A Guide for When Help is Not on the Way - The Survival Medicine Handbook

Not a bad book for someone with a medical background to use as a review. Also good to give ideas for improvisation in off grid situation. Would strongly recommend William Forgey's book,"Wilderness Medicine",and the Hesperian Foundation's book, "Where there is no Doctor" as foundation works. They have not failed me in real world situations.

I have not fully assimilated it yet, but when I got it I read intro and whent directly into a section of interest and learned some things. This book is impressive and written with an encouraging style.

This book came out recently and I bought it to add to my collection of survival manuals. It's actually really well written for both the novice and the experienced lay-person. I've shown it to my friends and even those not interested in Survival type medicine have kept it for hours reading it.
It has the information I needed, and was well worth the price.

I have not fully assimilated it yet, but when I got it I read intro and whent directly into a section of interest and learned some things. This book is impressive and written with an encouraging style.

This book came out recently and I bought it to add to my collection of survival manuals. It's actually really well written for both the novice and the experienced lay-person. I've shown it to my friends and even those not interested in Survival type medicine have kept it for hours reading it.
It has the information I needed, and was well worth the price.

As a veteran RN, I found this book to be outstanding! Some of it was review, and most was specialized information for a grid-down survival situation, which no one really has the experience. I have not finished reading this book because I am constantly making notations in red; it's just great! Thank you Dr. Alton and your wonderful wife, for writing the second edition!
Toni Blake RN,C,BSN-CPT US Army Nurse Corps.

This book is hot garbage. Talks a little about mass casualty protocol, which is great, then goes EXTENSIVELY into how to use essential oils and herbs (as well as fish antibiotics) to treat illnesses. This advice is worthless in an actual no-backup scenario.

I was expecting things like how to tell someone has a disease or condition if there's no access to labs/imaging/etc.

Decent content, was expecting much more in depth content and less fluff from a doctor, a lot of weasel wording though (the I do not condone this, but you *could*). Fair amount of repetition bulks up the read, but reiteration is not a terrible teaching strategy. A great deal of it is common sense, so if you have prepared any other medical knowledge, you can skip through a lot of it or skim. If you had a completely unprepared person saying "I know nothing about this what do I do? it provides enough to make the chances better than nothing of survival or treatment. Now I will say a slight negative was the rather presumptuous move that was the christian propaganda *bonus book* in my shipping box, not everyone is, wants to be religious, and considers it proper to *surprise try my god* promote like that. I grew up in the bible belt, still live here, and get enough of that already.

I have only read about half of the book, but I am extremely impressed. It provides straight forward, and helpful information on a variety of medical topics. As a healthcare professional myself, I was afraid it would be too basic, but that fear was unfounded. I already have a list of items that I would not have thought to get, & I suspect I will be adding to that list as I continue to read. I highly recommend this book to anyone who would like to be prepared for a time where medical help is unavailable or non-existent.

Definitely not worth the money. It's basically just a descriptive medical guide that describes ailments and normal remedies. Not a lot of impromptu cures. They just recommend you access the appropriate medical gear. Not many pictures either. Just a few rough drawings for general anatomy. Shouldn't be called survival medicine. Just medicine.

This is a handy book to have in case of emergencies. But if you're looking for a really detailed medical book look else were. This book had a lot of really useful information but I was definitely hoping for a more detailed medical book.

Yes. This is a creditable and good compilation with great set of further reading but, not $36 worth.
You can buy an herbal medicine, a first aid and a general health book for the same price
and get just about the same information.

For a practical medicine handbook, you shouldn't have to look up words like "evert".

You also get a wordy filler and sales job on preparedness.
If you're buying this book, you don't need that.
We get you doctor else wise, we wouldn't be looking for this book.

I expected more illustrations than I found. Most people in this day and age are visual learners or doers. I found this book falls short of my expectations as a "how to" manual but still should be useful in a survival situation.

This book seemed like it would be a good manual on how to survive without doctors in an emergency situation. But, was a bit of a let down for me. There is SOME good info in the book, but most of it lacks details. There is alot of common sense (dont build a latrene near your drinking water source) kind of info. Overpriced for what it is.

