Meds on the shelf for SHTF...read "rainy day"

[Traveler]

Just one mention of fecal suppositories and the thread jumps the tracks!

Don't tell me you are surprised. I am shocked when a thread doesn't jump the rails here.

 

[outrider58]

Don't tell me you are surprised. I am shocked when a thread doesn't jump the rails here.

No, not surprised. I just hate being responsible for the derailment.

 

[Alea Jacta Est]

Don't let it keep you up at night...well worth the entertainment value.

You guys CRACK me up...always giving SHIT to each other...the use of INNUENDO is marvelous.

 

[outrider58]

I'm sure things will pick back up. They usually do.
I was learning some good stuff here.

 

[mdunphyjr]

This may have been one of the most informative threads I have ever read here.... big Thanks to everyone!

 

[ROBAR35]

Question for the docs. Any thoughts on keeping augmentin on hand? Definetly kicks the crap out of an abscess tooth which can get dangerous if left alone. Thanks

 

[Alea Jacta Est]

Shelf life might be a problem with Augmentin...?

 

[OLM-Medic]

Question for the docs. Any thoughts on keeping augmentin on hand? Definetly kicks the crap out of an abscess tooth which can get dangerous if left alone. Thanks

I definitely would keep it for that purpose.

Shelf life might be a problem with Augmentin...?

I doubt it.

 

[zombiehunter]

Good question. Procurement is the biggest problem for most folks. Sometimes you can find a prepper friendly doctor. May be tough, but doesn't hurt to ask. Veterinary supply shops should be a good source.

I keep a few antibiotics around for SHTF. You need a few to over the majority of scenarios you could encounter. You also need some knowledge on what to treat. In normal times people love going to the doctor for "sinus infections" and "bronchitis". They get antibiotics and often complain they aren't strong enough and didn't work. They don't work because 90-98% of these infections are viral. Studies show that even the bacterial sinus infections get better with no antibiotics. You won't want to waste your precious resources on these. If people have just a cough, productive of ugly stuff with a fever it may be pneumonia. I imagine if SHTF this will become much more common. That is worth treating. Skin infections are likely to be the most common thing encountered.

Doxycycline - This is a good all-around antibiotic. Great for SHTF because it treats respiratory infections, skin infections (including most strains of MRSA) and tick borne diseases like Lyme. Bad because unlike many antibiotics, it actually has a shelf life. I wouldn't use this more than 3 years beyond factory expiration date. Probably 5 years beyond expiration noted on the bottle. One twice a day for 10 days. Even though the recommendations for Lyme say treat for 21 days, 10 is sufficient.

Ciprofloxacin/levofloxacin/moxifloxacin - cousins, but levofloxacin and moxifloxacin cover more. Good for pneumonia, urinary tract infections, intra-abdominal infections (diverticulitis), bacterial diarrhea, and also treat anthrax, if that is an issue.

Bactrim (TMP/SMZ) - Another good "workhorse". If I could pick only one, this would be it. Treats skin infections (including most strains of MRSA), respiratory infections like pneumonia, intra-abdominal infections, urinary tract infections.

Metronidazole -Use in combination with Bactrim or any of the -floxacin antibiotics for penetrating abdominal wounds. Use by itself for parasitic infections like amebic dysentery.

Tamiflu - May be useful. I have it because I can, but probably the least important thing. If you have a group and the flu hits, quarantine those people who have it. If you have very young or very old folks, they may be worth treating. If I were in a SHTF scenario and I got the flu, I wouldn't take it for myself.

Shelf life on everything but doxycycline should be decades.

What's that little pocket book the doctors like to carry around that gives antibiotic and dosage info for various conditions.

Oh and don't forget penicillin and azithromycin for when one of your crew gets drunk and puts his willy where it shouldn't go and complains of some burning while he's peeing.

 

[teratos]

Augmentin probably should have been on my initial list. Good for a lot of infections.

 

[cap6888]

This is a great thread. It seems that Teratos' list is probably the best place to start. Someone else had a post that mentioned tramadol and phenegran. I would assume it would be damn near impossible to get tramadol without a script. What about any sources for phenegran or zofran(ondansetron)?

 

[Evojoeix]

so if your not a doctor, how would you even go about getting your hands on antibiotics? i imagine just asking your doctor isnt going to work

 

[Docster]

This is a great thread. It seems that Teratos' list is probably the best place to start. Someone else had a post that mentioned tramadol and phenegran. I would assume it would be damn near impossible to get tramadol without a script. What about any sources for phenegran or zofran(ondansetron)?

Both require prescriptions.


