Insurance, Prepping and how SHTF has already hit.

Insurance, Prepping and how SHTF has already hit.

Right now the hubbub is the repeal of the AHC. better known as Obamacare.  No matter if you loved it or hated it, it’s on it’s way out. And with all the blustering of any new administration this one is pulling it out as fast as it was shoved down our throats. That’s fine. BUT. (There is always a BUT) What is going to replace it? For EVERY person that the ACA has screwed over (Waves hand wildly!) it has helped one.

I have friends in healthcare and they are SCARED for their patients and for their jobs. With good reason. There is a HUGE push in the new administration to repeal the ACA. But WHAT is going to replace it? Hello? Bueller? Bueller? Is this thing on? “tap tap” You can not pull the plug and not have something in place to 

There are so many folks that have signed up and their lives are controlled by it. They are in real danger of losing their health care. Using me as an example of one that it hurt. Looking back over old paycheck stubs, in 2008 I had pretty good insurance I paid 300 a month for the top plan of BCBS. 5 dollar copays max medication copay of 15 bucks. When I left Heart Hospital in 2016 I was paying 800 a month 20 dollar copays and a family deductible of $1500.

Today my rates went “down” to 450 a month but my deductible went to 1500 a person 3500 family and 6000 out of pocket max. I take 1 prescription for destroyed nerves in my back and legs. Tramadol 200 ER Under BCBS it was 5 then 10 then 15 then 20 bucks. Under United it went to 30. In February when the new plan year starts it goes to 180 a month. Draw your own conclusions.

SHTF has hit for millions of Americans. It wasn’t zombies or economic crash (Well the jury is still out on that one) Global Thermonuclear Warfare or rogue government. It is the total ruining of the average citizen’s health care. Me I am TERRIFIED for my wife. She needs some specialised care and I do not know how we will afford.( But I will find a way)

So how does this relate to prepping? Pagan Prepping? Well EVERYTHING. A few months ago in my side business, I was working on a group of preppers on getting some medical classes set up and they canceled all of the ones we scheduled. The reason they gave is, “We don’t need to spend money on classes. Trump is president so things are going to be fixed” WTH?? I hated to lose the sale and I really wanted to tear into them. But I said I’m sorry you see things that way and if you change your minds please call me.

The changing of the administration matters little in the grand scheme of things. The Overton Window just moves a little in one direction or the other but the wheels of fate are set in motion and we are along for the ride. But that doesn’t mean we are powerless. This. The state of healthcare in our country is but one of the many reasons Freya and I built this site.

But healthcare is one of the main ones. As time rolls on, Freya, myself and hopefully others will write pieces on tips techniques and ideas on how to take care of each other.

There is a storm on the horizon. I nor anyone can truly forecast what it is what it will bring and and what it will leave. But what I can forecast is that we here at Pagan Preparedness we will strive to give the best, most accurate and most update information on alternative health care.

Now. It’s the dead of winter. Here in the high desert of NM Skadhi has blessed us again with her blanket of white. With that comes the cold. And we are not out and about as we should and the evil little bacteria and viruses multiply.

This is a repost of a newsletter I wrote earlier this year. It is fitting for now since the cold and flu season

The Obligatory Cold and Flu News Letter.

The title sounds like I am being forced to write this. Just because it’s cold and rainy and people are hacking and coughing, and Kleenex sales have skyrocketed,  OTC decongestants and antihistamines are flying off the shelf………

Wait it IS the cold and flu season. The CDC shows sporadic flu infestation across the country.

Colds are well established with moderate spread.

Also this year the CDC is not recommending the “live attenuated influenza vaccine”. Studies show that it was as effective as say breathing through a tissue. Okay, that wasn’t quite fair, since the effectiveness of vaccines change year to year. CDC not to recommend nasal vaccine

This newsletter isn’t so much about take or don’t take the vaccine. On it’s BEST years it’s only about 65-70% effective. This week we are going to talk about what you can do to help prevent you and your family from getting the flu.

Each year the CDC GUESSES on what strain to included in the vaccine. This years winners are…

• A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus,
• A/Hong Kong/4801/2014 (H3N2)-like virus and a
• B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus (B/Victoria lineage).
• And 4 part vaccines will have B/Phuket/3073/2013-like virus (B/Yamagata lineage.

It’s a total WAG* each year.

* WAG= Wild Assed Guess

So enough defending the FDA Lets get down to business

Elderberry

I like Elderberry. No, I LOVE Elderberry. Just not for colds. It’s much better and beating a flu into submission. Over all it is not overly effective on the viruses that cause cold.