Good for explaining the problems, short on solutions. I don't think a garlic or cranberry pills will cure a UTI. Good for emergency triage. Explains how to Identify disease and converting veterinary medicine to people medicine. If veterinary antibiotics are available I think you could find people antibiotics. I guess that situation could arise but that would be rare.

Decent content, was expecting much more in depth content and less fluff from a doctor, a lot of weasel wording though (the I do not condone this, but you *could*). Fair amount of repetition bulks up the read, but reiteration is not a terrible teaching strategy. A great deal of it is common sense, so if you have prepared any other medical knowledge, you can skip through a lot of it or skim. If you had a completely unprepared person saying "I know nothing about this what do I do? it provides enough to make the chances better than nothing of survival or treatment. Now I will say a slight negative was the rather presumptuous move that was the christian propaganda *bonus book* in my shipping box, not everyone is, wants to be religious, and considers it proper to *surprise try my god* promote like that. I grew up in the bible belt, still live here, and get enough of that already.

I have only read about half of the book, but I am extremely impressed. It provides straight forward, and helpful information on a variety of medical topics. As a healthcare professional myself, I was afraid it would be too basic, but that fear was unfounded. I already have a list of items that I would not have thought to get, & I suspect I will be adding to that list as I continue to read. I highly recommend this book to anyone who would like to be prepared for a time where medical help is unavailable or non-existent.

Definitely not worth the money. It's basically just a descriptive medical guide that describes ailments and normal remedies. Not a lot of impromptu cures. They just recommend you access the appropriate medical gear. Not many pictures either. Just a few rough drawings for general anatomy. Shouldn't be called survival medicine. Just medicine.

This is a handy book to have in case of emergencies. But if you're looking for a really detailed medical book look else were. This book had a lot of really useful information but I was definitely hoping for a more detailed medical book.

Yes. This is a creditable and good compilation with great set of further reading but, not $36 worth.
You can buy an herbal medicine, a first aid and a general health book for the same price
and get just about the same information.

For a practical medicine handbook, you shouldn't have to look up words like "evert".

You also get a wordy filler and sales job on preparedness.
If you're buying this book, you don't need that.
We get you doctor else wise, we wouldn't be looking for this book.

I expected more illustrations than I found. Most people in this day and age are visual learners or doers. I found this book falls short of my expectations as a "how to" manual but still should be useful in a survival situation.

This book seemed like it would be a good manual on how to survive without doctors in an emergency situation. But, was a bit of a let down for me. There is SOME good info in the book, but most of it lacks details. There is alot of common sense (dont build a latrene near your drinking water source) kind of info. Overpriced for what it is.

Good for explaining the problems, short on solutions. I don't think a garlic or cranberry pills will cure a UTI. Good for emergency triage. Explains how to Identify disease and converting veterinary medicine to people medicine. If veterinary antibiotics are available I think you could find people antibiotics. I guess that situation could arise but that would be rare.

At first I was really excited when I began reading this book, it has a very good intro on why people should be prepared and bring it from a prespective that would make even the most ignorant city person consider having more than a couple days food storage. As far as being a guide to complete survival medicine I wish it covered herbal practices more but it does have some small recomendations on that end.......Not impressed on the wasted pages that most people that I would imagine buying this book should already know... Some good info but if you are prepping for a serious disaster. On the other side at least they are trying...Some good info don't get me wrong just not really what I expected....Not something to carry on you if you were leaving in a hurry not bad for a stash somewhere....I should have done more research to see if it covered herbs more it is a good starter for that if you don't know much about herbal medicine,essentail oils, and old time tricks vinegar, honey ect...my biggest problem is the medical supplies I guess I was hoping for complete field procedures...I think I just bought the wrong book on what I was looking for.

This book is written for the serious prepper, not for the average person looking to find some alternative first aid or other medical solutions. It is very, very in depth and full of great information but is quite overwhelming to me. If you're prepping for the holocaust, this is the book for you.

