon) of water per day. We can double or even triple that depending on exertion level, temperature and humidity.

Now add in water needed for food prep washing up and basic hygiene, and you could hit 10 gallons a day. Doesn’t sound like much compared to 300 gallons. But at that rate you’d be out in a week. I wrote a piece on sanitizing for the Covid virus In it I talked about using bleach and pool shock to make bleach. Looking at it we didn’t talk about using it to purify water

Sanitizing water

Disinfect water using household bleach, if you can’t boil water. Only use regular, unscented chlorine bleach products that are suitable for disinfection and sanitation as indicated on the label. The label may say that the active ingredient contains 6 or 8.25% of sodium hypochlorite. Do not use scented, color safe, or bleaches with added cleaners. If water is cloudy, let it settle and filter it through a clean cloth, paper towel, or coffee filter.

    • Locate a clean dropper from your medicine cabinet or emergency supply kit.
    • Use the table below as a guide to decide the amount of bleach you should add to the water, for example, 8 drops of 6% bleach, or 6 drops of 8.25% bleach, to each gallon of water. Double the amount of bleach if the water is cloudy, colored, or very cold.
    • Stir and let stand for 30 minutes. The water should have a slight chlorine odor. If it doesn’t, repeat the dosage and let stand for another 15 minutes before use.
    • If the chlorine taste is too strong, pour the water from one clean container to another and let it stand for a few hours before use.

Volume of Water

Amount of 6% Bleach to Add*

Amount of 8.25% Bleach to Add*

1 quart/liter

2 drops

2 drops

1 gallon

8 drops

6 drops

2 gallons

16 drops (1/4 tsp)

12 drops (1/8 teaspoon)

4 gallons

1/3 teaspoon

1/4 teaspoon

8 gallons

2/3 teaspoon

1/2 teaspoon

 

*Bleach may contain 6 or 8.25% sodium hypochlorite.

That will put you on the right track for making your water safe to drink. Also Do not forget to sanitize your containers!

Filters

Filters are a useful item. We have a few types. For personal use and in the Bug Out Bag, (More on that in a later). The Life Straw. Is a GREAT tool. Everyone has one and a spare filter. For the home if you can afford it, The Big Berkey Is the standard of the industry, But it is PRICEY…

Click here to continue reading at The Medic Shack.

The Medic Shack: Less Than Lethal Rounds. Are They?

Chuck at The Medic Shack has an article about Less Than Lethal Rounds, what damage they do and how to treat the wounds in the field. If you’re particularly squeamish to wound pictures, there are a couple of photos in the article which may disturb you.

Last time we were here, we talked about Chemical Defense. The week we move to things that can make a hole in you. This week its all about Less than lethal rounds.

What is the Rubber Bullet

The so called rubber bullet is not non lethal. It is a less lethal bullet. It has and will cause death if not used correctly or with malice.

A rubber bullet (LL round) is normally blunt to a flat tip. When it hits think of getting hit with a golf ball at close range. It will hurt like hell. Also it will cause massive bruising around the area of impact.

 

 

If fired at close range it will penetrate and act like a low velocity pistol bullet. It’s wound channel is wide and can cause severe damage to tissue, tendons, nerves and blood vessels.

If a person is taking blood thinners rubber bullets can cause severe bleeding under the skin which can be dangerous.

In 2016 a study was performed on the damage caused by rubber bullets. The results were eye opening to say the least. All images in this section are taken from the study

Pattern of rubber bullet injuries in the lower limbs: A report from Kashmir 

One thing noticed was when a LL round was fired at close range its wound channel was much larger than the bullet diameter. It was found that on impact a large portion of these rounds skewed sideways and a few tumbled a few times after impact…

As seen in the above image the wound is oblong, not round as one would expect. This tissue damage is seen though the wound channel.

Should You Remove a Rubber Bullet? Disclaimer

Before we go any further…

Use of the information on this site is AT YOUR OWN RISK, intended solely for self-help, in times of emergency, when medical help is not available, and does not create a doctor-patient relationship. We here can not diagnose, prescribe medication or treatments. We are not doctors, NP’s or PA’s

The information on this site is meant to be used only during times when improvisational, last-ditch efforts are all that is possible. When writing posts, the author often assumes that if anyone uses the advice, the person will have no access to regular medical equipment or supplies. This author always assumes that the person will not have access to professional medical care. DO NOT USE THIS INFORMATION WHEN YOU CAN GET MORE TRADITIONAL OR PROFESSIONAL CARE.

First off, see the disclaimer above. /\

Problems with Removing a Rubber Bullet

With that out of the way, the big question is, “Do I or Do I NOT remove the rubber bullet?”

Blindly probing around in a wound is dangerous. You can cause extreme bleeding by dissecting and/or damaging a blood vessel, such as an artery or a large vein. This can cause your patient to bleed out. It doesn’t take long.

You can also cause permanent and crippling damage to the person.

In the modern world when a bullet is removed, we take X-rays and CT scans. Ultrasound is also used to guide the surgeon to the object. It is NOT the toss the Bowie Knife on the fire and take a slug of whiskey and start digging.

Even in the worst of times I would usually clean the wound and then pack and dress it and let the docs with a MD degree or who came out of Ft. Sam Houston take out the bullet.

BUT…….

An old friend and mentor of mine who passed away about 15 years ago from pancreatic cancer taught me a lot about surgery. He told me that the best surgical instrument ever made was the index finger. He also said that the sharpest object one should ever put in the human body is, you guessed it, your index finger.

