Essential Antibiotic List for Survival Storage by Doctor Joseph Alton

Añadido: 2026-06-06

[00:00:00]Hi, Joe Alton MD here, also known as Dr. Bones of the survival website doomandbloom.net, co-author of the book excellence award-winning fourth edition of the Survival Medicine Handbook, the essential guide for when help is not on the way, and designer quality medical kits at AltonFirstAid.com.

[00:00:17]One of the requests I get frequently on social media is for guidance regarding which antibiotics would be useful to store for survival settings. I'll start by saying that my writings are meant for circumstances where there is no functional medical system. It's important to know that. Many years ago, I wrote the first articles by a physician on aquarium antibiotics as a survival option. At that time, they were identical to human antibiotics down to the numbers and letters on the capsules, just repackaged for the aquarium hobby.

[00:00:49]Today, however, the FDA forbids their use.

[00:00:53]The generic antibiotics I'd want in my survival medicine cabinet haven't changed, however.

[00:00:58]Which should you have in your survival storage? I'll mention several of the most important ones here, with the generic and US brand names, as well as some comments as to their uses. For those who aren't allergic to penicillin, I think either amoxicillin, Amoxil, or cephalexin, Keflex, both members of the beta-lactam family, would be good drugs to have around, especially for soft tissue and bacterial upper respiratory infections. Dosing is relatively simple and in most cases safe for pregnant and pediatric patients. There's also amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, also known as Augmentin, which is effective against some infections that are resistant to amoxicillin alone.

[00:01:40]Next, I would have doxycycline, Doryx, which handles a lot of different infections of the respiratory and intestinal tracts.

[00:01:48]The antibiotic's okay to take if you're allergic to penicillin drugs, although it isn't acceptable for use during pregnancy. There are those who claim doxycycline becomes toxic when expired.

[00:01:59]I would note that the Department of Defense's shelf-life extension program has in the past authorized its use well beyond the expiration dates.

[00:02:09]Metronidazole, Flagyl, is a drug which I would consider very useful, especially for intestinal and pelvic infections from bacteria and even certain parasites like Giardia.

[00:02:20]It's also used in those with serious infections, for example, early appendicitis combined with another antibiotic for situations where surgery is not available.

[00:02:31]Although metronidazole is acceptable in those allergic to penicillin, it's not okay for a pregnancy or breastfeeding.

[00:02:38]Azithromycin, however, is known to be generally safe in pregnancy as well as those with penicillin allergies.

[00:02:45]It can deal with many cases of respiratory infection, dysentery, tonsillitis, sinusitis, and more. An added benefit is if many have taken it before in its popular Z-Pak form. The sulfa drug combination, sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim, Bactrim DS, is an excellent choice for many infections, especially urinary ones. If that's a common problem for certain family members, you might consider this drug.

[00:03:11]It has also been used for skin infections, some sinusitis, MRSA, ear infections, and others. Sulfa drugs are acceptable in the penicillin allergic but not in the pregnant woman or breastfeeding mother.

[00:03:23]Clindamycin, Cleocin, would also be on my list. It has been used to treat everything from acne to anthrax, but it is helpful for pneumonias, pelvic infections, uterine infections after childbirth, soft tissue infections, and is even effective against MRSA. It is, unlike doxycycline and metronidazole, acceptable for use during pregnancy and in people allergic to penicillin. Of course, you could be allergic to clindamycin or really any other antibiotic itself. In rare cases, use of clindamycin could induce an intestinal infection known as colitis, which could be serious. Then there's ivermectins, Stromectol, used in its human form and not the paste used for horses. It's certainly an option in the age of COVID.

[00:04:07]Now, you may notice my list doesn't include ciprofloxacin or cipro, an important antibiotic which is effective against many infections. I feel that the side effects of the drugs including damage causing weakness in the muscles and tendons disqualifies it for most. It may still be an option for some.

[00:04:25]In our book, Alton's Antibiotics and Infectious Disease, the Layman's Guide, we describe the various antibiotic families in detail. The drugs above each belong to a different family. If you could accumulate some of these over time, it would give you the best chance of having a medicine on hand that would have activity against almost any bacterial infection. There are various ways to obtain the antibiotics I mentioned above. The main disadvantages of buying from medical companies that have sprung up to sell antibiotic kits like Ozio, Wellness, Jace, is that you're often limited in the quantity of the drugs in question that you can purchase and the frequency of those purchases.

[00:05:04]For the medic in charge of a survival group with many members, this can be problematic.

[00:05:09]Others look for veterinary equivalent antibiotics, which I've written about extensively in the past. Now banned for use in humans by the FDA, an AI search will still identify certain online retailers that offer them. Do your own research and come to your own conclusions. It's important for you to know that every single medication I mentioned has its share of side effects and reasons why they might be dangerous in some people like those with kidney or liver disease. You should also learn to recognize the signs and symptoms of various infections so you know what you're treating. Indeed, antibiotics aren't useful at all if you misdiagnose a viral infection as a bacterial.

[00:05:48]This information is also in our book Alton's Antibiotics and Infectious Disease, the layman's guide.

[00:05:54]Everything in plain English, just like everything we publish. It's important to realize that antibiotics are not candy.

[00:06:00]They should be used judiciously and rarely in survival settings. These drugs are going to be scarce commodities and irreplaceable in a societal collapse.

[00:06:08]Accumulate a good supply and utilize them wisely.

[00:06:11]To accomplish that goal requires not just monetary funds, but a fund of knowledge and good judgement. If you're successful, you might save the life of someone who might otherwise not survive in times of trouble.

[00:06:26]This is Joe Alton MD, that old Dr. Bones, wishing you the best of health and good times or bad. Hey, learn more about more than 200 off-grid medical topics in the award-winning fourth edition of the Survival Medicine Handbook. Thanks for watching.

[00:06:39]>> Hi, Nurse Amy here. Just wanted to remind you guys not to forget to visit store.doomandbloom.net for all your holiday shopping, gifts for birthdays, Mother's Day, Father's Day, any day actually. If you want to help somebody survive a first aid issue, make sure you go to store.doomandbloom.net.

[00:07:00]>> [music]