Image courtsey of http://www.blackelderberry.info/

The Big 3 Cold Bugs are:

• Rhinovirus
• Coronavirus
• RSV and/or parainfluenza

My beloved Elderberry( No NOT the lady that goes by that handle) is better at dealing with Influenza bugs. In one study Erling Thom, with the University of Oslo in the winter of 1999-2000 used elderberry syrup and a placebo in a double blind study on using elderberry for the flu. The study found that complete cure with Elderberry as the main drug happened within 3 days and with out it was 6+ days. Randomized Study of the Efficacy and Safety of Oral Elderberry Extract in the Treatment of Influenza A and B Virus Infections

Elderberry on the main cold viruses shows little effect, other than mainly a it’s good for you feeling.

Echinacea

Echinacea has been shown in many studies to lower the duration of the common cold. Cardif University in England did a study on it and the results of the study Safety and efficacy profile of Echinacea purpurea to prevent common cold episodes

The study did show that Echinacea did lower the duration and severity of the cold but did little on the prevention. Now in the United States Echinacea is severly frowned on by the medical community This report Echinacea for Cold and Flu says it does nothing. Make your own choices, We use it in our home.

Image courtsey of https://nccih.nih.gov/health/echinacea/ataglance.htm

Chinese Star Anise

Star Anise is a  wonderful herb. It is  used to extract Shikimic Acid  That is processed by Genetech into oseltamivir phosphate the active ingredient of Tamiflu.

Star Anise is at it’s BEST effectiveness within the first 2-3 days of onset of flu symptoms. Star Anise is also shown to help shorten the length of colds but the same restrictions apply as flu. It needs to be taken within the first 2 days. Note. Do not confuse Chinese with it’s close cousin Japanese Star Anise. The Japanese species is toxic.

                                                     http://theepicentre.com/spice/star-anise/

Osha.

Osha is a native to the Rocky Mountains and is the go to here in the mountain west for respiratory problems. Word of caution. Osha is almost identical to Hemlock. The leaves have subtle differences, but it’s the root and scent that tells the story. Osha roots are hairy, Hemlock is bare and Osha smells, well it smells like Osha! Very strong scent

       Osha Leaves                                                                                 Hemlock Leaves

Images courtesy of: Western New Mexico University Department of Natural Sciences & the Dale A. Zimmerman Herbarium

Osha root like the other plants listed does not prevent the viruses from attacking you, but again taken in the first 2-3 days they do lessen the severity of the viral attacks. Osha is such a wonderful plant. It has a very long history with the original Spanish settlers and much further back with the Native Americans. It is my number 1 go to even over elderberry for cold and flu.

Slippery Elm

No Cold and Flu newsletter is complete without Slippery Elm. Slippery Elm is native to the northeastern section of the country. I really wish it would grow here in New Mexico, but our climate is to dry. It is a top choice for the sore throat that comes from colds and flu. The Mucilage it contains is a fantastic Demulcent Emollient and goes a long way for historically treating many other ailments besides colds.  

http://www.herbalteasonline.com/slippery-elm-tea.php

The common thing here is that we have WONDERFUL herbs for treating colds and flu, but nothing to really prevent them in the first place. The best way to not get infected is, to not get infected. Seriously by staying away from sick people and if you’re sick staying home. That alone will stop flu straight in it’s tracks.

Washing your hands and not touching your face goes a long way to preventing colds and flu. Notice I said washing. Soap and water does not kill the germs. It removes them from the skin. By removing them you eliminate the #1 cause of getting sick. Alcohol cleaners. It’s pretty well known that I am not a huge fan of them. Yes most kill the bacteria and viruses the are living on the skin. But not all. And it doesn’t remove them.

Yes we use surgical scrubs that are alcohol and chlorahexdine based. But we do 1 full surgical scrub first thing in the morning then the rest of the day we use the alcohol scrub. Also if our hands get soiled we rescrub the traditional way and then it’s back to the alcohol scrub.

Colloidal Silver.

CS has not been truly studied in the lab as a prevention for cold and flu. CS is one of the most attacked herbal supplements and it has it’s hazards. I’ve discussed them prior newsletters and podcasts. What I have in knowledge in CS is first hand and observed with a clinical eye and mindset. First hand is using it and seeing the results of it . In 2009 the US was hit with a variant of Swine Flu H1N1. I put the whole family on  CS and yes we still caught the flu.  It was identified by a visit to our doc and he did a nasal swab and it was positive. We also had minimal symptoms of the flu.

The effect on us was more like a cold than full blown flu. So while it did not prevent the flu from attacking us it reduced the length of time and the symptoms of it  immensely. Next is observation. A very close friend of mine takes CS daily. As does his family. And no they are not blue.  Over a period of 15 years I have seen him sick with cold or flu symptoms 4 times. And they were mild. I can’t say if they were cold flu or allergies but the record speaks for itself .

http://www.southwestshootingauthority.com/_p/prd19/3046691751/cskit