There were (and will be) times when a DUSTOFF was unable to come, or it was not in our best interests to go to a civilian hospital. If it was not in a dangerous area, I would remove one. Notice, I said I would remove one. I was trained in the best facility on the planet for combat medicine. The United States Army Medical Department and School, Fort Sam Houston Texas. as a 91B40.

However that is something that is too involved to cover safely and responsibly in a blog post. You really want to learn? Let’s get a class together and I’ll do a live, in person one. It is dangerous to do. And, without the proper training, you’d be a menace to your patient.

What we will go over is the first aid needed to treat these in the field and let the professionals do the fixing.

Treating a Rubber Round Injury In the Field

In a SHTF situation, the treatment of this is flushing the wound with copious amounts of saline. Water can be used, but an isotonic saline solutionis much more effectiveand a bit less painful than water. As a combat medic, I would flush a wound like this with a mixture of 500cc ( ½ quart) of saline and 30 cc ( 1 ounce) of Betadine. Using a 60 cc syringe or a turkey baster style bulb syringe

This is from a advanced class I taught on gunshot wounds, showing how I flushed the wound track in the tissue, (pork shoulder).

 

Let’s look at some real life wounds from the Kashmir report, linked to above…

LL rounds are NASTY. They HURT, and a lot of people after being shot with one refuse advanced medical care.

So lets talk about GSW care, MINUS the removal.

First you will need a REAL first aid kit. No not the 5.99 one from Walmart. A true blow out kit. These are a 1 time use kit that has only the items you need to stop the bleeding of a GSW (Gun Shot Wound).

This Kit, Everlit Emergency Trauma Kit is a decent kit.  It has everything you need to treat a variety of traumas. This stuff is not cheap. The trauma kit with chest seal will set you back  70 bucks or so. And, it is a one time use.

Yes, there are cheaper. And, there are much more expensive. This set up is a mid-range kit that fills your needs. You will see kits with many different style of tourniquets. This one comes with the industry standard. the Combat Action Tourniquet (CAT). In my opinion there is none better.

Train with Your Kit

So you have this kit. Pop Quiz Medic. What do you do with it?

Grab the Israeli bandage from the kit, or this 6 inch Israeli compression bandage. Open it and practice putting it on.

The kits come with a CAT tourniquet, and it is reusable. But, having 2 is better (remember, 2 is 1 and 1 is none). Here’s an extra CAT Tourniquet.  Practice putting one on…

 

The Medic Shack: Triage

Chuck at The Medic Shack has an article introducing people to the concept of Triage.

Triage. An introduction to combat medicine.

Welcome to the next level of preparedness. Trauma. Trauma can come from many sources. A slip with an knife in the kitchen. A smashed thumb in the workshop. A terrible cut from a chainsaw. Being at the wrong place at the wrong time and caught up in a riot. Now add in those same injuries, but multiply times 10. You now have a MCE. Pick the scenario. It can happen. Learning how to prioritize, delegate, investigate, assess and treat are skills anyone can learn.

Applying them with out emotion is a different beast altogether. It is doable. One of the hardest things to master in triage is seeing the injuries, and not getting personal with them. Another is being able to itemize the injuries, almost coldly and place them in the order of severity, and the order of treatment.

This is a HUGE deviation from the basic first aid that we talk about. With the fast moving changes sweeping the country and the world, Cat from The Herbal Prepper and I decided that we need to change up some of our topics and delve into more advanced lifesaving.

A word of warning and disclaimer. We are not doctors. We can not diagnose, prescribe or treat injury nor illness outside of a SHTF situations. This blog post is for informational use only. Pagan Preparedness, nor the owners, operators, instructors or author’s claim any responsibility for people using this information in any manner.

Glossary of terms

MOI= Method Of Injury

LOC=Level Of Consciousness

LOR = Loss of Resistance

MCE Mass Casualty Event

Triage= The process of sorting people based on their need for immediate medical treatment as compared to their chance of benefiting from such care.

The military triage flow sheet.

This is the method I used as a combat medic. There are terms here that people may be uncomfortable with. Items like balancing resources that you have now, to what you may have to what benefit it will give the patient, AND what loss/benefit of the expending those supplies will have on the group

Triage Decision Flowchart

Triage Decision Flowchart, showing the five steps in the triage process.

Step 1: Remove GREEN patients. Get help, you can’t do it all yourself

ASSESS:

2: MOI

3: LOC

4: Breathing.

 

Always remember. There are many more patients than rescuers.

Triage is designed to separate patients into categories according to their injuries, level of consciousness , and yes even if they are alive. It is important to do the examination quickly but be very complete with it. Lives depend on it. This is one the things that gives us medics bad dreams. At the triage station you may have to make a decision on if someone lives or dies.

The triage that we’ll go over here, is slightly different than what one will see in the local emergency room. The basics are the same, but the application of a hostile or dangerous environment adds a new level of difficulty,

An example of the difference between combat and civilian triage is the Boston Marathon bombing. The civilian medics on site risked their lives and rushed to the aid of the victims. And treated them where they fell. There also was a detachment of Army Medics to support the Army team running. They risked their lives and rushed to the aid of the victims AND SNATCHED THEM UP AND BROUGHT THEM TO SAFETY BEFORE TREATING THEM. The civilian medics triage and treated on site. Military medics, train to if at all possible get the victim to a safe or at least safer area before triage or treating…(continues)

The Medic Shack: Herbal Help for Covid 19

Chuck at The Medic Shack shares some herbal info for boosting the immune system and soothing symptoms of coronavirus.

