There is a common fear that practically all preppers have in common. This fear is that one day we will be unable to take care of our friends and family. Dealing with this constant worry has led many of us to storing away food and water, but what else should we consider storing away?
If you take a look at the basic needs approach that was introduced in 1976, it states that the traditional list of immediate basic needs consist of food, water, shelter and clothing. This is what is aimed for as the bare minimum requirement in developing countries to ensure long-term physical well-being. Many modern lists also require sanitation, education, and healthcare in order for their minimum requirements to be met.
While education is only a concern in the event of a prolonged societal breakdown, sanitation and healthcare are imperative when you’ll be fending for yourselves for any extended period of time. Even though sanitation may not be too complicated of a process to understand and prep for, healthcare is a very crucial issue that is often not given the thought it deserves.
The truth is, every family or group of individuals is going to need someone to look up too when disaster strikes and someone is in need of medical attention. If you happen to have a doctor or nurse in the family, or one that you know will be there in times of need, then this role may not need to be filled.
If you don’t, however, then you may as well take up the torch and become the survival medic that your family needs. While it may be hard for you to learn how to properly perform a task such as removing a bullet or stitching up a wound, one thing you can do is provide antibiotics to someone in need.
Why Do You Need Antibiotics?
In any form of survival situation, whether it be caused from a natural disaster or an economic collapse – people will be much more likely to catch some sort of bacterial infection. Especially in a world where everyone goes back to chopping their own wood, hunting their own food, and performing the variety of other various tasks that need to be done in order to keep their family safe and secure.
While something as simple as an infection from a cut, burn or animal bite may not be too big of an issue in today’s society, it could be potentially life threatening if you’re ever unable to access modern medical care.
Other infections that will be common in times of disaster that may require antibiotics include skin infections, sinus infections, tooth infections, STD’s, UTI’s, and even more. Heck, we could have even stopped the black plague if we had access to antibiotics – so by now I’m sure you can start to see the importance.
However, don’t get over excited thinking you’ve found the answer to all your families’ future ailments. It’s vital that you first know the types of infections that can be treated, which antibiotics to use, and what the proper dosage is to be administered. All this is essential in order to not do more harm than good.
While the common notion may be to go to the doctor for antibiotics every time you catch a cold, this is actually not true. Because the common cold is caused by a virus, and not bacteria, antibiotics have absolutely no effect on it. Although in an attempt to make their patients happy, doctors usually will usually prescribe them even when unnecessary.
Difference Between Viral and Bacterial Infections
Telling the difference between a viral and a bacterial infection can often be hard, if not impossible. Luckily, there are a few signs that can make it possible to distinguish the difference.
Bacterial Infections
Pain that is localized in one area is often prone to be a bacterial infection. Other common symptoms include swelling, redness, and warmth. If you have a fever or ache that starts to get better, only to worsen a day or two later, then it’s possible a bacterial infection has formed. If you experience symptoms for longer than two weeks, then it’s reasonable to assume it’s bacterial as well. Tooth aches are always a sign of bacterial infections.
Viral Infections
The vast majority of respiratory (nose, throat, and lung) infections are actually caused by viruses. While bacterial infections can usually only felt in one location, such as on a cut, viral infections can typically be felt all over the body. Having a sore throat, headache, cough, runny nose and muscle aches are common with viral infections.
Unfortunately, this is not a definite guide to telling the difference between a bacterial and viral infection, as it’s in no way perfect by any means. Although, if you ever find yourself in the situation where one of your loved ones is in pain, or slowly dying from an infection, it may just be helpful. Having a doctor or nurse present to help identify the infection would be ideal, but if that isn’t the case, you’re going to have to take responsibility into your own hands.
To decide on the right antibiotics and dosage to administer, getting a copy of a book like Antibiotics Simplified (Recommended to me by a nurse in the family) would benefit you greatly. If you take time to think ahead, you could even print information online from sites such as Drugs.com, which is what I’ve personally done myself.
How to Get Antibiotics
Now I know what you’re thinking, “how am I going to get prescribed antibiotics for prepping?” Well the truth is, you aren’t. Getting a doctor to prescribe antibiotics for “preparation purposes” in the Unites States is a task that many have tried and failed. This leave you with the options of either buying generic antibiotics off the shelf of a Mexican convenience store, going to your doctor every time someone in your family gets sick or goes out of the of the country (no choice of what you get), or buying fish antibiotics online.
While the idea of driving to Mexico to get some antibiotics does sound tempting, buying fish antibiotics is certainly the better option. Be warned though, some fish antibiotics contain additives that aren’t meant for human consumption. To ensure you get the real antibiotic, make sure it matches up to the exact kind used by pharmaceutical companies.
Make sure:
- The only ingredient is the antibiotic itself
- It looks identical to the actual antibiotic, i.e. same size, color, imprint (check Drugs.com)
- It’s only produced in human dosages
If the fish antibiotic passes all of the requirements and nothing seems “fishy,” then it’s safe to assume it’s the real thing. Unfortunately, when buying fish antibiotics online it can be hard to tell what exactly you’re getting. If you have a fish store nearby, you may want to check there first.
Not Sure on Fish Antibiotics?
If you’re one of the many who are probably thinking I’m off my rocker right now (which I don’t blame you for thinking), go and do research of your own. This will allow you to further expand your knowledge on not only fish antibiotics, but also antibiotics in general. After you finish delving into the vast corners of the internet on your quest for knowledge, I’m sure you’ll start to see that stocking up on fish antibiotics is a good idea for the sake of your family’s future well-being. If you’re still persistent on not taking them, they could at least be used as a useful commodity for bartering purposes.
Now to be clear, taking fish antibiotics while access to modern medical care is available is not recommended. They should be used only for extreme survival purposes, when no other option is available.
While there may come a day when you have to personally diagnose a condition, and then determine the best form of treatment that you have available, today is not that day. Not to mention, it’s illegal to practice medicine without a license. So, for now, let’s leave the job of treating infections to the professionals, who (for the most part) know what they’re doing.
