How To Treat Pneumonia

What to Do for Pneumonia

In this X-ray, pneumonia covers most of this child’s left lung (which is on your right when looking at the picture). It looks white because there’s not just air in there; there’s fluid and swollen tissue.

by James Hubbard, MD, MPH
I have a confession. I’m a pneumonia survivor. And it wasn’t walking pneumonia either. I was in the bed for a week.
Yes, a few years ago, The Survival Doctor ended up a whimpering mess, dependent on other people’s care. It took a good month to feel like doing much walking. But I was lucky. Each year millions in the U.S. get pneumonia, and over 50,000 die. In a prolonged disaster situation, that number would be much higher.

Symptoms and severity of pneumonia can vary greatly. Me, I thought I was as healthy as a horse, doing just fine, wasn’t even feeling sick. Then, out of the blue, I had a teeth-chattering chill. I just shook all over. After that, I started feeling weak, my heart beating fast. I wasn’t coughing much, but I took my temperature, and it was over 102 F.
I took a couple of Tylenol and crawled in the bed. Soon my bedclothes were soaked in sweat. After the Tylenol wore off, I had another chill. The cough started next, but I thought I had the flu. Now I wasn’t thinking right because anytime anyone comes to my office, otherwise healthy, and they’re running fever, I ask if they’ve had a shaking-all-over type chill. If they have, my first thought is pneumonia.
Well, luckily, after a couple of days of lying in the bed, my wife made me see a doctor, of all things. I mean, I am a doctor. Although he couldn’t hear much in my chest, a chest X-ray proved the diagnosis. I started on antibiotics, but it took me a good week to feel able to go back to work, and a month before I felt like doing anything like going on a walk.

How Did I Get It?

I came down with pneumonia just before my daughter Leigh Ann’s wedding. Though I didn’t have the walking pneumonia type, I managed to deliriously walk her down the aisle—and promptly get driven home to bed. I couldn’t even stay for the reception, so you know I’m not exaggerating when I say this thing can get bad.

Pneumonia can be divided into two very general types, community acquired and hospital acquired. The first is what will be more prevalent during a disaster—especially if many people are sheltering together.

Community Acquired Pneumonia (CAP)

I expect I got mine from breathing in bacteria left in the air from someone coughing. It could have been in some public place as easy as it could have been in my office.

Walking Pneumonia
There’s really no such official diagnosis as walking pneumonia. If you have pneumonia and you still feel like walking around, you have walking pneumonia. Okay, it is true that usually this milder version is caused by the bacteria called mycoplasma. And it’s usually treated with some sort of erythromycin antibiotic like azithromycin (Z-Pak) or clarithromycin (Biaxin) or some sort of tetracycline, like doxycycline.

Pneumococcal Pneumonia
One of the most common types of CAP, and the kind I probably had, is caused from the bacteria pneumococcus. We usually treat these with erythromycins or quinolones (Cipro, Levaquin, etc.).

Others
Legionnaire’s disease was first diagnosed in 1976 after several people attending an American Legion convention in Philadelphia came down with severe pneumonia. A bacteria now called legionella coming from the air-conditioning vent was isolated as the cause. The pneumonia can be severe but usually responds to erythromycin.

Pneumonia from the klebsiella bacteria is found in chronic smokers. Ciprofloxacin usually kills it.

In addition to bacteria, viruses are a common cause of CAP. Rarely a fungus can cause it.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Community acquired pneumonia can often be treated on an outpatient basis, but it can also be severe. You may need hospitalization, and people die each year from this type.