Herbal Help for Covid 19

Herbal Help for Covid 19 We have been busy. My work has been either totally crazy or worrying about getting enough hours. So I’ve been off the keyboard doing a lot to get things better prepared. The other day my wife told me. You need to start taking your own advice that you write about. Well she really said Read your own damn web pages and DO IT. So that is what we’ve been doing. Got a rushed straw bale garden going Working on some trades. Making a Bowie knife to trade for some things. Filling holes in our preps. Gods I wish we had what we had in New Mexico.

But we don’t. We started from scratch. Like a lot of you. So look if we can do it, y’all can also.

Lets talks about this little bug that is causing such a hubbub.

Covid 19

There is some good news about it. Wait WHAT? Good news? Well YEAH.

  • It is not Ebola or Marberg,
  • Covid19  doesn’t have the high mortality of MERS or Hanta,
  • It hasn’t made Zombies…… Yet.

Overall it has a 98% survival rate. For Gods Sakes. We take bigger risks than that driving to work in rush our traffic here in Charleston.

The at risk population mainly appears to be among the elderly or those with per-existing lung conditions or per-existing conditions that lower immunity. It also seems to affect folks with pre existing cardiac issues. Heart failure and coronary artery disease are the 2 biggies. So far it’s primary way of death is Pneumonia. Lets try to prevent that

The Herbalist point of view.

I’ve been talking with some herbalists that know a lot more than me. All pretty much agree we need to support and build up the body against lower respiratory infection. Talking with some respiratory therapists one of the issues the body has with pneumonia is the bacterial infection and the triggering of the immune response can coat the lungs with “gunk” And yes that is a proper medical term! This can make a incubation “soup” that allows more bacteria to breed and grow. Enter the Lymphatic system. It removes the waste and broken down bacteria, fluids and other items from the lungs. Echinacea is good go to for that. Astragalus, and Ginger are also good. Back home in New Mexico I would use Ginger Echinacea and Ocotillo stems as a tea or tincture.

Coughing

Another thing the virus does is produce a cough. Most of the time it starts out dry. But as infection spreads it turns to a wet, productive cough. The dry cough can be soothed by Marshmallow (Not the Stay Puff kind) Mullein and Pleurisy Root. I sometimes add in some slippery elm to lubricate things up to help sooth the dryness a bit. Not to much.

If/when it transitions to the wet cough we don’t want to stop it. Sounds wrong, but a wet productive cough is the body trying to move the “gunk” out of the body. We now want to help the body “dry out” the lungs and get that crud out. Decent expectorants include elecampane,thyme, Hyssop Lobela and ginger.

Elderberry.

This one is causing a storm. Some think that it causes a cytokine storm and helps the virus with that. I’ve never seen it. I have heard of it from elderberries, but it is very rare. Now there is some work being done with Elder flowers. The flower of the Elder tree. It is showing a higher penchant for attacking a virus than the berry. We use both. I am leaning more toward the elderflower since it is far less sweet and they go a lot farther than the whole berries. I have read that instead of a full 8 ounce cup of the elderflower tea it shows more effect by taking small shots multiple times a day. A few drops of tincture instead of a whole dropper. Right now we have tea in the fridge and a percolation cone going of tincture.

Fire Cider

Our old friend who got “trademarked” by a low life company, They eventually lost the lawsuit. UNFORTUNATELY we don’t have the 6 weeks to make it. Thanks to my partner in prepping crime There is an instant version. Full details are here. Instant Fire Cider, but here is the gist of it:

A very similar remedy can be made at home, right now, with very inexpensive ingredients. You probably already have some, if not all, ingredients in your kitchen. It’s filled with decongesting, anti-inflammatory, and immune boosting ingredients. I’m not as big of a fan of “hot & spicy” as others, but I can’t deny the effectiveness of this combination.

Here’s the recipe (makes 8 oz):

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup raw apple cider vinegar
  • 1/3 cup lemon juice or the juice of 2 lemons
  • 1 teaspoon ground cayenne
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • Pinch of cracked black pepper
  • 1/3 cup of raw honey

Directions

  • Add lemon juice, vinegar, and spices to your jar
  • Add honey to bring up to 8 ounces
  • all ingredients in a small jar (like a mason jar or hex jar)
  • Shake well to mix
  • Store in the refrigerator

Finally.

This is a short post. More of a what you can do before and if/when you’re infected. Get off you butt and start gathering the items I’ve listed here. There is no cure and no vaccine. But the gods have giving us the things we need to fight it. Herbs trees and most importantly a brain to do it with. Don’t get all caught up in the media panic or the panic at the stores. Keep a cool head, buy supplies when you can, as you can. Take care of your community, your inner circle. Look if you don’t have to dig into your stores right now then don’t. Use the time we have to keep adding. Don’t buy huge quantities. That makes you a target. Baby steps. Be that no descrpit person that is talked about in the police shows. “What did he/she look like ma’am? I don’t know. Average looking”.

Some herbs to track down

  • Yarrow
  • Astagalus
  • Elecampane
  • Pleurisy root
  • Horehound
  • Mullein
  • Lobela
  • Elderberry and Elderflower
  • Ginger
  • Tumeric
  • Cayanne
  • ACV
  • Honey
  • Hyssop
  • Clear alcohol. IE Vodka , everclear
  • Marshmallow
  • Thyme

There is so much more to cover but there is not much time and much to do. We’ll keep posting as we can. Please add comments to theses posts. Add to them. Share them We will make it though this mess. We will emerge into a different world than we left on January 1 2020. We’ll deal with that as we can. We have some bad stuff coming. Keep your wits about y’all and don’t give up. We’ll make it though this mess and get ready for the next. We have a poop ton of information we have written about prior on The Medic Shack Use them and share them.

