ERIC - Ok Here's my basic meds list. This list is not complete, and i might make a few additions. These are the basic team meds we carry when we are working in ghetto's and disaster zones overseas. The meds do NOT address comprehensive problems, and they are not intended to treat patients where we go. They just help our own team members to overcome common problems that arise.

Anyone who has any suggestions or improvements ... I am always open to better ideas.

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BASIC TEAM MEDS

Wounds/First-Aid
* Clean water and mild antibacterial soap ... treatment of mild wounds
* Neosporin and hydrogen peroxide ... for mild wounds. These are kid-friendly. Hydrogen peroxide is heavy to carry!
* Shur-Clens: Used for cleaning acute wounds (we are still evaluating this item).

Cold/Flu
* Thera-flu packets work well. Individual team members typically bring their own preferred cold meds.

Eyes:
Visine for eye lubrication
*Gentamicin sulfate opthalmic solution for problems like conjunctivitis and pink eye

Diarrhea:
* Bring several clean towels! Explosive diarrhea is really messy.
* Immodium AD. Helps in mild cases.
* Both antibiotics below (esp. Cipro) help a lot when things are serious

Antibiotics:
* Ciproflaxacin: Good for skin infections, respiratory and urinary tract infections, bad diarrhea and infectious diarrhea
* Doxycycline ("doxy")": Used by our team as a daily anti-malarial preventive (works well), also effective against travelers diarrhea, some respiratory and urinary tract infections

Fever & Pain
* Aspirin, Motrin and Tylenol: Go like hotcakes. The locals always want what we don't use ourselves.
* Codeine: On our list of "want to have" meds, but depends on obtaining from appropriate sources. Not always legal.

Special Meds:
* Malarone for real malaria cases (Lariam NOT recommended, though it does work).
* Epi-pens: We sometimes have these, but have not needed one. Essential if you really do have an anaphylactic shock problem.

There are other meds, and I will post them. I also do a variety of "alternative" treatments, but I only do these on myself (as a guinea pig) and people in ghetto's. The ghetto folks are totally forgotten by their own system and have zero medical care. I do not use folklore meds, but rely upon clinically proven approaches. One example is the use of honey as an antimicrobial agent for treating mild wounds. Has worked OK for me.

all the best,
other Pete

So what is in your "meds for disaster" that would not also be in your "everyday" first aid kit?

A Contact list of People from the Otherside of the tracks!

Provodone-Iodine Swabs?
BZK Wipes??
Alcohol Prep Pads and/or bottle of isopropal?


Pseudoephedrine? Decongestant, also useful as a mild stimulant
Guaifenesin? Expectorant


Sterile Saline Solution? Available in several sizes as an eye wash, also works for flushing wounds.


Also baby wipes and extra underwear!


Nitazoxanide? Treatment for giardiasis and cryptosporidiosis
Also, how much are you going to carry? 500mg BID for 28 days is a lot of meds. Maybe consider Azithromycin Z-Packs or Tri-Packs for faster action/less bulk?

Note from the CDC: Agents such as trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and doxycycline are no longer considered effective antimicrobial agents against enteric bacterial pathogens.


Diphenhydramine? Antihistamine
Potassium Iodide? Possibly worthwhile given the recent events in Japan

Just throwing some ideas out there. Unfortunately, keeping a sufficient and fresh supply of antibiotics is problematic for me.

Mark M: I will add a few more items in the next day or two. I've had a lot of discussions with nurses and physicians about wound treatment. The general opinion is that iodine is too aggressive on wounds, and tends to damage good tissue as well as infectious bacteria. So that is why I listed the options that I did. In the old days, when I was a boy, everybody used iodine. I hated it as a kid because it really stings, but let's face it - it does work. If you had nothing better, you could use iodine on mild cuts & wounds.

Isopropyl alcohol is an excellent thing to have in your "kit" or BOB. It's good for cleaning skin around wounds, and very good as a fuel for makeshift stoves.

dweste: In situations where there are a lot of people who are displaced from their homes, two things tend to go wrong. The first is that human fecal matter winds up getting into local water sources. People have diarrhea and they can't help polluting the water sources. If this gets bad, you wind up with outbreaks of cholera. Cholera kills people fast - esp. people who are run down due to exhaustion, dehydration, and hunger. Cholera shots are only partially effective. The best way to avoid cholera is to drink ONLY pure water, and to mix some oral rehydration salts (ORS). So it would be worthwhile to have the ingredients for ORS and the formula handy.