Outstanding book in every way. I read many of the reviews here before I bought it. The readers who ranked this book with few stars were just not paying attention, being purposefully dense or are unable to understand the printed word in general. This is an excellent book on what to do when no one is coming. My husband is WFR (Wilderness First Responder) and he finds it to also be a great place to pick up when his formal training runs out. It is well sourced and is pleasant to read, even though I am not medically trained in any way. This will be an important part of our preparedness library. I am reading it through first, so it will not be in an emergency when I look at this info for the first time. Put quite simply, if you are thinking about it...BUY THE BOOK! You will not be disappointed. Many thank to the authors for taking time to put this together for the rest of us.

Is that an overly broad, sweeping statement? Well, yes, I can narrow that down a little bit. Every physician, who is not an exert in survival medicine, who has been trained in a specialization that prevents them from practicing in other areas of clinical specialization, who plans on NOT perishing in the first 30 days if the power grid goes down, who plans on being useful to family, friends, and allies after a category 5 hurricane leaves their community stranded for a week or two, should have a copy on their shelves.

I have one. You should too.

The price for the book is high enough for a paperback, BUT the product is unsatisfactory: IT IS UPSIDE DOWN & BACKWARD!!!! I normally don't give a comment as I'm usually satisfied but this time, I'm sorry but I'm not Japanese, I don not read upside down backward, very annoying.

Highly disappointed. Contains some useful layman advice in treating simple conditions, but also is excessively wordy - not compact or useful in a true mobile "survival" situation. Also provides much too much (or not relevant) information on certain conditions. Example: On saving a knocked out tooth - provides solution to preserve the tooth, how to replace, etc. only to tell you that the tooth will not be viable and will need to be removed later.

This book also promotes discriminant use of antibiotics. It promotes sources of animal antibiotics for human use in survival situation that could easily be abused and advance current antibiotic resistance.

As a veterinarian, I have practiced better 'survival' medicine than this book. If you know how to bandage a wound, then look elsewhere for resources.

Easy to digest information without the hyperbole or condescension some others seem unable or unwilling to refrain from inserting. Full of lists, practice scenarios, and additional resources you will want to digest before you need to use your skills in the event of TEOTWAWKI. Highly recommended for anyone who thinks they might ever be in the wilderness or a lesser developed country for more than a few days, and a "must read" for those who want to be prepared for the worst case scenario.

This book gives more than first aid or "reactive" medical knowledge. It's a full survey of most all trauma events and medical conditions that might confront a non-doctor caring for his or her family. And, it's more interesting and readable than I expected it to be. For me, it was almost like reading a novel: learning easily about treating one "new" medical condition encouraged me to keep reading, to learn about additional medical conditions and treatments.

Provides a great deal of options I had never heard about. I highly recommend this book to anyone concerned with helping themselves or others in a grid-down or similar scenario when the medical care options we take for granted are not available n

this was not what we were hoping for, it gives very little first aide for surving without going to a hospital. basically it give very minimal guidance for stabilizing to go to a hospital, not what you would need if you were in the woods or a major disaster that help would not or could not be there soon.

I think this guide is must reading before, a disaster hits. Well written for the non-medically trained. I personally know, like and respect the Altons. We worked together for 6 or 7 years on a totally unrelated project. I found them to be totally honest in their opinion and actions, willing to give detailed help to anyone who asks and passionate about whatever they are doing. Their website gives free videos and articles dedicated to survival. No, this is not a paid testimonial ! I am just very happy that they decided to do all of this as it is a tremendous help for everyone!

