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When SHTF, whether due to societal collapse or a large-scale natural disaster, you will realize that going on a quick trip to the nearest store or pharmacy to stock up on supplies won’t always be an option. Visiting a doctor might not be possible either.

But before things go south, you can learn about natural remedies for common aches and pains. Keeping a fully stocked natural medicine kit at home ensures that you can handle situations demanding medical attention.

Knowing how to use a natural medicine kit can also help you get closer to a healthier and toxin-free lifestyle. Incorporating natural remedies like essential oils and herbs can help you minimize your exposure to artificial chemicals and additives often found in conventional over-the-counter drugs. (h/t to TheSurvivalMom.com)

Adding these 10 useful items to your prepper first aidis necessary if you want to treat minor injuries, aches and pains after SHTF: Amber bottles with eyedroppers and small tins

You will need amber bottles with eyedroppers and small tins to store your homemade essential oil mixes, creams and salves. It is best to buy or repurpose clean amber or dark-blue glass bottlesbecause light can degrademany natural substances. Oxygen can quickly turn oils rancid, so keep all bottles and tins tightly capped. Aloe vera plant

Aloe vera can help soothea sunburn. You can use aloe vera gel for wound care and for treating insect bites. Avoid using aloe vera gel on third- or fourth-degree burns or severe sunburns because these injuries require medical attention.

If possible, use pure aloe vera gel from an organically grown plant as commercially available aloe vera gel contains additives.

Growing an aloe vera plant at home ensures you can easily harvest the gel without needing to go to the store. Aloe vera is a hardy plant and it can thrive indoors and outdoors. Coconut oil

While coconut oil is great for cooking, it has other uses outside the kitchen.

Coconut oilcan also be used as a carrier oil for essential oils and as a skin lotion. To save money, buy coconut oil in large quantities and store it properly for later use. Essential oils

With proper usage, essential oils are a versatile ingredient for various remedies.

Here are some essential oils and how to use them for aromatherapy and relaxation: Use bergamot or ylang ylangessential oils for relaxation. Use chamomile or lavender essential oils for better sleep. Use jasmine or lemon essential oils to improve your mood. Use peppermint essential oil to wake up. Use orange essential oils to soothe anxiety. First aid essential supplies

Your first aid kit should also includebasic items like bandages in different sizes, gauze and medical tape.

Keep basic first aid items and a first aid reference book in your survival first aid kit at home and in your bug-out bag. Lamb’s ear plant

The lamb’s ear plant is a functional resource.The plant can be used as a natural bandage andboasts antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial qualities. (Related: 8 Ways to deal with chronic pain while prepping.) Midwifery book

If there is any chance that an adult woman living in your house could become pregnant, you will need a midwifery or birthing reference book.

Study the book well and do your research so you can offer help when seeking immediate medical care is not possible. Teas

Like essential oils, herbal teas can address different issues like drowsiness, insomnia and an upset stomach. Teas can also help boost your vitamin intake.

Chamomile tea

Chamomile tea has calming effects and is frequently used as a natural sleep aid. According to studies, chamomile tea can help improve sleep quality in older adults and postpartum women. Experts also suggest thatchamomile has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and liver-protecting effects.

Echinacea tea

Echinacea tea may help prevent and treat the common cold. Research shows that echinaceacan boost the immune system, which could help your body fight infections.

Ginger tea

Ginger tea contains disease-fighting antioxidants and is a common remedy for nausea.

Studies consistently find that ginger is effective at relieving nausea, especially in early pregnancy. Gingeralso helps relieve nausea caused by cancer treatments and surgery.

According to studies, ginger may help relieve indigestion, prevent stomach ulcers and reduce pain associated with menstruation.

Hibiscus tea

Hibiscus tea is known for its bold color and unique flavor.

Some studies suggest that hibiscus could significantly reduce total and LDL (bad) cholesterol, along with blood pressure. Taking hibiscus tea extractcan also significantly decrease oxidative stress.

If you are not used to drinking hibiscus tea, consult a natural health practitioner for proper usage asit may interact with your medications.

Lemon balm tea

Lemon balm tea has a light, lemony flavor andmay offer some health benefits.

