Modern antibiotics save lives. Without them, a simple cold can quickly turn into a deadly pneumonia, a small-cut infection can result in the loss of a limb, and many ordinary childhood problems can become deadly. In fact, they have performed so well that when an illness comes up, we always turn to them as our first line of defense.
But what if they had not been available anymore. In a crisis situation, the supply may be used up quickly, only when it’s needed most. For this very reason, I have chosen to store a few different antibiotics and I want to show you how you can do the same.
Buying Antibiotics to Stockpile
There are various ways to build up a stockpile of antibiotics. The most expensive way to collect a supply is to ask the doctor about antibiotic medications you may need. Most physicians are hesitant to write such prescriptions, hence this might not be as simple as it sounds. But if you know your doctor well and are sympathetic to him or her, this will work.
You may also order your antibiotics from another country, where you don’t need a prescription. Also, this approach has some risks because you don’t know the consistency or validity of the drugs you are receiving. It is illegal too.
The approach I have chosen is to buy pet medication which is the equivalent to human medications and is available online at a fair price. Before I buy, I extensively study the manufacturer and the nature of their goods to make sure that I know which dosages are safe for human use. Let me emphasize here that consultation with a doctor is often best before using any medicine, in particular antibiotics. When modern medical treatment is not available, I stock these antibiotics for use.
Related: The Only 4 Antibiotics You’ll Need when SHTF
Choosing Antibiotics
My goal for this project was to pick a variety of antibiotics that would cover most of any bacterial infections that could occur. I chose to store 4 different antibiotics plus an external antibiotic ointment on cuttings and skin infections. In the future, I would possibly increase the collection. Here are some antibiotics I chose:
Amoxicillin
Amoxicillin is the pink bubblegum flavored liquid that used to be prescribed for every childhood infection. Doctors are wary about prescribing it now too much because of resistant bacteria. It is a penicillin antibiotic treating many different forms of bacterial diseases including: bronchitis, pneumonia, tonsillitis, infections of the ear, infections of the sinus, infections of the urinary tract, E. Coli, infections with salmonella, and other STDs including gonorrhea and chlamydia. Depending on the disease and severity the standard dosage is 250 mg every 8 hours or 500 mg every 12 hours.
I bought Fish Mox, an equivalent of amoxicillin made by Thomas Labs. 30 tablets, 250 mg each, cost me $9.99. These tablets are marked as not for human consumption, however, their formulation is identical to the amoxicillin used for human consumption. Ideally, I’m going to store several Fish Mox bottles, as each 30 tablet bottle is sufficient for 1 treatment.
Related: Making Raw Apple Cider Vinegar at Home
Ciprofloxacin
Ciprofloxacin is an antibiotic in the fluoroquinolone class. It functions by stopping bacteria from multiplying, preventing the disease from spreading, and facilitating healing as current bacteria die off. I prefer to store Ciprofloxacin because I saw it work well where other antibiotics failed, covering a wide variety of infections, including those that would be expected in a SHTF situation.
Ciprofloxacin is used to treat skin infections, lungs, bones, joints, and urinary tract. It manages infectious diarrheas caused by E. Coli, Campulocater jejuni, Shingella, septicemic plague caused by Y. pestis, tuberculosis, anthrax, and typhoid fever.
For my stockpile, I opted for Ciprofloxacin Fish Flox Forte manufactured by Thomas Labs. A 30 x 500 mg tablet bottle cost me $38.99 on sale. The normal dosage for the majority of infections is 250 to 750 mg every 12 hours.
Metronidazone
The generic name for Flagyl is metronidazone, an antibiotic that is effective against anaerobic bacteria. It is used for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases such as peritonitis, liver abscesses, and ovarian and Fallopian tube abscesses. It is also effective against Giardia lamblia and amoeba, two intestinal parasites common in contaminated water, and vaginal infections causing trichomonas.
I bought 100 Fish Zole tablets manufactured by Thomas Labs which contain 250 mg of metronidazole per tablet for $58.25. Depending on the disease being treated, the recommended dosage ranges from 250 to 750 mg, three to four times daily.
Cephalexin
Fish Flex is the Thomas Labs equivalent for Cephalexin. I purchased 100 tablets of 250 mg each.
Cephalexin is a cephalosporin type antibiotic that treats gram-positive bacteria. This has many of the same applications as the penicillin class antibiotics, but it can be used by most people that are allergic to penicillin. It is very effective at treating skin and soft tissue infections such as boils, carbuncles, and deep tissue infections. It is frequently prescribed to treat bladder infections, upper respiratory infections, bone infections, kidney infections, ear infections, pharyngitis, prostatitis and to prevent bacterial endocarditis during some dental procedures.
20% Ichthammol Ointment
I also stockpile an external ointment known as drawing salve or black drawing salve. I started using it on skin infections a long time ago, and saw it work wonders. When used promptly it avoids infections, even in deep cuts and I saw it cure infections that had become known and did not react to antibiotics.
Ichthammol is ammonium bituminosulfonate, an anti-inflammatory sulfur compound, with bactericidal with fungicidal properties. Healing is treated and encouraged in skin infections and skin disorders such as psoriasis, rosacea, and acne.
A tiny 1-ounce tube of 20% Ichthammol for human use is actually $10.98, but for $14.99, I buy the huge 14-ounce tub for horses and pets use, a big savings.
Erythromycin
Many preppers choose to include erythromycin in their stockpile. I considered it and decided against it for several reasons. Amoxicillin and Cephalexin treat most of the same diseases used for erythromycin and have a short shelf-life. This degrades into a potentially poisonous material which could be harmful. Many antibiotics have long shelf-life which extends well beyond the expiry date. It is available for fish use in a powder form, however, I was not happy with the information on the formulation. Most preppers use it, if you believe that this is an effective antibiotic for your family arsenal, do your own research too.
Purchasing Pet Medicines
When buying pet drugs, you want to be very careful. I thoroughly researched the manufacturers of antibiotic products and decided to go with Thomas Labs products because their products are USP-certified quality antibiotics that make me feel confident about the product’s safety. Our goods often come in simple doses of tablets or capsules so there is no guesswork about the doses and no need to make my own capsules.
One bottle of each of the four antibiotics I’ve chosen cost me a total of $140; including sales taxes, a small expenditure for their safety. I suggest at least 1 bottle of each, per household person, and extras are always a good idea.
This is not a solution in the long term. Also, you should have a variety of natural home remedies. I have a greenhouse in the backyard, with all the medicinal plants I like. These pills are just in case I need a stronger dose. I haven’t had to use this stockpile yet as I managed to treat my ailments with plant-based tinctures and infusions.