Hospital Acquired Pneumonia (HAP)

You are classified with this type if you’ve been in the hospital for more than a day or two and you get pneumonia. Many types of germs can cause HAP—things like MRSA from staph, other bacteria such pseudomonas, and fungi. HAP is usually treated with two or three different IV antibiotics. I won’t go into this type any further for the obvious reason that you won’t be seeing it out of the hospital

Pneumonia Diagnosis If You Can’t Get to a Doctor

As with my case, shaking chills and/or sweats is a clue, but high fever for any reason can cause that. Suspect pneumonia in someone who also has fever and a cough. Chest pain or discomfort is another clue, but it’s less common.
Often, if you have a stethoscope or put your ear on the person’s chest and you know what you’re listening for, you can hear crackles in an area of one or both lungs. If your hair is long enough, rub a few strands together next to your ear. That’s what one type of crackles (medical term—rales) sounds like. Sometimes rales can sound coarser.
Many people with pneumonia get short of breath with exertion. Some are short of breath at rest.

How Contagious Is Pneumonia?

Pneumonia is contagious but not highly so. When treating someone who has it, using a mask would be of small benefit. Better would be having fresh air if possible, along with taking the typical disease-prevention precautions such as washing your hands.

Treatment

It’s very hard to get an exact cause for the pneumonia even if you’re in the hospital. Fortunately, any antibiotic in the ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, or tetracycline family usually treats the community acquired type. Rest and fluids help also. Bring down the fever with acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil).
I usually save the ciprofloxacin for smokers or those who appear pretty sick. Of course, the really sick ones—the ones short of breath who don’t respond to an asthma inhaler, the ones who can’t keep down fluids, the confused ones—I usually send to the hospital.
People with chronic diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, or emphysema, are at higher risk for complications also, as are even healthy people over 65 and under age 2.

Prevention

The most common community acquired pneumonia is caused by pneumococcus bacteria or comes on after a bout of the flu. You already know about the annual flu vaccine, but you may not know that there’s a pneumococcus vaccine you can get every ten years. It doesn’t prevent them all, but it can cut down on your risk considerably. It’s usually recommended for people age 65 and older or who are at high risk for complications.

Source:
http://www.thesurvivaldoctor.com/2012/11/13/walking-pneumonia/

How To Make A Knife

Here's how to make a sharp useful knife made from a butter knife:

Here's how to make a hunting knife from a butter knife by rubbing it on wet pavement and wrapping the handle with cord. It looks and feels good in the hand.

This project was inspired by a family I stayed with in Kenya. The only utensil they had was a sharpened butterknife shared by about twenty people.

Select your "blank":
Test your butterknives by bending the blade with your fingers. The farther you can bend it without it staying bent, the better it is.
Instead of a butter knife, you could use a saw blade or any piece of metal.

WARNING: I will be showing a bunch of OPTIONAL steps using tools.
For purist "no-tool" knifemaking, just skip all the steps using tools.
Or just substitute "with a rock" for the name of the tool.
Your knife will be fine.

Read More:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Knife-Making-Without-Tools/?ALLSTEPS

SGT KNOTS® 550 Paracord - Black - 1,000 Feet50 Buckles 3/8" (10mm), Mix of 10 Colors (5 of each)

550LB Nylon US Paracord Rope 50 Feet (Neon Yellow)Paracord Planet 100' 550lb Type III Black

Rothco 550-Pound Safety Type III Paracord (100-Feet, Orange)Multi Cam Parachute Cord Nylon 7 Strand 550lb Tested U.S MADE 100'

How To Make A Paracord Belt

How to make a Paracord Rescue Belt

This is my first Instructable and i would appreciate your votes in the Paracord Contest!

I will be showing you how to create a Paracord Rescue Belt. While bracelets can be useful they simply do not contain enough cord for a real emergency. 8-12 feet can certainly be handy in some situations but think of what you can do with 50 feet!
Rothco Type III Commercial Paracord (Camo, 550-Pound/100-Feet)

The belt essentially has two main functions.
1. The buckle is a high decibel whistle for attracting attention
2. The Belt section itself is a single length of 550 Paracord which can be unravelled literally in seconds for a whole manner of rescue techniques.