According toa small study, drinking lemon balm tea can help witharterial stiffness (a risk factor for heart disease), stroke and mental decline.

Research alsosuggests that drinking lemon balm tea could increase the bodys natural antioxidant enzymes, which helpprotect against oxidative damage.

Another review showed that lemon balm could help improve symptoms of depression and anxiety without serious side effects.

Peppermint tea

While peppermint tea is often used to support digestive health, it also has antioxidant, anticancer, antibacterial and antiviral properties.

Researchhas found that peppermint oil can help relieve nausea, indigestion, stomach pain and other symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Vitamin E ointment

A vitamin E ointment can helptreat skin rashes. Vodka

You can check guides and recipes online to learn how to infuse vodka with different medicinal herbs or plants to make tonics. A hot pepper tonic canhasten recovery from colds and congestion. How to do a skin patch test and why you need to test for skin irritation

If it is your first time usingnatural remedies, perform a skin patch test to check for skin irritation. Always test a small amount of diluted essential oils or salves on a small area of skin before using it on a larger area.

If you notice any redness, discomfort or itching, stop using it and thoroughly wash the area with soap and water. If the skin irritation persists, consult a healthcare professional. When to see a doctor

While a natural medicine kit can be useful for treating common aches, pains and minor ailments, it’s important to know when to seek medical attention from a doctor.

If you or someone you’re treating experiences severe or worsening symptoms, consult a doctor immediately. A doctor’s expertise is essential for diagnosing and treating more serious conditions, ensuring that proper medical care is provided when necessary.

Your natural medicine kit will be a valuable complement to conventional healthcare, especially during a long-term survival scenario when it is impossible to buy or access medicinal supplies.

However, knowing the limits of self-care and recognizing when expert medical guidance is needed is important for your well-being, particularly when dealing with severe injuries and health conditions.

Watch this video outlining four reasons to start using lavender essential oil for aromatherapy.

This video is from theHealth Ranger Store channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories:

Survival first aid: How to handle different trauma scenarios.

Homesteading 101: How to start your own medicinal herb garden.

Feeling the sniffles? Check out these herbs for allergy relief.

Sources include:

TheSurvivalMom.com

WomensHealthMag.com

Healthline.com

Brighteon.com
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Donald Trump threatens to revoke Rosie O’Donnell’s US citizenship

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Donald Trump threatens to revoke Rosie O'Donnell's US citizenship

Donald Trump has said he is considering “taking away” the US citizenship of actress and comedian Rosie O’Donnell, despite a Supreme Court ruling that expressly prohibits a government from doing so.

In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, the US president said: “Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship.”

He also labelled O’Donnell, who has moved to Ireland, as a “threat to humanity” and said she should “remain in the wonderful country of Ireland, if they want her”.

O’Donnell responded on Instagram by posting a photograph of Mr Trump with Jeffrey Epstein.

“You are everything that is wrong with America and I’m everything you hate about what’s still right with it,” she wrote in the caption.

“I’m not yours to silence. I never was.”

Rosie O'Donnell arrives at the ELLE Women in Hollywood celebration on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
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Rosie O’Donnell moved to Ireland after Donald Trump secured a second term. Pic: AP

O’Donnell moved to Ireland with her 12-year-old son in January after Mr Trump had secured a second term.

She has said she’s in the process of obtaining Irish citizenship based on family lineage and that she would only return to the US “when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America”.

O’Donnell and the US president have criticised each other publicly for years, in an often-bitter back-and-forth that predates Mr Trump’s move into politics.

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Will Trump address parliament on UK state visit?

This is just the latest threat by the president to revoke the citizenship of someone he has disagreed with, most recently his former ally Elon Musk.

But the two situations are different as while Musk was born in South Africa, O’Donnell was born in the US and has a constitutional right to American citizenship.

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Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, said the Supreme Court ruled in a 1967 case that the fourteenth amendment of the constitution prevents the government from taking away citizenship.

“The president has no authority to take away the citizenship of a native-born US citizen,” he added.

“In short, we are nation founded on the principle that the people choose the government; the government cannot choose the people.”

