Disclaimer. I am not a licensed health practitioner. This is just another post on knowledge and understanding you might wish to acquire in advance of a disaster in case no higher care is available. As long as our society is functioning, you should leave anything more substantial than applying a Band-Aid to the professionals. No medication, including those available over the counter, should be taken without consulting a physician. Information shared here is for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not medical advice nor a substitute for licensed medical care.
Azithromycin “Zithromax” is another “fish” antibiotic available in capsules in the same dosages as for people, so it can be found in some feed and ranch stores. It’s just not as common as doxycycline or cephalexin, so it’s more difficult to locate on the shelves. If you don’t want to place an online order and leave a paper trail, you can ask the feed store to order it for you. However, getting it from an overseas pharmacy is probably going to cost a lot less.
Azithromycin is a member of the erythromycin family and interferes with bacteria’s ability to grow and reproduce. It doesn’t often make the top ten list of antibiotics to store. Truth be told, there are usually other antibiotics that can cover for it.
However, it has some significant advantages. One, which most people are familiar with, is that it usually requires a much shorter course of treatment with fewer dosages. Often called a Z-pack in the US, the most common course of treatment is to take two pills the first day, and one pill on days 2 through 5. The second is that it is considered safe for use in pregnancy. It is also considered safe to use while breastfeeding, though use should be discontinued if the baby develops diarrhea or a diaper rash. And finally, it is considered generally safe for people allergic to penicillin.
Azithromycin is used to treat the following conditions. Dosages are what physicians normally recommend.
- Upper respiratory:
- Bronchitis, options
- 500 mg once per day, 5 days
- 500 mg day 1, 250 mg days 2-5
- Bacterial pneumonia, 500 mg day 1, 250 mg days 2-5
- Whooping cough, 500 mg day 1, 250 mg days 2-5
- Strep (Group A) throat, 500 mg/day/5 days
- Tonsillitis, 500 mg/day/3 days
- Sinusitis, 500 mg/day/3 days
- Ear infections
- Gastrointestinal:
- Campylobacter, 500 mg/day/5 days[1] or 1000 mg single dose[2]
- Dysentery, Shigella, 500 mg/day/5 days
- Cholera, 1 gram, single dose[3]
- Typhoid fever
- Skin
- Skin infections, 500 mg/day/5 days
- Mouth
- Dental abscesses[4]
- Urogenital
- Gonorrhea, 2 g, single dose
- Chlamydia, 1 g, single dose
- Syphilis, early, 2 g, single dose
- Pelvic inflammatory disease, 1 g, single dose, possible repeat in 4-7 days[5]
- Vector-borne
- Lyme disease, early, 500 mg/day/7-10 days
Links to related posts:
Antibiotic reference chart for guiding purchases
References:
Joseph Alton, Alton’s Antibiotics, 171-172.
Joseph Alton, The Survival Medicine Handbook, 496-497.
Cynthia Koelker, Armageddon Medicine.
https://www.drugs.com/dosage/azithromycin.html (accessed 19 November 2020).
because of the almost certain spread of diseases spread by the lack of sanitary during a dire SHTF >>> the Z-Pack is one of the more necessary & desired antibiotics ....
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