Rx - What should you carry?

B

Bernoulli

Joined
Jun 15, 2007
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Lomatil is a prescription anti-diarrhea medicine. The pills are small. They are prescription medicine because they can be addictive (If you take scads of them. My dad, who was an MD thought it nearly impossible to become addicted to Lomatil). You lose a lot of water sweating and living at a higher altitude than your body is adjusted to. Dehydration is no joke and diarrhea is obviously no joke - and a rapid way to become dangerously dehydrated.

I would also like to have an anti-nausea medicine for the same reason - sorry don't know any to recommend. I would imagine they are prescription as well.

Then there's the obvious - the ones you already need for your own body maintenance, like athsma medicine, etc.

Then there's the other "What if....?" meds like pain killers, antibiotics (internal and external), anti-itch creams., etc.

What do you recommend?
 
I need extra strength Arthritis tylenol. My handes and wrists get really swollen as the temp drops or in creases quickly(morning into day) As I type the temp has gone down to 2*C and I can barley type. Middle finger has a lump the size of a peanut, my left wrist is smothered in asper cream.
 
For the hershey-squirts use otc Immodium. Cheap and effective. For nausea, Pepto-Bismol tablets are the way to go.

You'll also want lots of anti-histamine, again OTC Claritin tablets or generic is good. Get the dissolve-in-your-mouth version if you want, useful if you don't have any drinking water handy.

In the field, consider aspirin instead of Tylenol, as it has multiple uses. Use the Tylenol if you are allergic to aspirin, however.

You'll want a strong disinfectant, I believe Betadine is available OTC and it is the best in the field. This goes along with sterile bandages; bring as much and as many different sizes as your gear allows.

Anti-biotics - you'll need about three different kinds and if you have a doctor willing to write you an Rx for them you'll need him to tell you on how to use them.

Pain-killers - Don't bother. It is too easy to kill yourself to use anything that is effective enough to do the job. Pain is a good thing in the wild anway; an injured body hurts for many reasons...

One thing that is available and should be in any field med kit is an epinephrine auto-injector or EpiPen. Asthmatics are usually the ones with this on hand but it can save anyone from anaphylactic shock and won't likely kill you if you use it inappropriately. If you get stung by a 2-inch hornet and suddenly find yourself choking from a swollen airway, you'll know its time to stick your thigh with the EpiPen and hopefully live to tell about it later. Better to have it and not need it than too need it and not have it. Note this won't help with a venomous snake bite (makes it worse) and in that instance the only thing you can bring with you to help are special pressure-bandages.

As far as other chemicals, carry lots of DEET mossie repellant and H20 purification tablets.

Anti-malarial and yellow fever drugs are mandatory when visiting areas that require it.
 
I would say Ibuprofen, Benadryl, Immodium, Hydrocodone 5mg and either Levaquin or Cipro would cover 95% of any wilderness or SHTF situations you might encounter(unless you need special meds).
 
My first recommendation is to take medications that are consistant with your personal medical training. For some people, that means taking only over the counter medications. For others, it can mean taking all sorts of useful Rx medications. Next, I would suggest tailoring your meds for the type and duration of trip as well as the people on the trip for whom you will be responsible. Some people set up a basic kit that they will take on all trips and then have add-on packets that they can easily use to add capability.

Here is a list of my basic kit meds:

Ibuprophen
Benadryl
Immodium
Levofoxacin
Azithromycin
Epinephrine
Injectable benadryl
Ofloxacin opthalmic drops
Marcaine
Ambien (the only Rx sleep aid that has been demonstrated to be OK with altitude)
Prednisone
Triamcinolone 0.1% cream
Oil of cloves (in tiny dental 1st aid kit)
Aspirin (4 325mg tabs for MI tyle symptoms. NEVER to be used in kids)
Hydrocodone/acetaminophen 10/325 tabs
Claritin
Pepcid

All of the above meds fit in a little firm-sided sunglass case.

When I am travelling with children, I include the following meds (mostly because kids can't swallow pills and shouldn't be given floxacins under most circumstances):

Ceftriaxone
Dexamethasone (inj)
Lidocaine 1% (cause ceftriaxone stings like a mother when mixed only with sterile water)
Pepcid AC (pepcid in a nice chewable strawberry form)

With the above meds, I can handle almost any medical situation that I would encounter in an average <1week outdoor experience. They are also appropriate to my medical training and professional comfort level (MD, Wilderness Medical Society member, etc.)

If you take Rx meds, please make sure you know how to administer them. And by that I mean you should seek professional training. Rx meds are often pretty sensitive to both overdosing(dangerous) and underdosing (useless).
 
asfried2 said:
Aspirin (4 325mg tabs for MI tyle symptoms. NEVER to be used in kids)
Click to expand...

I think this might be a typo. Our protocol is one 325mg tablet or four 81mg chewables for suspected MI.

Either your protocol is different or this is a mistake. More is definetly not better with aspirin from what the studies have shown.

KR
 
nephildevil said:
aspirin not good for kids?
Click to expand...

