Survivalist Anthologies Volume 1

by George Shepherd

  Key Concept: What is an emergency?

  As a new mom, I came running any time one of the kids yelled, “It’s an emergency!” It didn’t take long, though, for me to wise up. A four year-old has a lot to learn about the definition of an emergency! According to Patrice Blank, a medical professional and owner of 123CPR, a medical training company based in Phoenix, the definition of an emergency is the most important concept for children to learn.

  “Kids must learn how to recognize when they need to get help. Very young children, say ages three and four, usually have adults present with them, and they need to know when an adult might need help,” she says. It’s also a vital concept for older kids who are more capable of not only recognizing the danger signs but then following through with a 911 call and even administering basic first aid themselves.

  There are five danger signals kids should recognize.

  1. Is there a lot of blood?

  2. Can the person not wake up?

  3. Can the person not get up to walk or stand?

  4. Are they breathing funny?

  5. Are they acting strangely?

  Each of these is a signal of a possible medical crisis, but just knowing them isn’t enough. Parents should teach their kids what each signal means and provide simple, real-life examples and hands-on practice.

  My own son has used half a dozen bandages because he was “bleeding” from scraping a knee on the sidewalk. To him, any blood is, “a lot”. Just about every kid has experienced a scraped elbow or knee, so this is an ideal example to use for teaching Signal #1, Is there a lot of blood? Remind your child of those sidewalk scrapes and ask, “Were you bleeding? Did we need to call 911?” Chances are, they’ll recognize that the scraped knee, however painful, didn’t require medical attention.

  On the other hand, do they know what, “a lot” of blood is? Patrice uses a balloon partially filled with water to illustrate this point. She pokes a tiny hole in the balloon and a few drops emerge. “This isn’t a lot of blood,” she tells them. However, once she pokes a larger hole and kids immediately see a steady stream of water, they get it. “Now this,” she explains, “is a lot of blood. If you see an injury like this, it’s time to call 911.”

  Signal #2 asks kids to be aware if a person can’t wake up, but a deep sleep could be the result of exhaustion or medication. On the other hand, it could be something worse. How can a youngster determine if Grandma is just taking a nap or is in need of immediate medical attention? Teach children to first call the person’s name loudly several times. If there is no response, they should gently shake them. If the person remains asleep, it’s officially an emergency. This is a situation that is easily role-played between parent and child or even using a doll as the sleeping person.

  If someone is unable to get up or stand, it’s possible that a bone has been broken. Signal #3 can be a bit easier to diagnose when the injured person can still talk and direct the child to get help. Recently I slipped on a Frisbee that had been left on the living room floor. Although I didn’t require help from paramedics, I was perfectly capable of yelling, “Whoever left this thing on the floor is grounded for a week!” If a bone had been broken, I would have been just as verbal if not more so! However, an important part of training kids to distinguish between an emergency and non-emergency is learning to ask an injured person, “Can you move? Can you get up?” If the answer is negative or if the person is unable to answer, a 911 call should be made immediately.

  The fourth danger signal is, “funny breathing.” If a family member or friend is asthmatic, this will be easy to identify. If not, the parent can imitate gasping for breath, struggling for a breath, wheezing, or choking. Breathing problems are a significant warning sign and help should be called for immediately. Around age seven or eight, kids should know where to locate life-saving medication for an asthmatic in the family and how to assist in its administration.

  “A smart mother makes often a better diagnosis than a poor doctor.” ~August Bier

  Finally, Signal #5 asks, “Are they acting strangely?” Head injuries, seizures, a stroke, reactions to medication, and low blood sugar are just a few issues that can cause symptoms such as disorientation, trembling, dizziness, or slurred speech. Teach kids to trust their instincts, and if they think someone is acting strangely, to go ahead and make that 911 call.

  Key Concept #2: Dial 911

  Once a child of any age realizes that help is needed, they need to feel comfortable about dialing 911 for help. In a scary situation, most kids will be tempted to first call a parent or run over to a neighbor’s house, but valuable time is lost every minute that a life-saving call is delayed.

  Beginning at age four or so, parents and kids can begin role-playing 911 phone calls. My daughter can be quite shy and hated talking on the phone when she was younger. We started rehearsing 911 phone calls together and her confidence grew. A stranger on the other end of the phone can be intimidating, which makes rehearsal extremely important, even with older children.

  Here are a few suggestions for helping your kids learn to make 911 calls and provide vital information to the operator.

  1. Rehearse dialing 911 on both a cell phone and the family land-line phone. If using a cell phone, make sure the child knows to hit the ‘Send’ button in order to complete the call.

  2. Teach the youngster their home address and the first and last name of every person living in the household.

  3. Post the five danger signs somewhere in the house. Make sure everyone knows where they are so a diagnosis can be made swiftly.

  4. As part of the role-play, ask the child, “What is your emergency?” and coach them how to answer that question. It will likely be the first question posed by the 911 operator.

  5. Teach your children to listen very carefully to the 911 operator and follow their instructions exactly.

  6. Once the 911 call has been completed, then a second call can be placed to a parent, relative, or family friend.

  7. If the emergency occurs at night, the child should turn on all indoor lights, unlock the front door, secure pets in another room, and, if they are old enough, go outside to signal the emergency vehicles. This is especially important if your home is difficult to locate.