Medic Shack: Basics of Herbal Medicine Webinar,

The Medic Shack usually teaches The Basics of Herbal Medicine as a live, in-person class, but because of the pandemic is moving the class on-line. It will tentatively start on March 28th and go for 2 or 3 weekends.

 I have some irons in the fire, and one of them was a local class on the basics of herbal medicine. This was going to be at our house in Summerville SC. We can do up to 6 or so folks at a time. Well with this virus and everything all Topsy turvey, we’re going to do it on line over a few days.

This will be a live webinar, with a study guide and suggested equipment. This is not a herbal certification course like my bud Cat Ellis teaches. This is a get your feet wet on making tinctures, tisanes and  decoctions, What you should treat and what should be left to the pros. Going to do a tentative start date of the weekend of the 28th of March. We can knock this our in 2 or 3 weekends. I’ll take as long as needed to make sure everyone’s questions are answered. We haven’t worked out the cost for the class, but it will be a lot less expensive than the in person one would be. Hope to see you folks there!

This may be the safest way to have classes…

Topics to be covered:images

• Herbal theory
• Introduction to making Tinctures and Herbal teas
• Colloidal silver• Pain control
• Herbal clot accelerators,
• Bites, burns and Skin irritations
• Respiratory and Allergens
• Equipment and safety considerations
• Anti-microbial and Anti-viral

Webinar announcement page

Webinar Signup page

The Medic Shack: COVID-19

Chuck at The Medic Shack shares his thoughts and preparations for the COVID-19 virus sweeping the world.

The Coronavirus, Covid-19 is rampaging around the country. People are dying in America.

Okay. Got your attention now? The above statement is true. It is NOT as bad as it sounds. As of 3-4-2020 11 people have died from Covid-19.  But its the delivery of the sentence that makes it menacing.

The Covid 19 virus is spreading. We are having community acquired illnesses happening We have confirmed deaths in the US from it. We have people panicking over it. People are scared and are grasping at straws of hope from some real unsavory news sources. I do not have the answers people want. Hell I’m no doctor nor epidemiologist. What I am, is a person who has seen disease break out in the 3rd world and here in the US. That has treated people as a US Army Medic, Paramedic and instructor.

So lets get to what we do know.

Coronaviruses are a group of viruses that can cause a range of symptoms including a runny nose, cough, sore throat and fever. Some are mild, such as the common cold, while others are more likely to lead to pneumonia. They’re usually spread through direct contact with an infected person. Other well-known coronaviruses include SARS and MERS

COVID-19 is similar to other respiratory illnesses and symptoms include a fever, dry cough, sore throat and headache. There may also be aches and pains, fatigue and, in some cases, vomiting and diarrhea.

While most cases are mild, some individuals may experience more severe symptoms such as shortness of breath and difficulty breathing, and may experience pneumonia in both lungs. Those with health issues or underlying conditions may also have a harder time recovering. The incubation period is still up in the air. From as little as 2 days to as much as 21. The “happy” medium is about 14 days.

It may 14 days or longer after exposure for symptoms to appear. It also appears to be contagious during the incubation period.

What’s the difference between a cold, a flu and COVID-19?

All three are respiratory illnesses but each is caused by a different virus. The cold is caused by the rhinovirus, the flu is caused by the influenza virus, and COVID-19 is caused by the novel 2019 coronavirus. All three can lead to pneumonia if complicated by other health issues or underlying conditions

The cold, flu and COVID-19 are all spread the same way, from close person-to-person interaction, though the cold and COVID-19 can also spread through airborne particles.

COVID-19 like a bad cold and the flu does it’s worse damage on those that have co-morbidity COPD, Uncontrolled Diabetes. Hypertension. Weakened immune system, overweight with general poor health. This is targeted to some dear friends I know and love. Overworked. Over stressed. Not caring for themselves. Not enough sleep. When you get weakened by health or life, your immune system is taxed.

If you add in ANY co morbidity to that you are at a high risk of getting ANY VIRUS.

Going back to one of my favorite movies, Pop Quiz hot shot You walk into a crowded grocery store. A shopper has coronavirus. What puts you most at risk of getting infected by that person? WHAT DO YOU DO???

Experts agree they have a great deal to learn, but four factors likely play some role: how close you get; how long you are near the person; whether that person projects viral droplets on you; and how much you touch your face. Also age and health are huge factors.

A virus by itself is immobile. It can not move on its own and it is to small to be moved by wind. It needs to catch a lift. A droplet of moisture, Dust. Dander from pets or people. That is why the masks come into play. No mask outside of a Level 3 or 4 suit from Fort Meade can stop a virus. They are on the average .1 to .17 microns. The best N95 can stop only to .3 microns Your surgical mask can stop particles of about 5 microns in size. N95s are in very short supply.

So short that hospitals are having a bit of a tough time to get them. And what new masks come off the line are not heading to Amazon or Home Depot. They are heading to the CDC and your health care facilities. Unless you read our article on the N95 mask, be aware that most people do not know how to properly seal one. N95 HEPA Mask

Am I worried?

To say I am not concerned about this bug would be a lie. But also I am not bouncing like a fork dropped in a garbage disposal. It is something to keep a very close eye on. Today 4 March 2020, CNBC released this headline

Chinese scientists identify two strains of the coronavirus, indicating it’s already mutated at least once.

