Warrior to Medic - Crash Course

[Pitou]

**Elmshadow**

@Rose

Herb Techniques

"I’ll start with some methods I’ve picked up. First, to make herbs last longer. This technique works for anything that doesn’t need the juices or sap from. Take the fresh herb, it works best with newly picked herbs but if you have an older fresh herb it can still prolong the life a bit, and make sure it’s clean, free of debris or bugs, and set it out on an even rock with direct sunlight. During cooler seasons you may need to flip the herb and move it around to get an even heating but during Greenleaf and the warmer ends of Leaffall and Newleaf you can get away with the heat from the rock assisting the direct sun. Wait until the herb is crumbly to the touch then carefully move it back into the herb stores. If it gets wet again it will mold quickly so make sure to keep it somewhere sheltered and dry, separate from any fresh herbs. Stinging nettle is another herb that requires special techniques as the hairs on the leaves and stem can leave sensitive skin with a nasty itch. To remove those, put the leaves and stems into the stream for a bit then scrub them firmly. A firm hold on the stinging nettle seems to spare you the itch, it’s gentle brushes that pick up the hairs. Once it’s free of the hairs, dry it in the sun like the other herbs or it can rot. Cobwebs have their own storage as they will pick up anything and everything they come into contact with, so store them at the end of a stick, propped off the ground and away from the other herbs. I have also found some good use in special drinks. Soak a ball of moss in the water then place it on a broad leaf, drip some honey into it, if you want to there are various herbs you can add to this as well, simply crumble them over the top, otherwise the honey and water alone make hydration quite a bit easier. Wrap the whole thing up and set it out in the sun just until it’s no longer cool to the touch. Drinking herbs with honey seems to be easier to take for fussy patients and has a lot of great benefits for pregnant queens. Honey will do well enough being stored in its own combs though wrapping a broad leaf around the whole thing helps it from getting soiled or leaking into other areas."

Methods of Administering

"There are five main methods of administering herbs. Poultice, whole, sap, scent, and ingestion. A poultice is made when you chew the necessary herbs in a thick paste, sometimes mixed with honey. Some herbs will be used as they are, whole, whether wrapped onto an affected area or put into the patient’s nest. Sap or juices require fresh herbs to squeeze the juices from. And ingestion can be done through either having the patient eat the herb whole, mixed with some honey, or made into a drink."

Herb Collection

"When collecting herbs, remember that they last longer when they are still growing. You’ll get used to the best places to find each of the different herbs in the territory, and that’s an important part of efficiency, but you also wanted to keep those herbs in those places. So when you’re collecting or having others collect, make sure to only take small amounts from each plant if possible or to not collect an entire patch. Having less in the stores is less detrimental than having few to none growing in the territory. For this same reason, any collection should be done cleanly and carefully."

Diagnosing

"The first step for any patient is to figure out what is wrong, to diagnose the problem. Cats will come in for a variety of real or imagined issues. Generally, it’ll be an injury, wound, or a sickness, though there will also be some who are coming in for general assistance such as a queen getting confirmation of her pregnancy or, thereafter, seeking some comforts from pregnancy symptoms, or apprentices’ soreness after training. There’s sometimes some overlap as well between injury, wound, and sickness. Both injury and wound can lead to infection which, when contracted internally, will present as sickness. It’s important to first get an account from the patient on what the symptoms are, when they started, and any other relevant history. If they have a belly ache, what have they eaten recently? If they are sneezing or coughing, have they been around anybody with similar symptoms? Then you’ll do your own checking. For wounds, you’ll need to either clean the area or have the patient do so so you can check the total extent of the wound, how deep it is, how long or wide spread. And then you can sniff it to check for infection. Most shallow scratches, if clean and free of infection, can heal on their own, but bite wounds should always be treated with herbs and anything deep or large should also be addressed. Injuries are sometime more difficult and oftentimes rely more on the patient’s word than your own checking. Any affliction of the muscle or internal flesh is only diagnosable by what the patient says and ruling out skeletal injury. Broken bones can sometimes be felt if they are severe enough, by prodding the area and feeling for an unusual or unnatural bump, sharpness, twist, or bend in the bone. Broken bones are the most likely injury to cause an internal infection like I mentioned earlier so it is important to treat a broken bone as quickly as possible. Sickness is sometimes the more complicated to truly pinpoint. Bellyaches are easy enough but to treat it you need to find the cause which can be bad prey, soiled water, poison, or illness. Coughs and sneezes are often times indicative of a cold. When combined with fever and severe chest congestion then you’re most likely dealing with white- or greencough. Internal infections are usually noted with high fevers, body aches, and delirium. External infections will carry a rotting scent, puss, and blackened tissue. Pregnancy is a bit more difficult to diagnose. That’ll mostly be by a process of elimination. I’m sure you’re now aware of some of the more personal signs but everybody experiences things a bit differently. You’ll be looking for nausea, sleeplessness, restlessness, lethargy, swellings, bloating, gassiness, personality shifts, increased or sometimes decreased appetite, among some less common others. You’ll notice that not every pregnant cat has all of the signs so a queen that comes with nausea and bloating it can be easily misdiagnosed as a belly ache. So you’ll have to rule other causes out in order to confirm pregnancy and even then it’s not necessarily confirmed until the kits are big enough that you can prod to feel the heads."

