Best books about disorders & diseases according to redditors

Well, as an armchair enthusiast, here is what I would recommend.

Section the 1st: Surviving The First Three Months.

You can survival a while on horded food and water, but those will not keep you safe from other people and environmental hazards. There are two kinds of morality in the world, what his moral when the lights are on, and what is moral when the lights go out. When it happens, the lights are going to go out, and they are going stay out. It is not going to be a very nice time to be a woman, unfortunately.

• Learn some form of self defense, preferably something that teaches both weapon-based AND empty handed methods. Knives aren't terribly good defensive weapons in most situations, but if you are confident and capable in the use of one, they can be quite useful against someone attempting to abduct or force themselves on you. Please hit up nononsenseselfdefense.com for more in-depth information, especially if you are looking at joining a Martial Arts school.
  
  
• Take a basic first aid course, and snag yourself a copy of Where There Is No Doctor Get an idea of how to staunch wounds, wrap, splint and reinforce bone, ligature and muscle injuries, and so on.
  
• Acquire a weapon (or several,) learn every aspect of its maintenance.
  
  
• Learn as much about cars as you can. At the bare minimum, know how to change the various fluids of your car, swap tires, install new lights and filters, and so on.
  
  
• Backpacking. Get used to making long hikes while carrying a weight and living out of a pack for a few days.
  
  
• What's your apocalypse? Nuclear, Biological, Chemical? Learn to spot danger zones as well as diagnose and treat exposure to the substance in question.
  
  
• Counseling. Become familiar with diagnosing and treating PTSD, Depression and Ye Generic Grief over losing loved ones.
  
  
• Sanitation. Once the lights go out and the water stops running, disease will kill a shit-ton of people before starvation has a chance to amble on over. An example: Diarrhea (from any number of sources) is one the leading causes of child mortality in Third World Countries. Eating some bad mayo could potentially cause your death in this situation, so things like poorly managed waste, tainted water or mounds of corpses will probably be the death of many.
  
  
• Scavenging. This is a great and fun skill to practice. Pick something that can be found at thrift stores (cast iron skillets, certain types of clothings, electronics with specific components, so on) and learn to hunt for it. Training your eye to hunt for gems in the refuse now will go a long way towards helping you find food, tools, and spare parts later.
  
  Section the 2nd: Long-Term Survival.
  
  Essential Skills: Agriculture, Water Purification, Basic Structure Construction, Medicine, Generic Wilderness Survival, Sustainable Sanitation.
  
  Supplementary Skills: Carpentry, Mechanical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, Midwifery, Specialty Medical Fields, Animal Husbandry, Archery, Trapping, Chemistry (especially Organic Chemistry,) Blacksmithing and Welding would all make you very useful.
  

If you move the decimal over. This is about 1,000 in books...

(If I had to pick a few for 100 bucks: encyclopedia of country living, survival medicine, wilderness medicine, ball preservation, art of fermentation, a few mushroom and foraging books.)


Medical:

