Survival Medicine

Happy National Preparedness Month! Joe and Amy Alton often  talk about the risk of infectious diseases and some of the antibiotics that I’ve been able to find in veterinary form that you can access without a prescription. Of course,  in normal times, you should seek out a qualified medical professional first. One of the antibiotics we think is most useful in survival settings is something called m...

Recently, we certified as Advanced Wilderness Expedition Providers, and many of the training scenarios involved dealing with those who are injured in falls. Whether you’re on a backcountry trail or in your own bathroom, a fall can seriously damage you, causing orthopedic injuries, bleeding, traumatic brain injuries, and more. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that one in...

Most of us have dutifully gone to get a Tetanus shot when we stepped on a rusty nail, but few have any real concept of what Tetanus is and why it is dangerous. Tetanus (from the Greek word tetanos, meaning tight)  is an infection caused by the bacteria Clostridium Tetani.  The bacteria produces spores (inactive bacteria-to-be) that primarily live in the soil or the feces of animals. These spores a...

Joe and Amy Alton return home to South Florida after almost two weeks in Montana, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming! While they were in Grand Teton National Park, everyone was wondering why it was so hazy. Well sure enough, it was smoke from hundreds of miles away in California. Evidence of smoke has actually gone as far as New York City, yes, new Yorkers, it’s not just smog, at least right now, it’s smoke...

We have talked a lot about natural disasters like hurricanes and tornadoes, but not as much about the complications that go along with them. Flooding is one of the most common disasters to affect the United States, and there’s flash flooding in the Eastern part of the country as we speak.   It’s part and parcel of many different catastrophes, from the aftermath of blizzards to mudslides. Matter of...

Recent reports suggest that the West coast is at high risk for a big earthquake. They’ve found a new stress area in the San Andreas fault and predict a 75% chance, not a chance, a 75% chance, that the big one will hit anytime in the next 30 years or so. Of all the creepy-crawlies that cause trouble in a household, few are worse than bed bugs. Although poor standards of living and unsanitary condit...

  A friend recently asked us to write about injuries that might be incurred in an earthquake scenario in the Pacific Northwest, so we decided to do a show on the various kinds of wounds you can expect in any major disaster, from a mudslide to a tornado to a major seismic event. Joe Alton MD recounts an incredible survival story of a woman who lived for a week at the bottom of a 200 foot cliff afte...

The human body is a marvel of biologic engineering. Its immune system usually kills bacteria and other harmful germs before they can multiply and cause symptoms. Our blood contains white cells, also known as “leukocytes” that attack bacteria. Even if we do experience symptoms, our bodies can usually cope and fight off the infection. It’s thought that this process of suffering an infection and its...

Many consider a heat wave to be just a time to put an extra ice cube in the lemonade, but it’s a deadly natural disaster. More people die in heat waves in the U.S. than just about any recent weather event short of hurricane Katrina. Find out from Joe Alton MD about what causes and worsens a heat wave, and some advice from the Arizona state government (they should know about hot weather) to stay sa...

Last week on the Survival Medicine Hour podcast, Joe Alton MD and Amy Alton ARNP talked about some basics on sprains, strains, and fractures, and this week they continue the subject, especially how to tell the difference between a sprain and a fracture, including something called the Ottawa Rules. The Ottawa Rules were meant to discourage unnecessary x-rays, but also have applications towards off-...

This week, Joe and Amy Alton go to Sanibel Island, where good friends and popular podcasters Jack and Dorothy Spirko are vacationing, for an interview on the occasion of Jack's 10th anniversary of his popular "Survival Podcast". Plus, here we are in the first days of summer, and you can be sure it’ll be a cruel one in most of the country this year. But you’re going to be out and about, and you’ve...

An infection is defined as the invasion of the body by microscopic organisms. A pathogen is any agent that can cause a disease, but the term is usually used to describe a microbe. Microscopic germs cause injury to tissues in a number of ways, often by producing toxic substances that damage the cells. Joe Alton MD discusses the different types of microbes that can affect your chances of survival if...

School's out and a great way to teach your family survival basics is by taking them camping. The skills needed for successful camping are akin to those required for the activities of daily survival. Once learned, these lessons last a lifetime. There’s no greater gift that you can give young people than the ability to be self-reliant. Camping trips create bonds and memories that will last a lifetim...