Contains useful information. It is lacking in some areas. The most useful observation I've made about this book is that it doesn't organize topics based on probability. I'm likely to deal with sprains/strains more often than needing to suture. Additionally, a fair amount of information is left in the back of the book as video links. It does provide a bibliography of books to check out for further reading. However, I feel a far amount of content is left in referenced videos. Overall a useful book to get you started but this is not an all-encompassing book; Granted this book admits that but I think the core of this book could be boiled down to a dozen pages of "usable/core/carry with you" info.

there are some good info in this book, but most of it is personal unnecessary BS from the writer of the book,

read 50 pages and already got a headache, felt like driving through a bumpy road with BS raining from the sky,

After I started my journey into preparedness, I soon realized that there was one category that I didn't feel comfortable in, medical preparedness. I could buy "stuff" and learn and practice skills, but the medical aspect of preparedness; not just acquiring first aid supplies, but knowing what to do if ___ (fill in the blank) happened, bothered me.
I was really excited when I found Dr. Bones and Nurse Amy's website. They post articles on medical preparedness from a collapse scenario perspective. I still read (and link) their stuff...religiously!

The Survival Medicine Handbook is different in that the premise is no one is on the way! Most medical survival books will give the reader information on how to stabilize an injured person until they can receive professional medical treatment. But what if you are in a situation where that is not possible?

to read more of the review, visit - [...]

This is more than a reference book. Don't just stash it away somewhere out of sight. This updated and expanded edition is solid evidence that Joe and Amy Alton (aka Dr. Bones and Nurse Amy) listen to the feedback they get from readers, and that they have a heart for those who truly wish to be prepared. In addition to covering more topics than the first book, they've included many more illustrations in this edition. Some may be disappointed the pictures aren't in color. But Joe and Amy stated in an interview on DestinySurvival Radio with me that color photos are much more expensive to produce. They've kept the price down by self publishing. That also gave them the control they wanted to have regarding the book's content. To me that's a real plus and makes this book an asset to have on the shelf both now and for the future.

This book is a great follow-up to Joe and Amy's first edition. It's more than 500 pages long and includes a helpful index. There are more illustrations and photos and a huge variety of medical issues are addressed, from anxiety and depression to the use of antibiotics and suturing. They do a good job of combining information you would expect from a medical team with their credentials with remedies that include herbs and essential oils. I highly recommend this book.

i think was a labor of love really has some deficiencies. the photos and illustrations are dark muddy and simplistic. i would be concerned trying to attempt a skin stapling with the photos. skimming the book i came across what i would consider errors.

most like this book. for the cost of almost 40$ i feel the money would be better spent on professionally produced medical manuals. try it but be sure you can return this for free on the store Prime. .

It has some interesting stuff but for the price, it's bad. It lists antibiotics and their dosages as if one had a well-stocked cabinet; well, how long will that last in survival mode? They do tell you to find other sources of antibiotics, like for fish, but those doses must be tiny. They have a chapter on high cholesterol which I found ludicrous for survival mode. i sent it on to the local library.

Retired medical professionals authoring this fat prep book (along with a similarly shallow issues website) have obviously changed their careers today, now calling themselves "prep experts"? Inaccurate piece of imaginings claiming they know what a collapse will entail for all, is this it? Listen, when the time comes that we might "enter the zone" of a true societal collapse, what you will need to know is not found in this book. Fact is, most books are written by authors who don't have a clue what life will be like at that time. To just over-explain a bunch of typical "collapse topics" that most feel might be necessary, while living in today's pure plush American lifestyles of the Rich & Famous, well, this is not going to be what is useful to you, post collapse. This book is a roving ramble by a retired doc and "play doc" nurse practitioner, now dubbing themselves "prep medical experts," while regurgitating about all of the more shallow common issues that one can now easily find all over the internet, and too, one can find in most typical basic medical textbooks. Forget the serious price of this piece of "killing trees," and go read the great blogs online (not related to this wordy author's own website) that do get down to the meat of this survival topic much better than this common diatribe. HINT: This is not worth much to the average Joe.

(wife replying) Needed or believed I need a good medical book in case of emergency, when medical help isn't available or until medical help can get to us. This seems to be a great book. I advise reading through it before the emergency so you are somewhat familiar with what to do vice having to stop to read the book during an emergency when time and lighting may not be on your side. I feel a little better prepared. I guess time will tell. It is better to have some information then no information in a crisis.

there are some good info in this book, but most of it is personal unnecessary BS from the writer of the book,

read 50 pages and already got a headache, felt like driving through a bumpy road with BS raining from the sky,