While you are testing a potential new food, avoid eating anything else. Boiling the food in two changes of water will make it even safer to eat. As time goes by, try this with more plants to increase the variety of your diet.
And don’t worry about getting enough to eat: The average person can survive for 3 weeks without food.
Mountain Lion
Do not turn and run if you come face-to-face with a mountain lion, or you will provoke an attack. Face the cat, but do not look it in the eyes. Back away slowly while speaking in a normal voice. If that doesn’t make it leave, wave your arms and start yelling. Let it know you will fight if it gets too close. Throwing something at the cat may or may not work — it could either make the cat run or attack. Use mace, pepper spray, or bear spray if available. If you are attacked, scream loudly and fight back with any weapon, stick, or stone within reach, or use your hands and feet. A mountain lion will usually cease attacking if there is any risk of its getting injured.
In mountain lion country, be careful when going around bends and under overhangs — make some noise so that you don’t take a cat by surprise. Stay in a group or at least have another person with you. Should you see tracks and scat, make noise, talk loudly, and sing or play music.
Porcupine
Porcupines will do their best to escape in a porcupine-human encounter, so give them plenty of room. Should you get quills stuck in you, soak the wounds in vinegar to soften the quills and gently pull them out. Seek medical attention if you cannot remove the quills or the site becomes infected.
Quicksand
Bogs and quicksand can be fatal to an unsuspecting hiker. Avoid depressions where light, spiky, green grass tufts are growing; they can indicate a swamp or bog.
If you do fall into a patch of quicksand, first try running or jumping to solid ground. The next best approach is to fall to your knees and get to shore by grabbing on to grass or roots to propel yourself to safety. Spread out your body weight as widely as possible and move slowly and deliberately. Quick movements will create pockets that will cause you to sink more rapidly. Discard any pack or items that will weigh you down.
If you find yourself stuck, fall gently onto your back with your arms spread wide. If you are by yourself, stay on your back and use backstroke movements to get to firmer ground. Be patient, move slowly. Even if it takes an hour to move just a few feet, this position is your best way to survive.
If someone is with you, have that person pull you out with a rope, stick, or other means.
Rabies
Rabies is a virus that can be transmitted through a scratch, bite, or lick from a warm-blooded, infected animal. Bats, cows, dogs, foxes, skunks, raccoons, and in rare cases rabbits and rats are all known to carry the virus. Other potential carriers are cats, deer, horses, weasels, and wolves. Because responsible owners usually vaccinate their dogs against rabies, fewer than a hundred dogs are proven to have rabies in the United States each year.
Rabid animals may appear sick and overly friendly. If you are bitten, capture the animal if possible (with great care) and have it observed for 10 days for signs of drooling, foaming from the mouth, and nervousness. If it is necessary to kill the animal, leave it whole and keep it refrigerated or packed in ice until you can bring it to be tested. Rabies can be identified by a lab technician’s examination of the brain of the killed animal. Should it be impossible to either catch the animal or kill it, give a report of the animal’s appearance and last-sighted location to law enforcement personnel.
Symptoms of rabies include intense thirst, headache, and muscle spasms. They can take as long as 10 weeks from the time of infection to appear, and by then the disease is often fatal. Treatment involves a series of five shots in the arm or buttocks — and a tetanus booster for good measure. This treatment is recommended for all potential rabies cases.
Radiation
Radiation exposure from a large-scale disaster at a nuclear power plant or weapons facility or from a nuclear bomb can cause weakness, nausea, and vomiting, as well as cancer, birth defects, and death.
If such a disaster strikes your area, listen to the radio for warnings to evacuate. Get underground into a cellar if possible. If you can’t get belowground, middle or ground floors of buildings are safer than top floors. Choose rooms with the fewest number of outside walls. Buffer walls, doors, and windows with anything available — brick, hard-packed earth, sandbags, and so forth. Stock food, water, and hygiene supplies. Shut off the water main so that contaminated water does not enter your area. Even boiled water that has been exposed to radiation will not be safe for consumption. Have a fire extinguisher handy. Cover exposed skin with anything available.
After you’ve been exposed, wash your entire body with clean water. If pure water is not available, and you are in a shelter with an earthen floor, rub soil on your body and clothing, then throw it out. Cover your nose, eyes, and mouth with a damp cloth to prevent contact between radioactive particles and your mucous membranes.
In a radiation-contaminated zone, stay in the protected, indoor shelter you’ve created for as long as possible. Venture outdoors only when absolutely necessary. For the first 2 weeks, limit any necessary outdoor time to no more than half an hour a day. After that, limit your time outdoors to the shortest periods possible. Remove your outer clothing before reentering your shelter. Wash all clothing and skin exposed to the outside air, and apply any healing herbal salve to any skin ulcerations that develop.