In my opinion speed is what makes the difference in a survival situation. You can unravel the entire belt with one pull, there is no need to undo a whole series of knots or weaves.

Depending on the method you use to weave and the size of your waist, the belt can supply you with a length upwards of 70 feet of cord, This particular belt used 50 feet for my 32" waist  however i will explain how to increase or decrease the amount of cord you can carry while maintaining the same length of belt.
Although the side release buckle means that the belt is not adjustable, there is about 15% elasticity in the belt so you need not worry if you put on a little holiday weght, your belt should be able to acommodate you.  The elasticity also means it will remain tight but flexible if you are wearing it during  outdoor pursuits.

Its worth noting that this same technique can also be used to make a bracelet which i have pictured at the end of the instructable.

Step 1

Materials

For best results use genuine 550 Paracord.
As with anything in life you get what you pay for, if you are intending on using this as a rescue belt you want to have the best cord available and with suplycaptain they guarantee the quality and authenticity of their cord. Many online retailers sell similar looking but poor quality cord with no guarantees on the breaking strains.

1. 550 Paracord 
Rothco Type III Commercial Paracord (Camo, 550-Pound/100-Feet)    You can use any colour you like. You will need approximately 50 feet of cord for the belt shown.

2. Fastener
Black & Orange Plastic Side Release 5/8" Whistleloc Tactical Whistle Buckle    Im using an emergency whistle side release buckle which can be picked up online or in any good outdoors store.

3. Scissors
    To cut the cord

4. Lighter
    To seal the ends of the cord so they dont fray.

5. Forceps (optional)
    Depending on your dexterity you may benefit from using forceps or needle nose pliers to help pull through the cord, i managed the whole belt without.
   

Step 2

Threading Your Buckle

FIrst of all make sure youve sealed the end of your cord with the lighter so it doesnt fray.
You do not have to cut the length of cord to size beforehand as the weaving method used means the cord doesnt need to be cut from the reel until the desired length of belt is reached, this saves wasting cord.



Take your buckle and from left to right make 4 loops through the belt loop..
Ensure that the loops are loose enough to pass some cord through the centre.

Leave a tail of cord on the end a few inches long and secure this to the buckle to prevent the cord working loose during the next steps.  ( i passed it through the small hole on the orange section of the buckle to hold it in place)

Ive highlighted the 'working end' of the cord in the picture, This is the piece you will be using for all further knots.

Step 3

Your First Loop

Take the working end and make a loop in your hand.

Now thread this through the centre of the 4 loops you made on the buckle.
Leave a couple of inches sticking out the end on the right.

Once you have fed this through then tighten up the 4 loops round the buckle. For consistency you should tighten them from RIGHT to LEFT.

Step 4

More Loops

Gently ease apart the 4 loops you have around the buckle.

Using your fingers or your forceps,  pull through the running end of the cord to form a total of 4 loops.
This should consist of three that you pull through and the loop left from the end of the last step.


Twist the loops slightly in an ANTI-CLOCKWISE direction (so the left side of the loop is to the front)

Feed the running end of the cord through all 4 loops as before leaving a few inches sticking out the end again.

Step 5

Complete your first row

To complete the first row simply lighten the loops from RIGHT to LEFT

Once you get to the left you pull on the loop sticking out of the end on the right to tighten completely.

IMPORTANT NOTE

Because of all the loops we are putting in the cord it naturally becomes twisted. You need to un-twist the cord as you are tightening each loop. If you dont do this the finished weave will look  very messy.

Also do not over tighten your loops. If you do, it will distort the final weave pattern and again your belt will look a mess. Over tightening will also make it harder to pull through the next row of loops.

Step 6

Repeat Repeat Repeat.................

To continue your belt simply repeat steps 3,4 and 5 over and over and over until you get your desired length.

This 6.5 inch length of belt used 10 feet of cord. So for an average 32inch waist you will use approximately 50 feet.

