What's in your doom medicine cabinet?

[HungryRaven]

I've got a little stash of pain killers prescribed me for 3 surgeries & two wisdom teeth incidents.  I never needed more then about 1 or 2 of the pain pills after surgery and they give you a whole vial full!  I'd be a freaking drug addict if I actually took all the narcotics the doctor prescribed.

I also have a nice stash of "heirloom" poppy seeds and the necessary data to make some simple pain remedies with that.  It is so simple actually don't waste time get some now.   It is legal to have "gardening" quantities of poppies in your flower bed but not a freaking poppy field.  The government has had a long and fruitful history with poppy either using it to destroy the citizens or China or other countries or profiting off the pain industry as much as possible so the last thing they will tolerate is any competition in Americas borders.   So for your pretty little garden just make sure you have the right type.  Some modern strains have the potency reduced.   You won't be able to grow enough now to be real useful but poppies have a huge seed production ability and if things collapse you will have the ability to exponentially increase your pain medication supplies if necessary.   Just take a stance to not be a source of drug addiction in future generations.  If you make an opium den someone should just shoot you in the head.   

[Chickengirl]

hungryraven - I've thought often about getting some heirloom poppies, and saving the seed Other strong painkillers aren't going to be real common, so I should get moving, esp with getting quality info!

My DD is allergic to penicillin, including amoxycillin - does anyone have any ideas on alternatives that would be easily accessed?

[mtlouie]

There are several herbs you can use as anti-biotics.  Google it and read about them.  I used to have a great book on it, but I think Galt has it now.

I don't know how I missed this thread.  Awesome, Michelle!

We have a bit of everything:

surgical/medical/first aid supplies that Galt got when she still had the store and through her former employer, a veterinarian.  This includes fresh rotations of penicillin.   Galt says some forms of penicillin become poisonous if they are left too long.  She knows which ones, I do not.

I have homemade tinctures of all stripes and varieties

epsom salts

two emergency homeopathic kits

ex keeps a (legal) stash of  pain pills

surgical tools

Lots of other stuff.  I guess I'd have to go look, because it's been awhile since I've been through  mine and Galt's are all at her new place now.

[nicekitty]

hmm...

We have a number of separate first-aid kits...for camping / travel, car, and home...

They all have sterile gauze in a variety of  sizes, medical tape, tensor bandages, knuckle and knee band-aids, calamine lotion, after-bite (ammonia, also good for smelling salts, I'd imagine), polysporin, alcohol wipes, a mini-size tooth floss, a lighter, scissors, butterfly sutures, tylenol, immodium, eye drops, q-tips, needles and a bit of thread, and tweezers.  The travel / camping kit also has a wire splint suitable for small fractures (wrist or forearm), some penicillin (I get the doc to prescribe fresh before every third-world trip), a yeast-infection pill and also cream (it's a travel nightmare), an emergency blanket and a cheap plastic poncho, a little bottle of isopropyl alcohol, and some alcohol hand gel...I forget what else.  I've used it on a few occasions, and sure was glad I had it.  I'm sure I've saved myself amputation on at least one occasion...

I still have a lengthy wish list, including a dental pick set, a stethoscope (I wouldn't know what to do with it, but I have three nurses and an EMT in my immediate family), some scalpels and blades (if even just for lancing boils), etc...

[Ayoob]

I hope Smallpoxgirl checks in on this thread soon.  Antibiotics are not as easy or simple to use as you might think.  Check with a doctor before you use any kind of antibiotics. 

I HATE these threads.

[Chickengirl]

I hope Smallpoxgirl checks in on this thread soon.  Antibiotics are not as easy or simple to use as you might think.  Check with a doctor before you use any kind of antibiotics. 

I HATE these threads.

feel free to add more info then Ayoob - no point in telling us we are using dodgy info if you don't tell us why  thats why this thread is here.

[gin]

hydrogen peroxide..

[Katie]

hydrogen peroxide..

I know a woman who had terrible gum infection problems.  She started rinsing her mouth with a water and hydrogen peroxide solution and it cleared it up pretty well.

[HungryRaven]

How do you make hydrogen peroxide? 

Isn't penicillin from bread mold?  The green type?  If you can be sure you have the right mold species if it is fresh you can probably crush it up in water, filter it and use instantly on a wound.   It is the drying out and storing long term that would take a lot of chemist tricks.

[Ayoob]

I hope Smallpoxgirl checks in on this thread soon.  Antibiotics are not as easy or simple to use as you might think.  Check with a doctor before you use any kind of antibiotics. 

I HATE these threads.

feel free to add more info then Ayoob - no point in telling us we are using dodgy info if you don't tell us why  thats why this thread is here.

OK

When you have an infection, many doctors will prescribe an antibiotic before they do a culture and sensitivity test.  Maybe amoxicillin, maybe something else.  But the doc generally takes a sample of infected sputum or pus, and hands it over to the lab.  The lab grows (cultures) that material to see what grows.  Then, they try several antibiotics on whatever grows.  Whichever one works, that's the followup antibiotic.

This only works with bacterial infections.  Viri (viruses) don't respond to antibiotics, they respond to antivirals.

Which one do you have, a bacterial infection or a virus?  Or both?  Which one is making you sick?

If you take an antibiotic that doesn't attack your particular infection, you WILL wind up killing SOMETHING.  Maybe it's a beneficial intestinal flora that helps your body digest your food, or a bacteria that just takes up space, crowding out something else that really would make you sick.