Avoid water from exposed sources. Roots and underground growing things will be safer to eat than aboveground plants. Look for foods with removable coverings: nuts in shells, eggs, vegetables that can be peeled, and vegetables that are protected by outer leaves. Animals that are outside will be contaminated, so don’t think of hunting them or fishing. Wipe off any containers of food before opening. Take nine 250-mg kelp tablets daily to help minimize radioactive levels in the body. Eat miso soup and seaweed (harvested before the disaster) daily. If there’s pure water available, soak in a bathtub to which 1 pound (454 g) each of sea salt and baking soda have been added. To soothe internal irritation as a result of radiation exposure, drink aloe vera juice — 1 ounce (30 ml) 3 times daily. Aloe vera gel can also be applied to radiation burns. Use chlorophyll as a supplement to aid in detoxifying. Eat plenty of pectin-rich foods, such as apples and carrots, as they will bind with toxins and help flush them out of the body.
Tornado
Know in advance where you might go should a tornado strike, if you live in a tornado-prone area. If you have ample warning, bring loose furniture, garden tools, and planters inside, as they can become dangerous when airborne.
When a tornado is approaching, get into a basement, storm cellar, or the most solid structure possible. Stay away from windows. If you can’t get belowground, take refuge in a small bathroom or closet in a central part of the house away from doors and windows. Wrap yourself in blankets or overcoats as protection against flying debris. Get under a heavy object if available. If in a commercial building, the hallway may be the safest. If in bed when the tornado strikes, get under the bed. If in a mobile home, get into a more secure shelter if possible.
If you’re on the road, remember that tornadoes change directions and may be difficult to outrun in a car. Get out, and take shelter in a building.
In the open, get into a ditch or any depression in the ground and lie on your stomach; protect your head with your arms.
Water Shortage
Immediately fill bathtubs, sinks, and clean bottles if you hear of an impending disaster that may affect your water supply. If the water supply to homes and buildings has already been shut off or disrupted, the pipes in your home may still contain water. Beginning at the top floor and working down, drain water in the pipes into containers. Keep the faucets open to provide an air vent. When you reach the lowest floor, shut off the water heater, then drain it as needed. Although the amount of bacteria in the pipes is usually not substantial, water taken from pipes should still be purif
ied.
Rainwater can be collected from rainspouts and diverted into clean containers. Also collect rainwater by setting cups or containers under branches and ledges. Cloths can also be spread out to collect water.
How to Purify Water
Failure to purify water can cause parasitic invasion, misery, and in some cases death. Yet 3 drops of iodine tincture will purify 1 quart (950 ml) of water in 10 minutes. Bleach can also be used as a water purifier — it contains chlorine — 4 drops per quart (950 ml) or 10 drops per gallon (3.8 l). If the water is very dirty or you are storing it, double the amount of iodine or bleach. If the water to which you’ve added bleach is very cold, let it stand 20 minutes before drinking. Water can be stored indefinitely in gallon jugs if 1/2 tablespoon (7.5 ml) bleach is added. Camping supply stores also sell water purification products such as SteriPEN UV purifiers and Katadyn water filters.
Boiling water is safer than chemical purification. Purify by boiling for 5 minutes (plus 1 minute more for every 1,000 feet [300 m] above sea level). To improve the taste of boiled — or stored — water, pour it from one container to another to oxygenate it.
If nothing else is available, place water in clean glass and allow to cook in the sun for 12 hours to help sterilize it. While this will help, it’s not a guaranteed method for sterilization.
How to Find Fresh Water
Water seeks the lowest levels, so look in valley bottoms where water naturally drains. Look for areas of prolific vegetation. Birds tend to fly over water in areas where it is scarce. Birds flying low and straight — particularly at dawn or dusk — are usually headed toward water. Should you find a watering hole, however, with no plant life thriving around it, use caution: this may indicate it’s contaminated in some way. In desert areas, look for a dry lake bed and start digging at the lowest point.
Rainwater is clean and does not need to be treated. Look for rain trapped in plant leaves. Collect dew early in the morning with a sponge, or tie cloths to your ankles and stomp around. Then wring or suck the water out. Windows of homes and cars as well as other cold and metal surfaces will collect dew. Dew is as clean as rainwater, although in cities it can be polluted. Avoid collecting dew from areas that have been sprayed with pesticides or herbicides. Sponges and clothes left on greenery overnight might collect enough moisture for you to have a sponge bath the following morning.
Trees can also be a source of moisture. The sap from birch and maple trees can be drunk. Cut a V-shaped gash in the trunk and insert spouts made from hollow elder limbs at low angles.
Unpleasant-tasting water can be sweetened by boiling it with a piece of hardwood charcoal for 15 minutes. Strain or allow the water to settle.
A water still can be created by digging a hole 3 feet (1 m) deep and 4 feet (1.2 m) wide. Place a container in the bottom along with a length of plastic tubing that reaches the top of the hole. Anchor the tube to the top edge of the hole. Cover the hole with a plastic sheet that is weighed down in the middle, forming a cone a few inches above the collecting receptacle. The sun’s heat will warm the soil and cause the evaporation of moisture, which will collect on the underside of the plastic and trickle down to the point of the cone, where it will fall into the container. You can make several of these stills. This water does not need to be treated. You can suck water through the tube to avoid disturbing the still. Try to position the still where the sun will be hot and the soil moist by selecting areas with green vegetation. Adding nonpoisonous plants to the pit will increase the amount of water collected. Move the still to another area every few days.