The second problem is that other communicable diseases can spread, due to the fact that you've got a lot of people living in very close proximity (colds/flu, diseases from ticks & fleas, etc.). So you have to decide how clean your local "refugee camp" really is ... before going there.

other Pete

WB Eric, and timely topic. DW and I are currently evaluating our FAKs, but alas we don’t have medical backgrounds. DW works in the local hospital (social worker) and has access to docs and info. For the meds, we are looking at the variety of OTC meds and prescription meds we use/have in our home as a starting point. Things we are looking at include:

OTC meds
Anti-inflammatory/pain relief/fever reducer – ibuprofen tablets
Allergy Meds (Antihistamine/Decongestant) – generic benadryl or generic zyrtec and decongestant tabs (considering other alternatives as most allergy meds put DW down for the count)
Cold/Flu remedy – generic Nyquil works for me as it doesn’t make me sleepy, but others may need something like generic Dayquil – everyone has their own preference – along these lines might want to include something for coughs as well (thinking mucus relief type stuff with cough suppressant - the DM version basically)
Anti-Diarrheal – Generic Immodium or similar
Constipation (the other end of the spectrum) – generic ex-lax or possibly just a stool softener
Antacid/Acid reducer – generic Tums, generic acid reducer or similar (Considering Pink Bismuth as it could also serve as an anti-diarrheal but effectiveness is a consideration)
Aspirin – I am on a daily low dose regimen and as pointed out already it serves other uses as well
Considerations for DS as well – Childrens versions of above meds where appropriate and include dosing chart and measuring syringes
Something for Nausea – not sure how much a concern this will be but a vial of Dramamine or similar doesn’t take up much room
Assortment of creams/salves – itch relief, anti-fungal, petroleum jelly, etc
Feminine related stuff – DW is in charge of that

Prescription Meds
Blood Pressure meds for DW, stratera for DS, and insulin-dependent diabetic supplies for myself

I would like to be able to include some broad spectrum antibiotics and pain meds in our supplies but there is such a problem with people addicted to prescription pain killers in our area that they may be hard to come by. The recent events in Japan have me thinking of including some of the iodine treatment (potassium iodide is it?) as well. The hydration salts, pedialite and saline seem like a good idea as well. You are right about benadryl making most people sleepy, and you can add Dramamine to that list of taking the edge off of pain as well (use with caution and YMMV)

I'm not a doctor, and I don't play one on the Internet. With that understood, I'm told that different antibiotics work on different infections, and without a good diagnosis it's likely that an antibiotic just won't work.

Mark and Chaosmagnet ... I've fought this battle over antibiotics for a long time. First, let me say that I am 100% in agreement (and respect)with the medical community on the need to avoid over-using antibiotics. A lot of people want them needlessly. That is unnecessary. Also, as you have correctly stated - the best approach is always to identify the infectious agent and then treat appropriately. That's why we have MD's, and why they go to med school.

However, there are certain situations where this does not work. If you are working in a remote area (wilderness country, or third world destination), and you don't have an MD present, then you've got an infection risk. I am unwilling to accept the possible risk of bad infections & gangrene happening for bad wounds, just because of the normal rules. I do understand that gangrene is fundamentally due to a loss of blood flow to a part of the body, but I still want the option of fighting infections as much as possible. So for these situations - and these situations alone - I try hard to find solutions that will help. The two antibiotics that I listed are a fairly good approach. They are not perfect.

My prime method for addressing the issue of wound infections is to become MUCH better at cleaning and dressing wounds in the field. In fact, I'm working on those skills right now.

Here are a few more meds that can help (some you already mentioned):

* Benadryl ... very helpful for allergies and stuffy noses
* Lotrimin ... good anti-fungal for external use
* Isopropyl alcohol .... I prefer the 91% version, but 70% is fine. Good for cleaning skin. Excellent as a fuel for makeshift stoves (e.g. coke-can stove). But bulky, and cannot be carried on airlines.


other Pete

For this reason I probably wouldn't include them at all. However, a recent illness has made me reconsider including antibiotics in a kit. It was almost a month ago now, on a Saturday, that I started feeling bad. A sniffle, a slight cough, and an overall feeling of blah (this late Saturday night after feeling well enough earlier to be dancing at a local charity event). The next morning I couldn't even get out of bed. I layed around until 7 o'clock that evening. The sniffles and slight cough had become full blown congestion, runny nose, hacking cough, etc. Monday I went to work anyway, still feeling like a train wreck. After work that evening I visited the hospital's after hours clinic. What I thought was going to be a diagnosis of a cold and bronchitis turned out to be walking pneumonia. 10 days worth of Augmentin (I am pretty sure I butchered the spelling on that one), longer for OTC meds (generic nyquil and mucus relief) finally cleared it up. On reflection, it occurred to me that had I been in an emergency situation and had that happen I would likely not be here. There is just no way I could have done anything like setting up a decent shelter or building a fire feeling as bad as I did. Of course I would not include any kind of prescription meds without consulting my physician first, but I can't help wondering if having something like a z-pack would help. Maybe not cure me, but at least buy me some time until I could reach proper medical attention. To be honest I am not really sure. As I said this thread is timely for me. Another factor I am considering here is cost. I am fairly certain that these meds will likely go unused and have to be rotated pretty often. Z-packs and prescription pain meds aren't exactly cheap. There are good arguments for and against including them in your kit.

One thing to keep in mind ... is that although an MD might not be present at your location, it could be possible to talk to a doctor over the phone, esp. if you've got a sat phone. So you can still get remote advice on how to treat a problem. But you can't perform the treatment - if you don't have the meds.

other Pete