Originally Posted by whomever
We did similar when we were planning our trips to Africa. Explained that we expected to be pretty remote from what we’d consider normal standard of care and wanted to make sure we had bases covered. Our doc at the time put together a good little kit with some good versatile meds including antibiotics.
I’m allergic to penicillin/amoxicillin so having alternatives to those very common ones is important to me, too.
--Josh
“Formerly we suffered from crimes; now we suffer from laws.” - Tacitus.
It’s very medication dependent.
This was methotrexate (not an antibiotic) out of Yemen.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.pbs...ients-in-yemen
I'm at least somewhat involved in the field of healthcare and I'd be deeply hesitant.
Shelf stability is one thing, but loading up on the wrong abx can have you shitting your pants with a C. Difficile infection, you could develop a resistant bacteria, depending on how healthy you are you might blow up your kidneys or pop a tendon...not a great call.
Antibiotic ointments or eyedrops are different. I've used plenty of antibiotic ointments to treat a staph infection and keep it from getting real bad.
That said I'd keep IV fluids and supplies on hand...for when you have nights you've partied too hard.
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It's all about knowing what to use and when. Having a regular bout of whatever that you're treated the same for each time is different than stockpiling stuff and self-diagnosing. Most common things are pretty simple, until they're not.
Expiration dates on meds aren't the thing we're told. Dates on a med may be years longer when it's packaged to sit on a disaster pallet or is shipped to an overseas market than when it goes to your local CVS. No doc or pharm is going to bless an exp+2 or exp+5 year med, but most are likely fine if stored smart.
الدهون القاع الفتيات لك جعل العالم هزاز جولة الذهاب
I served a couple of decades in the military--we frequently were told to extend drug shelf lives on many medications and had no difficulties. Obviously you have to be smart and know what can become a problem....
Facts matter...Feelings Can Lie
I would suggest to review literature on appropriateness rates of antibiotic administration in medical settings by medical professionals before deciding whether a non-medical person can make a right call on that.
I would only preemptively stock for a specific pathogen(s) expected in a specific location / situation.
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1) When I go to Africa, besides taking malaria prophylaxis meds I took supplies of antibiotics targeting possibilities for GI infections and skin wounds. I don't this while I'm at home. I would discuss this idea with your physician. It's like those guys with a shit load of medical supplies in their FAK which they have no business using without training or expertise.
2) I tell my patients to place medications in a ziplock bag in the fridge or freezer. They will last nearly forever. My buddy did an experiment in fellowship where he placed commonly used mailordered packaged meds in a mailbox in the Phoenix heat for a weekend. He would compare them chemically to reference meds. He wondered if leaving medications in a hot Phoenix mailbox was a bad thing. There were not any real differences. However, the packaging of mailorder drugs back then made Costco theft proof packaging look weak.
I keep some Z-Paks handy.
I asked my doc if I could get a script for Z-Paks during a routine check-up, but he said he couldn't write a script because he just documented that I was in good health, however if I called in a few weeks later and asked for a script because I think I have bronchitis then he'd approve it. Over the years, I've been able to maintain Z-Paks that aren't "expired".
The DOD did a study sometime back looking at the shelf life of medications and found that if they were stored reasonably, pills were still over 90% as potent even 15 years after expiration. Obviously this doesn't mean leaving them on the dashboard in your car year round. Kept away from light and in relatively stable temperatures and away from moisture they'll store and stay potent for a very long time.
Liquid solutions of medications and certain types that require refrigeration, etc are obviously not going to play by those rules. But your typical pill is just fine.
It is fairly common for folks looking to prep for bad conditions to get hold of various types of antibiotics in case of disruption or social upheaval that can disrupt supplies. Their efforts are usually centered on getting hold of a few broad spectrum antibiotics that are effective against a number of different types of infections. It's something you want to have a good medical reference to help guide for purchasing. There are a few readily available guides to help give you an idea of what antibiotics are commonly used for what infections. (Stanford Guide to Antimicrobial Therapy, etc)
Antibiotics have downsides in that they roll through like an invading army and kill lots of good organisms too, so they are not to be trifled with willy nilly. But if you can't get to a doctor because the medical system has collapsed having the right blend of broad spectrums can save a life. So treat it like that.
If you take prescription medications regularly, having a sizable supply in case of the same disruptions can be useful. Often if you tell docs you will be traveling to interesting places they will give you an extended supply and maybe even some antibiotics for stomach bugs and the like. Or you can buy almost anything you want from several grey-market pharmacies with good reputations.
3/15/2016
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