Protect your feet and your back in a SHTF/SitX

This is fairly obvious, right? Argentus, we know this, thanks for the stale, late-breaking news.

But wait. Think about the things you do, and the things you might have to do in a SitX. What if your SitX is a hurricane and you end up slogging in water. Do you know how to cure jungle rot? Do you realize that if your feet are sloughing skin that your defenses and adabtability are hampered?
Do you know how to ease a pulled back muscle?

Let's break it down a little bit, just for repetition sake, if nothing else. Humor me.

Jungle Rot or Foot Rot

It's just as horrific as it sounds. If a person has resources and the time to heal, is a no-biggie. If you are running for your life, it can possibly contribute to your death. If you have the time to heal and no resources, it can contribute to your death. This is a fungal ( sometimes bacterial) infection, and requires frequent washing and keeping the feet dry, augmented by a medicinal salve to cure. If you have to move a lot, you have to suck it up, keep moving …. and eventually it can spread -- as all fungal infections can -- to other adjacent parts of your body. These kind of fungal infections are also contagious. Generalized fungal infections of this type are not limited to the feet, and can occur all over the body, including the scalp. Oh yeah.

There are claims that colloidal silver can cure it. I have had jungle rot. I did not get to try colliadal silver, so can't speak on the veracity of this claim. What worked for me was Vicks Vapor Rub. No kidding. That, and constant washing and drying of my feet and other afflicted areas. VVR burned, but not much worse that the affliction itself. I strongly suspect that coconut oil -- having antimicrobial properties -- would be useful as well. That is one of the many reasons I make coconut oil. Both coconut oil and VVR are in my med kit.

I also heard claims of liquid silver nitrate as having a curative effect. If that is true, unfortunately AgNO3 has in the last couple of years been more difficult to acquire. It used to be used to silver hand-ground astronomical lenses, and then fairly suddenly, it was declared "controlled". I have heard claims of iodine being beneficial. This is one that I tried and didn't find it to be very useful. If your skin malady is bacterial, it can be treated with antibiotics. You have antibiotics? I have them but would be extremely hesitant to self-medicate, unless I had a fairly sound belief that they would benefit. That’s where medical journals and information are vital. Can you suture? Are you sure? Have you practiced?

So, you see where I'm going with this? Identifying maladies that would be no big deal in a world of resources, but that could be critial in a world of fending for oneself. People who think in this way and prepare for the bad times might well do better. Sure, 500 meters of parachute cord is a good thing to have socked away, along with all your other preps, along with that spiffy bushman machette, but what might save your hide might come in a bottle. A few compounds that are [currently] readily available might well give a person an edge, to be able to survive and even influence the survival of others. Knowledge can also be a bartering commodity. Yes, much of this is ugly to think about, however it’s better than the alternative, which is to be uninformed and hurting.

Your Po’ Po’ Back

Yeah, it hits us all, one time or another – than breath-taking twinge that runs side-to-side or up the back. Go to the doctor, get an anti-inflammatory and a suggestion to “take it easy” until it feels better. I use something that helps almost all muscular injuries – arnica. My first introduction to arnica was watching old John Wayne movies; After the inevitable brawl, the Duke would mosey in and declare that “you might wanta put some tincture of arnica on that.”

Arnica can come in the form of a liquid tincture for topical application, or – more common – as a homeopathic OTC pill. Me, being a person who is physical and works outside quite a bit, am prone to old fart injuries. I feel young; I’m 54. I started stretching every day back in my 30’s and continue that practice to this day. Still, stuff happens. If a day goes by that I don’t bleed from somewhere, it’s a rare day. So it goes. Muscular/joint/inflammation injuries can be improved with arnica, and unlike many ‘cures’, it is cheap. I recently bought it online for USD $1.00/100. Yeah! We have tons of arnica.

I can’t stress enough the value of stretching, and not just leg muscles, but all muscle groups. I may not have a current need to kick at head height, but there’s no harm in having the ability. If a person is flexible and takes a fall, I believe the probability of sustaining a serious injury is less.

There are many over-the-counter meds and salves and liquids in my med kit. I know that I can make several beneficial compounds from the plants in my environment. Wild mulberry leaves can also be used to make a poultice which reduces inflammation, along with the ginger that we grow.

As one who has had many back injuries, I can tell you that repeating the motion that caused the injury – only slower and much more cautiously – has been frequently beneficial toward speeding recovery. A basic knowledge of acupressure and acupuncture and the accompanying accoutrements has also been very beneficial.

I wanted to put this out to you all in hopes of making you think about the reality of hard times – outside of your current situation. Perhaps you have knowledge of LEGAL compounds that have medicinal properties as well, and if so, feel free to add them to this thread. Where I grew up in Idaho, mountain dogwood was used for several things because of the quinine within its bark.

Think about the common things, the ordinary ailments, that could really adversely affect your abilities to adapt to a charged and changing situation. I hope it doesn’t come to that, but no harm or shame in being prepared.
Be safe.

reply to post by argentus


I carry a bottle of neem oil for my feet.
There has been times where I had to keep my boots on from the moment I have woken up until the time I went to bed.
Before bed I take socks and boots off and put the oil on my feet.
The stuff works great for a variety of things like bug repellant and good for psoriasis of the skin.

I have tried tea tree oil as well but I found after a few days my feet itch like crazy.

Good call on the arnica,I need to pick some up.


Feet first folks.

Edit.
I think it would also be beneficial to learn stretches for the sciatic nerve.
That is one painful thing to have problems with.
If the poopy hit the spinning thing on the ceiling and I was out in the woods with this problem...no more collecting wood or doing other basic things.