The headline is eye catching. But when you read into it, it is not as inflammatory as it seems. But it does raise some questions in my tin foil hat covered mind.

What can we do to protect ourselves?

  • Wash your hands often with soap and water.
  • Cover your mouth and nose with your elbow or a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth if your hands aren’t clean.
  • Avoid close contact with anyone who is sick.
  • Clean surfaces you often touch.
  • Stay home from work, school and public areas if you’re sick.

A lot of people have been comparing this to the flu. With out getting all into Med Speak, they are similar that they are viruses. But it ends there. Look at it this way/ Both a Malamute and a Husky are dogs. They come from the same climate. The look a bit alike. After that they are totally different. They replicate in a similar manner, but the attack the body in the same manner. The Covid-19 can live for a few hours on most surfaces., It is THOUGHT not CONFIRMED that it can last up to a few days under ideal conditions.

Disinfection.

This is where the chink in the armor of COVID-19 shows. Almost any disinfectant, that is applied according to its directions, will kill it. The old Standby of bleach will do it. For surfaces that can’t take bleaching Lysol. We have also found the old fashioned concentrate Lysol in the brown bottle. That stuff will kill ANYTHING!

For those that can’t take the harsh chemicals, embrace your hippy self!

For surface disinfection Essential oil such as Lemongrass, Cinnamon, Clove, Oregano, and Thyme are good choices for their reported antiviral properties . My wife likes to make her own consisting of 10 drops lemongrass oil, 10 drops of tea tree 10 drops peppermint. 4 ounces of 100 proof vodka and 2 ounces of Colloidal Silver. She places this in a sprayer and uses it to spray it on surfaces. No wiping. Let it dry on its own.

Colloidal Silver.

Good stuff. It is NOT the miracle drug that cures warts constipation Ebola freckles bad breath and bad complexions. Used and most importantly MADE correctly it is a good thing to have on hand. We use. And no we’re not blue!

Always use .999 pure silver, DO NOT USE STERLING SILVER! There is also .9999 pure but it is expensive and unnecessary. We use 1/8″ ribbon also called “bezel”.

Make Your Own Colloidal Silver

Fill a quart jar about 1/2″ from the top with distilled water and heat to boiling. The reason for this is because distilled water, not having any minerals in it, is a poor conductor of electricity. After being heated to near boiling, it will allow for the electrolysis to take place. DO NOT USE ANY OTHER TYPE OF WATER! Now make a hook on one end of each strip of silver (like a candy cane) and hang them on the edge of the jar and into the water, about an inch apart. Clip the two wires from the generator to the silver strips making sure that the clips do not touch the water or each other and that the strips do not touch each other!

You can tell when it has begun the process, you can see a what looks like smoke coming off of one the strips. If it doesn’t appear to be doing anything in a minute or so, scoot the wires a little closer together. If that still doesn’t work, sprinkle a few grains of table salt right in between the strips and it will take right off. Will it kill Covid-19? I can not answer that here. FDA rules. But we use it at home. A Damn good write up is on The Medic Shack Colloidal Silver

Hand washing.

Sounds goofy in a way. But a lot of people do not know how to wash their hands. Correctly. Now we’re not talking the surgical scrub I do every day. Just basic hand washing.

  • We Your Hands.
  • Use soap. Antibacterial is not necessary.
  • Scrub your hands while counting to 20. Make sure to get in between your fingers and your nails
  • Rinse completely.
  • Dry with a paper towel. SHTF paper towels will be like gold. Use a clean cloth towel and hang in the sun to dry. Viruses HATE ultraviolet light. Use a separate towel for each person. Seriously.
  • Use that paper towel or towel to turn off the faucet.

There are different schools of thought on using a towel to turn off the water. In the medical field we used to be taught that from day one. Today some say it doesn’t matter. YMMV.

Water temperature. It doesn’t matter. Up until 2 weeks ago, I told one of my best friends to use warm water. ANNNND some studies have been published and they all agree it doesn’t matter. The soap and water combination works either way.

Alcohol and hand washing

Alcohol based scrubs. I mentioned earlier that we use a product called Avagard for surgical scrubs. I also said that we do a real scrub first thing in the morning and after eating or going to the bathroom. What I didn’t mention is why we do those old style washing up. The reason is right above y’all, In hand washing. The scrubs kill bacteria. To a point. They kill viruses. To a point. Hand washing doesn’t kill them. It REMOVES them. And it will remove Covid-19

That is why I cringe when I see a porta potty with that little bottle of hand sanitizer, Yes its better than nothing. It is however a false sense of security. That fecal bacterial that ends up on EVERYONE’S HANDS is still there. They are weakened, but they are not killed. Something to think about.

A friend of mine who is marrying a Marine friend of mine.  I don’t know who to be more concerned about Sigurd getting civilized, or Jessica getting Uncivilized! She wrote this piece on a Facebook group:

Jessica Kozack The Soul Purpose

There is a lot of hype going on about the Novel CoronaVirus known as Covid-19. I wanted to discuss how to protect from viruses like Covid-19 and also the flu which is also going around. I find I always feel better when I am prepared. Aromatherapy can be quite effective in treating and preventing illness along with being supportive and healing while sick. I did have the flu a month ago. It was brought home by my daughter who caught it at a school fair and she proceeded to sneeze directly into my face uncontrollably.

I knew in that moment regardless of what I used or did I would catch it so I used aromatherapy to support us and prevent us from getting any secondary infection.