Where there is no doctor

Where there is no dentist

Emergency War Surgery

The survival medicine handbook

Auerbach’s Wilderness Medicine

Special Operations Medical Handbook

Food Production

Mini Farming

encyclopedia of country living

square foot gardening

Seed Saving

Storey’s Raising Rabbits

Meat Rabbits

Aquaponics Gardening: Step By Step

Storey’s Chicken Book

Storey Dairy Goat

Storey Meat Goat

Storey Ducks

Storey’s Bees

Beekeepers Bible

bio-integrated farm

soil and water engineering

Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation

Food Preservation and Cooking

Steve Rinella’s Large Game Processing

Steve Rinella’s Small Game

Ball Home Preservation

Charcuterie

Root Cellaring

Art of Natural Cheesemaking

Mastering Artesian Cheese Making

American Farmstead Cheesemaking

Joe Beef: Surviving Apocalypse

Wild Fermentation

Art of Fermentation

Nose to Tail

Artisan Sourdough

Designing Great Beers

The Joy of Home Distilling

Foraging

Southeast Foraging

Boletes

Mushrooms of Carolinas

Mushrooms of Southeastern United States

Mushrooms of the Gulf Coast


Tech

farm and workshop Welding

ultimate guide: plumbing

ultimate guide: wiring

ultimate guide: home repair

off grid solar

Woodworking

Timberframe Construction

Basic Lathework

How to Run A Lathe

Backyard Foundry

Sand Casting

Practical Casting

The Complete Metalsmith

Gears and Cutting Gears

Hardening Tempering and Heat Treatment

Machinery’s Handbook

How to Diagnose and Fix Everything Electronic

Electronics For Inventors

Basic Science


Chemistry

Organic Chem

Understanding Basic Chemistry Through Problem Solving

Ham Radio

AARL Antenna Book

General Class Manual

Tech Class Manual


MISC

Ray Mears Essential Bushcraft

Contact!

Nuclear War Survival Skills

The Knowledge: How to rebuild civilization in the aftermath of a cataclysm

Where there is no Doctor ,
Where there is no Dentist ,
Foxfire Series ,
The Foxfire series is broad and has a diverse amount of information from snake handling for worship, building a smoke house, and carving a "fiddle."
Joy of Cooking Has instructions on cooking turtles, rabbits, squirrel etc.
Many of these books are available online PDF.

As someone who grew up overseas- Where There Is No Doctor.

If you're an EMT, much of what it covers will seem very basic to you. But pay particular attention to the prevention & hygiene aspects. One thing I've noticed that many who grew up in the West take clean water and functional sewage for granted. Too much preparation for SHTF events, not enough prepwork to ensure continuity of sanitation. IMO.

I like the Morakniv and firesteel ideas, and also:

• Wood/tablet/alcohol stove, $19
  
• AccuSharp knife sharpener, around $12
  
• Stainless steel cup that fits perfectly on bottom of Nalgene bottle (can be used for cooking), $9, an Equinox Bottle Bag, $11, a Survivor HK-106 knife w/ fire starter (clip point), $10, and a Nalgene bottle, $10 (pick 2-3 to stay under $30) are the start of a Nalgene bottle kit. That's not an ideal knife and may need sharpening but it is full-tang and I can confirm it fits inside a Nalgene bottle, which the Morakniv for example will not.
  
• The book Where There Is No Doctor, $25
  
• Perhaps a keyring for EDC featuring such things as a Streamlight Nano ($7), firesteel ($10), something like a [Kingston SE9 USB drive](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00URLZTNU/ ($7), a universal handcuff key ($5), and a whistle ($8).
  
• A Leatherman Squirt PS4 (with pliers) for EDC, $30
  
• WaterBOB, $23
  
• Emergency hand-crank radio, $20+

IF you already have a bug-in kit covering serious first aid, not just bandaids and Tums, water filtration, fire and cooking without power, etc......

The first two titles assume that you have at least some yard with reasonable sun access, or the potential for access to a community garden. (Could presently be a community park, a church lot, neighbor's land, whatever.) Books are presently roughly in the order that I'd replace them if my copies were lost. Buy used when you can. Some of these are available used for not much more than standard shipping.

The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It

Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times

Where There Is No Doctor

Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving

If you have no comprehensive cookbooks that cover a wide range of garden veggies and game recipes, something like Joy of Cooking is probably in order. The point being that one way or another you may have to get used to enjoying whatever can be had, from an abundance of zuchinnis to rabbit, to acorn meal.

If you are not (yet) handy, find an old copy of something like Reader's Digest How to Fix Everything in a used bookshop for maybe $4.

