Posted on Jun 17, 2012 in Emergency Preparedness & Survival, Featured Articles, Health, Food News, & Big Pharma, Urban Gardening, Farming & Homesteading
In times of uncertainty, we humans like to stockpile and hoard. We
seek information that will keep us safe and provide for our well-being.
One of these topics will invariably center around medical knowledge or
first-aid in case of an accident, sickness, or injury. Many of us
already have a well-rounded medical kit, or basic skills in how to treat
traumatic injuries. But one question I see and hear a lot of people
talk about is medicine, and their lack of concrete, factual information
when it comes to antibiotics – and specifically, whether it is safe to
use animal antibiotics in humans.
Many other questions typically revolve around,
“Where can I find prescription-quality medicines?”
“My doctor won’t prescribe me common antibiotics for long-term disasters or bugging out.”
“What medicines should I stockpile?”
What this article will attempt to provide is the answer to these very
questions, and more. While I am no fan of Big Pharma, I understand
the amazing capabilities and modern need for some medicines, such as
Doxycycline, Amoxicillin, and Penicillin. There
are many
natural antibiotics, and antibacterials, in nature. They surround us
and like any medicine, require a bit of know-how and understanding in
order to administer properly. Proper nutrition also plays a vital role
in maintaining our health, but what about suffering cuts, punctures, or
infections when there are no hospitals and doctors anymore?
Many people can’t convince their doctor into writing extraneous prescriptions for a, “What-if?” scenario.
So I set out to discover how to obtain and properly use modern, Big
Pharma antibiotics in case of a tumultuous, long-term disaster, as I’m
sure many of you foresee, as well.
The Answer Lies Within Veterinarian Drugs.
It’s not a big secret that veterinary antibiotics and drugs do not
require a prescription. Drugs such as Fish-MOX clearly state on their
label, “For Aquarium and Fish Use Only.” But are they truly only for
fish? Are these antibiotics any different than what my pharmacist gives
me?
When I started my research, all I found was information from
pseudo-doctors and “scientists” from across the internet. I found page
after page of conflicting information regarding the human consumption of
animal antibiotics. Many people with several initials behind their
name gave me a variety of answers or simply beat around the bush. One
MD would say XYZ, and another doctor would tell me ABC. Some would say
that they
thought it would be safe to use veterinarian drugs,
but only in dire times or as a last resort. Others would warn against
it entirely, and yet some would encourage their use in everyday
applications. And so I set out to find the Truth. I wanted concrete
information on the safety and efficacy of this particular endeavor.
Let’s talk about what your
other option is and get that out of the way.
You’ve likely seen the internet ads for generic versions of
prescriptions from Canada or Mexico. They offer great prices and no
questions asked. But like anything that seems too good to be true, they
mostly are. Health regulations and quality control can be absent, to
say the least. Many of these “pills” are manufactured by an unorthodox
“3rd shift” at the normal plant, but have no oversight and their
often-criminal motive is only black market profit. Some are simply made
in a dirty kitchen or backyard shack.
While I’m well aware that the pharmaceutical industry’s main goal is
profit, as well, they also have lawyers and a board of directors to
answer to. I’ll leave my true, personal feelings of the “Pill Industry”
out of this article and focus on how you can stockpile safe
antibiotics.
The list of safety risks in using black market medicines is long, but
the principal problems involve the use of prescription drugs without
the proper knowledge in administration and the danger of buying drugs of
unknown origin and quality. Daniel Hancz, Pharm.D., a pharmacist with
the Health Authority Law Enforcement Task Force (HALT) in Los Angeles,
says, “The drugs could be old, contaminated, or counterfeit. And if you
experience some kind of allergic reaction or other side effect, it’s
hard to trace the problem and treat it.”
The FDA estimates that a significant amount of drugs available in Mexico may be counterfeit
(Source: FDA Initiative to Combat Counterfeit Drugs). Some
of these medicines can contain “filler material” in order to lower
manufacturing costs, and these can range from excess wood pulp
(cellulose), to baking powder, petroleum by-products, or other,
potentially dangerous substances. Either way, this is not something
that you want in your bug-out bag only to find out it is worthless in
your time of need or creates further medical problems that you can’t
treat!
So, go ahead and mark that avenue of prepping off your list.
Do not buy from questionable, fly-by-night, internet-based “Doctors”
with no business ratings or certifications and avoid wasting your money
while on vacation in Mexico. So where does that leave us? How can we
find quality medicines without a prescription for truly legitimate
concerns and uses?
As I said; Veterinarian Drugs. These Do Not Require a Prescription.
Yes, that might sound more dangerous than buying pills from a Mexican
street corner, but I assure you, it is not. USP-approved
animal pharmaceuticals are often made in the same manufacturing plants
as human pharmaceuticals and will contain the same ingredients. They
are the same color, shape, and bare the same markings as human drugs.
This likely boils down to cost-effectiveness for Big Pharma, but for
once, is also in your interest and favor.
