One of the many areas that preppers and survivalists sometimes neglect in a disaster or collapse scenario is the propensity of desperate people for violence.
Especially when you look at the early stages of a disaster, rioting or looting can easily turn into violent acts perpetrated by some citizens against others, even for no real reason.
Medical gear for your B.O.B. isn’t nearly as sexy as some of the other survival gear we all accumulate and carry, but it is absolutely essential.
Especially in a collapse scenario, then, what medical items should you be packing?
I talked with medical and survival experts Dr. Bones and Nurse Amy about this recently, and here are three items they told me are absolutely critical.
Three Medical Items Your Bug Out Bag MUST Have!
In the context of medical care, you should have certain medical items stockpiled and available should you have to engage in first aid during a collapse situation.
But your bug-out bag is only so large.
There are only so many things you can be carrying with you at any moment.
Prioritizing your medical gear requires that you make certain choices about what to include and what to leave behind.
Make sure these three items absolutely are included in your B.O.B.
1. Tourniquets
In a collapse situation, you’re much more likely to use collapse medicine to treat diarrheal disease and other infections than you are to get into gunfights.
The fact is, though, that civil unrest and other violence is often part and parcel of surviving a collapse situation.
One of the items you should have available to you is a good tourniquet kit.
There are some brands that are designed so you can use them on yourself with just one free hand, if necessary.
You should always have a tourniquet available in case of a grave injury that produces extreme bleeding.
Tourniquets are not meant to be kept on the body for long periods of time.
They hurt a great deal after a few minutes.
They also cut off circulation to areas that may not be bleeding, in addition to the bleeding area.
Still, despite these limitations, tourniquets are very important medical gear.
2. Hemostatic Agents
Hemostatic agents like QuickClot or CELOX are very helpful for fast treatment of bleeding.
These are natural agents, one of the main ingredients in which is Kaopectate, which is also found in red clay.
If you live in Georgia, you have seen some red clay like this.
CELOX is processed from the shells of crustaceans.
It will stop bleeding and even act on anticoagulants.
(CELOX is superior to QuikClot in that regard.)
It forms a gel when applied, which makes it easier to deal with compared to QuikClot, which sometimes forms a harder material after a while that you have to clean out of the wound.
The one thing about CELOX, though, is that it should not be used on people who are allergic to seafood.
That’s very important to remember.
3. Lots And Lots Of Gauze
The final item you should have on hand for collapse medicine in a violent scenario is gauze.
A single hemorrhagic injury can easily wipe out your entire supply of gauze.
It’s important to have gauze on hand, and also to have things like the Israeli Battle Dressing, which is a sort of gauze.
Don’t neglect the Ace Wraps, either.
In an emergency, you will avoid conflict whenever possible.
The potential for violence is still there, however.
By keeping these simple supplies on hand, you can be better prepared for the scenarios you will confront.
