The Pros and Cons of Antibiotics for Preppers

This week in the Survivalist Prepper Podcast Lisa and I talked about some of the pros and cons of antibiotics for preppers. Antibiotics are a big concern for people in the preparedness community because some sicknesses and infections are impossible to cure without them.

Infections were a major cause of death before the advent of antibiotics. Diseases that were prevalent in the past are virtually nonexistent because of antibiotics, the problem is that bacteria are becoming resistant to them.  Bacterial resistance is inevitable, because bacteria will always change in order to survive.

With the widespread overuse of antibiotics from inappropriate prescriptions and extensive agricultural use, antibiotics are quickly becoming ineffective. It is estimated that in just a couple generations, we will be in the “post antibiotic age”.

With that being said, antibiotics will still be useful for preppers in any sort of post collapse scenario where medical help is limited, or nonexistent. It is up to us to understand how to use them, when to use them and learn ways to prevent the need for them in the first place whenever possible.

SPP180 The Pros and Cons of Antibiotics for Preppers

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In this week’s show is not only a cautionary show about antibiotics, but also about what antibiotics might be useful if used correctly, and even some fish antibiotic alternatives.

Here are some notes from the show, but for more detail please listen to it. Lisa is an RN and goes into much more detail about antibiotics than I can here.

IMPORTANT: This is not medical advice, these are just our opinions and suggestions on the subject. This advice is for SHTF scenarios when medical help is not available. If at all possible, seek medical advice from professionals.

Why Antibiotics Shouldn’t Be choice #1

Prevention: Like the saying goes “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. Whenever possible we need to understand how to prevent something from escalating to the level where antibiotics are needed. Something as simple as a cut could turn into something bigger if not treated correctly.

Boost Your Immune System: There are things we can do today that will decrease our need for antibiotics. Maintaining a healthy diet, and eating the right foods will boost our immune system, and help us fight some of these bacteria’s.

Research Alternatives to Antibiotics: While some of these alternatives are not the “magic bullet” that antibiotics are, they might be the only alternative available. This article here goes over some herbs and other antibiotic alternative.

Do the Benefits Outweigh the Risks: Because you can’t actually “feel” the antibiotics working, there is the misconception that they have no side effects.

In this article here HoneyColony states: “While not all antibiotics have long-lasting side effects, there are some that can actually cause permanent damage to the body. Here is a list of five of the most widely prescribed antibiotics with serious side effects.”

What will Antibiotics Treat

Antibiotics are medicines that only treat bacterial infections. Antibiotics won’t treat viral infections because they can’t kill viruses. Antibiotics only work against infections caused by bacteria, fungi and certain parasites.

They don’t work against any infections caused by viruses. Viruses cause colds, the flu and most coughs and sore throats. It is important to note that some viral infections can turn into bacterial infections.

Overuse of Antibiotics Today

We don’t need to take these antibiotics to become immune to them, and we don’t actually become immune, the bacteria does. Because of antibiotic overuse, certain bacteria have become resistant to even the most powerful antibiotics available today. Antibiotic resistance is a widespread problem, and one that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls “one of the world’s most pressing public health problems.”

Livestock producers routinely give antibiotics to animals to make them grow faster or help them survive crowded, stressful, and unsanitary conditions. Because of this, some bacteria become antibiotic resistant, threatening the future effectiveness of these medicines.

Will Fish Antibiotics Still Be an Option?

Fish antibiotics are a popular subject with preppers because we can get large quantities of these without a prescription, even though they are the same thing as human antibiotics. In any post collapse situation, prescription antibiotics will not be readily available, and fish antibiotics would be a good alternative.

There has been some concern lately about the Veterinary Feed Directive which will go into affect on January 1st 2017. I have read a few conflicting reports about what this means for preppers, and the availability of fish antibiotics. From what I understand this won’t affect fish antibiotics, but they could become more expensive.

3 Likely SHTF Uses for Antibiotics

Uses for Antibiotics http://www.bpac.org.nz/Supplement/2013/July/antibiotics-guide.aspx

Infected Wounds: Penicillin would be your first choice because it is a broad spectrum antibiotic, although some people are allergic to cillin antibiotics. Other alternatives could be Keflex and Bactrim. Fish antibiotic alternative could include Fish Flex and Fish Pen.

Common Illnesses: While antibiotics do nothing for the common cold or viral infections, they would be useful for illnesses such as pneumonia and strep throat. A broad spectrum antibiotic like Bactrim, Amoxicillin would also be useful.Fish antibiotics could include Fish Penn and Fish Mox.

Food Borne Illness: In a SHTF event, the lack of refrigeration, eating expired foods, and improper food preservation could lead to quite a bit of food borne illness. Because there is such a wide range when it comes to food born illnesses we are going to dedicate an entire show to this.

Next week we will go into much more detail about preventing food borne illness, and what to do if you happen to get sick from eating something tainted with E. coli or salmonella.

For more information on fish antibiotics in general, here is an article from The Modern Survival Blog that goes into detail about the different types of fish antibiotics.

Also From the Show…

Contest Ends Tonight: As we mentioned in the podcast, the Christmas Contest ends tonight at midnight. Click here to get your entries while you can.

Academy Christmas Pricing: We also have a special going on at the Survivalist Prepper Academy until January 1st where you can join at half price. Click here to find out more.

BOB First Aid Kit Discount: We also talked about getting $10 off our Bug Out Bag First Aid Kits when you use the promo code “bob” (without quotes) at the SHTFShop.com