Step 7

Finishing your belt

Once you have reached the desired length of belt you can cut your cord from the main reel.
Pull the working end all the way through so its sticking out from the right.

Seperate your loops again slightly


Get the other half of the buckle (make sure its orientated the correct way for fastening)

Loop the working end through the buckle then back through the cord you exposed when seperating the loops. Once you have looped it through the buckle and belt 4 times you are ready to finish the belt.

You have two options for finishing.

1. You can thread the end through any of the loops you like and using the lighter, melt it in place onto the belt.

2. Thread the end through any loop you like and tie an overhand knot in the end to stop it passing back through,

The benefits of the second method are that you do not need scissors or any other item to release the end of the cord if you need to unravel it in a hurry, you simply untie the overhand knot.

Step 8

How to use your belt in an emergency

To utilise your cord in an emergency simply untie the overhand knot on the end of your cord.

Undo the loops around the buckle ( keep the buckle for attracting attention)
Pull the length of cord back through the first 4 loops to release your working end

Pull hard on the working end and the whole belt will begin to unravel. From start to finish you can undo the entire belt in about 20 seconds (a painful thought when you realise how long it took to make)

Alternatively if you have a knife or a pair of scissors simply cut where shown, remove the end with the  buckle and pull on the cord you cut to unravel.

Dont forget to use your emergency whistle to attract help if you need it!
Paracord is fantastic stuff but its no substitute for another pair of helping hands!

Step 9

Bracelet and knot diagram,

As i mentioned at the start of the instructable you can utilise more or less cord to make the belt.

If you would like a longer length of cord and more width in your belt simply use 5 or 6 loops in each row instead of the 4 i used. In theory you can use as many loops as you like as long as your buckle is wide enough.

Similarly, if you would like a thinner belt with less cord use 3 loops as demonstrated in the bracelet i made.

I made my belt after finding this diagram on the internet. I would recommend anyone interested in paracord crafts buy some of the many books on decorative and functional knots available.

Also if your interested in more of my paracord crafts check out my website. Its still under construction but it shows a lot of the custom items ive made for people in the past.

Source:

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-Paracord-Rescue-Belt/?ALLSTEPS


                                                                   

Ultimate Survival Skills Guide

     When it comes to survival everyone knows that you must have essentials.Water shelter and food. But what would you do if you were caught off guard and ended up in a survival situation without any of the basics?
     Craig and Pete share how to survive in ANY situation! This is really a must see. I had to pass it along for you to check out for yourself.
     See their amazing survival tricks and ask yourself if you would have thought of that!

See All Of The Secrets To Surviving Any Situation
***Check It Out Here

ULTIMATE SURVIVAL SKILLS GUIDE

“It wasn’t raining when Noah built the Ark.”

Howard Ruff (born 1931)

     Howard Ruff is a leading author on finance and he has focused mainly on survival during his entire career. While considered paranoid by many of the skeptics, there can be little doubt over this quote of his. Whether you talk about earning money, or fighting your way out of a depression, good preparation can really allow you to survive beating all the odds.  Planning beforehand for dealing with any crisis situation can actually be the difference between life and death. 

      Although an emergency may arise the very next second, but already preparing for it could easily enable you to overcome the problems and to minimize the damage.  There can be countless examples of precaution when it comes to dealing with danger. We install fire extinguishers and smoke detectors in our offices and homes to make sure that we can effectively detect and put out a fire. Fire fighting services operate in almost every city of the world just to fight this frequently occurring hazard. And this is just one example.  Our world is full of risks, which could potentially jeopardize our very lives. And in a way, it is a blessing that we are aware of the dangers that could be encountered by us, because it gives us an opportunity to prepare for them and to make all the efforts to fight the odds when living does not remain as comfortable as our everyday lives.

