An Antibiotic Primer.
Last week we covered the FDA making most OTC veterinary antibiotics a prescription medicine. And in typical government fashion it is a s clear as mud. Its unclear on what drugs and what schedules and what derivatives of drugs will be made RX.
But that is something the average prepper has no control over.
What we DO have control over is what we do about it now.
I love herbal medicine. I really do. It is, in my opinion what will carry us through what ever may be coming. Used correctly they can replace almost everything out of the big pharma chemistry sets.
But one class. Antibiotics.
It’s not that there aren’t any, it’s that the are very specific targets. There are not any fully broad spectrum systemic antibiotics . Take Penicillin. It is a very broad spectrum drug that will attack gram positive and gram negative bacteria. And it has 4 subclasses. But enough of the medspeak. PCN, is a systemic antibiotic and taken orally IV or IM it will maintain it’s strength and attack bacteria anywhere in the body. Most herbal antibiotics are more localised and specific.
This is a short list of herbal antibiotics,
- Acacia
- Aloe
- Cryptolepsis
- Echinacea
- Eucalyptus
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Goldenseal
- Grapefruit Seed Extract
- Honey
- Juniper
- Licorice
- Sage
- Usnea
- Wormwood
We have lot at our disposal. And we’ll go into that in the coming newsletters.
This weeks it’s what we may not have in a few months.
For years OTC Vet Meds (Antibiotics) Have been the staple for preppers, homesteaders and folks just wanting to manage their own care. This part I think is a bit dangerous. Drug resistant bacteria have evolved primarily because of a few reasons. 1st it’s our, the patient’s fault. We get a script and take the drugs according to the label instructions ……….Until we feel better. Then they get tossed into the medicine cabinet and forgotten Show of hands here. Wno has done that? Bueller. Bueller?
Next. Our parents, (Well folks of my generation Mid 50’s ) When I was a child Antibiotics were still a bit new and the cure all for everything from Acne to Zenker’s diverticulum. (Yes it’s real. Look it up 🙂 But a lot parents would drag us to the doctors office when ever we had a sniffle. And DEMAND that Little Johnny be given SOMETHING to make him better. And a lot of doctors would give a script for penicillin just to shut them up
Finally. Our food. The majority of antibiotics we ingest is from meats, and poultry.
There are 3 reasons why.
1st. Animal is ill. (therapeutic)
2nd. Batch treatment of a group when 1 is ill with a communicable sickness. (metaphylaxis and or prophylaxis
3rd. Subtherapeutic doses in animal feed and or water.
That ladles and gentlespoons is the winner. Subtherapeutic doses weaken bacteria and that is where they become resistant. Ever heard of the saying, “What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.” ? Same goes with bacteria.
OTC meds. What should you stock?
Now this is just a recommendation not a prescription. Also remember I am not a doctor and can not diagnose illness and or prescribe treatment.
My number one go to is Cephalosporins They work on the same bugs as Amoxicillin Have less incidence of resistant bacteria. Plus as a general rule folks that allergic to the ‘cillians” can take the Cephalosporins. The cross reaction is less than 10 percent. One side effect that needs to be show is if you are on “blood thinners” the Cephalosporins can make you “bleed even easier.”
Respiratory infections Cephalosporins work well also . However if pertussis is thought to be the issue, then the “ ‘mycins” work better.
Lower respiratory. This is a tough category. Cephalosporins do good but good old fashioned Augmentin is still the king. IF the bug is not resistant.
UTI’s This nasty infection has shown a HUGE increase in drug resistance. The old standby has been Bactrim. Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. Ciprofloxacin (Cipro) Cephalosporin (Keflex) round out the big 3. Fluoroquinolones based antibiotics are NOT in my personal inventory in any large amount. They have a series of dangerous side effects, but this is not the place to talk about them. I do keep some Fluoroquinolones in stock but they are SHTF nothing else is working antibiotic.
Diflucan, (fluconazole) is my go to for fungal infections. It also has some distressing side effects but I feel it is safer than the Fluoroquinolones.
Macrolides or Mycins. These are most MD’s got to for respiratory UTI deep tissue and ocular (eye) infections. These by medical standards are fairly old drugs. They showed up in the late 60’s. The 3 most common are Erythromycin, Azithromycin and Clindamycin. I keep Erythromycin and Clindamycin on hand. Azithromycin is a short dose duration 4-7 day drug and it’s showing a huge rise in resistance. About 60% of the time it takes a 2nd dose so you pay for 2 scripts to get the same dose as 1 of Erythromycin. Plus it has some serious cardiac side effects.
Cyclines. These have a bad reputation. There was and still is a “wives tale” of when it expires it becomes hepatotoxic. There was 1 (one) case of liver toxic death in the mid 1960’s and expired tetracycline was involved. And it was determined that the patient had end stage liver disease plus other factors. The antibiotic was basically the final straw. It was also linked to tooth damage in young folks. So to stop that do not give it to kids under 10. Cyclines are used to treat many different bacterial infections, such as urinary tract infections, acne, gonorrhea, chlamydia. It is also good for uncomplicated plague. Another that Doxycycline is good for is Lyme disease. Caught early and long doses it will kill the bacteria that cause Lyme
So the long winded talk here is leading to what I keep.
Cephalosporins 4-10 day doses oral or 4 days of IV
Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole 2-15 day doses for UTI both
Augmentin or Amoxicillin 2-10 day doses
Erythromycin 1 to 2-10 day doses
Clindamycin 1-15 day dose
Doxycycline hyclate (The less expensive version) 2-30 day doses.
This is an expensive list. And this list is NOT for all. It takes a LOT more to administer antibiotics than the person has a fever. The reason there are so many different ones is that there are so many different types of infection Sulphur was the first antibiotic. Then Penicillin. It was found it quickly that the new wonder drug didn’t cure everyone. The factors involved to administer these drugs takes a lot of hard earned knowledge.
But that doesn’t mean to NOT buy them. Even if you do not know HOW to use them there is always someone who does.
The Medic Shack Herbal First Aid Kits are here. I’ve got the bottle issue sorted out for the glycerites and tinctures. So NO MORE LEAKS!!!! The last bit of testing is done. I vacuum sealed them and placed the package in my sons backpack. He couldn’t make em leak so I feel the USPS won’t either
The Holidays are coming and these are GREAT items to give to those you care about.
Hot Packs.
The TMS Hot pack hand made by my wife Christine are another great holiday gift. There is nothing better than a warm hot pack against cold and stiff muscles.
We are working to secure a new teaching area for our classes. I am working to put together a new wound care class before the holidays.
NEW!!
Cope Reynolds and I are working on a new style class. A 2 day class on firearms training and trauma first aid. We are still working on the details but hope to have this up and running by the first of the year.
Today is election day. Everyone has been worried about it. I think that today is not the issue it’s the coming weeks. If you don’t have your medical supplies in order do it NOW. There is no crystal ball no magic spell to foretell the future. Medical preps are good for ANY disaster. Including the election.