#and chanting 15/30/121 with my classmates every time

[letsoulswander]

Hi! I'm a biologist and I want to correct a couple of these for the safety of Those On The Internet! Please note I am not a doctor, I am not your doctor, and if you need more information, please message or call your doctor and ask for help. If it is an emergency, call your local emergency services.

Ice/ziploc bag: Ice can and often does bring down swelling and inflammation, which often causes more pain in an area. Swelling and inflammation can press on nerves, making them more painful, or cause the skin and tissue to stretch in a way that hurts, and over time this can make healing slower or more difficult. (WebMD source for instructions) TLDR: Ice does help healing!

InstaPot: you probably cannot achieve "sterility" at home, because sterility indicates that there are No Microbes on your implements (PLEASE do not try to sterilize fabric, gauze, or wound dressings at home. Even hospitals don't do that in their fancy autoclaves. If it is used or visibly dirty, throw it away.) Sterility requires that the implements 1) reach a certain pressure 2) reach a certain temperature 3) keep both of those for a certain amount of time. The numbers I learned are 15PSI at 121°C for 30 minutes, but they vary based on specific machine and specific item (CDC source). From what I can find, InstaPot doesn't reach those numbers, and ten minutes is not enough. DO NOT attempt surgery at home. The tips below are for things like "my doctor said I could use clean scissors to cut my stitches". If you need something clean for home use and it's visibly dirty, scrub it with soap and hot water and dry it with clean disposable towels. You can toss it in the IP if you want, but you might see better results from wiping it down with rubbing alcohol. From what I can find, IP was tested along with other pressure cookers for use as a sterilizer. The GoWise pressure cooker capped out at 13PSI, which is less pressure than generally indicated for sterilization. You can read that paper and decide if you want to use it as a guideline for home sterilization, but it will need more than ten minutes. TLDR: If it's dirty, scrub with hot soapy water and dry with clean disposable towels. You probably don't have the resources to sterilize at home.

tips from this list that sound right (but I'm not a medical professional):

entire head of lettuce

rice sock

electrolyte drink

fresh coffee grounds

tips from this list YOU SHOULD CHECK NOW (hopefully with your doctor/medical professional) BEFORE TRYING IN CASE OF EMERGENCY:

severe hot chocolate

sucking chest wound

suggestion for post topic: list of improvised first aid/medical supplies & uses from things commonly found in a kitchen

The following is, as usual, not medical advice:

What I like to call "Severe" Hot Chocolate: Do you have asthma? COPD? Don't have your inhaler with you? Severe Hot Chocolate might help! In a sauce pan over low heat, combine 1Tb sugar and 3Tb unsweetened cocoa powder with a little water. Once its combined into a sludge, add a cup of milk or milk substitute of choice and stir to combine and heat. Then drink. It will be bitter, but not too bad if you like dark chocolate.

An Entire Head of Lettuce: Need to poop? Wanna do it tomorrow morning? Eat an entire head of iceburg lettuce in one go (with or without dressing).

Lite Salt: Need electrolyte replacement or a cheap sports drink? Dissolve 1/2tsp Lite Salt (half sodium chloride and half potassium chloride) in 2 cups of lemonade or other flavored drink. Sugar actually helps with the absorption of the electrolytes, but if you need a no sugar drink you can do that too.

Plastic Wrap: Stabbed in the chest? Unfortunate. Get a piece of plastic wrap to put over the wound and tape it down snugly. The sucking chest wound will still be there but it will buy time to get to a hospital.

Ice/ziploc bags: While ice doesn't help things heal, it sure makes them feel better. Put some ice in a bag and wrap that bag in a towel and put that on your musculoskeletal injury for pain relief.

Instant Pot: Need to sterilize something made of metal? Don't want to use a chemical? Put it on a shelf in your pressure cooker and add some water to the bottom. 10 mins on high pressure should do it.

Rice (in a sock): Fill a sock with dry white rice. Microwave it for a minute or so. Use it for cramps or back pain.

Fresh Coffee Grounds: This isn't so much a medical thing (though it is frequently used in hospitals) as it is a good-to-know. Coffee grounds absorb biological odors. Just put a little bowl of them in a room with a poop or BO-type smell and it will absorb it.