     We have seen a number of examples in the recent past that people were hit by disasters when they least expected them. Let it be the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks in New York and Washington D. C. in 2001, let it be the 2005 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami disaster or the recent earthquake in Chile which occurred in late February 2010. Thousands lost their lives just because they were not prepared.  And just knowing about the coming disaster does not help at times as well. Consider the Hurricane Katrina tragedy in New Orleans in 2005. Millions knew that the worst storm to hit the area in a century is heading

straight their way, but many of them could do nothing but to wait for the worst parts of storms to hit their homes.

Click On: 

This Link For More Information

Co-Authors - Craig Stringham and Pete Lawson

© Copyright 2011 , All Rights Reserved


***Check It Out Here

$25-a-gun sales tax approved in Chicago area

By NBC News

A controversial "violence tax" on guns in the Chicago area was approved Friday by Cook County commissioners, NBCChicago.com reported.

Follow @NBCNewsUS

The $25 tax on every gun purchased in the county -- city law prohibits gun sales in Chicago -- is meant to offset health care and other costs of gun violence, Board President Toni Preckwinkle said.
"Gun violence is a real problem for us," she said. "It's a problem for us in our criminal justice system and it's a problem for us in our health care system, and I make no apologies for the proposal."

---

Preckwinkle said the average shooting victim cost taxpayers $52,000 in acute care because nearly 70 percent of the victims don't have health insurance, NBCChicago.com reported.

The vote follows a violent Chicago summer, when some weekends left multiple people killed and dozens of others injured in shootings, NBCChicago.com reported. The city's murder rate is up 25 percent for the year, and the Cook County Jail is near capacity with 9,000-plus inmates.
Watch US News crime videos on NBCNews.com
The National Rifle Association ahead of the vote said the "misguided and burdensome" gun tax "continues to penalize law-abiding gun owners for exercising their fundamental right to keep and bear arms."
The gun tax, which takes effect April 1, was passed as part of Cook County's $2.9 billion spending plan for 2013.
As part of the budget, commissioners also approved a $1 tax increase on each pack of cigarettes, making the county's $6.67-a-pack tax the second-most expensive in the country, behind New York at $6.86, NBCChicago.com reported. The new tax will push the price of a pack to more than $10 when it goes into effect March 1.
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A gambling tax increase that commissioners also approved will impose $1,000 annually on slot machines in the county and $200 on video gambling machines. Rivers Casino in Des Plaines would be affected as well as establishments that approved video gaming.

Check This Out: Make Money On Autopilot From Home

White House website deluged with secession petitions from 20 states

Urban Survival
   

     How would Old Glory look with 30 stars instead of 50? As far-fetched as it may sound, the White House might soon be forced by its own rules to examine the question. On Nov.7, the day after President Barack Obama was re-elected, the White House’s website received a petition asking the administration to allow Louisiana to secede. If 25,000 people sign the petition by Dec. 7, it will “require a response” from the
 Obama administration, according to published rules of the White House’s online “We the People” program.
     The Louisiana petition has collected more than 12,300 signatures in four days. A separate effort from Texas has 15,400 supporters. Similar petitions from 18 other states began arriving Nov. 9, bringing the total — for the moment — to 20. The White House website publicly displays petitions that have attracted at least 150 signers.
      “Michael E” from the New Orleans suburb of Slidell penned the initial proposal — the website doesn’t provide last names — in which he asked the Obama administration to “[p]eacefully grant the State of Louisiana to withdraw from the United States of America and create its own NEW government.” His entire petition consisted of excerpts from the Declaration of Independence.
      “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,” one portion read, “that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and institute new Government.” “Micah H” from Arlington, Texas submitted the petition on behalf of the Lone Star State. “The US continues to suffer economic difficulties stemming from the federal government’s neglect to reform domestic and foreign spending,” he wrote. Texas, he added, “maintains a balanced budget and is the 15th largest economy in the world,” making it “practically feasible for Texas to withdraw from the union.”
     What began as a pair of parallel stunts appears to have gathered steam. Other than Louisiana and Texas, states with secession-related petitions pending on the White House website now include Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, South Carolina and Tennessee. Three states — Georgia, Missouri and South Carolina are each represented by two competing petitions. Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/11/11/white-house-website-deluged-with-secession-petitions-from-19-states/#ixzz2C374BinQ

Government "we The People Website"
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petitions

Urban Survival

Obama Supports UN Gun Ban Right Away After Election

Well, this didn't take long...

