Author Archives: guest-blogger-omegaman

Protein Poisoning or Rabbit Starvation

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by Guest Blogger OmegaMan

Many survival books discuss the topic of “Rabbit Starvation”.  The purpose of these articles is to remind the survivalist to keep a mixture of fats and proteins in their survival diet….that is to not just rely on the lean meats and proteins of such lean animals rabbit as a sole food source.

In essence, the stress put on a person during a survival situation, along with a lack of diversified nutrients can cause acute malnutrition if one relies on lean proteins as a food source.  Common symptoms which take about a week to appear are fatigue, headache and most concerning…diarrhea, low blood pressure and heart rate. This is caused by a build-up of urea and ammonia in the body as the kidneys struggle to digest large amounts of lean proteins.

There are stories of people gorging themselves on large quantities of lean meats alone that their stomachs will become distended.

Vilhjalmur Stefansson the Canadian arctic explorer wrote that the people eat till their stomachs are distended; but no matter how much they eat they feel unsatisfied. Some think a man will die sooner if he eats continually of fat-free meat than if he eats nothing, but this is a belief on which sufficient evidence for a decision has not been gathered in the North. Deaths from rabbit-starvation, or from the eating of other skinny meat, are rare; for everyone understands the principle, and any possible preventive steps are naturally taken.

Remember to eat the rabbits liver and brains to get some needed fat. The diarrhea may not go away until fats are added to the diet.

Remember, the real point is to get an intake of various essential nutrients and not just rely on pure protein from rabbits or any other lean meats. When possible, vary your diet with carbs, grains, proteins and important survival fats.

A little unknown fact is that in Air Force Survival  recruits are taught to eat the undigested leaves from the rabbits stomach to also add to their dietary intakes. I am told it tastes like a bitter pesto.

 

What Do Rat Whiskers And Surviving Have in Common?

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by Guest Blogger OmegaMan

Psychiatrist Curt RichterEver heard of Psychiatrist Curt Richter? He studied the consequences of emotional stress when trying to survive. He noticed that when living things are subjected to great pressure, many will just give up and die. If the stress was psychological, then why did the subjects mind and body appear to collapse?

In short, Richter was experimenting putting rats in a tub of water. At room temperature the rat could swim about 80 hrs non-stop before giving up. If he stressed the rat by lowering or raising the water temperature or even blowing air into its face, a rat could still swim between 20 and 40 hrs. He also found that once a rat picked its direction, it would generally stick with either a clockwise or counter clockwise direction without changing. Many things from ants to lobsters will do this if one or their antennae or whiskers are cut also.

Richter decided to study the effects on direction by cutting the whiskers on just one side of a rats face. By accident…guess what they discovered? The rat swam for only a few minutes, gave up and sank to the bottom! Just for the record, they actually rescued it.

How could this happen? What effect could cutting whiskers have on survival longevity? Well, upon investigation, it wasn’t so much in the cutting of the whiskers as it was in the procedure. He found that his assistants had un-intentionally frightened and stressed the rat by first capturing it in a firmly held black bag and then dropping it into water. It was the “trauma” induced fear response that had sent the rat into over stimulated exhaustion.

Curt Richter also found if he removed the rat just before sinking, let it rest for a few minutes, the rat would relax and seem to realize it in fact that it could survive. If thrown back into the water, it could swim for hours. If it was allowed to play with the stressful black bag first and then thrown back into the water and rescued several times…its survival training would cause it to perform better than those rats without training. Interesting how this relates to the survivability of humans thrown into their own survival situation.

In summary, it was concluded that momentary “HOPE” had an extreme influence on helping the body & mind, cope with an adverse survival situation.

Remember…Never panic! Never give up…!

 

 

Ever Heard Of Hyponatremia?

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We all worry about dehydration.

Did you know there are extreme dangers associated with a phenomenon called Hyponatremia?

In simple terms this is over hydration and can actually cause death. Generally this is associated with lack of food, and drinking large amounts of fluid during extreme or endurance physical activity. This can cause the body’s salt levels to drop dramatically and cause body cells to swell and leak into the bloodstream. A person can suddenly collapse. Coma or death are genuine concerns.

Let it be known that the symptoms of over hydration are similar to dehydration. Hydrating with water only worsens the situation. Simply put the easiest way to tell the difference between hyponatremia and dehydration symptoms is to look for swelling of the fingers, joints, wrists. Also watch for ring and watch tightness due to excessive swelling.

In patients with severe hyponatremia (serum sodium <125 mEq/L), central nervous system symptoms predominate and can progress to seizures, coma, or death.

Other neurological symptoms include:
  •       Headache
  •       Muscle cramps
  •       Reversible ataxia
  •       Psychosis
  •       Lethargy
  •       Restlessness
  •       Disorientation
  •       Apathy
  •       Anorexia
  •       Agitation
 
Neurological symptoms are generally less common in patients with chronic or mild hyponatremia (serum sodium >125 mEq/L).
 
Nonneurological symptoms of hyponatremia include:
  •       Fatigue
  •       Thirst
  •       Weakness
  •       Cramping
  •       Nausea
  •       Vomiting
  •       Bloating
  •       Swelling
  •       Tightness of hands and feet

Some simple tips: Try to snack from time to time before and during the activity. It usually only takes small amounts of salt found in most foods to rebalance your system. Sports drinks work well. Try to prehydrate before exercising then continue to drink appx a cup of fluid every 20 to 30 minutes.

 

Authors note: We possess no personal medical expertise. Our intent is only to briefly inform the reader of a possible dangerous situation. Please speak with a medical professional for more detailed information on this potential life threatening situation.

 

Potassium Iodide: What does it do?

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In the aftermath of a nuclear emergency, radioactive Iodine can get into your body through eating, drinking or breathing.

Your thyroid gland may be seriously damaged as it absorbs this radioactive chemical. One way to protect this gland and prevent absorption is to make your thyroid “full” by taking non radioactive (KI)Potassium Iodide tablets.

The CDC recommends the following dosages upon advisories emergency officials. They may recommend taking one dose every 24 hours up to a few days.

This is especially important for pregnant woman, young adults and children.

Adults older than 40 should not take KI unless advised.

  • Adults should take 130 mg (one 130 mg tablet OR two 65 mg tablets OR two mL of solution).
  • Women who are breastfeeding should take the adult dose of 130 mg.
  • Children between 3 and 18 years of age should take 65 mg (one 65 mg tablet OR 1 mL of solution). Children who are adult size (greater than or equal to 150 pounds) should take the full adult dose, regardless of their age.
  • Infants and children between 1 month and 3 years of age should take 32 mg (½ of a 65 mg tablet OR ½ mL of solution). This dose is for both nursing and non-nursing infants and children.
  • Newborns from birth to 1 month of age should be given 16 mg (¼ of a 65 mg tablet or ¼ mL of solution). This dose is for both nursing and non-nursing newborn infants.

The CDC advises that KI “can protect only the thyroid from radioactive iodine, not other parts of the body”…and will not reverse damage that has already occurred.

We recommend the following educational site for more information: http://emergency.cdc.gov/radiation/ki.asp