Younger kids when running a fever can get Reyes syndrome which can be fatal if they given aspirin. Although most of us that are middle aged probably were given aspirin when we were younger since that was all that was available for high fevers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reye's_syndrome

I can proudly say that I am an aspirin, lawn darts, lead paint, toy gun,choking hazard toy survivor.
 
I carry nothing exotic, and all is otc stuff. My 1st aid is a mix of bandages, some anti-bac. wipes, benadryl ointment, betadine ointment, aspirin, ibuprofin, benadryl capsules, anti-diarrheal pills, and a few of the big size Tums.

I will say that although aspirin is my 1st choice general otc pain med, I do advise that a day or two of regular pain maintenance use, like 2 - 325mg tablets every 4 hours will definitely THIN your blood making cuts and scrapes more hazardous in the wild. Also its effects will last about a week so just keep that in mind.
 
ras said:
KR1,
asfried2 is talking about what's in his kit, not dosages.
Click to expand...

Your point is very well taken. :thumbup:

Just a note to others in case they don't know the normal dose for an MI. Four baby aspirin of 81mg each or one adult 325mg tab is all that is needed, not more. And yes, have them chew the baby aspirin and even chew the adult tab if that is all you have. Tastes like crap but can save their life. Make sure they are not allergic to asprin before giving it to them.

KR
 
asfried2 said:
My first recommendation is to take medications that are consistant with your personal medical training. For some people, that means taking only over the counter medications. For others, it can mean taking all sorts of useful Rx medications. Next, I would suggest tailoring your meds for the type and duration of trip as well as the people on the trip for whom you will be responsible. Some people set up a basic kit that they will take on all trips and then have add-on packets that they can easily use to add capability.

Here is a list of my basic kit meds:

Ibuprophen
Benadryl
Immodium
Levofoxacin
Azithromycin
Epinephrine
Injectable benadryl
Ofloxacin opthalmic drops
Marcaine
Ambien (the only Rx sleep aid that has been demonstrated to be OK with altitude)
Prednisone
Triamcinolone 0.1% cream
Oil of cloves (in tiny dental 1st aid kit)
Aspirin (4 325mg tabs for MI tyle symptoms. NEVER to be used in kids)
Hydrocodone/acetaminophen 10/325 tabs
Claritin
Pepcid

All of the above meds fit in a little firm-sided sunglass case.

When I am travelling with children, I include the following meds (mostly because kids can't swallow pills and shouldn't be given floxacins under most circumstances):

Ceftriaxone
Dexamethasone (inj)
Lidocaine 1% (cause ceftriaxone stings like a mother when mixed only with sterile water)
Pepcid AC (pepcid in a nice chewable strawberry form)

With the above meds, I can handle almost any medical situation that I would encounter in an average <1week outdoor experience. They are also appropriate to my medical training and professional comfort level (MD, Wilderness Medical Society member, etc.)

If you take Rx meds, please make sure you know how to administer them. And by that I mean you should seek professional training. Rx meds are often pretty sensitive to both overdosing(dangerous) and underdosing (useless).
Click to expand...

My wife and I are both docs and our kits are very close to this:thumbup:

We add Tylenol for infants (because we have one) and have lunesta instead of ambien (we don't get much altitude in Florida). I also have a tube of Clotrimazole Cream, and bacitracin ointment in my bag.
 
For those who think they might need stronger pain relief, but can't get a prescription:

Aspirin + Tylenol is okay, Ibuprofen (Advil) + Tylenol is okay, but Aspirin + Ibuprofen is bad.

I got this advice (and a couple handfulls of free sample packages) when I went to see a doctor about wisdom tooth issues. It definitely worked better than either one alone, but it is still no tylenol 3. For those in Canada (no idea whether it is also the case in the US) pain meds containing codeine are also available over the counter without a prescription. It is a tradeoff, but I'd rather be mildly nauseous and constipated than be in infected wisdom tooth socket pain anyday.
 
g30ff said:
For those who think they might need stronger pain relief, but can't get a prescription:

Aspirin + Tylenol is okay, Acetominophen (Advil) + Tylenol is okay, but Aspirin + Acetominophen is bad.

I got this advice (and a couple handfulls of free sample packages) when I went to see a doctor about wisdom tooth issues. It definitely worked better than either one alone, but it is still no tylenol 3. For those in Canada (no idea whether it is also the case in the US) pain meds containing codeine are also available over the counter without a prescription. It is a tradeoff, but I'd rather be mildly nauseous and constipated than be in infected wisdom tooth socket pain anyday.
Click to expand...

g30ff, Tylenol IS Acetominophen. Advil is Ibuprofin.

-- FLIX
 
Hum, my list is pretty simple as far as OTC stuff goes... except I have some Compazine "pills" that I take just in case. I will not use them unless it is ABSOLUTELY necessary though. They are for extreme nausea, as in I can take medicine orally.
 
Before I go on a trip, I go and talk to a doctor (usually someone I know well). I tell them where I'm going and what I'll be doing and for how long. I ask them for suggested medications first (always nice to learn!) and then I ask for stuff. But, I've only done this a few times.
 
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