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UK

Justice system ‘frustrating’, Met Police chief says – as he admits London’s ‘shameful’ racism challenge

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Justice system 'frustrating', Met Police chief says - as he admits London's 'shameful' racism challenge

It is “shameful” that black boys growing up in London are “far more likely” to die than white boys, Metropolitan Police chief Sir Mark Rowley has told Sky News.

In a wide-ranging interview with Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, the commissioner said that relations with minority communities are “difficult for us”, while also speaking about the state of the justice system and the size of the police force.

Sir Mark, who came out of retirement to become head of the UK’s largest police force in 2022, said: “We can’t pretend otherwise that we’ve got a history between policing and black communities where policing has got a lot wrong.

“And we get a lot more right today, but we do still make mistakes. That’s not in doubt. I’m being as relentless in that as it can be.”

He said the “vast majority” of the force are “good people”.

However, he added: “But that legacy, combined with the tragedy that some of this crime falls most heavily in black communities, that creates a real problem because the legacy creates concern.”

Sir Mark, who also leads the UK’s counter-terrorism policing, said black boys growing up in London “are far more likely to be dead by the time they’re 18” than white boys.

“That’s, I think, shameful for the city,” he admitted.

“The challenge for us is, as we reach in to tackle those issues, that confrontation that comes from that reaching in, whether it’s stop and search on the streets or the sort of operations you seek.

“The danger is that’s landing in an environment with less trust.

“And that makes it even harder. But the people who win out of that [are] all of the criminals.”

Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said racism is still an issue in the force
Image:
Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley

The commissioner added: “I’m so determined to find a way to get past this because if policing in black communities can find a way to confront these issues, together we can give black boys growing up in London equal life chances to white boys, which is not what we’re seeing at the moment.

“And it’s not simply about policing, is it?”

Sir Mark said: “I think black boys are several times more likely to be excluded from school, for example, than white boys.

“And there are multiple issues layered on top of each other that feed into disproportionality.”

‘We’re stretched, but there’s hope and determination’

Sir Mark said the Met is a “stretched service” but people who call 999 can expect an officer to attend.

“If you are in the middle of a crisis and something awful is happening and you dial 999, officers will get there really quickly,” Sir Mark said.

“I don’t pretend we’re not a stretched service.

“We are smaller than I think we ought to be, but I don’t want to give a sort of message of a lack of hope or a lack of determination.”

“I’ve seen the mayor and the home secretary fighting hard for police resourcing,” he added.

“It’s not what I’d want it to be, but it’s better than it might be without their efforts.”

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How police tracked and chased suspected phone thief

‘Close to broken’ justice system facing ‘awful’ delays

Sir Mark said the criminal justice system was “close to broken” and can be “frustrating” for police officers.

“The thing that is frustrating is that the system – and no system can be perfect – but when the system hasn’t managed to turn that person’s life around and get them on the straight and narrow, and it just becomes a revolving door,” he said.

“When that happens, of course that’s frustrating for officers.

“So the more successful prisons and probation can be in terms of getting people onto a law-abiding life from the path they’re on, the better.

“But that is a real challenge. I mean, we’re talking just after Sir Brian Leveson put his report out about the close-to-broken criminal justice system.

“And it’s absolutely vital that those repairs and reforms that he’s talking about happen really quickly, because the system is now so stressed.”

Giving an example, the police commissioner went on: “We’ve got Snaresbrook [Crown Court] in London – it’s now got more than 100 cases listed for 2029.”

Sir Mark asked Trevor Phillips to imagine he had been the victim of a crime, saying: “We’ve caught the person, we’ve charged him, ‘great news, Mr Phillips, we’ve got him charged, they’re going to court’.

“And then a few weeks later, I see the trial’s listed for 2029. That doesn’t feel great, does it?”

Asked about the fact that suspects could still be on the streets for years before going to trial, Sir Mark conceded it’s “pretty awful”.

He added: “If it’s someone on bail, who might have stolen your phone or whatever, and they’re going in for a criminal court trial, that could be four years away. And that’s pretty unacceptable, isn’t it?”

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Leveson explains plans to fix justice system

Challenge to reform the Met

The Met chief’s comments come two years after an official report found the force is institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic.