A regionally appropriate guide to edible and medicinal plants such as A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs: Of Eastern and Central North America

Preserving Food without Freezing or Canning: Traditional Techniques Using Salt, Oil, Sugar, Alcohol, Vinegar, Drying, Cold Storage, and Lactic Fermentation

optional, but cheap, Emergency Food Storage & Survival Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Keep Your Family Safe in a Crisis

you might actually get some good answers from subs like /r/Wicca, /r/witchcraft, or /r/energy_work despite your desire to avoid spiritual/folk beliefs, because of the high likelihood of overlapping interests. (EDIT: or a traditional chinese medicine/TCM subreddit)

part of the problem finding traditional healing divorced from extraneous beliefs is that the traditions usually include elements of ritual or belief because it helps the patient.

i used to a have a book called "where there is no doctor", and he tells a story about how a woman who was bleeding after childbirth wanted a shot, but he told her to do mild activity and drink orange juice from her tree out back. she persisted a while in her demands for a medical treatment, but she eventually went home, followed his advice, and began hemorrhaging heavily. he was called, and she was like "DAMN BITCH I TOLD U" and so he gave her a shot of water out of an ampule, and she stopped bleeding.

it was her belief in the magical ritual of injecting her with medicine that made her stop bleeding. you should at least be acquainted with this effect, although relying on it entirely isn't good either.

it's an incredible book that gives you no-nonsense advice on how to treat people with 3rd world resources. not exactly what you're looking for, but i highly recommend it. you will be equipped to evaluate situations far beyond what you will ever want or need to, which i think is ideal. link to the book

in this vein, survivalist plant guides would be a good resource as well. i don't know what subreddit might cater to that.

EDIT: a quick googling turned up this book. i've known some planty folks and i think they had this book. if my mom weren't dead, she would hook us up with some real sick shit.

I don't have a favorite, I have a long list of favorites. Listed below is a good starter selection. Lucifer's Hammer is the book that probably most directly led to the path I am on today. I have always liked science fiction and read it long before I would have ever called myself a prepper.


Fiction, to make you think:

• Lucifer's Hammer by Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven
  
• Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse by James Wesley, Rawles
  
• Lights Out by David Crawford
  
  Self Defense:
  
  
• Boston's Gun Bible by Boston T. Party (Kenneth W. Royce)
  
  Sustainable Living:
  
  
• The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery
  
• Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times by Steve Solomon
  
• Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving by Altrista Consumer Products
  
  Health and First Aid:
  
  
• Where There Is No Doctor by David Werner, Jane Maxwell and Carol Thuman
  
• First Aid -- Responding To Emergencies by the American Red Cross
  
  Free Your Mind:
  
  
• The Most Dangerous Superstition by Larken Rose
  

OH!, and per u/fut- (awesome, thank you fut-) for my family I bought used, current edition copies of The Merck Manual Home Health Handbook
and

American Medical Association Family Medical Guide

There's a book called https://www.amazon.com/Where-There-No-Doctor-Handbook/dp/0942364155 which I found super useful for stuff like this.

Band aids and more bandids. While going through EMT school I picked up a expensive BLS bag, c-spine collars, OPAs, NPAs, oxygen masks, tanks, blah blah blah. Know what I use most often? Band aids.

But the most important thing is training. Either take some formal classes or watch youtube videos and practice on your friends. At the minimum take a CPR class, they are cheap and most times free. And read http://www.amazon.com/Where-There-Is-No-Doctor/dp/0942364155

But when it comes to supplies.

-All PPE. Gloves, glasses, cpr barrier devices.

-A charged cell phone. Any cell phone can call 911 regardless if it has a plan. Take a old cell phone (something rugged) charge it and throw it in your bag. Check every few months. And know the most important thing you can do is give reliable information to the 911 operator. Calm and collected, how many victims, status, symptoms, etc etc.

-Band aids

-Trauma shears (EMT scissors)

-Antibiotic ointment

-Medical tape

-Blood pressure cuff and scope

-Gauze, in all sizes. Most used is 4x4

-Sam splint

-Israeli Bandage

-Quickclot (Be aware of the consequences of using this product.)

-C spine collar. They do take up a lot of room, and rarely used. But if you do have a suspected spine injury they are a godsend.

-Over the counter pain meds. Learn what each of them do, and when or when not to use them. Such as a head injury, only use Acetaminophen (Tylenol). If someone is suspected to have a MI (heart attack) give 3 chewable children's aspirin. Etc etc.

