Self Maintenance

[Smok]

If you live on the land you will need to keep All cuts clean . Also you will need to cut your nails , fingers and toes so how will you do it ?? And don't just say nail clippers , to easy . How did they do it ?? What salve do you make . If you make one , would you give it out to us

[canid]

you have to cut your fingers and toes?

as for antiseptic salves, ointments, etc; there are hundreds of plants the world over which have been used effectively. many fine ones, such as thyme, many sages, eucalyptus, sphagnum moss, juniper, cedar, etc.

the list would be an extremely long one i couldn't hope to research thoroughly.

also; i cut my nails with a knife as often as i use the nail clippers on my keys.

[MCBushbaby]

I never use a clippers. Just peel 'em. No it's not nasty, emo or masochistic

[warman87]

im asuming that "they" did it by pealing there nails and rubing herbs on there cuts or drinkin fire water or smokin the pipe and preyin and a being carfull

[Ridge Wolf]

Maybe finger and toe nails just broke off. Also, how long has aloe vera been known to heal wounds?

[Smok]

canid ..you do not make a salve right ??? or you would have given one and not just a researched one but one you make and use that is what I ask for , one that you use and have used . Ridge Wolf .. do you use aloe on wounds ?? warman that is nice but of little help I did not mean to use a (they) and up sat you maybe I should have said we..What brot this on is we had a man die here with a in grown toe nail . He got gangrene from it and died

[Ridge Wolf]

canid ..you do not make a salve right ??? or you would have given one and not just a researched one but one you make and use that is what I ask for , one that you use and have used . Ridge Wolf .. do you use aloe on wounds ?? warman that is nice but of little help I did not mean to use a (they) and up sat you maybe I should have said we..What brot this on is we had a man die here with a in grown toe nail . He got gangrene from it and died

Yes I have used aloe on wounds.. I don't make a salve.. it is already made in the aloe plant for me. You should have said in the original post that there was an urgency to your cause. The meaning of what I read was that you wanted to know what cavemen used as finger and toe nail clippers. Assuming 'they' are so called cavemen.. How do I know what 'they' used as clippers or salve?

[catfish10101]

Aloe is a very good treatment for minor burns and for sunburns. It can be used straight from the plant or you can keep it in a container in the fridge for a better cooling feel on your burn.

[canid]

salves are more work for me than they're worth. if you don't want my help or advice, don't ask for it.

[nell67]

canid ..you do not make a salve right ??? or you would have given one and not just a researched one but one you make and use that is what I ask for , one that you use and have used . Ridge Wolf .. do you use aloe on wounds ?? warman that is nice but of little help I did not mean to use a (they) and up sat you maybe I should have said we..What brot this on is we had a man die here with a in grown toe nail . He got gangrene from it and died

Smok,did the guy have diabetes?? Getting gangrene from an ingrown toenail is very common for people with diabetes,and all the slaves and antibiotics in the world will have a tough time treating gangrene. The infected part must be debrided (cut out all the gangrene) sometimes,that involves losing the affected digit or limb as well,especially for those who have a weakened immune system due to diabetes,or any other disease that affects the immune system.

AN ingrown toenail should be looked at and treated by a doctor as soon as possible,and often will require surgery to remove the offending peice of nail,and sometimes the nailbed as well to keep the problem from recurring,this does not always stop the nail from ingrowing,my youngest son has had the procedure done 3 times already and is now complaining again. He simply refuses to follow the doctors advice on how to trim his nails.

[Rick]

Not trying to be funny but prevention is the best cure in this case. Toenails should be properly maintained and your feet should be kept clean and dry. There are a number of causes including disease as Nell mentioned. Shoes that don't fit properly, sweaty feet, obesity and even how you cut the nail can lead to an ingrown toenail.

Cutting the nail in an inverted V will help. Cut it so the outside edges are slightly longer than the center. This allows the corners of the nail to grow toward the center and away from the edge of the toe.

This would be a good post to hear from our docs on.

[FVR]

One of the many things I learned in bootcamp, how to cut toenails. Sounds lame, but pealing and cutting wrong can end in a bit of pain.

Now, I've had in grown toe nails. My trick is to take a little piece of cotton, push it all the way down, yeh it's going to hurt, deal with it. Then keep it wet. Water softens nails, best time to cut them is after a shower. If you are prone to in grown toe nails, then stop by the drug store, there is a liquid that stinks bad, but you use a drop of the liquid instead of water, works alot faster.

