Are you wondering how to stockpile antibiotics? During a disaster, you could end up with limited access to medical care. This could prove disastrous should you wind up with an infection and are unable to obtain antibiotics. Fortunately, some common antibiotics are readily available from pet shops or other veterinary supply stores.
Stockpiling Antibiotics: Animal Remedies?
One way to have a stockpile of common antibiotics is to purchase them over the counter from a pet store or veterinarian. These animal remedies are essentially the same medications given to humans, and can be taken in much the same manner to cure infections. Some of the easiest medications to find in this manner include:
Amoxicillin: which is sold as Fish-Mox or Fish-Mox Forte, and can be used for curing urinary tract infections, Lyme disease, bronchitis and tonsillitis
Ampicillin: sold as Fish-Cillin or Fish-Cillin Forte, is helpful in treating food poisoning and certain sexually-transmitted diseases
Ciprofloxacin: found in Fish-Flox and Fish-Flox Forte, is an antibiotic helpful in treating respiratory infections, urinary tract infections and infections of the skin and soft tissues
Cephalexin: sold in products such as Fish-Flex and Fish-Flex Forte, can be used to treat middle ear infections, strep throat, tonsillitis and joint and bone infections
Proper Storage and Handling
If you are to stockpile these antibiotics, it’s important to ensure their safe storage and handling; otherwise, they may not be effective when you need them. To ensure your safety, you should keep these medications in a cool dry place, and discard them after one year. Taking medications that have expired has the potential to cause a serious reaction or even death, so if there is any question at all as to its age, you should probably forego taking it.
Never mix more than one type of antibiotic together when treating a particular disorder. Be sure to take these medicines at regular intervals, preferably with food so as to avoid stomach upset.
Proper Dosage
It’s also important to take the proper dosage of each medication in order to obtain results. For this reason, it can be helpful to have a reference manual such as the Physicians’ Desk Reference handy in case of an emergency. That way, you can cross reference your symptoms with a particular medication in order to determine the dosage that’s best.
Watch for Allergic Reactions
You’ll need to watch for signs of an allergic reaction, particularly if you have not taken these antibiotics before. Some signs that you might be suffering from an allergic reaction include a rash on the body, difficulty breathing or itchy skin. You might also notice an increase in symptoms whenever there is an allergic reaction, at which time you should discontinue using these medications and try an alternative treatment.
Part of being prepared for an emergency involves ensuring you are able to treat infections as they occur. A little advance preparation will go a long way should you find yourself unable to seek medical attention. Best of all, this type of preparation takes little in the way of time or resources.