by James Hubbard, MD, MPH

Nice weather brings you weekend warriors out like ants to sugar. About this time of year we exercise muscles that have lain essentially dormant all winter. And the day after the workout, we suffer the consequence, feeling like we’ve been beaten with a baseball bat.

This severe soreness after exercise is likely to happen during a disaster. You may be forced to work far past your comfort level—and in ways you’re not used to.

So I decided to see if there were any new, study-documented ways to decrease this “severe soreness after exercise” phenomenon. To my surprise, I found one. To my greater surprise, it revolved around a common fruit.

But I’m So Buff!

When I was a strapping young teen, I participated in every sport there was and exercised almost every day, sometimes for hours.

In the summer, I’d occasionally go waterskiing. Of course I’d do way too much. And it never failed. The next day I could barely get out of bed, I’d be so sore—because I had been using muscles in a way they weren’t accustomed to.

Yes, if you’re physically fit, post-disaster muscle pain could happen even to you.

Several studies show that cherry juice helps reduce the kind of muscle soreness you get after exercise. Below, I’ve listed three small but well-done ones. All were supported by cherry juice manufacturers, but they still seemed to be good. (Hey, who else is [... continue reading]

The post appeared first on TheSurvivalDoctor.com. Click to comment and read others' experiences: An Easy Way I’d Never Heard of to Reduce Exercise Soreness. But It Works. .

by James Hubbard, MD, MPH

Last week, I demonstrated how to safely use a neti pot, a popular tool to clean your sinuses for allergy prevention and treatment. You just pour specially prepared water into one nostril, and it comes out the other one.

But there’s an advanced sinus irrigation technique that’ll clean you out good and proper—without a neti pot. Your amazing, Roto-Rooter, nasal cleansing alternative? A cup.

I talk about this technique in the video above. I don’t demonstrate it. If you thought the neti pot one was unsavory …

Basically, you suck the solution up one nostril at a time, and it comes out of your mouth. This method gets more deeply into your sinuses that the neti pot one. The trade-off is it can be messier, and the water can kind of choke you until you get the hang of it. Just start slowly. It takes a little getting used to so you don’t suck a bit of water down your windpipe. Swallowing some is no big deal.

So check out the short video, and then let me know if you try this neti pot alternative. I’d love to hear how it goes.

P.S. To learn how to prepare safe water for sinus irrigation—with or without a neti pot—click here.

• How to Avoid a Brain-Eating Amoeba. (Is a Neti Pot Safe?)
• What Medicines to [... continue reading]

  The post appeared first on TheSurvivalDoctor.com. Click to comment and read others' experiences: Video: The Best Way to Irrigate Your Sinuses (Without a Neti Pot) .

by James Hubbard, MD, MPH

There are not many natural ways to treat or prevent nasal allergies effectively, but using a neti pot for nasal irrigation is one of them. And it’s safe.

Okay, sure … a brain-eating amoeba has killed a few unfortunate people after they used contaminated tap water.

And, yes, some who use the neti pot actually have more sinus infections.

But … you can prevent both of those problems with two simple steps.

Step #1. Clean the pot thoroughly before each use. You’ll need a tube brush or something similar to make sure you clean inside that thin spout.

Step #2. For irrigation, use distilled water, or boil your tap water for about a minute (and give it time to cool off) to kill any of those amoebas. Sure, it’s so easy to use water straight from the tap, and those brain-eating amoebas are really rare. But if you were to get the infection, you’d die. There isn’t a cure. Why take a chance?

• Add around ¼ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of baking soda to every cup or so of water. You don’t have to use either, but the salt may clean better, and the baking soda is a buffer to limit any irritating stinging.
• If you’d rather, use your favorite commercial, premixed [... continue reading]

  The post appeared first on TheSurvivalDoctor.com. Click to comment and read others' experiences: Allergies Vs. Amoebas: 2 Steps to Using a Neti Pot Safely .

by James Hubbard, MD, MPH

One of the first things I do when I see someone with an injured hand or finger is remove any rings. You’d think the person would have already done this, but sometimes it’s hard to think straight when you have an injury. Also, many are afraid it’s going to hurt (it can), and some think the finger has already swollen too much (sometimes it has).

But the thing is, with a badly swollen finger, the ring acts like a tourniquet, cutting off the blood supply, and you could end up losing your digit. What to do?

If you’re in a situation where you can’t get to a doctor, you probably won’t have a ring cutter, but you might have an oily substance or some strong string or tape. So, here are two nifty tricks for how to remove a ring from a swollen finger:

If you happen to have a ring cutter*, [... continue reading]

The post appeared first on TheSurvivalDoctor.com. Click to comment and read others' experiences: Video: When Your Finger Swells Over Your Wedding Ring: What to Do .

by James Hubbard, MD, MPH

Tourniquets have been on my mind lately. It’s a shame many people don’t know how to properly apply one to stop bleeding. It’s so easy. But, like most things, someone has to show you before you can learn.

I read of a man bitten on his thigh by a beaver. The large femoral artery that runs from the groin down the inner thigh was severed, and the man bled to death. My first thought was, maybe he could have been saved if someone had known how to stop the bleeding—in particular, how to apply a tourniquet.

Then I read about a man in a Home Depot sawing deeply into his arms, apparently on purpose. A quick-thinking fire captain applied a tourniquet around each arm and, yes, saved the man’s life.