I had a problem with this once and learned a few stretches but I can no longer find the video I saw...it did work though.
I think it was called the Matheson technique.
My buddy wasn't so lucky and had to have back surgery.

Good Stuff!! and good advice to take care of the feet. I learned the hard way many years ago on my first multi-day backpacking trip on a section of the AT.

In addition to the treatments that were mentioned, I always keep an Ionic Silver ointment in my First Aid pack www.medline.com... mole skin or duct tape to hit hot spots and above all I wear Polypropylene sock liners and Smart Wool or other wool/synthetic blend socks.

I will have to look into your suggestions for the back pain. I have been cursed with a crappy lower back. (I definitely need to work my core muscles a little harder) Right now I keep Aspercreme or Flexall max strength handy.

Thanks!!

reply to post by argentus


Would constant exposure to sunlight cure jungle rot and kill the fungi?

Good thread.

Dogwood is a common name used to refere to several species but most often Red Osier Cornus sericea, also named C. stolonifera and Swida sericea. Is this the plant that you are referring to?

reply to post by Catalyst317


Air definitely helps for sure as well as changing your socks as often as you can.
Sunlight might give the tops of your feet a sunburn so I would stay in the shade.

Trenchfoot is caused by excessive sweating so keeping your feet dry and clean is essential.

I am not sure if this actually works or net yet but I got into the habit of giving my feet a smoke bath at the end of the day.

reply to post by DrumsRfun


That makes sense, but would the UV light kill the fungi?

iIve seen them native African people walking barefoot from the day they were born, ofcourse in that rough terrain they would get very strong feet with lots of callus. isn't this the natural protection against food infections and stuff? once I had a fungal infection and I started walking barefoot alot, it went away very fast.

reply to post by DrumsRfun


I remember Les Stroud discussing the smoke bath when he battled trench foot while in the Amazon. He used a smoldering termite nest.

They came. And they went. And they came again, but never close enough for me to get a shot away. However I did come across a large termite nest on my trek. So I am now back at camp with the nest smoldering by the fire. Not only will it hold a fire a long time and keep it alive – the smoke is very effective against foot fungus. It is also said to keep jaguars away.

lesstroud.ca...

I'll have to remember this!!

reply to post by DrumsRfun


Neem oil. Excellent contribution. Neem is also a great mosquito repellant for those of us allergic to DEET. I'm growing six Neem trees right now around the property. There is an elderly woman who sends her helper here to cut Neem branches to make a tincture, because the woman believes it alleviates her high blood pressure.

Sciatica stretch. Okay bear with me here, Drums.......... I'm going to create an ugly visual. I do tai chi in the mornings to just generally get things moving. After that, I put my feet about shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, and I slowly bend over, hands down and allow my upper body weight to slowly pull me downward. NEVER bob, just slowly relax and stretch downward. So far so good. When my fingers are on the ground, I begin a slow back-and-forth hip movement......... a sort of slo-mo butt wiggle, each time moving further left or right.

I do this behind the house (where things done there stay behind the house)...... the first time my Bride came outside and saw me doing this, she honestly thought I'd lost my mind. I cannot quote her comment due to the T&C. She characterized this move as "mutant hula". I used to have the sciatic neve shooting pain from lower back down the back of one leg. Sometimes it was so profound, I had trouble walking more than 100 feet. Haven't had it since the beloved butt wiggle and stretching. I know, that was TMI.

reply to post by jibeho


I'll look into the SilvaSorb gel. I like the small size and relatively safe ingredients, thanks!

reply to post by Catalyst317


Sunlight probably wouldn't hurt a bit. Fungal infections are hard to cure sometimes, given that they often occur.......... umm........... within hidden tissue. Seems more important to keep clean and dry, or perhaps in addition to the UV. Sometimes these kind of infections manifest themselves as cracking of the skin, and in that case a salve is useful in curing it. My father is a great believer in Bag Balm. I spite of its semi-humorous name, it was originally created for cow udder treatment, however it contains lanolin, which is useful for dry skin/cracking skin treatment, so maybe Pops is onto something.

reply to post by dainoyfb

Probably a close relative, dainoyfb. I had to look up the latin name, but the dogwood I'm referring to is cornus nuttallii.

reply to post by argentus


My mother also swears by Bag Balm. She uses it every night on her feet. I still remember looking at the package and asking why she was putting on cow udder cream on her feet. LOL

reply to post by jibeho


I look for spruce for my smoke baths...again,I am not sure if I am doing it right or not,but it eases my mind.
Right back at ya...

You guys can call me a hobbit if you want, but when i hike and camp i never bring shoes..... Granted, i dont usually hike or camp in rain forrests, but i would have to say bare feet is my preffered method of foot travel. Unless im going out ( bar resteraunt etc. ) i choose to not wear shoes.... I like the feeling of earth under foot.

There are inherent dangers with choosing to explore the out doors in bare feet. A stubbed toe can mean a ruined trip, or a thorn in the foot, mechanical injury, and poisonous wild life can really be bad news for a barefoot explorer. However, the positives in my mind outwheigh the negative. I can travel very quietly, and have in some cases come within arms distance of deer and bear with out incident ( almost ruined my shorts with the bear, though ). It also forces me to be aware of my surroundings and walk slower than a hiker with boots on, which is ok with me.

This is a great thread. Most people in the outdoors dont realize how crippling a foot infection can be.

Great info, thank you!

My mother swears by bag balm as well. I've grown up putting that on every cut and scrape, including large gashes - and it works like a charm! My brother slashed the inside of his arm open on a broken window once, and we smothered it in bag balm, wrapped it up... and it healed perfectly with no scar. Love that stuff. I even keep a little jar with me and use it for chapstick. Wonderful stuff.