If you've planned, you may have the essentials like non-perishable foods, water, flashlights, and maybe a first-aid kit. While these things are great, you may need to know and store more when long-term crisis hits. So, what do you do?

Many people do not realize that a first-aid kit is not sufficient for many survival situations, especially those that last for an extended period of time. The problem is that if you need medicine, you are not going to be able to find it. You cannot go to the doctor and it's likely that your local pharmacy has already been raided for supplies. It is in these trying times where survival is essential.

What Exactly is Survival Medicine?
Survival medicine is the knowledge and ability to care for everything from small scratches to serious injuries in an emergency. It is a skill that can save you, your family, and anyone else you may encounter that needs help.

Why Survival Medicine is Important
Many people look at survival medicine as stocking up on some helpful over-the-counter medicines and coverings for wounds for their survival kit. However, survival medicine entails much more. To be adequately prepared, you must know what to do once your supplies run out. Survival medicine teaches you about common ailments, good over-the-counter medications to stock up on, and how to use your surroundings to make medicine in an emergency, by relying on herbs, berries, and other plants.

Disasters like political unrest, natural events, or an apocalypse can last a few days, a few months, or even longer. Events during this time are unpredictable. The conditions of the situation and the stress that the people living through it undergo result in an elevated risk of injury. Because of unsanitary conditions, illnesses are also common. This is especially true once you run out of your stored food supply and need to rely on supplementing from nature. By brushing up on your survival medicine, you can save your own life, the life of someone you love, or the life of a stranger.

With this, you'll be able to think on your feet and potentially save someone's life.