1273 replies to this topic

[Mt_Rider]

Martian, did you save some old clothes for bandages? We might be back to the Civil War type if our modern, lovely-sterile-packed ones are used up. Boil them; dry them; put them in ziplock.


Jori

Our dearly-beloved and much-used breadmaker died tonite. It started slipping gears [clunk*clunk*clunk] last week when I made pizza dough. We've had it a long time but ...tonite was it's final gasp.


However, after we bought this one, we gave my folks one just like it. They've used it a few times thru the years but not lately. So likely they'll give us theirs. Especially if we bribe them with DH's cinnamon rolls sometime. Last ones, he forgot the cinnamon but they were so good, no one noticed.


Anyway, he can make them by hand easily. We both baked a lot of bread by hand when we were growing up. I was in 4-H and he learned from his Grma. But...breadmaker makes it easy....just get it started out with right proportions and wait for it to beep at you much later. [we only use the dough function anyway] Get the dough into pans or whatever and bake.

Good prep skill. Make bread by the fire too. Dough wrapped around a green, shaved stick. Make sure you can make pancakes with anything you have to hand. That's the next most basic 'bread'.


MtRider

[themartianchick]

I didn't save any for bandages, Mt. Rider. Not this time. The truth is that we have so many old clothes that I'm nowhere near finished. Some of the things that I cut up for rags haven't fit my daughters in 8 years... They just left them in their closet for some reason. I did sort some out to go to charity, too.

I don't have any non-commercial bandages stockpiled, but I would think that old bedsheets would be best for that. I don't really have any experience with making and storing them, though I do know of the technique that you mentioned. As a matter of fact, even now, I'm picturing the hospital scenes in Gone With The Wind. The bandages that they had all seemed to look like cut up bedsheets which gave every patient a "mummy" look as the bandages wrapped round and round each wound. I try to buy a few new sets of sheets each year, so I suppose that I could retire a couple of sets and turn them into bandages.

[kappydell]

since it was too wetr to work on garden or flower bed, my prep partner purchased a new hi-point 9mm handgun. She was looking for a small one, and the reviews and info on it were good. best of all, the price was jaw dropping reasonable. Now she eagerly awaits pick up on friday...

[Mt_Rider]

Bedsheets for bandages....yeah, Gone With The Wind era.

But they didn't have the nice materials we have now. Think of wrapping up an elbow or knee. You know that twist they teach to keep the non-stretch bandage material from bunching and slipping? With that technique you can reduce dimension as you wrap down a leg (like: calf thru ankle), etc. Old school if you save T-shirt material instead. It's got some stretch!!! I learned all those old ways of bandaging back in First Aid while in Jr/Sr high school. It's good knowledge. But I'd definitely use the stretch fabrics first.

And for the sterile, sopping up and stopping blood flow - our supply of modern sterile gauze bandages will last longer if that is the first..[next to wound]...layer and top off with sterilized absorbant [repurposed] material.

So we're looking for 1) stretchy for holding the padding onto the wound OR binding up an injured joint/sprains/etc...

And 2) absorbant for the actual wound covering...


OK, sewing experts? Which materials are best for these two jobs?


MtRider [....not thinking polypropolene ]

Edited by Mt_Rider, 03 May 2012 - 02:11 AM.

[Purdy Bear]

Well they seem to use Lint for doing any wadding, cleaning wounds and the like, cotton for triangular bandages. Most of the stuff used on Dad was that tubular bandaging for legs which is stretchy, I should imagine thats easy to pick up somewhere - sometimes you see it as dishclothes.

I dont let the District Nurses near my medical supplies now, they go beserk and chuck it away. They dont like washing things like crepe bandages which is rediculous, as long as its not next to the wound it can be used Im sure, especially if there isnt an opening like a strain or sprain. There is an awful lot of unncessarry wastage in my point of view with the nurses I've seen these days. The funny thing is that they are all hot on their bandages and then go put gloves on and rub their hair/nose when doing a dressing - slap hands or what.