Maintenance in the field, if I'm in the field for more than two days, I'm going to take a shower, bath, or something. I once jumped into a freezing stream in the middle of Feb. as I had been on a three day prim. hog hunt. Okay, it was a fast dip, downstream, and the others kind of heckled me a bit. But I was clean.

Oh yeh, 8 years in the USMC, I don't give a crap who sees me nekked, if I need to take a bath, it's going to happen.

I always take a bar of soap, toothbrush, alcohol, (both kinds) and a few extras if I know I'm going for a bit.

While on a rock package in the Stanislaus mnts, at basecamp, I rigged a shower. We had but was not using a drinking sack, 30 gal. canvas bag, with 4 spouts at the bottom. I hoisted that thing up into a tree, and filled it with cold mountain water. At the end of the day after it had been sitting in the sun, I had a nice semi warm shower.

Lasted two days, then the officers took it over. Alas, I found myself downstream in a stream of melted snow water, bathing.

[Smok]

This was what I was trying to get at I know that I am not very good at it , but I do try and this is one that can put you drown , it's not fun

[Ole WV Coot]

This was what I was trying to get at I know that I am not very good at it , but I do try and this is one that can put you drown , it's not fun

Only had one and never want another. I cut it out and pulled the last bit out with needle nose. It did smart, 1/2 pint for me and one on the toe. I got lucky, best left to a doc for sure.

[Ridge Wolf]

One of the many things I learned in bootcamp, how to cut toenails. Sounds lame, but pealing and cutting wrong can end in a bit of pain.

Now, I've had in grown toe nails. My trick is to take a little piece of cotton, push it all the way down, yeh it's going to hurt, deal with it. Then keep it wet. Water softens nails, best time to cut them is after a shower. If you are prone to in grown toe nails, then stop by the drug store, there is a liquid that stinks bad, but you use a drop of the liquid instead of water, works alot faster.

Maintenance in the field, if I'm in the field for more than two days, I'm going to take a shower, bath, or something. I once jumped into a freezing stream in the middle of Feb. as I had been on a three day prim. hog hunt. Okay, it was a fast dip, downstream, and the others kind of heckled me a bit. But I was clean.

Oh yeh, 8 years in the USMC, I don't give a crap who sees me nekked, if I need to take a bath, it's going to happen.

I always take a bar of soap, toothbrush, alcohol, (both kinds) and a few extras if I know I'm going for a bit.

While on a rock package in the Stanislaus mnts, at basecamp, I rigged a shower. We had but was not using a drinking sack, 30 gal. canvas bag, with 4 spouts at the bottom. I hoisted that thing up into a tree, and filled it with cold mountain water. At the end of the day after it had been sitting in the sun, I had a nice semi warm shower.

Lasted two days, then the officers took it over. Alas, I found myself downstream in a stream of melted snow water, bathing.

Can't cheat the officers, pilgrim.
Officers got it.

[nell67]

Sam,he has had the procedure 3x and each time the doc said he removed that part of the nail bed so this would not happen again,but it still does,mainly due to the way he trims his nails,and well he is a teen and will not listen to reason.

One trip the doc removed the toenail on each side of his toe and acid burned a planterswart,I had a planterswart burned at the same time ,now that was a painful experience

[bulrush]

I had some moderate ingrown toenail problems because I was cutting the nail with a curve. Doc said cut toenails straight across. I did this consistently for 3-4 months and it cured itself.

As for debriding wounds, it's not needed in a primitive situation as it can lead to more infection via dirty utensils. You can rinse away pus and dead flesh if necessary but debriding necessary only if infection spreads deeper than the epidermis into the muscle. I've had plenty of skin infections and boils as large as a baseball. I did not debride any of them, just kept them covered, clean and dry.

Once I went to the ER to have a boil lanced because they do not make pointy pins anymore (all pins are now rounded points) and I did not have a scalpel, otherwise I'd do it myself. I guess I should sharpen my own pin should I need it next time.

[warman87]

canid ..you do not make a salve right ??? or you would have given one and not just a researched one but one you make and use that is what I ask for , one that you use and have used . Ridge Wolf .. do you use aloe on wounds ?? warman that is nice but of little help I did not mean to use a (they) and up sat you maybe I should have said we..What brot this on is we had a man die here with a in grown toe nail . He got gangrene from it and died

o im an expert on ingrown toe nails do u want to know how to prevent one in the woods or how to cure one once uve got it?

[warman87]

and a simple tip that my doctor gave me is if the toe nail gets to ingrown cut a v in the middle of the toenail that will cause the nail to grow inward insted of outward and relieves presure when walking
if more tips are needed just post and ill help ya out

[nell67]

Thanks Sam