When it comes to survival medical health, most preppers focus on the basics. They’ll buy basic medical supplies, maybe learn some basic first aid and buy a survival first aid kit. Additionally, at the Sensible Survivalists, we encourage that preppers eat well and get plenty of exercise, to encourage fitness post-SHTF.

All of those things are highly important (and I would encourage you to focus on them if you can). Any prepper should be well versed in first aid, have at least one good med kit and know how to use it, and be focusing on being in the best possible physical shape to have the best chances of survival after SHTF. Health issues and injury may still be an issue, but those are the best ways for you to prepare.

But here’s another element of survival health you may not have thought about yet. It’s certainly not basic, but it is an option that some preppers are reaching for – including an increasing number of celebrities.

After SHTF, hospitals probably aren’t going to be functional, if they’re even still standing. Disasters such as an EMP would wipe out their ability to function by rendering electrical equipment defunct, natural disasters may destroy them or test their capacity beyond use, and any sort of civil collapse could lead to complex entities such as hospitals failing. Unless you happen to be friends with a surgeon with their own operation theatre in their basement, anything more than removing a splinter is going to get pretty difficult after SHTF, even if you have learned complex first aid skills or have a bag full of survival tools.

This doesn’t even go only for an extreme SHTF scenario. Other, more realistic scenarios in which you may not be able to get medical help include you being holed up at home during a snowstorm, an economic crisis or severe inflation rendering healthcare services unworkable, or even just you being unable to keep up on health insurance payments.

So what if you are in any one of these scenarios and you get acute appendicitis, or tonsillitis?

The bad news is, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to get help for these things post SHTF.

The good news is, there are some common health issues you can pre-emptively deal with. If you get a few very simply and relatively low-risk surgeries now, several health issues will be out of the picture entirely.

To be clear, I am not encouraging you to have these surgeries and medical procedures done. However, more and more well-known preppers and celebrities are, and it’s interesting to think about what the reasoning beyond that decision is.

In a SHTF situation, having had some of these surgeries could mean the difference between life and death.

DISCLAIMER: I haven’t had these done myself. I’m not a medical expert. I would also like to reiterate again, as I do on almost every post, that it is incredibly important that you only carry out preps that are viable for you, both financially and otherwise. Speak to anybody you share finances with first, as well as to a good doctor.

I’m writing this post because I enjoy considering every possible facet of prepping and survivalism, even the odder and more obscure ones.

So with that said, here are some of the surgeries you could have done before SHTF, along with why you might want to do so according to celebrity preppers.

Laser Eye Surgery

Glasses and contact lenses will be difficult to get hold of after SHTF, although, as I suggest in my list of bartering items, collecting reading glasses is well worth it.

If you have poor eyesight, you’re going to be at a distinct disadvantage after a disaster. You’re less able to defend yourself, to hunt, to farm or to navigate with poor vision. As soon as you no longer have lenses – which is perhaps almost inevitable after a big disaster – then you are in more trouble the worse your vision gets. In a survival situation, poor eyesight can be a death sentence.

But you do have options to prepare for that eventuality, other than simply stocking hundreds of spare lenses. You can get laser eye surgery fairly cheaply and effectively these days, and the effect is very long-lasting. Just a short, non-invasive treatment will mean you are no longer at a disadvantage post-SHTF.

If you get laser eye surgery in case of SHTF, you’re in good company. Celebrities and survivalists alike have had their poor eyesight mended in preparation for a day when glasses are no longer easily available.

Take Reddit CEO Steve Huffman. He has undergone LASIK eye surgery for the express purpose of losing his disadvantage should he end up in an apocalypse scenario. ‘If the world ends, getting contacts or glasses is going to be a huge pain in the ass,’ he said, according to this report.

Tonsil Removal

If you’ve ever had tonsillitis, you’ll know just how painful and debilitating tonsillitis can be. Not only is severe tonsillitis agonising, it can become severely infected – highly problematic after SHTF, when antibiotics will be far less widely available.

It’s not always possible to have your tonsils removed without direct medical cause, and there are potential medical reasons not to do so. Speak to your doctor about whether it may be a good idea for you.

If, though, you have a history of tonsillitis, having your tonsils removed now may be a good choice.

Appendix Removal

The appendix is, in many ways, a biological bomb just waiting to go off inside you. It’s not especially likely that you’ll have appendicitis at some point during your life, but if you do and cannot get medical treatment, it can be quickly fatal.

Here’s an example of how dangerous appendicitis can become in an extreme situation in an article by The Atlantic. In 1961, a Soviet surgeon based in Antarctica ended up having to remove his own appendix in a pretty incredible surgical feat.

Particularly for those with a family history of appendicitis, having the appendix removed could be a consideration.

However, it’s the most invasive surgery on this list.

Wisdom Teeth Removal

Toothache may seem trivial now, but before dentists were as widespread as they are now, dental issues could be deadly. Without access to modern painkillers, toothache can be truly debilitating.

Having your wisdom teeth removed now puts you in a more solid position in the future. This is especially true given that tense and stressful circumstances can cause wisdom teeth to start emerging. Whatever your idea of a SHTF emergency is, it is likely to be stressful.

In Conclusion

I wouldn’t recommend you go out right now and have all non-vital organs removed, but it’s an interesting consideration. Would you go to the extremes of the Reddit CEO in preparing for SHTF, if you had the time and the money to do so? Or do you think that unnecessary surgery just means more risk to your health now for the sake of a scenario which is unlikely to happen?

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