Preparing for Medical Emergencies

In our quest to become as self reliant as we can, our family has started to look into the use of natural remedies instead of drugs to provide relief for common ailments like colds, allergies, and fevers. During one of the last trips to our local book store I found a copy of Better Health through Natural Healing: How to Get Well Without Drugs or Surgery in the sale bin. I figured that for just a few dollars it was worth checking out, and I am so glad I picked it up. It has been a great source of information and I especially appreciate how the authors wrote the book to be as practical for home use as they possibly could while still acknowledging that nothing can fully replace the knowledge and expertise of a trained physician.

While living a more natural and healthy lifestyle is a great reason to switch to more natural healing, that was not my main goal when I picked up this book. You see, a few years back I was confronted with a situation where I wished I had a little bit of basic knowledge about natural healing. I had an infection in my lip and knew that if I went to the doctor they would tell me that I had an infection and perscribe an antibiotic that I wasn't sure I wanted to take. Add in the expense of the doctor's visit and perscription without any medical insurance, and seeing a doctor wasn't really an option at that exact moment. Fortunately, I was able to speak with an acquaintance of ours who uses natural healing methods with their own family. They gave me a treatment plan for my lip and even checked on me a few times to see how it was going. The infection went away a lot quicker than it would have on antibiotics and I was a lot more comfortable. Since then, we have used what we learned at that point to help prevent infections in minor cuts and scrapes and even treat a few infections on our daughter who has really sensitive skin.

I am now confident enough in my abilities to treat minor infection that should an emergency come up I would have no problem doing exactly that, and I even have the tools I need on hand. But what if there were some other medical emergency? Would I know how to respond? Would I have the tools I needed on hand? Would I be confident enough in my abilities to just act without having to think about it or look something up to be sure I remembered right? While the book can't automatically give me the confidence, it will give me the knowledge and at least a list of tools I need to help with the day to day ailments we may come across. The more practice I get with the day to day, and the more I see first hand how our bodies react to the various natural healing methods, the more confidence I can build in my abilities. That's why I decided this book was a good investment for our family.

Whether you prefer natural healing options or a more traditional method doesn't matter. What does matter is that you have the knowledge, tools, and confidence through practice to be able to perform whatever emergency treatment may become necessary.

What resources have you found helpful in preparing yourself and your family for medical emergencies?