Recently, Joe Alton MD wrote about school safety solutions in the wake of mass killings perpetrated by the disgruntled and deranged. Some of these strategies aren't expensive, and those that are should make you ask: How much is it worth to save the lives of our young people by aborting these murderers? Find out what simple changes would lead to a much safer environment for our young people in thes...

In 2014, Joe Alton MD began reporting on an outbreak of a little-known disease called Ebola in West Africa. At the time, there were less than 100 cases, but eventually became a major epidemic with 28000 cases and 11000 deaths. Now Ebola has broken out in urban areas in Congo, where it was first identified. With cities of 1 and 11 million in the area, could it become a major epidemic? Find out the...

Can you prepare for a day at the beach? Can you prepare for an asteroid strike? Well, preparing for volcanic eruptions is in the middle, actually closer to an asteroid strike that anyone would like. Joe Alton MD and Amy Alton ARNP discuss what can and can't be done to prepare for a volcano, and whether volcano preparedness is an oxymoron! Also, school's almost out and families will out hiking and...

Joe Alton MD and Amy Alton ARNP often  talk about infectious diseases on the Survival Medicine Hour, a number of which are called emerging infectious diseases. Emerging infectious diseases are infections that have recently appeared within a population or those whose frequency or geographic range is increasing or likely to increase in the near future. They say there’s nothing new under the sun, so...

After a disaster or at a remote homestead, we all know that the medic for the family may not have ready access to modern medical technology. That means many conditions that are commonly identified with ultrasounds or CAT scans may be more challenging to diagnose. One of these challenges is abdominal pain. There are various medical issues that cause it, and Joe Alton MD and Amy Alton ARNP discuss s...

School is winding down, and families are starting to think about that camping trip to the mountains or shore. Camping safety is important, and a lot of factors need to be considered like weather, gear, and more to make a camping trip memorable (and I mean in a good way, not a bad way). What you need to do to deal with common injuries, supplies you'll need, and even a little about snakebite, since...

Spring has sprung, and snowmelt plus heavy rains may increase the risk of mudslides, aka debris flows, in many areas. Find out more about this dangerous natural phenomenom which is akin to a river of wet concrete, plus some early warning signs that you property is at risk. Joe and Amy, aka Dr. Bones and Nurse Amy, also discuss a new E. Coli outbreak that is hitting several states across the countr...

In certain seasons, like Spring, pollens and other substances are at high levels. For most, it's a great time of year to be outside, but for allergy sufferers, well, not so much. Joe Alton, MD,aka Dr. Bones, and Amy Alton, ARNP, aka Nurse Amy, go into detail to tell you the history of allergies (the word didn't even exist in the year 1900!), what exactly happens in your body during an allergy atta...

Injuries occur in disaster and other off-grid settings, and some of those break the skin or even go into deeper layers, like subcutaneous fat and muscle. When do you close a wound and when is it wiser to keep it open? Also, if you're going to close it, what materials should you use and why? Joe Alton MD and Amy Alton ARNP, aka Dr. Bones and Nurse Amy, take you through the decision making process a...

We've been supporters of and speakers at the Self-Reliance Expo for many years, and we thought it might be interesting to talk to some of the speakers and exhibitors at the event. You'll hear our friend Rich Beresford of AroundtheCabin.com, 17 year old survivalist Blake Alma, and other popular YouTubers and celebs of the survival community. Listen to the stories of people who are members of the pr...

The right equipment is important for anyone to do a job efficiently. You wouldn't expect a steak knife to cut a tree down better than a saw, or see a hunter have the same success with a catapult as opposed to a rifle. The same goes for the containers you put supplies in, especially one you have to carry with you while bugging out or away from your retreat. The right medical backpack allows you to...

What if you had to function with joint pain in the aftermath of a major disaster? In the latest Survival Medicine Hour with Joe Alton MD, aka Dr. Bones, and Amy Alton ARNP, aka Nurse Amy, our hosts tell you all about arthritis: The different types, signs and symptoms, how to tell one type from another, treatment both natural and conventional, plus much more. A mass recall of fire extinguishers goi...