1) Wash hands thoroughly and often with good old soap and water

2) Make your own hand sanitizer with Vodka, Colloidal Silver, Aloe Vera, and essential oils that are antiviral

3) Make a cleaning and disinfecting spray using vinegar and water with essential oils and cleanse surfaces, etc multiple times a day in your home, work space etc

4)Diffusers are our best weapon for killing airborne viruses and treating respiratory illnesses. I have many diffusers and I recommend using them at this time in your home to kill virus bugs and support the immune system.

Pets and Oils

**Please be mindful of your pets and children when using essential oils. They should always be diluted and diffusers should not be located directly near your pets especially with the super bug killing essential oils as they are harsher. If someone is ill and you are using a diffuser with the super bug killer it is best to keep your pets out of this room. Pets will also walk away from a diffuser if it is to strong for them. Just be mindful.**

A diffuser works best if it turns on every 15mins with a timer and diffuses for a minute. You would need to get a timer for most diffusers.

Here is my list of essential oils.

Super Bug Killer oils a little goes a long way and never use undiluted:

Lemongrass

Cinnamon

Clove

Oregano

Thyme

Expectorant and Antiviral Oils:

Ravensara

Eucalyptus

Tea Tree (multipurpose bug killer)

Oils that soothe an inflamed respiratory tract:

Cedarwood

Frankincense

Pine

Spruce

Balsam Fir

Benzoin

Oils that support secondary bacterial infections and kill bacteria:

Rosemary

Peppermint

Lavender

Lemon

**Eucalyptus, Lavender, Cedarwood, Tea Tree, Lemon , Benzoin are safer less harsh oils to use around small children and Elderly.

If I am going to be dealing with a super bug I will have the harsh oils on hand and will use them safely and responsibly. When used safely

and responsibly they actually work most effectively and typically with no contraindications or negative impact.

Do not ingest essential oils they are 75-100x stronger than the plant, fruit, herb they are derived from. If you take anything internally keep it to herbs and supplements.

Used with permission from Jessica Kozack The Soul Purpose

And in closing:

We have talked about in past blogs on some of the herbs that MAY help fight off the virus TMS Post on Coronavirus 

By staying healthy, eating right and doing your best to avoid crowded places and sick people is one of the best ways to beat this. Do your normal prepper things that we always do. DO NOT GET CAUGHT UP IN THE PANIC. Right now there is not to much to panic about. Other than your 401K taking a massive dump at the market. Right now it is almost impossible to get ibuprofen, Tylenol, basic cold and flu medicines at the local stores. There is  for some reason there is a massive run on toilet paper at Costco.

You already had all that right? If not you have read our posts on cold and flu and other posts we have made on this? Good I thought so! Don’t panic. Do not over work yourself. And don’t get yourself all worked up over something out of your control. Stay out of crowds. If you feel sick STAY HOME. A lot of conferences around the country are being canceled. For good reason. As preppers we play it smart. Don’t forget that. Play it smart

Off Grid Ham: Jumping Off the Grid for Beginners

Chris Warren at Off Grid Ham has written an off grid radio guide for those who are beginners to working their radios without mainline power. There are a bunch of useful links at the end of his article, too.

The demand and desire to take amateur radio off grid is absolutely there. The problem is that information about off grid radio is sprinkled around. It’s hard to find straight answers. Many radio and survival blogs occasionally address the issue, but to my knowledge, Off Grid Ham and OH8STN are the only two outlets that deal with off grid radio radio exclusively.

For readers who are not off the grid, or seek to expand off grid capabilities, I’ve put together this “off grid radio guide” for beginners that will answer the most common questions in one compact package. This is not a comprehensive guide; we’re just going to summarize main points. At the end of this article there will be links to additional information on the topics covered here.

Have a purpose!

off grid radio guide

Graphic courtesy of tunein.com

I’ve beaten this drum so much it may seem tiresome, but it cannot be overstated that having clearly defined goals is an absolute must. If you do not have a specific purpose in mind, then you’re just going to trip around randomly trying different things with no meaningful result. If you have the time and money to spend on dead-end projects, then by all means don’t bother with a roadmap; you’ll eventually find your way and probably have a great time doing it. Off grid radio guide

But for those of us who do not have the means to live like plans don’t matter, the first chapter in our off grid radio guide is to have a purpose. Your stated goal does not have to be complicated or lengthy. Here are a few examples:

  • Operate for a weekend or so while camping.
  • Helping kids/scouts/youth group with an educational project.
  • Involvement with contests and SOTA/POTA activities.
  • Energy independence/operate off grid full time from a home station.
  • Survivalist/prepper communications for when SHTF.
  • Curiosity/self improvement. Off grid radio guide

Your goals may change over time. I originally got into off grid ham radio just to experiment and fool around with solar panels. That lead to a large home station, several portable power setups, and this blog! Regardless of what your motivations are, make sure you can define them.

How much power will you need? Off grid radio guide

Answering this question is a major component of defining your purposes and goals.. After all, it doesn’t make sense to plan a power system without knowing how much power you’ll need.

If your plans include an engine-driven mechanical generator, choose one that will run at 33-50% of its maximum capacity while powering your equipment. This is the window where generators are the most efficient. You don’t want to push a generator close to its limit for extended periods, nor do you want a generator that is way oversized for the load it powers. Either of these two extremes are a bad idea.

Batteries.

