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Stocking antibiotics for disasters

Tom396

.30-06
Been thinking about this one for awhile. Seems as though a simple infection might just be the most likely thing to kill you, if you weren't prepared for it, and couldn't get to professional medical assistance.

Most antibiotics require a prescription, but you can purchase fish antibiotics, online, without one. I have read they are just fine for human use. Of course, I have no idea which ones to self prescribe and how much or for how long to take them, but they are available.

I do know that I'd keep whatever antibiotic I had in the refrigerator and I'd rotate them to the trash can every couple of years.

Even though I wouldn't really know what to do with them, I think of them much like .22lr ammunition. I doubt I'd ever shoot the .22lr ammo I already have, but it would be solid gold for bartering. Take care. Tom Worthington
 
I don't know about taking fish/animal antibiotics, but most people I know tend to keep some (pill) antibiotics on hand because liquid antibiotics don't have a long shelf life.

The reason I think most people want to have an antibiotic on hand is the simple fact that most times it may take a week or more to get an appointment to see a doctor and if you need something now, you don't want to wait a week to get relief from whatever it is. Not necessarily for long term needs.
 
If you are gokng to stock antibiotics also stock probiotics. The antis kill everything even the good things. Last time I took antibiotics I got a nasty jntestional thing becase of this. First time it happened to me. The doc said the probiotics will help keep the good stuff in balance.
 
/\ That is exactly the truth.

About a year and a half ago, somehow I got a bacterial overgrowth in my gut that caused daily diarrhea, I lost probably 35 pounds by the month it took the doctor(s) to figure out what's going on because the overgrowth was getting more of the nutrients that I was eating than I was. A simple $4 bottle of antibiotics had it cured in a week.

I know that's opposite of what Mike was talking about, but to reinforce his point, there is good bacteria and bad bacteria in your system (especially the digestive tract). A lot of it depends on having a good diet. (Something that we are not likely going to have as good in a SHTF situation and poor or changing diet alone is going to cause issues.

Yogurt, cottage cheese, sourdough bread, certain yeasts, among other things are high in probiotics which is the good bacteria. And since the goal is increasing the good bacteria, eating certain foods that are known to feed the good bacteria is also a good idea with what they consider prebiotics. Asparagus, bananas, oatmeal, red wines, honey, maple syrup, and even legumes like peas and green beans and peanuts and such are known to fuel the probiotic bacteria to make for a speedier recovery or increase in the good bacteria.

One other note about honey. The Cherokee used it as an antibiotic. Both on the inside by eating and on the outside if you have a cut, not only will the honey help heal the cut, but if you rub a little over a cut, will seal many contaminents similar to how a band aid works, though you want to use a very thin layer so you can wash it when it gets dirty without hurting the wound so you can reapply another thin coat afterwards. You don't want to goop a quart of honey over a splinter, but you can put a drop of honey on your finger and gently rub it over the cut just enough to have a thin coat over it.

Maybe that's why honey is used in hot totties to treat the cold. I suppose that since you're drinking alcohol with it that gets in your bloodstream isn't going to hurt either if your body is fighting an infection because if there is a germ in your system, if you drink enough alcohol, it's going to go all throughout your system and why having some drinking alcohol and liquor on hand is not a bad item to have in your shtf supplies.

Slightly more off subject of antibiotics but still in the realm of medicine, you can boil willow tree bark to make an aspirin pain reliever. They’re thought to stop the growth of certain bacteria, viruses, and fungi. It can also improve blood clotting, and lower blood pressure and cholesterol.

Boil catnip (mint family) leaves into a tea to help with digestion, induce menstruation, as a sedative, and to increase appetite. Additionally, it has been used to treat colic in babies, diarrhea, colic, the common cold, and even some cancer.

There are a lot of things around us naturally if we only knew how to use them. I wish I had paid more attention to my Grandmother about what did what. But I took for granted that she knew and would always be here to tell me.
 