I've been watching some videos about abcess/cyst/boil removal and they use lint a lot for those, and it looks like lint strips being packed into the cavity afterwards. I've found some great tutorials on You Tube by Drs/Surgeons showing you how, ofcouse I recommend you dont watch them after eatting, as those with a weak stomach will loose their food!



I've ordered a rolling backpack in hope to make the BOB smaller, or atleast change over the one I already have to make it easier if I need to drop the larger rolling tote which leaves me with that and a fishermans vest.

I've also done a fair bit on learning to book bind and I recieved a paper making kit today so I want to start doing. That daft kit has a circle in stead of a oblong frame to put the paper on, now what idiot thought of that. Well at least I can make a semi-circular book at some point in time

Edited by Purdy Bear, 03 May 2012 - 07:16 AM.

[Mt_Rider]

After going off on this bandage tangent... I thot mebbe it would be a good thread in itself....sooooo.... I'll go do that.


MtRider

[CrabGrassAcres]

Good idea, Mt Rider.

Purdy, I don't think what you call 'lint' in the UK is the same thing we call 'lint' in the States. Could you describe it, please?

[Purdy Bear]

It maybe called Gauze where you are. Its like a fine fabric mesh, heres one showing a lint bandage but ours mostly comes in squares:


http://www.ourdoctor...EB2166ADE5F.jpg


On the packet that Iv got here is also called a non woven swob

http://814327.134181...29165712543.jpg


Some are more lint the gauze, but thats what I mean.



Ok back to today. Iv got a lot of my book binding supplies. I recieved two kiddies paper making kits, the butterfly nuts to go with the bolts to make the press, and the two A4 photo frames to make the paper meshing frames from. I just need to get two bread boards to make the rest of the press.

[CrabGrassAcres]

Yes, that is called gauze here. Lint is very loose fibers, not woven or even compacted. Not something you want on a wound.

Sometimes the differences in language can be confusing.

[Amishway Homesteaders]

Are we prepared?
YES we are!
Tested it out last night..................
We had a big Thunder and Lightning Storm come through late last night and as soon as the power went out (11:20 pm) we Knew were everything we needed was:
Grabed the headlights from their hooks by the door and put them on (cats just looked at Lori and I walking around in the dark with them on- LOL). Grabed the matches and got the lamps going (That I just topped off yesterday so they were ready). Also had flashlights at the ready as backup if needed.
Having things in a place you can find them in the dark, and in working order, makes it a lot easier than running around in the dark, bumping into things LOOKING for stuff.

[CrabGrassAcres]

That's true, Michael. I keep an LED lantern on my bedside table. If I'm in the living room/kitchen the computer screen lights up enough to find my way to my room. It is on a UPS so it stays on a few minutes till I shut it off.

[arby]

oops, posted in the friday thread, but I received my leather scraps, my mini loaf pans, my cats medium sized dog harness I think should fit her just fine and its nice and sturdy and the color I ordered was available, Yellow, which stands out against her darker coat and white chest, has some red webbing on it too.

Miss Macy turned out to be a rather sizeable cat so I had to definitely go with the dog sizes.

.................
and might just be able to wrangle a small garden spot to grow some veggies in a legit effort! Close by too, so it would be very easy to attend to anytime!

Edited by arby, 04 May 2012 - 10:46 AM.

[Purdy Bear]

Great to hear you've got a harness for Miss Macy. I may have a cat adopting me at the moment, but my dog likes to chase them. Said cat is only about a year old and is very vocal, I bet his got Siamese or the like in him.

Iv got the nuts/bolts, frames etc for the paper making, I just need to mesh up the frames and I can start trying to make my first batch. Its soooooooo exciting!

[arby]

paper making is something I never did before and yet i have read about the old fashioned way to make it.
When it was nice and soupy and ready, you just spread it on metal screens in a thin layer and let it dry, that way you can make sizable pieces.
but of course your kit sounds a lot neater.

