Do you have a bug out bag or bucket? If so it probably has a small ration of non-prescription medicine in it. Aspirin and Ibuprofen to name a few. They are inexpensive and easy to grab. But many antibiotics used to treat infection are prescription only and stocking these up can be very hard thing to do, harder still legally. However stocking these in relation to a future disaster only makes sense.

Think about it… infection would be running rampant for several practical reasons, the biggest being water and sanitation or lack thereof. Remove our power and clean water (and professional medical treatment) and in return those same antibiotics that are over prescribed then become vital overnight! Living off the grid for even a month can present a lot of problems people are not accustom to and especially for someone not prepared to do so.

The last thing I would want is a loved one with a laceration or serious flu to go untreated in a time when clean water was hard to come by. For example, your gas powered wood splitter is inoperable and you are forced to cut wood by hand. After an hour of sweating profusely the axe slips out of your hand after a hefty swing and bites into your leg. After one day it is clear infection is setting in. Because of the present situation (just pick one) the hospitals are overrun and drugs used to normally treat your leg are out of reach and back ordered for months. What do you do? You are going to wish you had a form of antibiotic to treat your injury.

Disclaimer: I am not a Dr nor am I a medical professional. I am not telling you to replace your antibiotics with their fish counterparts or even suggesting it. In fact, I am telling you NOT to do anything you read on this page, this is simply for archiving information. There. Also, I’m not even a fan of antibiotics. Overuse can cause its own problems, but more on that later. They are over prescribed and really should only be used in emergency situations anyway. I am just someone who has done enough homework on this matter to satisfy my own needs.

So where can we acquire said stock of antibiotics in a time of need? You can tell your Dr you wish to prepare for the unknown (AKA prep) and that you wish to stockpile a large quantity of antibiotics for you and your family and see how that works out for you. Or you could just go steal from your local pharmacy. Not a good idea. Lastly you can just take a trip down to your local pet store.

Many of the antibiotics prescribed to humans are also used to keep fish healthy in aquariums. Poor sources of water, lazy fish owners and raising fish outside of their intended environment at times make fish sick. The bacteria in aquariums is more often than not, treated by the same active ingredient and often in the same dosages as prescribed to humans. Amazingly I just plugged fish antibiotics.

Now I have mentioned the idea of Fish Antibiotics being used in a SHTF scenario to friends in the past and they kinda looked at me cross eyed. When I first read about this I felt odd about the concept as well. I do not trust the pharmaceutical companies that push any of this stuff (read my article on this here) and instantly thought that anything they manufacture for the consumption of Animals (Fish are animals) is clearly a lower grade and substance and generally not safe for human consumption. I couldn’t have been more wrong about something in my life.

You are probably wondering if the same production line that manufactures fish only antibiotics produces the same antibiotics for human use? Or if the fillers (inactive ingredients) in fish antibiotics are the same ones you find in human antibiotics. Or if they are lesser known and could be toxic to your little boy or girl?

If you want to do your own research instead of buying blindly based on referral (please do) then you need to do some research and answer your own questions!

Here is a good foundation when starting the hunt:

1. Find a retailer who advertises an image of the medication wanted.
2. Check the imprint and color of the medication by using a tool such as the drugstore.com pill identifier.
3.Find all of the additional pill details by searching the manufacturer.
4.Locate the manufactures website and search their products locating the same medication with the same imprint and appearance.
5.Ensure the product then lists “AB rated” and “USP”. The (USP) the United States Pharmacopeia creates guidelines and standards for prescription drugs manufactured and sold in the United States. The AB rating indicates that the generic counterpart has met equivalence to the name brand.
6.Any drugs that meet this standard are the same as those created for human consumption.

For example if we run down to the local pet store and buy a bottle Fish Mox we would find a brown and tan capsule with the print West Ward 938 on it. Now take that same pill and cross reference it on Drugs.com (http://www.drugs.com/imprints/west-ward-938-15375.html) and you find the same pill equating to be 250 mg of Amoxicillin. Hmmmm. Scratching your head yet? It appears to be the same pill.

You may still be worrisome about the identification process. Rightfully so. But we all trust the FDA right? Well thanks to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act every pill, tablet and capsule must be marked uniquely. By law, no two tablets with identical colors, shapes and markings may include different ingredients. Mainly due to aiding poison control as well as medical professionals in figuring out what someone may have overdressed on or ingested. http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2008/aprqtr/pdf/21cfr206.7.pdf

Now with drugs.com (as well as many other verified websites and smartphone applications) you too can determine what the contents of a pill may be without the need for a strong medical background. These medical reference lists are extremely useful in determining what may lay inside that pill you just swallowed. In part and thanks to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act mentioned above. Anyone who knows me in real life knows that in my field when we find pills of unknown substance we quickly call an onsite nurse to find out what they are comprised of. All that they are doing is checking a reference guide of sorts, no different than what one would find on Drugs.com.