Baroness Casey was commissioned in 2021 to look into the Met Police after serving police officer Wayne Couzens abducted, raped and murdered Sarah Everard.

She pinned the primary blame for the Met’s culture on its past leadership and found stop and search and the use of force against black people was excessive.

At the time, Sir Mark, who had been commissioner for six months when the report was published, said he would not use the labels of institutionally racist, institutionally misogynistic and institutionally homophobic, which Baroness Casey insisted the Met deserved.

However, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who helped hire Sir Mark – and could fire him – made it clear the commissioner agreed with Baroness Casey’s verdict.

A few months after the report, Sir Mark launched a two-year £366m plan to overhaul the Met, including increased emphasis on neighbourhood policing to rebuild public trust and plans to recruit 500 more community support officers and an extra 565 people to work with teams investigating domestic violence, sexual offences and child sexual abuse and exploitation.

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UK

UK measles cases rising among children – with leading NHS hospital ‘concerned’

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UK measles cases rising among children - with leading NHS hospital 'concerned'

A leading NHS hospital has warned measles is on the rise among children in the UK, after treating 17 cases since June.

Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool said it is “concerned” about the increasing number of children and young people who are contracting the highly contagious virus.

It said the cases it has treated since June were for effects and complications of the disease, which, in rare cases, can be fatal if left untreated.

“We are concerned about the increasing number of children and young people who are contracting measles. Measles is a highly contagious viral illness which can cause children to be seriously unwell, requiring hospital treatment, and in rare cases, death,” the hospital said in a statement to Sky News.

In a separate open letter to parents and carers in Merseyside earlier this month, Alder Hey, along with the UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) and directors of Public Health for Liverpool, Sefton and Knowsley, warned the increase in measles in the region could be down to fewer people getting vaccinated.

The letter read: “We are seeing more cases of measles in our children and young people because fewer people are having the MMR vaccine, which protects against measles and two other viruses called mumps and rubella.

“Children in hospital, who are very poorly for another reason, are at higher risk of catching the virus.”

What are the symptoms of measles?

The first symptoms of measles include:

• A high temperature

• A runny or blocked nose

• Sneezing

• A cough

• Red, sore or watery eyes

Cold-like symptoms are followed a few days later by a rash, which starts on the face and behind the ears, before it spreads.

The spots are usually raised and can join together to form blotchy patches which are not usually itchy.

Some people may get small spots in their mouth too.

What should you do if you think your child has measles?

Ask for an urgent GP appointment or call 111 if you think your child has measles.

If your child has been vaccinated, it is very unlikely they have measles.

You should not go to the doctor without calling ahead, as measles is very infectious.

If your child is diagnosed with measles by a doctor, make sure they avoid close contact with babies and anyone who is pregnant or has a weakened immune system.

The skin of a patient after 3 days of measles infection
Image:
The skin of a patient after three days of measles infection

It comes after a Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) report released earlier this month determined that uptake of vaccines in the UK has stalled over the last decade and is, in many cases, declining.

It said none of the routine childhood vaccinations have met the 95% coverage target since 2021, putting youngsters at risk of measles, meningitis and whooping cough.

The MMR vaccine has been available through the NHS for years. Two doses gives lifelong protection against measles, mumps and rubella.

File photo of a MMR vaccine
Image:
Two doses of the MMR vaccine give lifelong protection against measles, mumps and rubella. Pic: iStock

According to the latest NHS data, Liverpool was one of the cities outside London with the lowest uptake of the MMR vaccination in 2023-2024.

By the time children were five years old, 86.5% had been give one dose, decreasing to 73.4% for a second dose.

The RCPCH report put the nationwide decline down to fears over vaccinations, as well as families having trouble booking appointments and a lack of continuous care in the NHS, with many seeing a different GP on each visit.

Read more from Sky News:
Met Police chief on London’s ‘shameful’ racism challenge
‘My voice box was removed after NHS missed cancer’

In the US, measles cases are at their highest in more than three decades.

Cases reached 1,288 on Wednesday this week, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, with 14 states battling active outbreaks.

The largest outbreak started five months ago in communities in West Texas, where vaccination uptake is low. Since then, three people have died – including two children in Texas and an adult in New Mexico – with dozens more in hospital.

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