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Hours after U.S. President Barack Obama was re-elected, the United States backed a U.N. committee's call on Wednesday to renew debate over a draft international treaty to regulate the $70 billion global conventional arms trade.

U.N. delegates and gun control activists have complained that talks collapsed in July largely because Obama feared attacks from Republican rival Mitt Romney if his administration was seen as supporting the pact, a charge Washington denies.

The month-long talks at U.N. headquarters broke off after the United States - along with Russia and other major arms producers - said it had problems with the draft treaty and asked for more time.

But the U.N. General Assembly's disarmament committee moved quickly after Obama's win to approve a resolution calling for a new round of talks March 18-28. It passed with 157 votes in favor, none against and 18 abstentions.

U.N. diplomats said the vote had been expected before Tuesday's U.S. presidential election but was delayed due to Superstorm Sandy, which caused a three-day closure of the United Nations last week.

An official at the U.S. mission said Washington's objectives have not changed.

"We seek a treaty that contributes to international security by fighting illicit arms trafficking and proliferation, protects the sovereign right of states to conduct legitimate arms trade, and meets the concerns that we have been articulating throughout," the official said.

"We will not accept any treaty that infringes on the constitutional rights of our citizens to bear arms," he said.

U.S. officials have acknowledged privately that the treaty under discussion would have no effect on domestic gun sales and ownership because it would apply only to exports.

The main reason the arms trade talks are taking place at all is that the United States - the world's biggest arms trader accounting for more than 40 percent of global conventional arms transfers - reversed U.S. policy on the issue after Obama was first elected and decided in 2009 to support a treaty.

'MONTHS AWAY' FROM DEAL?

Countries that abstained included Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Sudan, Belarus, Cuba and Iran. China, a major arms producer that has traditionally abstained, voted in favor.

Among the top six arms-exporting nations, Russia cast the only abstention. Britain, France and Germany joined China and the United States in support of the resolution.

The measure now goes to the 193-nation General Assembly for a formal vote. It is expected to pass.

The resolution said countries are "determined to build on the progress made to date towards the adoption of a strong, balanced and effective Arms Trade Treaty."

Jeff Abramson, director of Control Arms, a coalition of advocacy groups, urged states to agree on stringent provisions.

"In Syria, we have seen the death toll rise well over 30,000, with weapons and ammunition pouring in the country for months now," he said. "We need a treaty that will set tough rules to control the arms trade, that will save lives and truly make the world a better place."

Brian Wood of Amnesty International said: "After today's resounding vote, if the larger arms trading countries show real political will in the negotiations, we're only months away from securing a new global deal that has the potential to stop weapons reaching those who seriously abuse human rights."

The treaty would require states to make respecting human rights a criterion for allowing arms exports.

Britain's U.N. mission said on its Twitter feed it hoped that the March negotiations would yield the final text of a treaty. Such a pact would then need to be ratified by the individual signatories before it could enter into force.

The National Rifle Association, the powerful U.S. interest group, strongly opposes the arms treaty and had endorsed Romney.

The United States has denied it sought to delay negotiations for political reasons, saying it had genuine problems with the draft as written.

Source:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-arms-treaty-unbre8a627j-20121107,0,2655886.story

Back Online

Power and internet back on.  We had 10'' of heavy wet snow bringing down trees and power lines here in WV. Our power was off from 10/30 - 11/03. Many on the East coast lost their homes and some have lost their lives. My thoughts and prayers go out to them.