-If you know when and how to use correctly. NPA or OPA

-Tourniquet, again know when it's necessary to use. When all other options have failed, pressure, elevation, pressure point etc etc. This is a life over limb scenario. They will more than likely have that limb amputated due to no blood flow.

Can't think of anything more off the top of my head, but i'm sure I will later.

One book? I don't think you'll find that all in one book. Some to consider:

• SAS Survival Guide
  
• US Army Survival Manual FM 21-76
  
• Pocket Ref 4th Edition
  
• Where There Is No Doctor
  
• Where There Is No Dentist
  
• Foxfire series (though it does contain faith healing, advice on how to handle deadly snakes and not die by faith alone, etc)
  
  
  

Echoing duolingo. I also got myself this book that has some general phrases about diagnoses and hospitals. I taught myself spanish by watching disney movies in spanish with english subtitles as well as in english with spanish subtitles. Disney movies have simple dialogue and you probably already know what's going on.

So could someone answer them for me please? I mean thats why I am here. I'm not saying I am going to do this and I am leaving tomorrow. I came here to have these particular questions answered.

> What are your nutritional needs on a daily basis taking into account the weather?(more calories needed in the cold) this should be broken down into protein, carbs, fats along with some basic understanding of vitamin needs for your body (vit C,D,A,B)

I usually maintain 1,700 calories a day. I haven't been eating particularly healthy as of late so its been about 44% Protein, 30% Carbs and 26% Fats. I usually take a multivitimin. But thats the extent of my vitimin knowladge. Thats just how it stands now but I have a very good control over my diet and can change to suit my circumstances.

> Where will your food come from?

Thats what I came here to ask. I suppose I would snare and bow hunt. But thats just off the top of my head as I am not experienced in hunting. I plan on asking a friend of my father, who is an experienced hunter, to take me out on some trips and teach me some things.

> Where will you live? Cabin, tent, shelter?

Well I have a tent to start with. A Euika Amari Pass 3. But I would imagine I have to build a shelter at some point in time.

> How will you provide heat and fire?

Wood I suppose.

> Where will you get clean water?

I have a Sawyer for smaller needs and a MSR MiniWorks for more regular use. Also Iodine tablets in my medpack.

> How will you handle sickness and injury?

I have The "When There Is No Doctor Book but it would be silly for me to rely on that alone. So I am here to ask this. How will I handle sickness and injury?

> If you need to come out quickly how can you do it?

I honestly dont know. I am glad you raise these questions because they are the type of thing I need to learn. Im not just asking for advice here either. References and sources would be amazing. I already have the SAS survival guide and a few other books. But I could use all the help I can get.

Consider reading Sugar Nation.

It won't have all the answers for you but if you're truly motivated to learn about diabetes and your diet and about the terrible advice most diabetics receive (eat plenty of carbs) then give it a read.

Get informed! Save yourself! You can do it!

I agree with ED and might add community health nursing. I would also suggest volunteering or taking medical missions type trips oversees too where you can learn primitive type community health, trauma, L and D, and a host of other things.
This book goes into this type medicine and is on my shelf...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0942364155/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_awdb_t1_EIE-BbR6078T4

Building up supplies got a box of water pouches and some water purification tablets. Might get a book on survival medicine. This one seems promising.

Try family health books like this or this. I'm giving this as examples of what to look for, I've never used either book but my mam always kept something like this around as a reference.

Brillo-butt is now an officially recognized symptom in the American Medical Association Complete Medical Encyclopedia.

Ebola Survival Handbook: A Collection of Tips, Strategies, and Supply Lists From Some of the World's Best Preparedness Professionals

>The government certainly didn't come tomyhouse and tell metoeat certain foods. The government did however require every food manufacturer to list the nutritional data on the back of their packaging.

The government pasted schools with the food pyramid, published their dietary guidelines and promoted those guidelines nationwide, and that handy nutritional data sits right next to daily value percentages which are based on a 280g - 300g of carbohydrates a day diet.

