A topic that doesn't seem to be discussed all too often among preppers is preventive health measures. When a prepper talks about health, they usually discuss preparing supplies for injuries after disaster strikes. Hospitals could be scarce when SHTF, making emergency medical care also scarce. Additionally, most injuries are time-sensitive. Not everyone has the medical expertise to provide emergency care to a variety of illnesses and injuries. This leaves you with a question: Are you healthy enough to survive the next disaster? (h/t to DoomsDayMoose.com)
Preventing poor health
By practicing preventive health and keeping yourself healthy before disaster strikes, you can keep yourself alive until medical resources become available again. As the saying goes: an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Below are three ways to help you get through SHTF healthy and alive:
Practice preventive medicine
The healthier you are when SHTF, the higher your chances of survival. Being in great physical shape can help you protect yourself and your loved ones from any dangers you may come across. Staying in shape before disaster strikes is as simple as having a well-balanced diet, sleeping properly, getting regular exercise, and refraining from smoking and drinking alcohol.
People spend a lot of their time living a sedentary lifestyle. Most jobs involve an excessive amount of sedentary behavior like prolonged sitting, which is known to contribute to various health problems like obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Even by just taking a walk every day, you can significantly improve your health and prevent these health conditions from happening, especially if you're in a disaster scenario.
You can also undergo some medical procedures to tackle problems before they get any worse. Imagine having a toothache during a disaster? While you can definitely dull the pain with plenty of natural painkillers and toothache remedies, they are only temporary solutions to a problem that could get worse over time. The odds of being able to find an actual dentist when SHTF is slim to none. Going to one beforehand and keeping up with your oral maintenance can save you all the trouble in the long run.
STDs and pregnancy
In very extreme cases, a major catastrophic event can call for the need for repopulation. However, all of it would be for naught if the children were not healthy at birth. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that pregnant women can still be infected with the same sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) as women who aren't pregnant. These STDs can complicate the pregnancy and could have serious, long-lasting effects on both mother and child. Gonorrhea, for instance, can increase the risk of miscarriage. In addition, babies born while the mother is infected with this disease can get eye infections that could lead to blindness.
The CDC suggests receiving medical care as early as possible during pregnancy to avoid any health complications.
Lessen dependence on prescription painkillers
Any major catastrophe can lead to the shutdown of many services you enjoy today, which means getting any necessary medication would be close to impossible. In the case of collapse, most stores would be ransacked within the first few weeks. Fortunately, there are plenty of natural painkillers that are significantly easier to get, most of which you can even grow yourself at home. Here are a few of them:
Even things like yoga and acupuncture can provide alternative therapy to reduce pain. Losing dependence on prescription drugs can help improve your survival, while also keeping you healthy and toxin-free.
Regardless of whether there's an impending disaster or not, one should still do their best to stay in shape. Preventive medicine can go a long way in keeping you alive when SHTF.
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