But you also have to know how to combine methods. A woman recently came up to me after a wound-treatment talk I gave at the Get Prepared Expo in Missouri. She told me her husband’s inner upper arm was once cut with some sheet metal and he almost bled to death. Someone applied a tourniquet, but it didn’t help much. Fortunately, the good ol’ paramedics and EMTs arrived in time. But I thought, if his colleagues who tried to help had only known what else they could have done, in addition to the tourniquet, to stop bleeding.

All [... continue reading]

The post appeared first on TheSurvivalDoctor.com. Click to comment and read others' experiences: Video: How to Apply a Tourniquet Properly .

Media reports claim radiation from the 2011 Fukushima disaster caused thyroid problems in one-third of West Coast newborns. But they’re so, so wrong.

by James Hubbard, MD, MPH

The news is grim. West Coast babies are being born with thyroid problems left and right, media reports suggest. One-third have been affected! Radiation from the Fukushima nuclear disaster is to blame. What to do?!!!

Except … this isn’t true.

The rumor has spread across the Internet, but it comes from the misinterpretation of a new study. The preparedness organization Living Ready asked me to report the unbiased truth about this study’s findings in a guest blog post.

“Even worst case, the researchers found that nowhere near one-third of the newborns were hit with thyroid problems,” I write. “Not even close.” You can read the post here.

Have you seen these Fukushima thyroid rumors? What did you think?

• The Truth About Fukushima, and What You Can Do
• Potassium Iodide: 8 Surprising Truths

Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Digital Globe (CC-BY-SA-3.0).

The post appeared first on TheSurvivalDoctor.com. Click to comment and read others' experiences: Fukushima Thyroid Rumor: Are Babies Really in Danger? .

The bark scorpion likes to live in trees (bark) and hide in woodpiles, under fallen trees, or under your camping bedding.

by James Hubbard, MD, MPH

Scorpions make me think of Westerns. Some cowboy is riding a horse in the desert and they cut to a single scorpion in the sand. It symbolizes that this land is rough, rugged, and dangerous. One sting, and you’re dead.

Cut to real life. While you will find most scorpions in the desert, you may also come across them in many Southeastern and Midwestern states. In all but one species in the U.S., the scorpion sting is similar to a bee sting. Yes, you can be allergic, and the reaction can result in death. (See my bee stings post for signs and treatment of this anaphylactic reaction.)

Usually, though, the scorpion sting just hurts. But there is one scorpion here that causes more problems than others: the bark scorpion. Its sting can affect your brain and nerves. Some people are more vulnerable to a bad outcome than others, but there are things you can do if you see the reaction.

• Live in California, New Mexico, Arizona, and Southern Colorado.
• Are yellow or gray.
• Are relatively small, about 2–3 inches from head to stinger.
• Like to live in trees (bark) and hide in woodpiles, under fallen trees, or under your camping bedding.
• Can also be found inside the house in shoes, in clothes, and [... continue reading]

  The post appeared first on TheSurvivalDoctor.com. Click to comment and read others' experiences: When a Scorpion Sting Turns Deadly .

by James Hubbard, MD, MPH

We humans are not the only ones who become more active in the spring. This second of my two-part, true/false quiz on surviving the spring is all about bites and stings. The answers are quotes from past posts. It has been said that repetition is the mother of all learning, so why not go back and read the linked posts to refresh your memory.

True or false? In the U.S., you have about a ninety-five percent chance of surviving a venomous snakebite.

>> Answer

The post appeared first on TheSurvivalDoctor.com. Click to comment and read others' experiences: Spring Survival Quiz, Part II: Bites and Stings .

by James Hubbard, MD, MPH

Springtime. It always reminds me of the cycle of life, rebirth, new beginnings. And, of course, it’s a time to get outside, to hike, camp, play … and spring clean.

This is the first of a two-part true/false spring quiz to help you get you prepared for all of the above. In the comments, let me know how you do!

Every year a few people die of hantavirus, an infection that causes severe aching and fever, followed by trouble breathing.

True or false? One of the ways you can get hantavirus is by inhaling it from certain rat or mouse feces, so you should take precautions when cleaning barns, sheds, and the like.

>> Answer

Photo: Flickr/pleasantpointinn.

The post appeared first on TheSurvivalDoctor.com. Click to comment and read others' experiences: Spring Survival Quiz .

If you disturb fire ants, they don’t mess around. They attack. Technically they bite and sting. When they bite, they clamp to your skin with their two strong pincers. Because of this it takes a lot of vigorous brushing to get them off. After biting, they sting by swinging their tail to and fro. One biting fire ant can sting you six to eight times.

by James Hubbard, MD, MPH

Having grown up in the South, I’ve been bitten enough times by fire ants to pretty well know what’s going on before I see them. I know when I feel that distinctive sting (it’s like being touched with a hot match head … for a long time), I’m going to find a lot of creepy, crawling dots.

Because fire ants don’t come as singles. They quickly cover a foot, leg, or arm before you know what’s happening. And the little devils don’t leave easily. You have to brush and brush and often take off some apparel to make sure they’re not clinging to that. And I know they’re going to leave a sore, itching spot I’m going to have to deal with for days.

Although potentially killer allergic reactions occur, just as they do in bee and wasp stings, I’ve never seen one. But I have seen people with so many stings they literally get sick, and if it’s an arm or leg, there can be lots of local swelling.

We who’ve [... continue reading]

The post appeared first on TheSurvivalDoctor.com. Click to comment and read others' experiences: 6 Home Remedies for Fire Ant Bites .