We all have a first aid kit in our bug out bag. Some of us have an extra supply of prescription meds to keep in our emergency kit. But who has antibiotics for an emergency situation?
Antibiotics could be one of the most important medical advancements in the history of mankind. Ever since Alexander Fleming first discovered penicillin in 1928, antibiotics have been a staple of medicine. Antibiotics work by preventing the growth of, or killing bacteria. Bacteria can cause disease and infection. Untreated, these things can cause death.
However, overuse of antibiotics have begun to cause antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria to emerge. As a result, it is important that antibiotic use be done under the supervision of qualified medical personnel.
Of course, when the SHTF, qualified medical personnel, and supplies will be hard to come by. So how do you get antibiotics now, for you to use then?
Recently, I have seen chatter about fish antibiotics being the same thing as human antibiotics. Fish antibiotics can be bought without a prescription to help fight bacterial problems in your fish tank. If this is true, I thought, it would be a great place to get antibiotics to store in your emergency kit.
Recently, I developed a tooth infection, and since this isn’t my first dental problem, I knew how these things work. I could pay for a visit to the dentist and x-rays. He would tell me that I have an infection, and I need to get rid of that before he could do what needed to be done. I would then get a prescription for antibiotics, and be on my way. Or, I could just buy some of these fish antibiotics, and skip that first dentist visit, knock out the infection myself, and then go to the dentist when it was clear.
Now I kept my empty prescription jar from the last time the dentist prescribed me antibiotics (I use it to store small screws and such). The label was for 500mg Amoxicillin. I checked online, and low and behold, I found a product called Fish Mox Forte. What was this Fish Mox Forte? It was 500mg Amoxicillin. I ordered and bottle and got expedited shipping.
The first thing I noticed when I received my fish antibiotics was that the expiration date is for September 2017. I ordered these the other week (April 2016). Therefore, the shelf life on these doesn’t appear to be that great. That isn’t the best news for something you want to keep for a “just in case” scenario.
I opened the bottle, and took a look at the pills. The Fish Mox Forte was pink and red capsules imprinted with “WC 731” I took the liberty of looking this up on drugs.com, and sure enough it was the Amoxicillin 500mg capsules used for humans. It even mentions that it is used for dental abscess (which is a dental infection… what I have). This seems to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that Fish Mox Forte is the exact same 500mg Amoxicillin tablets that you get from your doctor by prescription only.
I have been taking the fish amoxicillin for almost a week now, and the infection is almost gone. The swelling is minimal, and the pain is gone. This works just as well as the stuff my dentist had prescribed because in reality it is the same thing.
There are other types of Fish Antibiotics available. I believe there is a Penicillin version, and a few others. I have only tried the Amoxicillin. The reason I tired this was because that is what my doctor had given me before hand. My guess is that the fish penicillin is just as much real penicillin as this stuff is real amoxicillin, but I can not verify that. (If you have tried one of the other varieties, let us know how it worked for you in the comments below).
Just remember, Antibiotics are supposed to be by prescription only, and taking them when you don’t need them weakens their effect when you do need them. This article is only meant to keep you prepared in case of a SHTF situation when getting antibiotics from a doctor will not be an option.
