Post-apocalyptic Medicine

[Raellus]

Besides home-grown penicillin, what are some other effective, low-tech or DIY medicines/remedies that one might encounter and/or find useful in a T2k campaign?

DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!

https://io9.gizmodo.com/in-case-of-a...-in-1110902296

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[Legbreaker]

Well, a certain PC run by a Canadian player has required treatment for an STD in the last week or two. There's been a reasonable amount of discussion (and a lot of joking) about the pre-antibiotic treatments such as internal application of hot needles and/or gunpowder, mercury and arsenic.

[StainlessSteelCynic]

For 1st and 2nd edition timelines, the PCs (and NPCs) probably had grandparents who either lived through WW2 or lived through the immediate post-war period. Their grandparents may very well have used a number of "home remedies" for various ailments due to the rationing of medicines during the war and just after.
This would have been particularly relevant for those nations in the major theatres of war (Europe, Africa, Asia).

Honey and other types of poultice for aches, cuts, inflammation, bruises.
Sphagnum moss as a blood soak for when you don't have enough bandages.
Salt to promote healing.
Certain types of spider web can be used to improve blood clotting/stop bleeding (although I can imagine this being a pain in the rear to apply). Cobwebs also, apparently, promote healing.
Talc, if you can recognise the clay type (Geology skill), has obvious uses (talcum powder).
Many of the clays found around volcanoes have antibacterial properties and some of them are also apparently good for promoting wound healing.
And of course, that old favourite of rebellious teenagers, marijuana - but there are other plants found in Europe and Asia that have medicinal properties (I just can't remember the plants)
Baking soda and soap in water makes a useful fungicide as does horseradish in water.
Vinegar is useful as an astringent and vinegar mixed with hydrogen peroxide is useful as a general disinfectant (but not as effective as proper disinfectants).

Web searches of those terms will provide much better detail and obviously all of these treatments require some preparation to make them useful. The salient point is, people in the T2k era may remember some of what their grandparents did or their grandparents may still be alive and able to pass on that knowledge.

[StainlessSteelCynic]

To take my post above further, this is a link to a Dark Conspiracy article I wrote for the ezine Protodimension. It has a better explanation of a few of the items I mentioned above but also includes some I didn't mention.
Protodimension, Issue 20, Page 43.
http://www.darkconspiracytherpg.info...mension-20.pdf

[Tegyrius]

Before COVID blew up and my free time went to hell, I was prepping a PC for a PbP game who was basically a walking Foxfire collection. She was a priestess of an Appalachian backwoods syncretic neopagan cult/faith, with a halfway-decent modern education underpinning a lot of folk medicine. I regret not being able to start running her... it would have been interesting to see what I could get away with.

- C.

[Olefin]

For those who are adventuring in Eastern Africa and the Middle East traditional medicine and healers would be the vast majority of what the populace were using pre-war - given the medicine shortages by 2001 there native remedies would be highly in demand by both the civilians and the remaining militaries.

Good article to read for Kenya to give you an idea of how prevalent that kind of medicine is there and would probably be what characters would need to use in areas where there arent any US military medics available

"Over 70% of Kenyans rely on traditional healers as their primary source of health care. This number is high because healers respond to diverse needs – they work as herbalists, birth attendants and spiritualists and they’re within reach of ordinary citizens. Some estimates suggest that there is one healer for every 950 patients, compared with one doctor for every 33,000 in Kenya"

https://theconversation.com/kenyas-s...rom-won-102205

[swaghauler]

I don't have much time but I had to pop in and post this...

You broke your leg, got shot, or are dying from a fever...

You: "Doc, I'm hurting! Help..."
Doc: "Take two Ibuprofin... Drink more water... and change your socks."

The universal field medic treatment system.

[.45cultist]

Originally Posted by Tegyrius

Before COVID blew up and my free time went to hell, I was prepping a PC for a PbP game who was basically a walking Foxfire collection. She was a priestess of an Appalachian backwoods syncretic neopagan cult/faith, with a halfway-decent modern education underpinning a lot of folk medicine. I regret not being able to start running her... it would have been interesting to see what I could get away with.

- C.

I hope to stat such a group for both T2K and DC!