Just about every house in the United States, and perhaps abroad, has a roll of Duct Tape. Ours is usually in my husband’s tool box in the garage. It is the go-to tape for fixing a myriad of issues in the home. I can remember my own father using it for countless repairs and around-the-house jobs.
Of late Duct Tape has also come out of the tool box and onto craft tables. With wonderful bright and patterned versions of the tape being used to make
wallets, bookmarks, key chains…and PROM DRESSES!
Yes, Duct Tape is a household name. But what if I told you that it could also be something you’ll want in your emergency first aid kit?
That’s right, duct tape has MEDICAL uses! I hardly could believe it myself when I got Duct Tape 911 by Dr. James Hubbard (aka The Survival Doctor)
For starters, did you know that Duct Tape is basically 3 layers? The first is a plastic, waterproof outside, the second is the cloth middle and lastly an inner rubber adhesive.
The doctor lays out the book by first telling why he likes duct tape, starting with its versatility. Then he has 5 sections on the different ways to use the tape in medical emergencies.
Section 1: Tape Your Joints.
Yes, Duct Tape can be used to make braces, splints and slings. The book gives great step by step instructions with illustrations.
Section 2: Tape Your Skin (see the pattern?)
This section covers wound repair, bandage tape, adhesive bandages, cactus-spine removal, blister protection, wart remover and how to use it as a waterproof bag and pressure cleaner. Interestingly my sister-in-law fell into some cactus while I was reading the book and I told her about the tape spine removal – worked like a charm for her on the smaller spines.
Section 3: Tape Your Eyes
Use your Duct Tape to make an eye patch, eye cup, pinhole glasses or sunglasses. Ok, I hit this section and was a little, “what the what?”. So, yeah, I had to try my hand at making some Duct Tape Sunglasses. So I immediately put the book down and popped the lenses out of my dollar store sunglasses. Took under 5 minutes to construct and they work!
My daughter modeling the Duct Tape Sunglasses I made.
Section 4: Tape Your Clothes
Now let’s use our tape to make our clothes into SUPER CLOTHES! Using the tape you can give your clothes super powers like waterproofness (wait…is that a word) the power to resist insect and snake bites and ring remover; no not a stain but if your finger swells and gets stuck you can use it to remove a ring. As a desert dweller the snake bite protection really caught my eye.
Section 6: Tape Your Life
In the last section Dr. Hubbard shows us how to use Duct Tape to create a tourniquet, occlusive dressing (an airtight and waterproof dressing for wounds) and how to make a CPR mouth barrier.
I have to tell you that I wasn’t sure what to think about this book by the title. I mean, sure my husband and dad use/d Duct Tape to fix lots of stuff around the house; but how was anyone supposed to use in on a person? I can tell you, most assuredly that it can. I’m not saying it should replace a well stocked first aid kit and I don’t think that the doctor is saying that either. But the tips in this book are practical and rely on the fact that most of us have a roll of the stuff in the house and/or car at all times.
I loved that the book got right down to the point. The author isn’t trying to convince you in pages of wordy monologues; no he gets right down to the nitty gritty. The book is just over a 100 pages and could easily be read in its entirety in a day.
I really like the simple explanations and the illustrations. I believe my 8 year old could use some of these in an emergency situation if she needed to. This is a real point to consider because in a panic situation we call all revert to a childlike state. Simplicity and ease are BIG selling points when it comes to emergency manuals.
I feel confident in recommending Duct Tape 911. I think it is a great edition to your emergency preparedness library. Additionally, the novelty will make it a fun gift to give out this Father’s Day, birthdays or Christmas with a couple rolls of the good stuff. 😉
