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.
Whenever two or more preparedness-minded individuals gather, and the
topic turns to antibiotics, inevitably the following cautions are
offered: "Don't stockpile tetracycline. Tetracycline becomes toxic."
And because a lot of what's posted online is copied from someone else
online, who copied it from another source, and so on, the myth gets
perpetuated.
And yes, the notion of tetracycline becoming toxic is a myth. And
sometimes even doctors--who should know better--are the ones
perpetuating the myth.
As I've written in other posts, both doctors I took classes from said
they had no problem with using older medications--providing that they
had been stored properly. Furthermore, there was no hazard per se to
using expired medications, only that they gradually decrease in
efficacy. (But if you have a serious infection and your antibiotic is
less effective, that could be hazardous.) Both doctors stated this was
true even for tetracycline family antibiotics (including minocycline and
doxycycline). While tetracycline family antibiotics reportedly used to
become toxic soon after their use-by date, both physicians said that
they have been re-formulated so that this is no longer the case.
Of course, anyone can write anything on the internet, and proclaim it as
the gospel truth. You shouldn't take anything you read here or on any
other blog related to preparedness for granted. This is serious stuff.
It's your life and that of your family. You have got to do your own
research. You can start with the references I add to most articles.
The following quote comes from one of them.
According to The Medical Letter, a professional newsletter,
"The only report of human toxicity that may have been caused by chemical or physical
degradation of a pharmaceutical product is renal tubular damage that was associated with the
use of degraded tetracycline... Current tetracycline preparations have been reformulated with
different fillers to minimize degradation and are unlikely to have this effect" (The Medical
Letter, Vol. 44, Issue 1142, 28 October 2002).[1, 2]
If you want to go with your doctor on this, and your doctor maintains
that tetracyclines are not safe beyond the expiration date, that's fine.
I'm not here to argue. I'm presenting options for people who might
need options, and presenting them in advance of TEOTWAWKI so they can
research themselves. Truth be told, I don't really care whether you use
tetracycline or Skittles. Just don't change your mind later and decide
you want my tetracycline, other -cycline family antibiotics, or
Skittles. (Well, if I'm in a really good mood that day, and my kids
aren't around, I will probably share a few Skittles. I don't like
them.)
Tetracycline is a broad-spectrum antibiotic used to treat the following:
- Upper respiratory
- ear infections in adults
- sinusitis
- bronchitis
- Gastrointestinal
- cholera, 500 mg, 4 times per day for 3 days (but doxycycline, azithromycin, or ciprofloxacin may be better choices)[3, 4]
- enterotoxigenic E. coli infections
- gallbladder infections
- Helicobacter pylori, 500 mg, 2x per day, 10 days, taken in conjunction with metronidazole [5]
- Urogenital
- urinary tract infections
- trachoma
- chlamydia, 7-10 days [6]
- gonorrhea, 7-10 days [7]
- pelvic inflammatory disease, 10-14 days [8]
- Vector-borne
- tick-borne relapsing fever, 500 mg, 4 times per day for 10 days [9]
- typhus, 6-10 days [10]
- brucellosis, 2-3 weeks [11]
- malaria
Unless otherwise indicated, the adult dosage is 250 mg, 4 times per day, for 7 days. For children ages 8 to 12 years, the dosage is 125 mg. Do not use in children under the age of 8 years unless there is no other option. Tetracycline can cause problems in developing bones and stain teeth.
Alternatives
Colloidal silver has been shown to be as effective as tetracycline in laboratory studies.[12]
The following herbs have been demonstrated in clinical studies to work synergistically with tetracycline, even against tetracycline-resistant bacteria:
- berberines like Oregon grape and Japanese barberry combined with tetracycline are extremely effective in treating cholera and E. coli infections;
- thyme, in the form of one to two drops of essential oil under the tongue, combined with tetracycline worked well against Salmonella typhimurium, Streptococcus pyogenes, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus [13]
- bidens [14]
- licorice (the herb--Glycyrrhiza--not the candy) [15]
- ginger [16]
- pomegranate rind and peel [17]
Most cholera strains are resistant to tetracycline alone. It should be combined with an herb to be effective in treating cholera. Furthermore, combining tetracycline with an herb may significantly shorten the treatment period, allowing you to make the tetracycline supply last longer.
Contraindications. Tetracycline should not be taken by pregnant women and children under the age of eight years as it can damage bones and stain teeth. Tetracycline absorption is significantly (50-90%) impaired by milk and milk products. The issue arises not from the milk itself, but rather the antibiotic binding with calcium. Tetracyclines also bind with iron, zinc, and magnesium. So antacids like Tums and supplements of these minerals would also inhibit tetracyclines, as would any other foods rich in these minerals, like oysters, dried figs, and raisins. For this reason, do not use milk products or antacids for two hours before or after taking tetracycline.
Caution. Tetracycline may cause sensitivity to the sun and the development of a rash. Avoid sun exposure while taking tetracycline.
Links to related posts:
Shelf-Life of Medications
Colloidal Silver
Japanese Barberry
Thyme
Ginger
Pomegranate
For further information:
[1] Cynthia Koelker, Armageddon Medicine, 467.
[2] Survival and Austere Medicine, 3rd Edition, 211.
[3] Armageddon Medicine, 176.
[4] David Werner, Where There Is No Doctor, 356.
[5] Armageddon Medicine, 368.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.
21 april 2020
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