What is it that I need?
Based on my findings (Please do NOT take my word for anything) here is a small list of aquatic medicines also commonly prescribed to humans for various aliments by Drs all over the globe.

FISH-PEN AKA Penicillin 250mg (http://www.drugs.com/penicillin.html)
FISH-PEN FORTE AKA Penicillin 500mg (http://www.drugs.com/penicillin.html)

Penicillin V is an antibiotic in the penicillin group of drugs. It fights bacteria in your body. Penicillin V is used to treat many different types of infections caused by bacteria, such as ear infections,.

-Drugs.com

FISH-MOX AKA Amoxicillin 250mg (http://www.drugs.com/amoxicillin.html)
FISH-MOX FORTE AKA Amoxicillin 500mg (http://www.drugs.com/amoxicillin.html)

Amoxicillin is 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.

-Drugs.com

FISH-FLEX AKA Keflex 250mg (http://www.drugs.com/keflex.html)
FISH-FLEX FORTE AKA Keflex 500mg (http://www.drugs.com/keflex.html)

Keflex 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, and urinary tract infections.

-Drugs.com

FISH-ZOLE AKA Metronidazole 250mg (http://www.drugs.com/metronidazole.html)

Metronidazole is an antibiotic. It fights bacteria in your body. Metronidazole is used to treat bacterial infections of the vagina, stomach, skin, joints, and respiratory tract. This medication will not treat a vaginal yeast infection.

-Drugs.com

This is a partial list among others.

Dosing in general and relation to Animal Antibiotics
I could never provide any information on correct dosing, what each antibiotic treats as well as known allergic reactions. I do not practice medicine. It is your job to do your own research. If you can not properly identify the tablets you are purchasing, know what they treat, and dose properly while being completely aware of the precautions and side effects then it might be wise to avoid this option all together. Not a bad idea either. I personally will never down another antibiotic ever again unless I was suffering to the point where it may become vital to my health to use an antibiotic. They really should be a last resort as great harm is done to the body and immune system. For good reason many a Dr are hesitant to over prescribe antibiotics as of late. Knowing how to dose and use an antibiotic is one thing. Can you tell the difference between a bacterial infection and a viral infection?

I leave you with a direct quote from Joseph Alton, MD in regard to consuming Animal labeled Antibiotics. Dr Alton is a Medical Doctor from the American College of Surgeons, fellow “prepper” and writes this:

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. Alternative therapies should be looked at carefully, as well. Be sure to integrate all medical options, traditional and alternative, and use every tool at your disposal to keep your community healthy.

Money money money
Check around your local pet stores. The best deal I found was 100 capsules of Amoxicillin (500 mg) for 21.95. And I am scratching my head as well. If I go to the Dr and he prescribes me a regimen of the same pill dosing me at at 14 pills per illness, the cost is nigh a thousand dollars in all for the care. So why are the animal branded pills so inexpensive? Or are we just being up-charged 3,000% in the form of medical care because they “care” for us so much? I wonder…

Shelf life
This really is hard to say. You can go by the expiration date if you would like. Or check the Drug Stability Guidelines as printed by the FDA: http://www.fda.gov/do…rIndustry/ucm051556.pdf. To recap there have been a few studies done, shown to discover that that the shelf-life of many capsule/tablet antibiotics have a shelf-life of 2 to 10 years at full potency. If the 2 year window scares you I don’t know what else to say.

In closing
I doubt it would be wise to run to the pet store every time your tooth ached. I am reluctant to take any antibiotics as mentioned earlier (please read up on the dangers) however it would be nice to have them if for any reason if you needed them in the future and they were out of reach.

The final note is a simple one, you know whats best for your family and no one else. Don’t forget that.

sources:
http://www.shtfblog.com/are-fish-antibiotics-safe-for-human-consumption/
http://www.preparednesspro.com/fish-antibiotics
http://www.doomandbloom.net/how-to-use-fish-mox-to-treat-your-sick-fish-of-course/
http://www.truthistreason.net/guide-to-veterinary-drugs-for-human-consumption-post-shtf
http://www.drugs.com/imprints/west-ward-938-15375.html
Images used from Fishmox.com & Drugs.com & Flickr