The Survival Medicine Cabinet: Infections
February 12, 2013
9 Comments
Recently, Nurse Amy published her (very ambitious) list of medical supplies for the post-SHTF (link provided) caregiver. Here you’ll find a list of useful medications that fight infection.
Infectious disease will be more of an issue in hard times, especially in a long-term survival situation. You don’t have to be a doctor to know that issues with water and food contamination are going to bring down epidemics of infectious disease onto the surviving population. As such, anyone expecting to survive long-term will have to provide for this eventuality.
Even the clearest mountain stream in a National Park might have organisms like Giardia in it; many of these organisms lead to significant diarrheal disease, dehydration, and even death without appropriate treatment.
Few succumb to infections (except perhaps the elderly) in developed countries these days. In the aftermath of a major disaster, however, we can expect to be thrown back to an earlier era medically; the death rates back then may be what we’ll expect in the future if we are not prepared.
Of course, we should start with antibiotics. Here’s my list of antibiotics you should have stockpiled, along with their veterinary equivalents:
Amoxicillin 250mg/500mg (FISH-MOX, FISH-MOX FORTE)
Ciprofloxacin 250mg/500mg (FISH-FLOX, FISH-FLOX FORTE)
Metronidazole 250mg (FISH-ZOLE)
Doxycycline 100mg (BIRD-BIOTIC)
Sulfamethoxazole 400mg/Trimethoprim 80mg (BIRD-SULFA)
Azithromycin 250mg, 500mg (AQUARIUM AZITHROMYCIN)
Clindamycin 150mg/300mg (AQUARIUM CLINDAMYCIN)
All of the above, with the exception of Amoxicillin and Ampicillin, are acceptable in those with Penicillin allergies. With the above antibiotics in your medical supplies, you’ll be able to treat 90% of the bacterial diseases that will appear on your doorstep in times of trouble, even Anthrax.
In the case of diarrheal disease, there is another useful prescription drug that may help prevent dehydration (the major cause of death). Ondansetron (Zofran in the U.S.) is an anti-emetic, which means that it decreases nausea and vomiting. Strong enough to be used in chemotherapy patients, it would be an unsympathetic physician that would refuse a request for a prescription for anyone in a situation where water quality may be an issue.
Unless you live in the middle of Death Valley, you will have to beware of fungal infections. Common ones like Ringworm, Athlete’s Foot, Jock itch, and others will be rampant in situations where you might not be able to change socks or underwear often. Therefore, it makes sense to keep some antifungal medication around as well.
Clotrimazole (lotrimin) is a good choice here, as it comes in cream or powder, and doesn’t require a prescription. Medications like Miconazole (Monistat) would also be useful for vaginal yeast infections. There is an oral tablet as well called Fluconazole (Diflucan), which may be more convenient but requires a prescription.
Finally, anti-viral medications will be useful as well. Many of the infections, especially respiratory, that we consider to be bacterial in nature are more likely to be viral in nature. Antibiotics have no significant effect on viruses, even though many patients will demand an antibiotic prescription from their doctors as soon as they feel the first symptom.
One of the most popular anti-viral drugs is called Tamiflu (Oseltamvir). Tamiflu gives effective relief against symptoms of influenza and decreases the amount of time you would be sick. Given when you first realize that you have been exposed to someone with the flu, it could even prevent the illness altogether. It should be noted that some drugs that treat viral infections like herpes may have little effect against respiratory illness.
By the way, don’t throw away that expired Tamiflu; the government has given a 5 year use extension beyond the date of “expiration” through the Shelf Life Extension Program. Like many medications in pill or capsule form, Tamiflu remains effective long afterwards. See my article “The Truth About Expiration Dates” for more info.
Although we’re mentioning pharmaceuticals today, don’t forget that natural products such as Garlic and Honey have significant anti-infective properties. Garlic, for example, has anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti0viral effects. Many people report significant antibacterial effect with colloidal silver, as well.
For more in-depth information, refer to our article which starts the series on how to use antibiotics:
http://doctorbonesandamyshow.blogspot.com/2011/11/antibiotics-and-their-use-in-collapse.html
For our list of over the counter medications that are important for your medical storage (including some also useful for some infections), see our next article…
Dr. Bones
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Very interesting article! I like how your site is geared towards very real information, focusing on the medical side of thinks. That’s unique in the survival sphere. I’ll be posting a link to your site tomorrow!
Thanks, RamboMoe!
Please remember that Sulfamethoxazole may cause allergic reactions in 3% of the pop. And the way you find out you’re allergic is that you’re having an allergic reaction. Keep Benedryl around when dishing out the penicillin or sulfas!
Hi Torin,
You’re right and we must all remember that any pharmaceutical may cause allergies. Your advice to keep benadryl and other antihistamines around is a point well taken.
Dr. Bones
Just curious how one would accumulate these goodies, since most appear to be ‘sdrip only?
Hi Silas, Other than Zofran, all of the antibiotics I mention are obtainable via the link on the upper right sidebar as their aquarium equivalents. For more on aquarium antibiotics that might surprise you, see my video “Fish antibiotics in a collapse” on YouTube and the article of the same name on this site. Use the search engine at the upper right of the main page.
Dr. Bones
Zofran is good stuff, but it’s not the kind of thing doctors prescribe very quickly. That drug is prone to shortages so most places try to reserve it for either chemo patients or women who get sick during pregnancy.
Great article! Thanks Dr. Bones!