Matching power needs to batteries is a very tricky dance because a battery’s performance can change with age, temperature, previous use, and physical condition. A handy rule to follow is that whatever number you come up with for your needed battery capacity, increase it by 50%. This will give you plenty of wiggle room for inherent factors that degrade battery capability.

When determining battery size, carefully consider the expected duty cycle you’ll be demanding of your equipment. Duty cycle is a ratio, expressed as a percentage, of transmit time to receive time. The more you transmit, the higher the duty cycle and the more battery you’ll need. At a minimum, figure a duty cycle of 25% and up to 80% if you run a lot of data.

Solar panel calculation.

No off grid radio guide would be worthwhile without discussing solar panels. The biggest variable is the sun itself. On a cloudy day, you may realize only 10% of your panel’s capacity. A solar panel will never hit its rated maximum power due to the varying levels of sunlight and the inefficiency of the system. Like batteries, include generous headroom in the form of more solar wattage capacity to make up for the losses…

Click here to continue reading at Off Grid Ham.

The Medic Shack: The Powergrid. Is it as screwed up as we think it is?

The Smart Survivalist: Off-Grid Batteries and Power Systems

The Smart Survivalist: How Much Does it Cost to Live Off Grid?

The Medic Shack: Salmonella

Chuck over at the Medic Shack has another good, informative article up, this time about salmonella – how to treat it, how to avoid it, what to watch for.

Salmonella. Is it or is not not an emergency

Outbreak of Multi drug-Resistant Salmonella Infections Linked to Raw Chicken Products

That is the title on the CDC page a couple of weeks ago. Salmonella is bad enough by itself, but a multi drug resistant variety is worse.

Salmonella is a bacteria that is common in poultry. Its why people recommend to cook it completely to kill the bacteria. Salmonella infection is usually caused by eating raw or undercooked meat, poultry, eggs or egg products. The incubation period ranges from several hours to two days. Most salmonella infections can be classified as stomach flu (gastroenteritis). Possible signs and symptoms include:

• Nausea

• Vomiting

• Abdominal cramps

• Diarrhea

• Fever

• Chills

• Headache

• Blood in the stool

A good portion of people generally have no symptoms from salmonella infections. Others develop diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps within eight to 72 hours. Most healthy people recover within a few days without specific treatment.. However people younger than 5 and older than 70, people with depressed immune systems, or in a weakened state can get sicker or even die from it. As of October, Ninety-two people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Infantis have been reported from 29 states.

So what does this have to do with prepping. Or with survival? Oh I forgot to mention this current strain is multi drug resistant?

The major reason I want to talk about this is a lot of us buy in bulk. Some of us can it, some freeze. And some even freeze dry it. Any mistake in any of these methods can pack away some real bad news when we are at our weakest. Proper processing is a news letter for a different day. But back to salmonella. Salmonella is a huge concern for preppers. And now with a multi drug variant in the wild we need to take extra care…

In the modern world salmonella is rarely fatal. The elderly. Compromised immune system. Under 1 year old. Those are the groups that normally have the worst outcomes. And even then it is rare. Now add in poor living conditions. Exhaustion. Poor nutrition. Poor food prep. Hostile environment. You now have the recipe for disaster…

Ceftriaxone, amoxicillin or cephalosporin are decent antibiotics for salmonella. But a caveat needs to be inserted. They are good if it is a COMPLICATED case. That means if it has entered the blood stream and is causing Septicemia. Or has passed the blood brain barrier and entered the central nervous system. This is getting way out of the realm of a ditch medic. A MD, PA or NP is needed here.

Do not administer antibiotics to people suffering from uncomplicated cases. What happens, is studies show that a large relapse rate occurs. It can lengthen the time of how long a person is infectious. And has caused the resistant forms of it to appear. Also anti diarrhea meds like Imodium while slowing down the diarrhea can actually extend the time of the illness.

So is it food poisoning or is it viral?…

Click here to read the entire article at The Medic Shack.

The Medic Shack: Pandemics

The Medic Shack has a short article up about preparing for pandemics, Pandemics. The Media, Food and YOU. It is not a comprehensive guide, as he admits in the article; rather, it is meant to assure the reader that the risk is real and how to get a start on thinking about preparation.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a bit on Typhus in the US. 3 years ago it was barely on the radar. The talk of the town was Ebola. It is making a guest appearance in Congo. Oh guess what. There is a bit of a civil war going on there. What happens when war and deadly communicable disease meet? People leaving to escape the war. And bringing the little friends with them. Cat Ellis The Herbal Prepper and I talked about the dangers of modern air travel and the rapid spread of violent viruses. What we didn’t talk about then was our family car.

Right now Typhus is having a resurgence in California and in Texas. And its coming on the winter travel season. OMG DO WE NEED TO SEAL OUR STATE BORDERS TO PREVENT THE SPREAD OF THE PURPLE CREEPING FUNGUS???????ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!

OK. A little melodramatic. But a valid concern.

NO we are not going to start bouncing about in a panic like a fork dropped into a garbage disposal.

Fact is is if a pandemic is going to start there is not much in the 21st century way of life that will stop it. Until we get “Star Trek level Bio Scanners” that will screen and kill pathogens, we need to be smart about protecting ourselves and family

Last year was the deadliest flu season in decades. @ 80,000 deaths were attributed to the flu. CDC Brief on Flu Deaths 2017-2018 (Also NO I am not going to get into the pros and cons of flu shots) I’m just using it as an example of how bad a virus spread can be.

