Assuming your personal physician will help you stockpile antibiotics for TEOTWAWKI, which should you request? Is there a logical reason to have amoxicillin on hand rather than doxycycline?
Here’s what I would suggest and why.
No antibiotic is effective against every type of microbe. Certain ones will kill aerobic bacteria, others are used for anaerobic bacteria, still others are effective against resistant strains, and certain people are allergic to or intolerant of various antibiotics. The following are all generics, running about $10 for about a month’s treatment.
- Amoxicillin is the old standby for most respiratory infections (probably most of which are viral and don’t even require antibiotics). It is excellent for strep throat and some strains of pneumococcal bacteria. It is also safe for children and pregnant women. It is well-tolerated, causing little stomach distress or diarrhea. The drawbacks are that some people are truly allergic, and many bacteria have developed resistance to amoxicillin (especially staph) through overuse among both humans and animals. Anyone truly allergic to amoxicillin should substitute erythromycin or another antibiotic. (more . . . )
Read the rest of this article at: SurvivalBlog at: http://www.survivalblog.com/2011/02/seven_antibiotics_to_stockpile.html. Also, see below for a valid comment on this article by a registered pharmacist.
***
Image via Wikipedia
I was reading your article about antibiotics on SurvivalBlog and found it very informative and to the point. I would like to chime in on a couple of points… first, I give doxycycline a little more attention because it is very effective for the tick-borne diseases and also for plague and it is very cheap. Important when we all have to start tramping around more in the woods and in gardens. Second, metronidazole is currently unavailable, at least for the time being. I have yet to see a release date from our pharmacy wholesaler. (Nobody seems to have a good answer for why it is unavailable, there was a recall in recent months but it was only 1 manufacturer and shouldn’t have caused this much trouble. IMHO.) Again thank you for a very informative and useful article, I hope I don’t sound like a “armchair coach”.
LV, RPh
[Doc Cindy adds: Thanks, LV. Good points.]
Related articles
- Seven Antibiotics to Stockpile and Why, by Cynthia J. Koelker, MD (survivalblog.com)
- 7 Antibiotics for Your Medical Stockpile (lewrockwell.com)
I’d like to know what medications (and pill/cap sizes) I should stockpile if Rx and cost aren’t factors. This article was a great start but should I be stockpiling 250 or 500 amoxicillin caps? What about other drugs like nystatin, silvadene, hydrocortisone cream, etc?
My dad is an M.D. and will prescribe whatever I ask for (as long as not abusable or controlled). I’m just not sure what I need for my family (including 3.5 yo daughter).
What would you stockpile if you knew there would be no resupply for years?
[This was a great question. See new article at: http://armageddonmedicine.net/?p=2608 – Doc Cindy]