Quarantine

"Once you’ve figured out the problem, you’ll need to start addressing the most concerning. Obviously, anything bleeding profusely will take precedence even over further diagnosing. Stem the bleeding then take stock. I’d say the same is true of a coughing or sneezing cat. It’s best to keep the separate from other cats until they’ve healed. Most illnesses that are accompanied by coughing or sneezing are also contagious and what can appear to be a cold in one cat can quickly progress to green cough in another. So it’s important to identify these symptoms early and keep the patient separate. Oftentimes that works well enough in the medicine den as long as you remove the nearby nests. In larger outbreaks there is sometimes need of building another den. Quarantine, however, is not something to skimp out on. The further an illness spreads the quicker the illness will deplete your stores and without herbs there’s very little to do to help those who need it. There is also a lesson in there about conserving your stronger herbs for those who are most vulnerable and figuring out how to stretch herbs further by mixing some stronger herbs with weaker ones."

Herbs

"And now to give you a quick introduction to each of the herbs that I’ve learned from one source or another."
Blessed Thistle – The first herb is a thorny ground shrub, with prickled leaves and, when it blooms, has a yellow or red and yellow spider-like bloom, called blessed thistle. The flowers are good for pregnant or nursing queens to stimulate milk production, increase liver productivity, relieve indigestion and loss of appetite when eaten. The flowers can also be chewed to a poultice and applied to boils or abscesses to help them heal. It is important to note that the flower poultice can sting a bit and the plant does have a bitter taste. The leaves can also be added to a poultice for wounds to decrease swelling. Blessed thistle can be collected from newleaf to leaffall and likes places where there’s not much other vegetation with drier dirt and direct sun."

Boneset – "The next is a tall plant with long, thin leaves and a head of little white clusters of flowers called boneset. Boneset can be eaten to treat a cold or early stages of white cough or green cough or other lung infections. I have not yet had a chance to try it out but the source I learned this from has said that it is often paired with elder flowers. Boneset is found growing during newleaf to leaffall and likes a lot of sun but moister soil."

Elder Flower – "Boneset’s companion herb is said to be elder flower. Elder flower can look similar to boneset with tall stalks and clusters of white flowers though the clusters tend to be larger and the leaves are broader. When it’s given with boneset it can help alleviate congestion and fever, soothe aches, and stimulate appetite. You’ll find it sometimes starting in newleaf through Greenleaf. So it’s a good herb to collect early and preserve for the colder seasons."

Borage – "Borage can be found most places where its sunny so you’ll generally only find it during the sunnier moons from late newleaf to early leaffall. It’s a fairly tall, fuzzy plant with large leaves and pointed blue flowers. Eating the flowers or leaves can treat and reduce fevers as well as increase a queen’s milk supply."

Burdock Root – "With burdock, it’s really the roots you want. It’s a low growing shrub with large leaves and spikey green and purple round blooms. You’ll find it from newleaf to leaffall in drier areas. In a poultice, burdock root has some numbing qualities. It is a particularly bitter tasting herb though."

Burnet – "Burnet likes sunny areas but you can usually find it at any point through the year. It’s a meadow herb, tall and grass-like with purple blooms at the top. Burnet is considered a traveling herb as it bolsters strength but can also be good for queens during a difficult kitting."

Catmint – "The next is one I’m sure you’ve heard of. Catmint is most recognizable by its sweet scent and it is one of the few herbs known to actually cure Greencough, once it’s progressed that far. It’s cold intolerant, though, so it’s not easy to find during the seasons you need it most so you’ll want to collect and dry a good amount before leafbare."