Viruses are not the only “bugs” that can kill us. For people who do not live in the desert southwest or mountain west have not heard much about Bubonic Plague. Except out of history books. My son Jake’s boss at the local blood bank in Anchorage thought he was joking when he talked about how plague kills people every year. Until he showed them the stats.

So how do we prevent the spread of disease or the start of a pandemic when things go bad if the technology of the 21st century can not do it?

Do we isolate ourselves behind walls and barriers? Or do we learn how to stop or at least slow down the spread of disease.

Quarantine.

It is one of, and in all reality the best way to stop the spread of disease. In todays world it is a “dirty word” We say that we need to quarantine Fido for a few days before bringing him to the summer retreat in Hawaii its all good. But when we say we need to quarantine a group of people from Outer LithuUnitedia because the Purple People Eating Fungus is running rampant there. People get up in arms and the cries of discrimination and racism fly though out social media and the 24/7 news outlets…

…This article is one of those that was and is tough to write. In reality it needs to be broken into a host of smaller articles detailing different facets. This one is written to provoke. No promote discussion. Please take the time to converse with me or with anyone about the different scenarios. My email is medic@themedicshack.net Facebook is The Medic Shack or Mewe at The Medic Shack

Pandemics are real. Not the product of imagination. Time is way past to learn how to protect ourselves from them. The first link of the chain, and one that is ALWAYS broken, is. Communication. There is no real, concise, and most of all believable source. But wait! What about the CDC? Yes they send out warnings. But are dependent on the national and local media. Ok so what about the local or national media? Good question. What is the general media talking about. When there is something on the news about illness it is sandwiched between politics, hate crimes and the Hollywood Who’s Who. Do a news site search for the current Ebola outbreak in the Congo. See what you find in the news.

As I said earlier. I have no intention of doing the fork in the garbage disposal routine of panic. I am just wanting to pass on information. The most powerful weapon we have is not our weapons. Its our mind. We need to employ it. And to employ it we need to arm it. Knowledge is ammunition. And used correctly it is the most powerful weapon and more importantly, the best tool for survival.

Cat Ellis The Herbal Prepper has written a book on pandemics. Its called Prepping for a Pandemic and its on Amazon. Get a copy and read it.

Click here to read the entire article at The Medic Shack.

The Medic Shack: Typhus in the USA

The Medic Shack has an article up describing a recent increase in Typhus in the USA and how to combat it, titled Typhus in the 21st Century.

Wednesday about 1230 EDT Hurricane Michael hit Florida. The news, and rightly so has been showing the devastation that the storm left.

On the west coast a different storm. No wind no rain no destroyed buildings. Also no news coverage past the little blurbs here and there. Since July to October 10th, in LA Country there have been 57 Typhus cases. That is worrisome. Typhus we normally see in depressed areas of the country and world. LA is not a 3rd world country.

Armon Coleman, 63, looks over his belongings, left, at his homeless encampment along W. 94th Street in the Manchester Square neighborhood on Jan. 4, 2017 in Los Angeles. LAX has bought much of the property from homeowners over the past years and will eventually build a rental car facility at the site. In the meantime, the homeless are sleeping on sidewalks outside the fenced lots that are owned by LAX. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times/TNS).

Or is it?

As much as we would LIKE to think LA is 3rd world it is not. It has major issues but once you have seen a war torn or real 3rd world country you will immediately see my point.

Typhus is making a come back.

The CDC has been following the resurgence of it here in the US. During 2003–2013, a total of 1,762 cases were reported to the CDC. The break down of the cases is 27 in 2003 to 222 in 2013. An average of 102 cases were reported yearly during 2003–2007, which is less than half (209) of the average number reported during 2008–2013.

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/23/4/16-0958_article

There are dozens of reasons why. For right now lets forget the why. And focus on the Protect.

There are 3 main forms of Typhus:

endemic (murine) typhus, scrub typhus, and epidemic (louse-borne) typhus

The one currently infecting California is the endemic (murine) form. It is transmitted by fleas.

The how to protect is actually quite simple. Keep vermin out. Keep things clean. Keep your distance.

All the cases in LA county are in areas where homeless gather and live. Now before someone berates me for “picking” on the homeless. I am not. Just stating fact. Fact. Most city dwelling homeless do not have the resources to maintain sanitation. Where as the few homeless that abandon the cities have better sanitation. Fact. Vermin. Namely Rats and Mice live in close proximity to homeless camps. Why? Food. The homeless do not usually have access to the items to protect food. Homeless that live out side the cities have learned to use what is at hand to store and protect food. Fact. Homeless “dumpster dive” For both food and for items needed to survive. So do rats and mice.

During the middle ages, The Black Death decimated Europe. The cities of Europe were cities of the dead. The country side however suffered far less. But what about Texas? A friend on Facebook asked me that. She thought that Texas was sparely populated. Well the most cases this year are in Hildago Country Tx. The population is about 850,000. In my earlier statement It may be construed that I was attacking the homeless. In Texas, Typhus does NOT discriminate. As many from affluent neighborhoods as from poor get typhus. Once again How is that possible? Similar reasons as the homeless. Living in crowded conditions. Allowing vermin to “coexist” instead of eradicating them. (The “No kill traps are a prime example). Typhus does not care. Rich Poor Black White Yellow Green. It. Does. Not. Care.

The easiest defense of typhus is sanitation. Keep things clean. Keep vermin out. Dispose of waste quickly and properly.

Read the entire article by clicking here.

Related:

ZeroHedge: LA Competes For California’s Most Disgusting City As “Typhus Zone” Underscores Skid Row Squalor