In colder regions, keep in mind that snow must be melted before it is eaten to avoid digestive distress, and eating ice can injure the mouth and cause further dehydration. Ice requires 50 percent less fuel to melt than snow, and lower layers of snow will produce more water than upper layers. Use a dark-colored container to melt snow or ice. Cold does not kill germs, so ice should be treated before drinking.
Saltwater is unfit to drink. It’s a laxative, which will leave you dehydrated. Old sea ice that is bluish-gray is not salty — taste before melting.
A water still is a traditional, time-tested method for gathering water.
How to Avoid Dehydration When Water Is Scarce
The average person can survive for 3 days without water. Most people need at least 1 quart (950 ml) of drinking water daily, although 3 quarts (2,800 ml) is preferable. To reduce the risk of dehydration when water is scarce, follow these commonsense tips:
When drinking, moisten the lips, tongue, and throat before swallowing. Gulping too much too fast can cause vomiting.
Don’t ration water. Use what you need today and find more tomorrow. Suck on a pebble, button, or other small object to help alleviate thirst.
Avoid alcohol and smoking. Both are dehydrating.
Breathe through the nose.
Stay in the shade.
Minimize activity. Rest and sleep are the best ways to conserve fluids when water is scarce. Minimize conversation as well — talking can be dehydrating.
04
Stocking a First-Aid Kit
Every home should have a first-aid kit, so that when there is a need for a remedy you are prepared and don’t need to go shopping. You can stock a cabinet, add to a premade kit, or get creative with a fishing tackle box or makeup carrier.
Keep all your first-aid kits out of reach of children. Make sure everything is well labeled and has directions, such as “for external use only.” Date substances that have a limited shelf life. Store your kit in a cool, dry place.
An Herbal First-Aid Kit
Your mother falls down the stairs. Your toddler scrapes his knee. Your sister comes down with food poisoning. Your husband gets frostbite. To treat any and all of the injuries and conditions resulting from these common events, you need a first-aid kit that can handle just about anything. Most of these items are readily available in pharmacies and health food stores. Here’s what the kit should include:
Ace bandage. To wrap sprains and apply pressure to bleeding wounds.
Adhesive dressings, butterfly bandages, gauze pads, roll of adhesive tape. In an emergency situation, you can use a clean plantain leaf taped over a wound as a bandage.
Alcohol. To sterilize tweezers, needles.
Analgesic balm. To alleviate pain. Apply topically.
Arnica oil. For bruises, including a black eye. Apply only to unbroken skin.
Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). Mix with water to form a paste and apply to insect bites and stings. It can also be applied to poison ivy. Used to make a rehydration drink.
Bandanna. Can be used to tie a splint or prevent chafing and blisters. Moisten and tie around the head during the day to keep cool. Tuck into the back of your hat to shade the neck and protect it from sunburn. Can be moistened and used to protect the nose and mouth when traversing a fire area or dust storm.
Bee sting kit. An absolute necessity if you or anyone in your household is allergic to bee stings. The kit contains a spring-loaded syringe full of epinephrine or Benadryl that prevents shock and reduces swelling.
Bromelain. An enzyme that occurs naturally in pineapple. Used to relieve swelling due to sports injuries, dental work, and surgery. You can take a 500-mg capsule 3 times a day. Must be taken 1 hour before meals or at least 3 hours after meals or it acts as a digestive enzyme and loses its anti-inflammatory properties.
Castor oil. Apply to bruises.
Charcoal (activated). Pure carbon capsules or powder. Can be taken internally for food poisoning, diarrhea, or gas or for mushroom, drug, or chemical poisoning. (Do not give internally for poisoning unless suggested by a poison control center.) Charcoal can adsorb 40 times its weight, thus preventing poisons from entering the bloodstream. Mix with enough water to make a paste, and use as a poultice on spider bites and infected wounds. Do not use charcoal briquettes, which contain petrochemicals.
Clay (green). Mix with water to make a paste, and use as a poultice on bruises. Be sure to buy cosme
tic-quality kaolin green clay from a health food store, not the variety found in art stores.
Electrolyte beverage packets from a health food store. Turn to page 62 for instructions to make your own mix.
Essential oils. These are for topical use only and should be diluted in a carrier oil before being applied to the skin. Exceptions are lavender and tea tree oil, which can be applied without dilution. Pregnant women should avoid using essential oils even topically, as their effect on pregnancy has not been tested yet.
Birch (Betula lenta). Relieves pain.
Calamus (Acorus calamus). For coma, memory, and head injury.
Citronella (Cymbopogon nardus). Lemony smell repels insects.
Clove (Syzygium aromaticum). Kills toothache. Contains eugenol, a natural anesthetic and antiseptic.
Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus). Used in inhalations to loosen mucus and improve respiratory congestion. Antibacterial, antiviral, and decongestant.
Geranium (Pelargonium graveolens). Reduces inflammation and prevents wound infection.
Ginger (Zingiber officinale). Warming and anti-inflammatory.
The Natural First Aid Handbook Page 12