Chickweed – "Another herb that can treat whitecough if caught early, is chickweed and this one does grow through leaffall, leafbare, and newleaf. It’s a ground covering woody vine herb with small round leaves and tiny white flowers."

Celandine – "Celandine is also an herb of small flowers though it likes the warmer moons of newleaf and Greenleaf. Squeezing the sap from this little yellow flower and dripping it into damaged, irritated, or weakened eyes can help soothe the eye and promote healing."

Chamomile – "Chamomile is generally found in cooler areas with damp soil from newleaf to Greenleaf, sometimes into leaffall. They’re long-stemmed white flowers with white centers. Eating them helps against sleeplessness or restlessness, though I’ve found they work rather well crushed into a honey water drink and are especially popular with pregnant queens."

Coltsfoot – "There’s another low-growing herb, single-stemmed large flat round leaves that show up during newleaf. I’m not sure the name of them and haven’t come up with one myself. But I’ve found that they help ease trouble breathing when eaten."

Comfrey – "Comfrey, like burdock, is another herb we take the root from, though the leaves can be useful as well. It is a tall plant with long green leaves and drooping purple flowers and grows from newleaf to leaffall. The roots chewed into a poultice will soothe burns, itchiness, and wounds. The leaves can be wrapped whole around broken bones or wrenched joints to reduce swelling and inflammation and promote healing."

Daisy – "Daisies look similar to chamomile but are flatter overall, unlike chamomile’s bulbous center. They can be chewed to a pulp and applied topically over swellings to reduce the swelling or any joint pains."

Dandelion – "Daisies and dandelions will be found almost anywhere there is sun. Dandelions can be found as flat, round yellow flowers. The dandelion flower can be chewed to a pulp and applied topically to numb surface wounds such as bee stings or burns. And it’s another that has useful roots. Eating the roots will cure meadow saffron poisoning. Meadow saffron is another poison to watch out for on top of the common deadly nightshade and death berries. I’ve really only found a few near the Windclan side of the territory but they’re fatal if not treated. They have thick stems with tubular purple flowers, one to each stem."

Dock – "Dock is a leafy plant that grows straight from the ground all through the year. Putting the leaf down in a nest can help reduce soreness."

Juniper Berries – "Found on a bush that grows pine needles, there are small blue berries, juniper berries, that are both sweet and good for curing a bellyache. They’re one of the select herbs that can be found throughout, and primarily during, leafbare."

Mallow – "For when juniper berries cannot be found, there are mallow leaves. Obviously less palatable but it’ll do the same job. They’re generally found in clusters of long stems with round, wavy leaves at the end. During newleaf to leaffall you can also find them with purple flowers."

Lady’s Mantle – "Lady’s mantle is bush-like plant with large wavy leaves and small, flower-like clusters of lighter green to yellow bits at the top found from newleaf to leaffall in moister areas. Chewed into a pulp and added to a poultice, it can reduce pain from a lost limb or tooth or other major wound. It can also be eaten long term to mend torn tissue."

Lavender – "Another one you may have heard of or even seen used is lavender. It’s also recognizable by scent as well as being a tall purple flower. Its scent is often used to mask the scent of death but it can also reduce fever and chills. Chewing it into a poultice, it can be applied to and alleviate skin conditions such as eczema, boils, acne, or fungal infections. If you chew it into a very fine poultice and add it to water, it can be applied directly to areas of muscle or joint pain for pain relief."

Marigold – "One of the other more widely known herbs is marigold. They’re thick, round yellow to orange flowers. It’s a go-to herb among all of the clans for preventing infection by adding it to any wound poultice. It can also treat infection but it’s fairly plentiful to find during newleaf to leaffall so it doesn’t hurt to use it for prevention as well."

Broom – "Along with marigold, there is also another flower that serves the same purpose. Yellow bells, large bushes of bell-like yellow flowers, are found all year long and have similar infection-fighting properties."

Poppy – "Poppy flowers are abundant enough and can be found anywhere there is sun throughout all of the seasons. The seeds are stored in the center of the flower, hundreds of tiny black seeds in each flower head. The seeds eaten will reduce pain, treat shock, and promote drowsiness. It’s best not to give any to pregnant or nursing queens, though."

Rosemary – "Chewing rosemary, sprigs of needles with a distinct scent, can help fight against viral and bacterial mouth infections like mouth sores, ulcers, and wounds. It can also be used to treat headaches and fevers though it’s not nearly as strong as some of the other herbs so it’s usually best to avoid using the rosemary for that purpose unless necessary."

