What do you do to acquire and store some relevant antibiotics and pain medication in the event that a seriously injured person cannot make it to medical care right away and will need to be treated by you?
Pain meds I’m not really sure about, other than those that are high in Lidocaine or Benzocaine for topical, shallow tissue pain relief. As far as like opioids its a tough call not being an EMT, as they can land you in some touble and may hurt the person being treated if you aren’t really familiar with dosages.
As for antibiotics, it may sound funny however, I use fish ick medicine. It is easily purchased and it’s just generic Amoxicilian and Ampicillin, which are your standard antibiotic regimens. You can purchase it in tablet form at any Walmart or Pet Store.
Canada or Mexico and smuggle it over the border it illegal as hell but its all I can think of. I dont know how long they keep for.
Forget it…
You’ll need to get a doctor to write you a script or buy animal meds. I suppose you can also try Canada. I don’t trust meds made in Mexico.
Amazon has some good deals as well. I’ve never tried them but a buddy at work has supposedly used it twice for sinus deals. With them only costing $20 for a pretty good amount of antibiotics I figure I’d rather have them then not.
After you’ve completed medical school, all you need to do is apply for a DEA license.
Otherwise dispensing medications without understanding the pharmacokinetecis, dosing, and potential drug interactions is not only illegal, but stupid.
Just as a safety note:
Tetracycline antibiotics (tetracycline, doxycycline, minocycline ect) should not be used if they are expired or if they have been stored in hot conditions. They form nephrotoxic compounds as they degrade(hurts your kidneys).
I had a friend ask me about this once. His aunt had a huge bottle she bought in mexico years ago. He was going to take them, even though they expired 7 years previously…
I agree with this 100%.
However, for the sake of this thread, and I’m not offering legal or professional medical advice, if there is a prolonged societal breakdown and major services are interrupted, that’s where I see having a little something on hand is better than not.
For those who choose to have stuff on hand, make sure you learn how to use it and had some prior experiences with it. Don’t take anything that you have never taken in the past while under the supervision of a medical professional and don’t offer it to anyone else. When SHTF is not the time to find out that you have a anaphylactic reaction to penicillin based antibiotics.
I cannot envision any circumstance where the casual and ignorant administration of an antibiotic would be worth the risk.
As for possession (let alone administration) of scheduled narcotic pain medication without a DEA license or valid prescription…:rolleyes: . That goes way beyond stupid.
If you’re not a medical professional of some kind working under the stipulations of your license or certification, you have no business “treating people” with medication for anything.
Basic and advanced knowledge of what you have in way of preps should be a must. I can’t imagine stock piling something I have no idea how to use at a decent level to preserve life. Be it ammo, food, weapons or medicines.
This isn’t about treating anyone else, at least not how I interpreted it. This was about keeping a personal emergency supply.
There’s nothing casual or ignorant about this. For everyday life, people should go to their doctors and get treated for their conditions and get the proper medication for the specific condition. I don’t condone people self-medicating. What I thought we were talking about was some “smarter than your average bear” people having supplies on hand just in case.
It’s fine if you don’t agree.
This… after 3.5 years of medical school, I still have quite a bit to learn. You don’t just take antibiotics because you have an infection. Certain drugs are good for certain bugs, and others don’t cover as well, or at all. Without knowing what bacteria is causing the infection (assuming it is a bacterial infection) you are shooting in the dark. Also, not taking the right dosage for the right amount of time could kill off your natural flora while not effectively treating the pathologic bug, thus developing resistant/superbugs. This is not even addressing the caustic effects of antibiotics if taken incorrectly. Unfortunately it’s not as simple as “if some is good, then more must be better.” And sometimes the good is not necessarily the right good.
I totally agree with Hmac.
OP, nobody has business holding or dispensing meds without
direction from a licensed provider, that includes physicians. It is illegal in all 50 states.
Mods should lock this thread.
While I echo the concerns expressed already, antibiotics should be openly discussed, especially between medical professionals here.
Illegally acquiring them should not.
I carried the combat pill packs overseas and we bought antibiotics off the local market. Primary care was not a five minute ambulance trip away and we had medically trained folks, but no docs.
If you have ever seen someone loose an eye from an infection related to shrapnel, you know how important antibiotics are in austere environments.
I never had a problem bringing back non narcotic prescription drugs. I think the Federal law still allows you to bring in 50 dosage units for personal use. State laws can be a problem though. If someone is going to bring you up on charges for possessing antibiotics, you probably did something else worse and they are tacking on a charge.
I am not worried about getting busted by a cop who finds a 800mg Brufen tab in my ash tray 
Thank you. This is exactly what I’m talking about.
In a survival situation, when medical care is unaccessable or unavailable, having some antibiotics can possibly save your life.
I am not talking about people running around and self administering drugs under normal conditions.
Yes, the military faces situations around the globe wherein the rules at home go out the window. I have no problem with the scenario Iraq Ninja describes, in fact I applaud it. The military has been dispensing morphine and antibiotics since the invention of sulfa powder. They study it and adapt it and generally address the problem in a totally rational way for a given set of circumstances.
The exigencies of war don’t apply at home.
I don’t think we have much of a disagreement except that I happen to think that in austere environments, whether at home or abroad, it would be wise to have antibiotics on hand.
I recognize the inherent dangers, but sometimes, doing nothing is not an option.
Just my 25 cents…
They don’t apply now. I assumed the question was focused on an extended SHTF scenario. In which the common support structure of hospitals, doctors and the corner drug store were not available. So in preparation for that scenario what is the best way of legally obtaining antibiotics and pain killers. If a legal way exists. I’d guess any advice or documents on how best to store and dispense the medicine would also be welcome.
Am I mistaken in thinking that the more people have the ability and means to provide for themselves, both medically and physically, the better off they are, esp. in extended austere situations such as Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent flooding.
Hurricane comes in, knocks out power and downs power lines in the roads and scatters debris, leaving no passable route to the local hospital if need be. Then, just casually, you cut your foot on something. No big deal. Low level flooding begins. Storm drains, septic tanks, and sewage pipes begin mixing with the rising water. Lower floor of your home begins to take on water, even just 6-7 inches.
Well that not so serious cut on your foot, is now a breeding ground for severe bacterial infections. Septicemia, E. Coli, Staph, a number of awful, highly life threatening infections if left untreated.
I believe the death rate for Septicemia is around 50%… so I think its advisable to have some type of antibiotic around to ward off infections before it gets to that stage…even if its just neosporin
You can buy fish and bird antibiotics from Lambert vet supply online. It is the same as sold for humans and yes I checked with a vet and a pharmacist. They have tetracycline and doxycycline. But don’t just take it because you have a cold or the flue.