One of the crucial items you might want to include in your survival kit or bug-out bag (B.O.B.) is an excellent medical reference book. These books might come in handy, especially when you want to learn essential first aid tips, natural treatments for injuries, and other survival tips. The Best Medical reference books are useful resources to have during disasters, so consider purchasing at least one or two to include in your stash. Here’s a list of the seven best medical reference books for preppers like you.
Comparison Chart
| IMAGE | PRODUCT | DETAILS | PRICE |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Survival Medicine Handbook: A Guide for When Help is Not on the Way | The Survival Medicine Handbook is a guide for those who want to be medically-prepared for any disaster where help is not available. This book is by Joe Alton, M.D. and Amy Alton, A.R.N.P., both are premiere Medical Preparedness Professionals from one of the top ten survival websites. One of the best medical reference books available. | ||
| The Pill Book (15th Edition) | For more than thirty years, millions of consumers around the globe have trusted this book to provide FDA-approved information on almost 2,000 most commonly prescribed drugs in the U.S. This book by Bantam is also a useful reference for preppers. One of the best medical reference books available. | ||
| Wilderness Medicine, 6th: Beyond First Aid | This comprehensive book by Dr. William Forgey lets you recognize, assess, and handle many kinds of medical emergencies, especially in situations where a medical facility is impossible. One of the best medical reference books available. | ||
| Foraging – A Beginner’s Guide to Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants | This book is a basic guide for beginners and preppers alike to know what plants are edible and how to find them in the wild. One of the best medical reference books available. | ||
| The Encyclopedia of Country Living, 50th Anniversary Edition: The Original Manual for Living off the Land & Doing It Yourself | This book by Carla Emery has advanced from a basic guide to living a more sustainable lifestyle while decreasing your carbon footprint in the process. | ||
| Poor Man’s Wilderness Survival Kit | Jim Ballou, one of the best-selling preparedness authors, teaches you exactly how to do it with this guide. From collecting no-nonsense, get-the-job-done-in-an-emergency gear and packaging, to making portable kits that are always ready to grab and go. Everything a prepper needs to learn is here! | ||
| Living Ready Pocket Manual – First Aid | When you are far from help or involved in an urban disaster situation, every second is vital during a medical emergency. This book by James Hubbard will help you take quick, effective action to stabilize the situation. |
A Detailed Review on the Best Medical Reference Books
The Survival Medicine Handbook: A Guide for When Help is Not on the Way
The Survival Medicine Handbook is a guide for those who want to be medically prepared for any disaster where help is not available. This book is by Joe Alton, M.D. and Amy Alton, A.R.N.P., both are premiere Medical Preparedness Professionals from one of the top ten survival websites. One of the best medical reference books available.
Product Highlights
This book has a nearly 5-star review on Amazon, which is why it is known to be one of the best medical reference books. It is an excellent material because it looks at each situation as if there is no doctor or hospital is available near you.
Although it is a big book with nearly 600 pages and two pounds of weight, it is a useful addition to your emergency kit.
The Good
In contrast to the other medical handbooks, this is explicitly written for Preppers. It explains how you can deal with medical emergencies when no help is available. The book also details medical supplies you’ll want to include in your B.O.B.s and covers what to do for survival.
The Bad
Although the book is highly-rated and recommended, some users say that the book is too overpriced.
PROs
- Useful and informative book
- A great guidebook
- No batteries or pumping
- An excellent reference for preppers
CONs
- Too overpriced
The Pill Book (15th Edition)
For more than thirty years, millions of consumers around the globe have trusted this book to provide FDA-approved information on almost 2,000 most commonly prescribed drugs in the U.S. This book by Bantam is also a useful reference for preppers. One of the best medical reference books available.
Product Highlights
This book contains the most-commonly prescribed drugs in the United States with guidelines from leading pharmacists. Each medicine listed in this book is profiled in a concise, straightforward, and easy-to-understand entry, which makes this book the perfect reference for doctor-prescribed medications.
The Good
This is a beneficial book to have at home. The book describes the uses, directions, and purpose of each medication in a simple way that is easy to understand. It also explains the types of food and beverages that may interfere with the medicine.
The book also includes generic and brand-name listings that can help you save money and what each pill is for and how it works. Side effects and adverse reactions are also explained. It also has 32 pages of actual-sized colored photographs of prescription pills.
The Bad
Although the book contains a long list of pills and medications with its purpose, some readers find the book too technical and not reader-friendly.
PROs
- The book includes almost 2,000 most-commonly prescribed drugs in the U.S.
- Explains uses, directions and purpose of each pill
- Includes generic brand names
- Contains 32 pages of actual-sized colored photos of prescription pills
CONs
- The book is too technical
Wilderness Medicine, 6th: Beyond First Aid
This comprehensive book by Dr. William Forgey lets you recognize, assess, and handle many kinds of medical emergencies, especially in situations where a medical facility is impossible. One of the best medical reference books available.
Product Highlights
If you are one of those hard-core preppers and you need one of the best medical reference books for inclusion in your “Go Bags,” then this one is recommended. This book includes several illnesses and injuries that are clear and understandable by any layperson without any medical training.
This book teaches you to assess and stabilize a victim and the medical situation, how to manage symptoms as well as care for wounds and injuries, and more.
The Good
One good thing about this book is that if you have little to no background or medical experience, you will be able to figure out what to do, especially in a situation where there is no access to a medical facility.