Another recommendation for consideration. Put them all together and make your personal, educated decisions.
A prepper physician created this list based on general microbial coverages, likely SHTF organisms and consumer costs;

Clindamycin--anthrax, tetanus, dental/bone/joint infections

Ampicillin--ear, nose and throat infections

Cipro--anthrax, respiratory, urinary tract infections

Bactrim--gastrointestinal, pneumonia, urinary tract

Doxycycline--anthrax, Lyme, malaria, pneumonia

Tamiflu

This was designed with non-healthcare folks in mind, for simplicity and efficiency and is not all inclusive. It's not necessarily the ideal combination, but in a true SHTF situation there likely will not be a predictable ideal combination. It can serve as a starting point and be customized.

The best location for this type of info will be the survival forums; survivalistboards.com, survivalmagazine.org to name a couple

 

[Fishguy]

so if your not a doctor, how would you even go about getting your hands on antibiotics? i imagine just asking your doctor isnt going to work

That's been answered earlier in the thread, but one popular strategy is too keep plenty of "aquarium use only" antibiotics on hand to keep your pet fish healthy. Fish don't need prescriptions like people do. Fish antibiotics are readily available online.

 

[Alea Jacta Est]

Keep your fish healthy.

In fact, anything that reminds you of fish should be kept healthy.

 

[Evojoeix]

That's been answered earlier in the thread, but one popular strategy is too keep plenty of "aquarium use only" antibiotics on hand to keep your pet fish healthy. Fish don't need prescriptions like people do. Fish antibiotics are readily available online.

thank you for that. i completely missed where it was mentioned earlier

 

[AntiGun]

I figure I'll put this out there for educational purposes.

My 18 year old cat had fallen ill last month and was on vet prescribed clindamycin 10 days for dental problems(abscesses). She got better and was off clindamycin for 2 weeks but took a shockingly rapid turn for the worse last Friday night. We were all saying our goodbyes because she was nearly done. For lack of anything else and my unwillingness to let her go yet, I started giving her my fish's clindamycin(http://www.fishmoxfishflex.com) at the appropriate dose weighed on a reloading scale. Two days later she's purring, eating on her own, and the swelling had reduced significantly. She's still on it now and looking a lot better, but I'll still get her to a vet later today. I just wanted to say that the fish meds were the real deal, despite my doubts, and actually came through in a pinch for my cat.

 

[teratos]

So the CDC says.

Treatment with doxycycline is effective for acute cases, where EM rash is present and the infection is caught early. But the EM rash doesn't always appear, and the borrelia spirochete can be more persistent than that:

http://jid.oxfordjournals.org/content/197/9/1352.full

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC229521/

Despite this kind of research showing borrelia's resistance to the typical doxycycline treatment, the CDC and the IDSA choose to attribute ongoing post-treatement symptoms to a host of consequential disorders such as "fibromyalgia" or "chronic fatigue syndrome" (or a host of other "we have no idea" diseases), instead of considering the possibility of an ongoing infection. In their minds, "3 weeks of doxycycline cures Lyme, every time".

I have never seen otherwise. Where is this research showing increasing resistance? Give me a reputable source, because I can't find it. Yes, neurologic or cardiac lyme requires long-term intravenous therapy. The term "chronic lyme disease" is not recognized in the medical literature. There is no good evidence for it, frankly. Can symptoms persist for life? Perhaps they can, it may be an immunologic thing. I have yet to see this in someone diagnosed in a straight-forward manner.

 

[K31]

There was a doc that was coming to the hagerstown prepper show that would do a quick history on you writr a scrip and then sell you a good assortment of shelter meds colored Tic Tacs that he selected for long shelf life my money. I wonder if he is still around Costa Rica sipping Margaritas? I have quite a large shtf med box as a result. Google shelter meds?

FIFY.

 

[Mark75H]

I have never seen otherwise. Where is this research showing increasing resistance? Give me a reputable source, because I can't find it. Yes, neurologic or cardiac lyme requires long-term intravenous therapy. The term "chronic lyme disease" is not recognized in the medical literature. There is no good evidence for it, frankly. Can symptoms persist for life? Perhaps they can, it may be an immunologic thing. I have yet to see this in someone diagnosed in a straight-forward manner.

"No good evidence" because people are not presenting seriological antibody evidence, correct?

I was sick, sick, sick for 15 years without presenting a positive result. Does that mean I wasn't sick, or possibly that they tests give poor results?

As I understand it, as yet, NONE of the tests actually test for the bacteria, only ACTIVE immune response to it.

I have had 3 relapses that were all kicked back with another 3 weeks of doxy. Only once did the tests positively confirm infection returned. Everytime the antibiotic worked