  Key Concept #3: Family-specific medical issues

  Many families deal with critical health issues every day and are more likely to experience health and medical related emergencies. From an early age, children need to know about these issues, who is affected, and what they should do if help is needed. It might be a severe allergy, Grandma’s pacemaker, or a sibling with Down Syndrome. Whatever the situation, explain it in age-appropriate terms, specific danger signals to watch for, and then, how to help.

  Advanced training for kids

  Surprisingly, medical training, including CPR, is something kids can master beginning around age eight or nine. “Kids are amazing,” Patrice Blank states. “They catch on to everything I teach in first aid classes and CPR.” Often, parents think children are too young for important information, but in the case of medical-related training, they can get started at an early age.

  Many city governments, Red Cross offices, and even the YMCA offer classes in babysitting safety and first aid. “Kids can easily learn how to clean and wrap a wound. They can learn how to clear out airways and use the Heimlich maneuver,” Patrice says.

  Your home likely contains at least one first aid kit, and kids need to know where it’s located and how to use the supplies. The very best way to learn this is by taking classes as a family. ‘What if’ discussions and rehearsals will deepen the understanding of important concepts and reinforce vital skills.

  We parents, tend to think that we’ll be the ones handling emergencies, but it’s very possible that we may be out of commission ourselves or the kids may be home alone when a crisis occurs. Begin medical training early on. Rehearse frequently emergency situations, calls to 911, and first aid procedures. Post emergency phone numbers and the five Danger Signals, and contin
ue adding to their medical education as they mature. Someday, the life your kid saves may be your own!

  Lisa Bedford currently writes and blogs as The Survival Mom (http://thesurvivalmom.com) and has an international following, with thousands of readers each week. She also hosts her own show on the Prepper Podcast Radio Network. Her blog and preparedness lifestyle have been featured in Newsweek, The Arizona Republic, and in numerous radio and TV interviews. She leads a host of SurvivalMoms who are determined to protect and provide for their families, no matter what.

  Making and Using a Colloidal Silver Generator

  by Mat Stein

  Certain bacterial infections now defy all antibiotics. —Stuart Levy, M.D.

  Over two thousand years ago, Alexander The Great had no knowledge of germ theory, but he did know that if he stored water for his troops in silver urns, they did not get sick. However, if the water was stored in wooden barrels it would “turn” after a week or two, making his warriors ill, and a sick warrior is not much good on a battle field! It turns out that tiny charged particles of silver have the almost magical properties of being toxic to all known pathogenic bacteria, while being non-toxic to human beings and the “friendly” probiotic bacteria that are critical for maintaining a healthy digestive function in our gut. I realize that this sounds too good to be true, along the lines of Santa Clause and the Tooth Fairy, but it turns out that the extra thick cellular wall that protects probiotic bacteria from full strength stomach acids, also protects them from colloidal silvers.

  Proponents of colloidal and ionic silver claim that it acts as a powerful antibiotic agent that attacks more than 600 harmful bacteria, protozoa, molds, yeasts, and viruses, and that you can make it yourself any time and any place for just pennies a day. With the present-day curse of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and possibly devastating future plagues, having a colloidal silver generator on hand could make the difference between life and death for yourself and loved ones!

  This article shows you how to make and use a colloidal silver generator that can easily produce a quart of colloidal silver solution for just pennies a day! So what exactly is “colloidal silver”? Colloids are solutions of particles that are so tiny that they remain suspended in a liquid without settling to the bottom of their container, and colloidal silver is a solution of water with tiny suspended particles of silver. Ionic silver is a solution with extremely tiny electrically charged particles of silver that are on the order of the size of individual molecules. According to some proponents of ionic silver, it is the charged particles of silver that are primarily responsible for the healing and antibiotic properties in both of these related solutions.

  Silver has been used medically for more than 100 years, and the medical use of colloidal silver is approved by the FDA in a grandfather clause. Because it is not patentable and therefore has no economic value to pharmaceutical companies, there is little money available for thorough scientific research on the medical effectiveness of colloidal silver for fighting various diseases. In my experience, I found that it usually does not work as quickly as antibiotics (in cases where the antibiotics are effective) and may require consumption of significant amounts of the liquid to be effective.

  Many claim to have used colloidal silver to cure themselves of serious diseases like Lyme disease, AIDS, a variety of cancers, hepatitis C, Candida albicans, and the flu. Because there are no good data on dosages, people suffering from serious diseases have been experimenting on themselves. Typically, these people have been finding positive results drinking about 8 to 32 ounces per day of 5 to 10 parts per million (ppm) colloidal silver. You can drink more at lower concentrations or less at higher concentrations to get the same effect. When you start drinking colloidal/ionic silver, you may find yourself feeling a little weak, with flu-like symptoms. This is explained as the result of your body dealing with toxic wastes from organism die-off. If this happens, drink lots of pure water to flush your system, and reduce the dosage for a few days before resuming a higher dose.