Allow me to explain. Every “drug” manufactured, sold, or brought into the United States must pass FDA regulations
(don’t get me started on the FDA), and is listed within the United States Pharmacopeia, or
USP.
This is a compendium recognized officially by the Federal Food, Drug,
and Cosmetic Act that contains descriptions, uses, strengths, and
standards of purity for selected drugs and for all of their forms of dosage.
Use of the USP Verified Pharmaceutical
Ingredient Mark helps ingredient manufacturers assure their customers
that the quality of the ingredients they are supplying has been
rigorously tested and verified by an independent authority. When the
mark appears on an ingredient container or carton, it represents that
USP has evaluated the ingredient and found that:
1. The participant’s quality system helps to ensure that the
ingredient meets its label or certificate of analysis claims for
identity, strength, purity, and quality.
2. The ingredient has been prepared under accepted good manufacturing
practices (GMP) that ensure consistency in the quality of ingredients
from batch to batch.
3. The ingredient meets its specifications’ acceptance criteria.
So what does all of this FDA jargon mean? Overall, it translates to assuring you that if you see an
animal drug that is labeled, “UPS Pharmaceutical grade Amoxicillin,” it is the exact same pharmaceutical grade Amoxicillin that
your doctor would prescribe
you for various infections.
As for the identification or verification process, should you still feel uneasy, we can look to the FDA
(yet again, ugh).
Per the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2008/aprqtr/pdf/21cfr206.7.pdf), each capsule, tablet, or pill must be
uniquely marked. Two tablets with identical colors, shapes, and markings
cannot,
by law, have different ingredients. This is for a variety of reasons,
but not limited to assisting Poison Control hotlines, hospitals,
doctors, etc., in determining what someone might have ingested,
overdosed on, or is causing side effects.
These markings, colors, tablet shape and other identifying
information can be found in medical reference texts, but now, we can use
resources such as WebMD, Drugs.com, RxList.com, and many verified
smartphone applications such as iPharmacy that can quickly and easily
identify drugs should you need to. As a former police officer, I
carried a pocket-sized guide to pill identification in my gear bag and
it proved invaluable.
Still not convinced? Above is a picture of a 250mg Amoxicillin capsule. It is imprinted with ‘Westward 938.’
This is a pharmaceutical grade, USP-approved, safe-for-human antibiotic that can be verified on the pill identification site,
Drugs.com. This is also the
exact
same pill that I received from the veterinarian supply when I ordered a
bottle of 250mg Fish-Mox. That means it came from the same
manufacturer, and contains the exact same ingredients as the medication I
can pickup at Walgreens or CVS.
Update: Since
first writing this article, I have ordered additional medications.
Above is a picture of the Fish-Mox Forte (500mg Amoxicillin) received
from Cal-Vet Supply. The
Drugs.com Pill Identification Fact Sheet for this capsule identifies it as
Amoxicillin 500 mg.
It is a red and pink capsule, with the markings
WC 731 on both sides.
Hayden’s Note:
Now, as I always tell my readers, don’t take my word for it and trust
no one! I urge you to carefully examine markings, manufacturers,
color, and every available bit of information that you can garner when
dealing with medications and making a decision to take them without
“physician’s approval.” My goal here is to help you discover
alternatives, but the proper identification, verification, dosage, and
diagnosis is ultimately up to you and your own research. I implore you
to proceed with caution – we are talking about Big Pharma, here.
Where Do I Find Veterinary Drugs?
So this brings us to the question, “What sort of veterinary drugs do I need and where can I find them?”
Well, this mostly boils down to what you are comfortable with and
prepared to use in whatever future, post-SHTF scenario you are prepping
for. Some of the more common, everyday antibiotics have already been
mentioned, such as Doxycycline, Amoxicillin, Cephalexin, Penicillin, and
Ciprofloxacin – commonly referred to as Cipro.
We will get into these in greater detail shortly, but this requires
you to exercise caution and take your own risks. I would like to add
that your doctor takes these very same risks when he prescribes you an
antibiotic in which you’ve never had before. There is always a chance
of side effects or allergic reaction, therefore I suggest that you stock
only what you need and what you have taken before.
Personally, I’ve taken every single one of the above mentioned
medications under proper “medical supervision” at some point in my life
and I know that I am not allergic, therefore I stock them. I have also
taken several veterinary versions of these same medications for various
infections, including a severe tooth abscess. It would be wise for
whoever is in charge of your medical preps to have a list of everyone’s
medical allergies and any contra-indications.
There are a variety of sources for these antibiotics, but a few of them really stand out as quality, mainstream suppliers.
My first suggestion would be
Cal-Vet Supply.
While I have absolutely no business affiliation or interest in them, I
have used them in the past and Cal-Vet Supply would be my first choice
based upon quality, ease of ordering, selection, and cost. You may find
several others, but this is
my go-to source.