Stinging Nettle – "I mentioned stinging nettle before. It’s a taller herb with a single stalk of leaves and fine, stinging hairs found from newleaf to leaffall in damper areas. Once it’s been treated appropriately, the stem can be chewed by the patient to fight infection and general swelling. Eating the seeds will induce vomiting. The leaves, with comfrey leaves, can be wrapped around broken bones to reduce pain."

Thyme – "There’s another herb, similar in appearance to rosemary with slightly rounder leaves and a different distinct scent that can be found all seasons. I do not know the name for it but inhaling it seems to have some calming affects. Chewing the stem and leaves can treat shock and anxiety."

Yarrow – "Yarrow is another multi-purpose herb that you’ll find from newleaf to leaffall. It’s a long-stemmed plant topped with a broad cluster of white or pale tiny flowers. Chewing the flowers into a poultice and applying it to wounds to draw out poisons such as from rat bites. Eating any part of the plant fresh will induce vomiting. However, eating the dried herb promotes detoxing and treats fevers and bellyaches. I like to crush some of the dried herb into a powder and have it saved for particularly severe wounds as sprinkling the powder onto profusely bleeding wounds will stifle the bleeding and make it clot."

Some Other Useful Odds and Ends

Cobwebs – "Cobwebs are the most common tool you’ve seen, surely. But there is some more technique to it than to simply throw them on. If you’re trying to stop bleeding, you’ll need to refresh the layers of cobwebs as they soak up the blood. When you’re applying and removing, leave the bottom-most layer. Removing that layer too soon will break any newly forming clots and thus reignite the bleeding."

Mushrooms – "Mushrooms will grow anywhere that is constantly moist and away from the sunlight. Make sure to stay away from the glowing ones but they can be torn into shreds and applied to bleeding wounds to help stop bleeding or soak up any blood."

Oak leaves – "During leaffall, there’s an abundance of dried and fallen oak leaves on the Thunderclan side of the territory. Crushing these into a powder, they can also be applied to excessively bleeding wounds and have a similar affect as the dried yarrow."

Moss – "I keep a good supply of fresh and clean moss in the little water hole in the den for quick and easy use as needed to make sure patients stay hydrated."

Mousebile – "Mousebile does not necessarily need to be collected on its own, generally speaking, as it can usually be found from a mouse in the fresh kill pile. But applying the stuff to ticks will force the tick to pull itself out so it can be removed."

Honey – "Honey has a use in almost any situation. For wounds, it can be added to poultices to keep the wound from drying out too quickly and promotes healing. Eaten by itself or added to water, it can help soothe sore throats and reduce coughing. It can also be added to other herbs to make it more palatable especially for fussy kits. It is also high in sugars so it can help to promote hydration when added to water for sick patients or queens and it can help give a little boost of energy to queens in labor."

Sticks – "Sticks are a necessity to have around for storing cobwebs up off the dirt and away from the other herbs. However, they can also be useful on their own to help brace a broken leg or for a patient to bite into during painful procedures or kitting."

Broken Bones

"Come." Elmshadow moved to the back of his den, pushing his way into his own sleeping area, then made a quick right towards a splayed out cat skeleton, each bones organized in its rightful place as though the original owner of the bones had died on their stomach with their four legs splayed out on either side of it, tail trailing behind. "This is a full cat skeleton. Get familiar with it, the way it feels, the way it moves, how everything is connected. This will better help you visualize what is happening inside of a cat when you have nothing but the feeling of their bones through flesh. If you know where the full bones are and what they feel like whole, you’ll better be able to identify when one is broken or unfit. When you do find a broken bone, to treat it, you must first make sure you set the bone back in the correct position or else it will heal improperly which can lead to infection. With all broken bones, have the patient chew a stinging nettle stalk to fight off any infection and lots of poppy seeds are recommended. Next, apply whatever poultice or wraps are necessary for the situation, any wounds accompanying the broken bone should be dressed with a poultice and, if you have comfrey and stinging nettle leaves, those should be wrapped underneath. If the limb is wrapped in the leaves then you can use however many sticks, broken down to an appropriate length, to brace the leg then wrap the sticks and limb securely with cobwebs and bindweed, if you have it. If you do not have stinging nettle or comfrey leaves to wrap the limb then wrap it first in moss to keep the sticks from irritating the skin, then proceed the same way."