stockpiling antibiotics

seahorse · Expert Joined: Oct 15, 2004 Posts: 2251 Location: Arkansas

Anyone have any suggestions for:

(1) how to buy antibiotics to stockpile?
(2) what antibiotics would be best to stockpile?
(3) does freezing help or reduce storage life of antibiotics?

arretium · Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 4:30 pm Post subject:

This is a really good question. I don't know the answer myself.

Ever heard of those "expiration" dates on medicine? I've always thought it was a marketing gimmic, but I really don't know if that's true. In order for the medicine to expire, it must have a half-life. This means that the "half-life" of the drug created is a very short time period. I'd love to hear what a chemist has to say on this topic.

It would seem to me that antibotics, aspirin, serious pain relief (codeine/percocet) would be a valuable commodity. Personally, I'd want a lifetime supply of ibuprofen and Allegra (2 months a year x 50/60 more years of life).

DomusAlbion · Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 4:34 pm Post subject:

Here's the answer.

Go to a good veterinary supply house. Most antibiotics and other medicines that are for human use can be bought with no perscription and no license from one of these supply houses and they are almost always cheaper. The drugs are meant for animals but, if you know proper dosage, can be used on humans.
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ConsumptionJane · Coal Joined: Jul 07, 2004 Posts: 18 Location: Nevada, USA

Try grapefruit seed extract and olive leaf oil extract, they work on viruses too (and amoebas, fungi....). Effective, natural, cheap, non-toxic and won't increase the resistivity of bugs due to the physical mechanisms by which the microbes are destroyed. Spirulina and chlorella will work to help your body heal quicker by providing it with basic nutrients in a natural form.

http://www.pureliquidgold.com/ - GSE
http://www.spirulina.com/ - patented by russian gov't for radiation treatment
http://www.chlorellafactor.com/ - only recommended food by NASA for space travel and most researched food in the world

Ebyss · Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 4:51 pm Post subject:

Also :

Neem : http://www.neemfoundation.org/index1.htm

and don't forget good old garlic.
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Wednesday · Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2005 7:22 pm Post subject:

im going to buy from the vet too

antibiotics, morphine and a glass syringe and surgical tools

havent got that far on my list yet

bobaloo · Heavy Crude Joined: Oct 14, 2004 Posts: 484

Typically vet antibiotics will have dosages for pigs, which respond similarly to people to meds, just allow for weight differences in dosage (mg/kg).

Some can be purchased in powdered form, which if kept cool, dark and preferably vacuum packed, can probably be used for 20-30 years. Aqueous solutions won't last as long.

The military did a good study a few years ago, as they stockpile huge quantities of meds, and the results were for most drugs virtually no loss of efficacy long after the stated expiration date. A little googling should turn up a copy, here's an article from the AMA on the study AMA Article

I have heard that tetracycline can become toxic when it starts to degrade, so it would be wise to do some more research on that one if you're planning to store it.

Some are more complicated. My wife is a diabetic and we've found that the current human insulin produced from genetic engineering is only good for less than a year, even under ideal conditions. The older, pig-derived variety on the other hand can be good for 20 years or more under ideal storage conditions. We're looking to stockpile a fair bit, and have found very small incredibly energy efficient medicine fridges designed for third world clinics to be run by solar power. Not much of a solution, but the best available at the moment.

erl · Intermediate Crude Joined: Mar 21, 2005 Posts: 795

Good question re: the antibiotics.

Bobaloo, I second your response regarding the shelf life of antibiotics. I read that military study. They had the FDA test and retest their stockpiles for several years to have them recertified. The FDA's conclusion was that the expiration dates were just for marketing and turnover purposes. Capitalism at its best.

Re: vet meds. My understanding is that you can no longer buy vet meds without a valid prescription. That loophole has closed. If anyone knows different, please inform us.

I think the same is now true for Mexico. Used to be you could purchase w/o prescription. No longer.

However, you can still buy antibiotics for you fish. Yes, indeed, check the medicine section at your local PetsMart fish aisle. Tetracycline, Amoxicillan, etc. Turns out, the U.S. special forces buy there to self medicate when they don't want to visit the doctor. If you google unprescribed antibiotics, you'll find the articles. The AMA is petitioning Congress to close this loophole as well.

erl · Intermediate Crude Joined: Mar 21, 2005 Posts: 795

JR · Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 3:02 am Post subject:

I work for a large animal vet and...no, you cannot buy antiobiotics with a prescription. Many that we use are the same as the ones given to humans.

That being said...if you can get a vet to give you any, go for the powdered form of cephalexin. Most antibiotics require refrigeration or they go bad. Cephalexin does not, but you will need to know how to mix it with sterile water in order to inject it.

JR

NiKfUrY69 · Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 7:25 am Post subject:

seahorse2 · Expert Joined: Oct 18, 2004 Posts: 1956

Following up on above suggestions, I have ordered some antibiotics from two pet supply companies. One, Pets Direct, sells several antibiotics (liquid) for use on farm animals. The others, PetCarRX, sells fish antibiotics (I bought some pill form amoxicillin from them).

Try directpetsuperstore.com and petcarerx (first hit on seach terms fish antibiotics).www.directpetsuperstore.com when looking at the direct pet website, be sure and click on the farm and ranch tab and then click on "antibiotics."

Doly · Expert Joined: Dec 03, 2004 Posts: 4040

An alternative approach could be to find out if there are any antibiotics that are easy to synthesize from easily available products. Anybody knows anything about this?

DomusAlbion · Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 9:26 am Post subject:

learning · Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 9:43 am Post subject: Local "Ranch and Home" Store

Several good thoughts have been put forth here. I appreciate the concern of people who are on long-term, mandatory meds -- i.e. insulin, thyroid replacement, etc. (Synthroid, Levoxyl, etc, will store far longer than insulin, which will make things easier for those folks than diabetics, however.)

As to the discussion regarding antibiotics, the local "Ranch & Home" store (or whatever is your local equivalent) is the way to go. You could drop by once a month or once a week and pick up a few bottles of this and that at a time, if you wish. But, frankly, since there is no regulation on the purchase of these meds, there is no reason not to get what you need all at once, if you wish. (Yes, there is the $$ factor if you buy all at once. But the same antibiotics purchased for animal use are incredibly cheaper than when purchased for human use. Same stuff. Really.)

As mentioned, the re-constitution of the medication (usually using sterile water) needs to be tended to with care -- as does the DOSING CALCULATION. Pigs and people are considered about the same, and you could dose a male adult human (no underlying reference intended!!!) at the same dose as a pig.

However, it is best, best, best to diligently read the instructions regarding how much to give for an "X" pound pig/cow/whatever. Then know the weight of the person you are dosing, and use accordingly.

KEEP A CHART ON THE WALL where your medical supplies are going to be kept. This should include height, weight, allergies of all people in the household, and should be updated quarterly -- monthly with children.

Everyone should find an old fashioned spring-action, non-digital, non-battery operated bathroom scale for checking weights of people before giving these meds.