Antibiotics for preppers

I wrote this in 2015, but I decided to update my links, especially since we have a bit of chaos in our lives in 2020. Disclosure: This is what I store, and I have taken, but I am not a medical doctor, so you are on your own — people react differently to antibiotics, so I stick to those that I have used with no side effects. Plus, these are for emergencies.

There’s a part of me that wants to live off the grid. And I’m not a camper. I like the comforts of power, water, and gas. I especially like to bath daily. And sleep in the comfort of my bed. And eat fresh foods. However, there’s no guarantee that the world as we know it will stay this way. Chaos is the natural order — so many things can happen to bring this about — natural disasters, wars, chemical warfare, accidents.

I just finished reading a book by Richard Preston, The Demon in the Freezer. I’ve written about his other book, The Hot Zone, which was about the ebola virus. The demon in the freezer is another deadly virus called smallpox, and I learned that smallpox is scarier than Ebola because it is airborne. Although smallpox has been eradicated through a massive vaccination program, the virus continues to live in various places in the freezer — supposedly for research. However, Russia has taken the virus and put it in warheads. Read the book. Preston also covers the 2001 anthrax incident in the United States.

You can’t kill smallpox with antibiotics. But you can beat anthrax with antibiotics. One of the postal workers exposed to the powder (it is small enough to pass through paper envelopes into the air and your lungs) received antibiotics; another one did not get the correct diagnosis at the emergency room and later died.

In an emergency, I take antibiotics that are labeled for birds and fish. I keep several bottles on hand. I understand the problems of taking antibiotics when you don’t need them. I understand that bacteria can mutate, and strains can become resistant. My educational background is in pharmacology. I was a graduate student at USC in the department of pharmacology. I used to read the PDR (Physicians Desk Reference) for fun. So, I don’t feel like an idiot when it comes to pharmaceuticals.

The antibiotics for birds and fish are labeled for birds and fish, but the drugs are made by the same companies that make them for humans. Many drugs are tested on animals. In grad school, we tested them on rabbits and dogs. We studied the effects of all kinds of drugs on rabbits. Humans and their pets can take antibiotics.

I have used the antibiotics mentioned here, so I know they work, with no problems.  I did not grow fish gills or a bird beak. The drugs are of pure quality. The ones I have bought are manufactured in the United States.

I keep the following antibiotics on hand: doxycycline (used for malaria prevention and anthrax protection) cephalexin and amoxicillin. They are labeled for fish and birds, and legally cannot be labeled otherwise — or you’ll need a prescription. So, wink, wink, nod, nod, these are only for fish and birds. But they are precisely the same drugs you get from your pharmacy. Same.

Use drugs wisely. Too much Tylenol can you kill you, and it’s hard on your liver. The pharmacies and government trust us with that drug, but it is dangerous. Be careful with all medications, over-the-counter, and prescription.

What about expiration dates? Most of them are conservative estimates,

Most of what is known about drug expiration dates comes from a study conducted by the Food and Drug Administration at the request of the military. With a large and expensive stockpile of drugs, the military faced tossing out and replacing its drugs every few years. What they found from the study is 90% of more than 100 drugs, both prescription and over-the-counter, were perfectly good to use even 15 years after the expiration date.

So, the expiration date doesn’t really indicate a point at which the medication is no longer effective or has become unsafe to use. Medical authorities state if expired medicine is safe to take, even those that expired years ago. (Harvard Medical School)

You can buy fish and bird antibiotics online  — I have used Cal Vet Supply. One of the direct suppliers is Thomas Labs.

These are the antibiotics I buy:

Amoxicillin

Cephalexin

Doxycycline

Cephalexin

Azithromycin

All pills are identified by the imprints on them. Look closely at one of the bird or fish pills; I use one of these websites to find out what it is:

WebMD Pill Identifier
Drugs.com

And if you want to know more about these drugs, the internet has ample info:
PubMed Health
PDR Health