Antiseptics
In good times or bad, families may face any number of events where trauma causes injuries. In the United States alone, there are over 37-million emergency department visits annually due to injuries.
Off the grid, activities of daily survival performed by those unaccustomed will greatly increase the number of traumatic wounds. In austere settings, many of these become infected. Failure to act can only lead to headaches (and heartaches) for the family caregiver.
Antiseptics (from the Greek anti “against” and septikos “rotting”) greatly decrease the number of disease-causing organisms on skin and mucous membranes. Having antiseptics on hand can save lives, but your supplies will eventually run out in a long-term disaster. In this article, we’ll discuss how to use antiseptics as well as how to improvise germ-killing agents off the grid.
Many people confuse antiseptics, disinfectants, and antibiotics. The goal of all of these substances is to combat infection, but they’re not the same. Disinfectants are applied to nonliving surfaces, such as countertops or tubs. Antiseptics, on the other hand, are applied to the surfaces of living tissues. Doctors apply disinfectants to clean their exam table, then use antiseptics on the skin of