>If the government told you it was a good idea to stab yourself would you then do it and blame the government for your wound or would you use common sense and not plunge a knife into your gut in the first place?

Apples and oranges.

>Not for a second does replacing sugar with anything else sound healthy to me if you're already eating in excess.

I'm going to suggest a book to you, Sugar Nation by Jeff O'Connell. The author didn't eat in excess, and was in fact an editor at Men's Health and considered to be in excellent shape, but was surprised to find out he was on the verge of diabetes. It's an excellent exposition on what the extreme amounts of sugar in our diets are doing to our bodies, even when not consumed in excess. FYI he's not selling a diet or anything like that, this is a book of self discovery and investigative journalism that was a real eye opener for me a few years back and may do the same for you. (You mentioned you're always questioning, so this is right up your alley!)

If you guys are interested, I actually came across this book before that documentary (which I came across last so maybe I'm already docu'ed out and thus don't appreciate it as much as it seems a lot of people do) -- but in re the diabetes talk especially, might I recommend "Sugar Nation" by O'Connell [ http://www.amazon.com/Sugar-Nation-Hidden-Americas-Deadliest/dp/1401323448 ]?

Thanks for the levity, but I really am serious about this... The big cascadia earthquake is the main reason I prep and I only have two bridges that can get me to emergency facilities other than my small local hospital that may or may not be operational after the earthquake. If those bridges get damaged...

People are quick to judge prepare who want to know how they can prepare. so far I've got a book that has a few pages on antibiotics, a folder of random bits of info I've printed off, and now a snarky joke from a reddit doctor. ;)

I'd love if there was a better resource for this community to reference, even if it was extremely generalized and missing 98% of the nuance.

SAS Survival Handbook

Wilderness Medicine

Where There Is No Doctor

First Aid For Dogs

These are the ones I have. The SAS Survival guide is great for general survival know-how. Wilderness Medicine and Where There Is No Doctor are both great resources on field medicine and first aid. I got First Aid For Dogs because I probably wouldn't go anywhere without my dog and I want to be able to take care of him like he's part of the family.

If you buy all these off Amazon, then they will give you many more suggestions on good resource books. These are just the ones I keep ready and good overviews of many different scenarios.

I'm not sure what the doctor will say, but you may find Where There Is No Doctor interesting. It's got a lot of incredible life-saving tips. I paged through a friends and I remember something about a tracheotomy with a Bic pen.

Oh, and this book, which is on my bookshelf, is a great one to have in such a situation: Where There Is No Doctor

Many of us Americans have no choice but to attempt lots of self diagnoses and treatment, in order to minimize doctor and ER visits (because those visits cost an arm and a leg-- often even if you DO have insurance).

I've successfully diagnosed and treated myself and family many, many times now. If you're careful to reference only credible sources, the modern internet can be quite helpful for this. But I'd also recommend the book Where There Is No Doctor too, and use that as your first reference, rather than the net.

http://www.amazon.com/Where-There-Is-No-Doctor/dp/0942364155

I have a whole slew of books for you.

Where There is no Doctor is a good place to start.

*(not affiliate or anything)
https://www.amazon.com/Where-There-No-Doctor-Handbook/dp/0942364155

Hey! Yeah it has kinda become a series, but that is just someone piggy backing if its success. Here are the originals.

Here is the one for infants

Here is 5-12 months

I can sum up one of the most important principles for you if you don't want to buy them. Though I highly suggest you do.

At around 5-6 weeks you allow your baby to cry it out for 15 minutes max. After that you can go in and comfort the baby. This is mostly for the mother, as it is hard for the mom to do this.

Then every night you will eventually watch that 15 minutes of screaming drop to 12, then 10, then 5. Then only a minute.

This same principle then applies for older kids as they grow up and more challenges arise, like toddlers who won't stay in bed. In our experience we had to allow for them to cry and learn that they can do it and it will be ok. Eventually allowing for themselves to calm down and sleep.