Fish Antibiotic Update 2015
By Cynthia J. Koelker, MD

fish-image-465x190.jpg

If you’re new to the whole concept of fish antibiotics, there are a few basics you need to know. These are not antibiotics made out of fish. Neither are they micro-pills you must cram down your guppy’s throat. In general they are pills or capsules of the same size and strength humans use.
Although you cannot buy human or even dog antibiotics in the U.S. without a legal prescription, a federal loophole allows these same antibiotics to be sold over-the-counter for aquarium use. (Most physicians and pharmacists are unaware of this exemption.) Many of these so-called fish antibiotics are the same quality and dosage as human antibiotics (USP grade, AB-rated generics). Those who purchase these products are implicitly agreeing to use these antibiotics for aquarium purposes only.
Over the past year several fish antibiotic retailers have disappeared, probably having caught the eye of the FDA. Again, by law these antibiotics are sold only for aquarium use, to keep your pet fish healthy and happy, though it is clear from certain websites that they are being sold for human consumption. (Does a one-ounce goldfish really need 500 mg of cephalexin???) It is currently illegal to sell these medications to treat human infections, although the enforcement of that intention may be difficult to regulate. An even greater challenge is regulating what actually happens to these products after they are purchased.
Are you taking your life into your own hands if you get a sore throat and decide to treat yourself with your guppy-cillin? Probably not, regarding the purity of the medication, if it is a USP grade AB-rated generic…but maybe so, if you are allergic to penicillin and thought amoxicillin would be safe.
The problems with antibiotic use are manifold: perhaps more often than not, antibiotics are used for infections they cannot cure, for conditions that are not even infections, for the wrong infections, and for self-limiting disease that requires no antibiotics. Overuse leads to antibiotic resistance and to increasing difficulty treating serious infection. Millions of people suffer antibiotic reactions each year, some of which are fatal. Would you take penicillin for gonorrhea if you knew it might actually make the condition worse?
Just because penicillin, cephalexin, doxycycline, ciprofloxacin, and several other antibiotics can be purchased for aquarium use does not mean people should be treating themselves. Infectious disease doctors spend a lifetime studying the best and safest ways to treat infection. Additionally, it is an ethical question whether you should honor the promise inherent in the purchase.
On the other hand, if you knew without a doubt that TEOTWAWKI was just around the corner, you might feel it your moral obligation to do all you can now to protect your family in the future. Would it be immoral to withhold aquatic sulfamethoxazole from your daughter with a kidney infection if there’s no doctor to be found? Having antibiotics on hand, just in case disaster strikes, is not unreasonable. After all, doctors do prescribe them for pampered patients whose dream vacation may be threatened by traveler’s diarrhea. The end of the world as we know it may be a bit more serious. No one knows the day or the hour, but is it imprudent to be unprepared?
I always advise readers to discuss potential medical needs with their personal physician. However if this does not yield what one requires to feel safe and prepared, I know many people turn to fish antibiotics for potential use in emergency situations where medical care is unavailable.
As of 2015 I’ve noticed a few changes. The window of opportunity to acquire certain strong antibiotics may be closed. After searching several web sites I no longer find the ready availability of amoxicillin-clavulanate, levofloxacin, azithromycin, clarithromycin, or cefdinir, and several web sites simply are no more. I expect they didn’t follow the letter of the law.
Penicillin, amoxicillin, ampicillin, cephalexin, sulfamethoxazole, ciprofloxacin, metronidazole, and doxycycline continue to be available. Ketoconazole is an anti-fungal, not an antibiotic, and should be avoided due to occasionally irreversible liver damage.
Again I stress that no one should be using any of these without professional medical advice. But knowing that people will do what they must when threatened with life-endangering illness and nowhere to turn, I’ve addressed correct antibiotic use in great detail in my book, Armageddon Medicine, information I hope you’ll never actually need.

http://armageddonmedicine.net/?p=7747

Take care. Tom Worthington
 
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