Trying to get a rough idea of the specific types of Fish Antibiotics I Should Stockpile and the amounts for one person or should I always have an extra amount on hand for others. Would appreciate what you consider the basic standard. As an aside, I'm new here and am posting a bunch of questions because this forum seems to take info more seriously then many of these type of boards who see them more as a social activity. I find a general consensus of answers is a good place to start rather than trying to find articles if I'm lucky written by one person with one viewpoint. I'm solely concerned with preparing when SHTF takes place across the entire United States rather than a region, say New Orleans and Katrina, as one can always, or at least I can, eventually get out of my area and relocate to another City/State, where they don't have those conditions.
This is discussed here in detail. https://www.survivalmonkey.com/threads/some-medical-considerations-for-ebola.49834/ AT
What kind of fish do you have, and you have to be careful that they aren't allergic to penicillin... Rancher
For future reference, the SM search box works. Not perfect, but functional. Please keep an eye on the dates of the various threads, some are old and could stand updating.
Also note that as of January 1 this year many varieties of fish antibiotics now require a prescription from a vet.
Other then penicillin, and some pain management meds, I wouldn't bother with Fish antibiotics. Even then, I would be more concerned with my pets and any livestock then for human needs. Most Vet's can help you stock up on prescription pain meds for pets.
Why? Would "human" antibiotics fit into your preps better? (Not, trying to be a smartass, just wanting to understand your rationale.)
Actually, many, if not most, of the fish and bird antibiotics are not subject to the FDA veterinary feed directive and are still quite readily available with no prescription. You can find more on that here with a list of antibiotics subject to the VFD. The Future of Fish Antibiotics in Survival? | Doom and Bloom (TM) Video: Fish Antibiotic Update | Doom and Bloom (TM) As noted in the post "medical considerations for ebola" I tried to find reseach and corroboration for the notion that colloidal silver is effective. I really wanted to find some scientific evidence. Other than some prepper websites and alternative healthing websites, I could find no reseach that substantiates CS is effective as an oral antibiotic. The few studies I did find said it does nothing at best and turned one blue, literally, at worse. If you can point to specific peer reviewed research that suggests otherwise, could you please provide links or citations, I would really really like to know that it works. At this point, I have reluctantly concluded it doesn't have much, if any, efficacy as an oral antibiotic and won't count on it in our preps. YMMV. AT
I have since the first of the year been able to obtain Gallimycin which is on the list in the attached article, no Rx required. So if you need a ton of Erythromycin, in powder form, most if not all vet supply stores will sell it, it's for chickens, or all poultry. Rancher
Erythromycin is generally available as a fish/bird antibiotic. Azithromycin (Zithromax) is a more modern derivative of erythromycin, is much harder to find for your ill fish but you can (or could) generally get blister packed azithromycin from aquabiotics.net. I see they are currently out-of-stock on both of those. You might watch their site. Azithromycin 500mg- 12 Tablets AT
I also have this huge bag of powdered Aspirin... anybody know what the shelf life of it is, currently in refrigerator. Rancher
Don't know about powdered aspirin specifically. Here is what was said about shelf life and storage in post previously mentioned in: https://www.survivalmonkey.com/threads/some-medical-considerations-for-ebola.49834/ ------------------------ Medication Effectiveness Over Time Medication expirations So, you spend a hundred bucks or two and will it all be wasted when the medications “expire” in a year or two? There is some info on Koelker’s website and in Alton’s book and other locations referencing various studies examining the expiration dates and remaining efficacy of medications beyond those dates. As a general rule, the dates have little relevance to the degradation of the drug. The Army found many drugs and antibiotics were still quite potent 10 and 15 years well past their expirations. The drugs that degraded most were all those in liquid form. FEMA studied drugs in their stockpiles and found the pill and tablet drugs were all still good 2-10 years past their expirations. One study at UC San Francisco found 14 drugs in a pharmacy store room that were 28-40 years old. They analyzed the medications and found 12 of the 14 to still be at 90% or greater strength. The FDA has issued a authorization for Tamiflu to be used up to 5 years past its expiration date based upon research. Frankly, a drug that is 70-80% of its full strength is still far better than nothing (seems one could also up the dosage a bit to compensate) and data suggests drugs can be stored for years and years and still be adequately effective. Much has been written on tetracycline and related antibiotics such as doxycycline becoming toxic with age. Dr. Alton discusses this in his book (you need to buy it!) and indicates that this seems to be based upon just one disputed data point and a subsequent study with doxycycline noted no ill effects with the test subjects. Lots of prepper web sites will rail about not using old tetracycline but its easy to recommend NO, you have to actually know what you are talking about to recommend yes. Me personally? I just don’t think I’d worry about it but I’m am making no recommendation. Storage Oxygen, heat and light are the most significant factors in degradation we have in our control (I haven’t figured out how to stop time yet). I have my stockpiles meds sealed inside additional bags stored in the dark in the bottom of my refrigerator. I wouldn’t hesitate using these in a SHTF situation 10 years from now. I don’t think you want to use the freezer as I did see something alone the line (don’t recall where) that some drugs can be compromised by freezing but I haven’t determined precisely which ones as yet. I have noted with the freeze dried food such as Mountain House that their pouches have a 5 year shelf life but if they came in a sealed plastic bucket and you don’t break the seal, MH says some can last up to 20 years. This suggests to me there is oxygen or moisture migration through the Mylar pouches that compromises the long term storage. (I have some first-hand engineering experience with moisture migration through cast aluminum) I think if you sealed the medications in their original packaging inside of a stout larger container that had been purged of oxygen (flood it with nitrogen or argon), added an O2 absorber and desiccant and kept this in the bottom of the refrigerator, this would be the ultimate storage solution and medications could last for decades.