The Survival Medicine Handbook – A Guide for When Medical Help is Not on the Way

Book Preface

The Survival Medicine Handbook

The first part of this preface described this and other books that might be helpful in scenarios that might occur as a result of the aftermath of a major disaster or long-term catastrophe. The information in this book will be useful to those preparing for those events. It might also be helpful in a remote setting for those who have to fend for themselves for long periods of time.

This book will not meet the needs of certain people. If you are already a doctor or formally-trained medical professional, you will feel that some of the information in this book is below your pay grade.

You would be right, as this book is not primarily intended for you. It is meant for the non-medical professional who is concerned about keeping their family healthy when trained personnel, such as yourself, are no longer around.

This book might have some use, however, for the flexibly-minded medical pro. In a long-term survival situation, medical personnel will not have the luxury of “Stabilize and Transport” and will have to adjust their mindset. This book is of that mindset already. It might be helpful for some who would ordinarily transport a patient out: It might make them think about how to prepare for when they might be the highest medical resource left.

The book does not claim to be a comprehensive review of every topic covered in it. Don’t expect, for example, 50 pages on how to treat Athlete’s Foot between its covers.

As well, this book is not meant for the person who expects to perform advanced medical procedures in the wilderness or any other power-down survival setting. You will not learn how to perform a cardiac bypass by reading this book, nor will you be learning how to successfully re-attach an amputated leg.

If nothing else, this book is realistic, and does not claim to cure problems that only modern technology will help. Having said this, you will still be able to deal with the majority of survivable issues you will encounter in an austere setting.

This book is about integrated medicine, so if you are dead set against either conventional or alternative methods of healing, you will not be happy with this book. This book often bucks the conventional medical wisdom; at the same time, it is suspect of alternative claims that a particular substance is a cure-all for every disease. This book looks at what is likely to be of benefit in emergency situations with limited