Give Herbals A Try

People occasionally ask me what type of an emergency I’m anticipating. I have no idea. God said, so I do. He didn’t give me any details, just a few additional directions along the way. Some people are planning for a zombie apocalypse, others think there will be an EM Pulse, still others are expecting nuclear war followed by nuclear fall-out. My only thought is that we may experience a catastrophic failure of infrastructure, which shuts off our power and leads to loss of sewage and water. 

Near the first peak of COVID, so many people were sick in our neck of the woods that businesses had to shut down. They were unable to sustain operations with such a limited staff. People positive for COVID were being isolated for 2 weeks, and anyone who had been in contact with them, which usually resulted in many of their co-workers, had to be isolated, also. There were just not enough employees to maintain businesses. If things get really bad in the future from COVID or a variant, or from some other Pandemic, the failure of infrastructure is a real possibility. It would dramatically change the way we live in the United States. Grocery stores would have to shut their doors, food would be difficult to obtain, interstate commerce would cease, I even suppose state governors might shut down their borders and not allow interstate traffic, let alone supply trucks. I don’t know what MIGHT happen, and I’m not trying to foretell the future, but I know I need to be prepared, as much as I am able.

One thing I’ve pondered is the possibility of being unable to obtain medicines. The CDC recommends that you maintain 7-10 days’ worth of medications. That seems a little light to me. I think you should attempt to maintain at least a rolling 30 days on medications you or your family take regularly, and the more essential the medication, the more you should store. It’s possible that antibiotics might be difficult to obtain in an emergency. Years ago, my doctor gave me a prescription for un-reconstituted antibiotics. There are some antibiotics, especially for children, that are a powder. When you present a script at the pharmacy, they reconstitute the powder, mixing it thoroughly. Once the powder is mixed with water, it has a very short shelf life. But powdered antibiotics that have not yet been added to water can be stored for a very long time. Just make sure you have correct instructions for reconstituting when necessary.

There are also many herbal remedies that were used for centuries before modern medicine was discovered,  things like honey to soothe a sore throat and a cough, ginger or mint for an upset stomach, or a liniment made from hot peppers for muscle aches. My mother grew up on a farm and injuries were often treated with alternative medicine. When her sister accidentally through a pitchfork through her arm, my grandmother used lye soap to clean the wound and applied products that she kept for the care of her farm animals to stave off infection. In other words, there is more than one way to skin a cat.

There are books available for purchase, and probably also available at your local library, that can help guide you in the use of tried and true historical remedies. I have one such book and have used it to prepare salve and other products with plants that grow in my area. My book is a little limited, however, because it doesn’t list herbal remedies by geographical regions, so a lot of the remedies recommended are using plants that don’t grow in my area. It never hurts to make a trip down to your local library, pick up a book that might give you some knowledge of historical remedies, and read it. You can never be sure when the information you glean may come in handy.