You probably have MRSA on your body somewhere, but your immune system is currently (and successfully) fighting it off.  Take an antibiotic w/o training, and you might kill something that's currently crowding MRSA out.  Should MRSA find a foothold and grow, that creates something called an opportunistic infection.

How long should you take it?  What happens if you start to feel better... do you still burn your precious stash on an infection that feels better?

It's just not a good idea to buy antibiotics from a pet shop and take them the next time you get a cold.  No telling what exactly is going to happen.

Unless you already know what you're doing.

The safest bet is to go to a doctor and let him take care of you.

[Chickengirl]

yes, but the point in this thread is what do you do when there is no doctor, and/or antibiotics aren't in the pharmacy anymore?

Most of us are aware that taking antibiotics is not always appropriate - but there will come a time when there are no labs to tell us exactly what kind of bacteria we are facing, and no access to a variety of antibiotics. So what do you do in this case?

Stock a broadspectrum anti biotic that may help, or...??

[Candy*Land]

Thanks for the ideas and info, everyone.

--- About the antib's -- I used to keep fancy golfiish, they were pretty big, but had a tendency to get ill easily. I went to thegab.org and they have a very good hospital section for helping people figure out how to treat fish with various meds.

What I learned is that it is very hard to treat even goldfish without doing a culture. I've given my fish shots of a very good/standard antibiotic, and it didn't work and was very tedious. Some of the threads there are pages long of trying to figure out what's wrong when cultures aren't done. It makes me very hesitant to experiment with my family.

That said, this last week and half with swine flu, I had to go in 5 TIMES to finally get an antibiotic from my HMO. I even had the chest xrays (2) showing a spot of "something". They were so hesitant to administer the antibiotic that they waited until I was having quite a bit of trouble breathing. This makes me very hesitant to not have antibiotics on hand.

I don't have any advice, but those are two experiences that make me very sure that it's important to have access to them, but you better know it's like playing with fire, cause it can make things worse or not help at all.

Maybe I'll invest in lab equip, or something.   Just when I thought I had my prepping under control...

----

My kit so far:

Medical Manual

Benzocaine

Cranberry juice

Chlorhexidine

Iodine, neosporin, mupirocin

Various guaze, tape, pressure bandages, etc.

Pain meds of various forms

Ativan (pre-migrane: melt under tongue, ice cold rag on forehead down to eyebrows and across to tips of ears, hot towel under head - ears down to shoulders, darken room, take whatever pain med works. My H gets these and this gets them under control in minutes.).

Hemostats, they're actually in my craft room  

Other than that, the usual.

Must stock up on this area...  

[TheDignityofStruggle]

I was thinking about getting some rolling tobacco.  If I'm about to die from a wound or disease, I'm taking up smoking again.

[Candy*Land]

God, I've been thinking about that lately after 5 years on the wagon, but my lungs have hurt too badly.   

[Ayoob]

Thanks for the ideas and info, everyone.

--- About the antib's -- I used to keep fancy golfiish, ... good story.  You learn as you go. 

That said, this last week and half with swine flu, I had to go in 5 TIMES to finally get an antibiotic from my HMO. I even had the chest xrays (2) showing a spot of "something". They were so hesitant to administer the antibiotic that they waited until I was having quite a bit of trouble breathing. This makes me very hesitant to not have antibiotics on hand.  Or... maybe you had the H1N1 influenza VIRUS.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influenza

I don't have any advice, but those are two experiences that make me very sure that it's important to have access to them, but you better know it's like playing with fire, cause it can make things worse or not help at all.

Maybe I'll invest in lab equip, or something.   Just when I thought I had my prepping under control...  Better yet is to know people who work in a hospital and can do tests in a lab and actually get the right stuff.  It's great to have a supply of all kinds of things, but make sure you're doing what you should be doing.  More importantly, do you wash your hands and carry a bottle of alcohol gel?  It's better to not get sick at all, and you can cut your exposure quite a bit by adding a few steps to your hygeine regimen.

----

My kit so far:

Medical Manual

Benzocaine

Cranberry juice

Chlorhexidine

Iodine, neosporin, mupirocin

Various guaze, tape, pressure bandages, etc.

Pain meds of various forms

Ativan (pre-migrane: melt under tongue, ice cold rag on forehead down to eyebrows and across to tips of ears, hot towel under head - ears down to shoulders, darken room, take whatever pain med works. My H gets these and this gets them under control in minutes.).

Hemostats, they're actually in my craft room  

Other than that, the usual.

Must stock up on this area...  

Get Where There Is No Doctor, that's supposed to be really good basic stuff.  If you continue on past that, get an EMT textbook and get going with that.  Learn a useful task, buy the equipment, and practice it for a while.  Take the class and do the homework and everything.  You'll be much further along that way than you would be with stockpiling antibiotics.  Learn clean techniques and what to use on cuts as opposed to abrasions.

It's great to know that aspirin is made from willow bark, but I'd rather know the correct dose to give a patient than brew some tea of unknown strength to someone who may have one or more medical conditions that might be affected by aspirin.  Some people need a low dose of aspirin every day.  How do you ration it out? 

Also, if you're part of the system, you'll get coverage one way or another. 

It's also great to know that fish stores sell antibiotics, but after a while you'll think about it differently.