What Do I Need?
I’ll simply provide a short list of some of the more common
antibiotics, their veterinary named-counterparts, and allow you to
tailor it to your specific needs or criteria.
Penicillin
Penicillin is an antibiotic in the penicillin group of drugs. It fights bacteria in your body.
Penicillin is used to treat
many different types of infections
caused by bacteria, such as ear infections, urinary tract infections,
septicemia, meningitis, intra-abdominal infection, gonorrhea, syphilis,
pneumonia, respiratory infections, ear, nose and throat infections, skin
and soft tissue infections.
More information can be found here, including side effects, allergic reactions, etc.
Veterinarian Equivalent: 250mg Fish Pen and
500mg Fish Pen Forte
Amoxicillin
A penicillin antibiotic. It fights bacteria in your body.
Amoxicillin is used to treat
many different types of infections caused by bacteria, such as ear infections, bladder infections, pneumonia, gonorrhea, and E. coli or salmonella infection.
More information can be found here, including side effects, allergic reactions, etc.
Veterinarian Equivalent: 250mg Fish Mox (for children) and
500mg Fish Mox Forte (for adults).
Ciprofloxacin, or Cipro
Ciprofloxacin is an antibiotic in a group of drugs called fluoroquinolones. It is used as a
potent, broad-spectrum antibiotic to fight bacteria in the body.
It may also be used to prevent or slow anthrax after exposure.
More information can be found here, including side effects, allergic reactions, etc.
Veterinarian Equivalent: 500mg Fish Flox Forte
Cephalexin, or Keflex
Cephalexin is in a group of drugs called cephalosporin antibiotics. Keflex fights bacteria in the body.
Keflex is used to treat infections caused by bacteria, including
upper respiratory infections, ear infections, skin infections, urinary tract infections, tooth and mouth infections.
More information can be found here, including side effects, allergic reactions, etc.
Veterinarian Equivalent: 250mg Fish Flex and
500mg Fish Flex Forte
Doxycycline
Doxycycline is a tetracycline antibiotic. It fights bacteria in the
body. It may be substituted in place of penicillin to treat common
infections in those people who are allergic to that particular drug.
Doxycycline is used to treat many different bacterial infections,
such as urinary tract infections, acne, gonorrhea, and chlamydia, Lyme
disease or tick bite infections, anthrax infections, cholera,
periodontitis (gum disease), and others.
Exercise caution with expired Doxycycline
/ tetracycline and -cycline medications. There has been some
documentation of liver damage and some have even labeled it toxic if
used past the expiration date.
However, Doxycycline provides a great alternative to penicillin medications for those who are allergic.
More information can be found here, including side effects, allergic reactions, etc.
Veterinarian Equivalent: 100mg Bird Biotic
Dosages and Notes Regarding Veterinary Drugs
Joseph Alton, MD, is
a medical doctor and Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the
American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He is also a prepper,
and writes:
“These antibiotics are used at specific doses for specific illnesses;
the exact dosage of each and every medication is beyond the scope of
this [article]. Suffice it to say that most penicillin and cephalosporin
(Keflex and other cephalexin) medications are taken at 500mg dosages,
3-4 times a day for adults, and 250mg dosages for children, whereas
Metronidazole (250mg) and Doxycycline (100mg) are taken twice a day.
It’s important to have as much information as possible on medications
that you plan to store for times of trouble, so consider purchasing a
hard copy of the latest Physician’s Desk Reference. This book comes out
yearly and has just about every bit of information that exists on a
particular medication, including those that do not require
prescription. Indications, dosage, risks, and side effects are all
listed.”
In Closing
Dr. Alton ends with a great reminder regarding the state of affairs that we might one day find ourselves in:
“If we ever find ourselves without modern medical care, we will have
to improvise medical strategies that we perhaps might be reluctant to
consider today. Without hospitals, it will be up to the [field] medic
to treat infections. That responsibility will be difficult to carry out
without the weapons to fight disease, such as antibiotics.
Alternative therapies should be looked at carefully, as well. Honey
and garlic have known antibacterial actions, as do a number of herbs and
essential oils. Be sure to integrate all medical options, traditional
and alternative, and use every tool at your disposal to keep your community healthy.”
I urge you to verify and check all medications that you order with a
reputable pill identification book or website in order to make sure you
truly receive what you ordered.
About the Author:
Kevin Hayden is a former New Orleans police
officer-turned-political activist. He endured Hurricane Katrina’s chaos
and societal collapse in the days following and after 5 years in New
Orleans, moved to Oklahoma. Kevin currently runs www.TruthisTreason.net and
writes about issues pertaining to our monetary, food, and foreign
policies while building an off-grid homestead and helping people become
prepared. He can be contacted directly at Contact@TruthisTreason.net or via his website.
The above information should not be taken as direct medical
or legal advice. Kevin Hayden is not a qualified medical practitioner nor lawyer. First published February 17th, 2012.