  Improvement is generally seen in a few days, but cures of serious diseases may take weeks to months. A couple of tablespoons of 5 ppm colloidal silver appears to be a reasonable daily dosage for immune-system boosting for healthy persons.

  Making Your Own Colloidal Silver Generator

  In the early 1900s, colloidal silver was very expensive, but in recent years a physicist (Bob Beck, D.Sc.) came up with a simple method for making it. A modern colloidal silver generator is about as complex as a flashlight. Making colloidal silver simply involves placing a DC voltage across two chunks of pure silver (a cathode and an anode) immersed in pure water. Supposedly, 33 volts is the optimum voltage, but 27 volts from three 9-volt batteries works fine. If these are not available, you could get by with two 12-volt solar panels wired in series for a total output of 24 volts. This setup would generate colloidal silver at a slower rate.

  See the illustration on the next page showing how to hook up your own colloidal silver generator. Connect three 9-volt transistor radio batteries in series (+ terminal to – terminal to + terminal, etc.) using readily available 9-volt battery clip-on terminals. Wire a 24-volt light bulb in series with the batteries, then connect it to a minijack for easy use. The light bulb performs two functions. First, it is your battery indicator, which should shine brightly when you touch the two alligator clips or silver wires to each other (if it does not light at all, or very dimly, when you touch the clips to each other, then you should replace your batteries). Second, it provides a load to the batteries, so you don’t drain them dead after a minute or two if the silver wires are accidentally touching while making the solution.

  Connect one wire from your battery pack and one from the light bulb to a minijack socket. Tape your battery pack together and mount your lamp, battery pack, and minijack socket into an appropriate box. Split the wires from the minijack plug and connect them to two alligator clips. Cut two 6-inch lengths of 99.99 percent pure silver wire (14 or 16 gauge works well) and bend the ends into ½-inch hooks for hanging over the edge of a glass. Purchase the electrical materials at Radio Shack, Wal-Mart, Intertan, and so on. Silver wire of 99.9 percent purity is available from jewelry supply stores and some craft stores, or you may purchase the pure silver wire, silver generator kits, and complete silver generators from Sota Instruments at: www.sotainstruments.com.

  Using Your Colloidal Silver Generator

  • Most people stress the use of distilled water, though many people, including myself, use reverse-osmosis-filtered water, provided that the source water is low on total dissolved solids. Pour distilled water into a glass (avoid plastic, since colloidal silver has a tendency to bind to some plastics).

  • Regardless of what you may have heard previously, DO NOT ADD SALT TO YOUR SOLUTION. Salt will combine with some of the silver ions to make silver chloride, which is less effective against bacteria (purportedly hundreds of times less effective than ionic silver), is mildly toxic (silver chloride is 300 times less toxic than silver nitrate, which is a powerful antiseptic used in eye drops for infants), and puts added silver into your system that has inferior healing properties.

  • Hang the two pure silver wires over the edge of your glass into the water, and clip the two alligator clips to the outside ends of the wires (see Figure 1). Plug the minijack connector into your box. The light bulb should be dark or glowing very faintly. If glowing brightly, either the wires are touching or the water contains significant impurities and should not be used. Separate the wires in the solution by 1 to 2 inches.

  • If the generator is working properly, after about 10 to 20 minutes there should be tiny bubbles forming on one or both of the wires. If these are not visible, touch the wires together to check the battery and/or connection (the bulb should shine brightly). Ionic silver solutions should be clear or have a gold tint to them. The particles of ionic silver are too small to be seen except with an electron microscope. Colloidal silver is made from silver particles that are microscopic in size, looks like wisps
of smoke emanating from one of the silver electrodes, and will usually have a gray or silver tint to the solution. Sota Instruments states that tests on solutions made using distilled water and their current-limiting “Silver Pulser” ionic silver generator will make one cup of roughly 5 ppm ionic silver per hour of usage (i.e., 4 hours for 4 cups of 5 ppm ionic silver at room temperature, starting with distilled water). In his article, “Colloidal Silver: A Closer Look,” Peter Lindemann says that the homemade colloidal silver generator of Figure 1 should make 8 ounces of a 3 to 5 ppm colloidal silver solution in about 20 to 25 minutes at room temperature.

  • Dosage is a matter of personal preference and experience. As a preventative, some people suggest drinking a tablespoon or two daily. For serious illnesses, some people suggest drinking daily one to four 8-ounce glasses of 5 ppm solution. According to calculations based on an equation at silverfacts.com, the safe daily lifetime dosage for a 150-pound man is roughly ½ cup per day of 5 ppm colloidal silver. After each use, clean the silver wires with a harsh plastic pot scrubber.

  • For external use, silver solution may be applied to Band-Aids and compresses or sprayed onto burns and affected skin areas. A handy silver salve kit for making a useful antiseptic/antifungal balm from colloidal silver is available at www.elixa.com/silver/ointment.

  • Best-quality 9-volt batteries will last a very long time. It is preferable not to use rechargeable batteries as they only produce 7.6 volts. An alternative to using three or four 9-volt batteries is to purchase a 30-volt converter that can be plugged into a wall outlet.