The Bad
Because a wilderness doctor wrote this book, some readers say that it contains too much text than illustrations.
Some also say that the contents are already outdated.
PROs
- Great book with guidelines
- Very instructional
- Very helpful for wilderness emergencies
- Very comprehensive
CONs
- The book is too textual
- Contents are outdated
Foraging – A Beginner’s Guide to Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants
This book is a basic guide for beginners and preppers alike to know what plants are edible and how to find them in the wild. One of the best medical reference books available.
Product Highlights
This book, Foraging – A Beginner’s Guide to Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants, is an essential guide for foraging a large number of plants in the wild. It’s perfect for beginners and preppers in learning what plants that grow in the wild are edible and have medicinal properties, including local plants that other books don’t cover. In this beginner’s guide, the author includes ten wild plants that grow in most of North America.
The Good
This book is an excellent reference if you want to know about natural plant cures or treatments for some medical issues. For thousands of years, people used plants to cure all sorts of things.
And if you ever find yourself in the wilderness, this book might save your life.
It is perfect for beginners and preppers and has proper instructions on usage and options. It is highly recommended for anyone interested in following the old ways of living in tune with the earth and its seasons.
The Bad
Although highly recommended, some users pointed out that the book is not as complete on descriptions and photos as a beginner should have.
PROs
- Perfect book guide for beginners and preppers
- Easy to understand instructions
CONs
- Lack of photos and descriptions for beginners
The Encyclopedia of Country Living, 50th Anniversary Edition: The Original Manual for Living off the Land & Doing It Yourself
This book by Carla Emery has advanced from a basic guide to living a more sustainable lifestyle while decreasing your carbon footprint in the process.
Product Highlights
From ranch to urban farmers, and everyone in between, there is a yearning for a more straightforward way of life, a healthier, greener, more self-sustaining, and holistic strategy to modern life.
This book, written by Carla Emery, is a comprehensive manual of essential skills and country experience for living off the grid, being prepared, and making it yourself, whether it’s a farm or home, suburb, or city. It is a perfect example of being the best medical reference book.
The Good
One of the most useful references for any prepper out there, this book covers everything you need to know about living off the grid. From how to generate electricity and produce clean water to how to raise livestock and keep bees for honey.
The Bad
Although ratings are high, some users pointed out that the book is too thick and textual.
PROs
- An essential guide for beginners and preppers
- Very instructional
- It is comprehensive
- Practical contents
CONs
- Book is too thick and heavy
- Too textual
Poor Man’s Wilderness Survival Kit
Jim Ballou, one of the best-selling preparedness authors, teaches you exactly how to do it with this guide. From collecting no-nonsense, get-the-job-done-in-an-emergency gear and packaging, to making portable kits that are always ready to grab and go. Everything a prepper needs to learn is here!
Product Highlights
You need not waste hundreds of dollars on the latest gadgets and emergency survival gears for your adventures when you can assemble a practical, well-stocked kit for little or no cost at all.
Instead of expensive tents, sleeping bags, and other conventional outdoor stuff, the author, James Ballou, focuses on lightweight, compact, and even disposable emergency equipment, and all of it is cheap.
The Good
This book contains dozens of photos to show samples of inexpensive but functional wilderness survival kits. It also includes step-by-step instructions for creating your own poor man’s gear. If you are a prepper, hunter, camper, or other wilderness adventurer running within a tight budget, then this book is for you!
The Bad
Some users say that the author is way too repetitive at times and that the material is very general and inaccurate.
PROs
- Book has sample photos
- Practical guide
- Inexpensive book
CONs
- A lot of repetitions
- Too general
- Some inaccurate contents
Living Ready Pocket Manual – First Aid
When you are far from help or involved in an urban disaster situation, every second is vital during a medical emergency. This book by James Hubbard will help you take quick, effective action to stabilize the situation.
Product Highlights
This reference is a great basic first aid book. It has lots of step-by-step directions on how to deal with things like dehydration or hypothermia, skin wound, bites or cuts, and many other medical events during emergencies.
The Good
Aside from containing easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions, this book will help you prevent or respond to any medical emergencies when help is impossible or not available.
Plus, this book also contains a detailed packaging list for survival first aid kits of all sizes. The size of the book is also perfect for your prepper bags, hiking packs, or B.O.B.s.
The Bad
Some readers pointed out that this book is way expensive than its worth. Some also said that it is more of a novel or an opinionated piece rather than a medical journal.
PROs
- Contains easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions
- A practical guide for medical emergencies
- Perfect size for B.O.B.s and hiking bags
CONs
- Expensive than others
- Contains opinion pieces
Conclusion
These days, people often rely on the internet, e-books, and PDFs on their computers during medical emergencies. But for preppers, it is best to have a physical medical book for reference. The reason is that when an emergency strikes, and in case you don’t have any access to the web or when your computer dies, you still have a useful reference and guide on hand.
Physical books are much more certain to be there when you need them in an emergency – the only extra thing you need is a flashlight if you plan to read after the sun goes down.
We hope that of these books listed in this article, 7 Best Medical Reference Books for Preppers will make their way into your survival kits or B.O.B.s.
Having these books will surely give you the peace of mind of knowing that you’ll be able to find answers to questions as they arise during emergencies and disasters. Find out more about first aid.