[ro2935]

Yes, that is called gauze here. Lint is very loose fibers, not woven or even compacted. Not something you want on a wound.

Sometimes the differences in language can be confusing.

CrabgrassAcres, Lint here is not the fluff you find at the bottom of pockets or in dryer collection draws,
It is a brushed cotton type fabric that was used as a secondary dressing, ie sterile dressing a piece of lint padding then a bandage.
Lint dressings are not used as often these days, even though they are quite absorbent they have a tendancy to stick to wounds and require the dressing to be soaked off.

[arby]

ok, testing the harness on Miss Macy.....
at first, I gently put it on and readjusted the chest strap.... and she just lays there.....
" What Is This, Mom?"

Rolls around, wants her belly rubbin' for a bit , assure her its ok....

Leave her to roll around like a baby first figuring out they can roll over,

She must feel like this:

ok at about ten minute mark of realizing it won't readily come off and that Look..... " What is Mom dressing me up for?" .....
and " I know Mom doesn't Do that to ME."
Finally, getting her feet under her since the floor didn't just fall away...... she goes to window seat and lays in disappointment.....
I am sitting here wondering if she would even agree to walk at all with that on her.... and thats the point ! With a leash to secure her to me if we need to leave the building....

Is letting her 'wander' cause it sure makes her wonder , and hope she doesn't try to get out of it while she gets used to it some tonight before I take it off.

Her expression now???

ok. I need some really strong thread, wishing I had some of that Double EE thread the navy uses on webbing... the back piece needs to be extended between back of collar section to the chest strap and then also once its properly adjusted, to secure the size of the chest strap neatly and solidly....

I can see where other modifications would perfect it for a cat's body ( their shoulders are not like dog shoulders ... I may have to think about this some more now that I see it on her.
It may not work using a leash.

She is staying very low to the ground in her dismay at this point. Holding out her front legs like a stick figure drawing at times and considering pulling over her water dish in protest......
Pawing it like hanging onto the edge of a cliff......

slow motion movements ( its not tight on her. its just for drama ... )

Miss Macy hates to be laughed at, it ruins her affectations......

Edited by arby, 04 May 2012 - 10:43 PM.

[Jeepers]

Wish I could see Miss Macy!

At least she didn't go limp on you. That's what they usually do.

[arby]

well this was her style of limp, lol.
she did figure out how to get out of it too a couple times. I can see where it needs to be adjusted slightly, if that would work.

It was pretty funny watching her though, she was very dramatic about it without being vocal. Absolutely cleaned her whole upper body as soon as I took it off her too.

I hope with some little adjustments and slowly getting her used to it and introducing the leash too over some time will help her be ok with it in case we need it.

At first she was afraid to stand up and walk with the harness on her, so she would roll over and around to get around the floor here, and stretch out her paws reaching for stuff,as if to pull it closer to her.
It sure made me chuckle while I observed her for an hour or so last night in our first attempt with it.

[Mt_Rider]

My cat does similar things when I put on the harness. Reminds me...I need to put it on her again. I try to do that every now and again to keep her less stressed about it.

LOL for Miss Macy!


DH and I did our first ride with both horses today...and they did wonderful! They are best companions and were so calm together. [not sure about separating them tho

Anyway, I was pleased and encouraged about them both. Had lots of traffic for our boonies due to a garage sale. We took them up to the garage sale; stopped to talk to neighbors; and had to keep pulling them up off the driveway for cars to enter/exit garage sale. They did so well.

STILL haven't gotten the garden stuff going any further. Keep running out of energy!

MtRider [...need to be asleep already!!! ]

Edited by Mt_Rider, 06 May 2012 - 02:01 AM.

[kappydell]

picked up my prep partners new 9mm hi-point semi auto and some ammo. got extra ammo for the .410 and brought out the blud 50-gal drums i had sitting in the garage to make rain barrels. planted the veg garden, and worked up a bit perrennial garden in front yard.