Surviving the Medical Meltdown (20 page)

The government has made it hard for honest people to get and store some spare narcotics, but druggies seem to have no problem. As the government becomes more and more intrusive and oppressive and penalizes doctors for overprescribing, you will be less likely to get any surplus pain medicine from an injury or surgery or tooth problem. I would hoard what you can now. That’s what I do. (Feds now are probably on their way to kick in my door.) Put those in the
emergency first aid kit, and distribute any spare narcotics either to other adults’ packs or into a special med pack. The important thing is not to let it get to children accidentally. (Although multivitamins with iron probably hurt more children than codeine does.)

CHILD SAFETY AND YOUR STOCKPILE

Of course, it is extremely important not to let small children access any medication or supplement. People generally hide or secure their prescription medications, but the sad fact is, multivitamins with iron historically have hurt more children than prescription medications because we don’t recognize them as dangerous and therefore do not secure them from small hands. In 2011, according to SafeKids.org, 67,700 children were seen in emergency rooms for medicine poisoning.
²

For our purposes, there are two parts to child safety and medications: storing our stockpile and safely maintaining those medications you use every day. For the stockpile, the safest option is storing it in a locked closet. However, not having one in my house, I keep my stockpile on a high shelf in an unlocked closet. The key is, it is well out of reach of toddlers and small children. For everyday medications this is not practical. If you use your medications from a medicine cabinet, purchase a locking one. People often keep their daily medications and vitamins in the kitchen for easy access. If you do that, I suggest a wall-mounted locking medicine shelf. Wayfair. com carries a thirteen-by-five-inch horizontal locking cabinet perfect for kitchens and reasonably priced.

However you do it, the key is to be aware of the potential and ability for small children to access your medications. There is a joke in the medical community that is based on truth: the elderly can’t get into their childproof bottles, but their grandchildren can. So locks are the best idea.

Vitamins are a problem for three reasons:

1.
We tend not to lock them up.

2.
They are often made like candy for children to take without complaint. Although their vitamins may be in the form of gummy bears, don’t make a big deal of them. Don’t show your children the bottle with cartoon characters. Dispense them one at a time and only one a day. Never use them as a reward. Never accede to the pleas for a second. Finally, keep these in your locked cabinet. Don’t assume that high on the kitchen shelf will work. One day when you least expect it, your toddler will climb onto the kitchen shelf and stand up. Remember: these are more apt to be a temptation than the plain-looking pills you take.

3.
Vitamins sometimes contain iron, which can be toxic in the doses available in an average vitamin bottle. My advice is to buy children’s vitamins without iron. Unless there is a real medical reason to do so (such as iron-deficiency anemia), buy adult vitamins without iron. Nothing else in the multivitamin carries the level of toxicity that iron does.

STOCKPILING OVER-THE-COUNTER MEDICINES

In the same way that you may be short of prescription medications, OTC (over-the-counter) medications may also become supply limited. The FDA wants to exert more and more control over nonprescription medications and vitamins and other nutriceuticals. And predictably, everything government touches becomes more expensive and harder to get. Do you get a sudden cold and become miserable at night due to a plugged nose? Or do you have trouble getting to sleep and take melatonin at bedtime? Think of all your routine supplements and add the OTC meds you routinely use; then add the ones I recommend for emergency self-care listed here and in
appendix B
.

TOP 10 OTC MEDICATIONS TO STORE

1.
Aleve

2.
Benadryl (diphenhydramine)

3.
Cetirizine HCL (generic antihistamine)

4.
Hydrocortisone cream

5.
Afrin nasal spray

6.
Omeprazole (antacid)

7.
Miconazole nitrate 2% antifungal cream

8.
Senokot S (for constipation)

9.
Antibiotic ointment

10.
Mylanta (immediate-relief antacid)

Supplements are individual. In
appendix B
, I summarize the ones that I believe everyone should take. But you should make your own personal list and keep them stocked up three to six months in advance.

Think of the routine afflictions that make you run to the drugstore. I use Afrin and antihistamines for my runny or stuffy nose on occasion. Antacids? A topical anti-itch cream? Headache meds? Sore throat lozenges? Go through your family and make a list of each member’s needs – even if not common. I don’t get colds very often, but three days of no sleep because of a clogged nose is no fun. And it usually happens at the most inopportune time. You want to develop a relationship with a freethinking non-government-dependent physician
before
the system collapses.

16
STOCKPILING AND DISTRIBUTING SUPPLIES

I
once heard economist and investor Mark Faber, in referring to purchasing and holding physical gold, say that you should be like a dog and bury a bone in every backyard because you never know where you may end up. Now, he was referring to storing gold in different countries, but the principle is important for anything you might need in an emergency. Where will you be when you need the emergency item? If you have more than one house – say, a vacation cabin – it is important to have critical medical supplies anyplace you might end up during an emergency. Maybe the major supply cache is at home, but at least part of it should be in your vacation cabin or your “bolt hole.” I keep a small house as a peripheral office eighty-two miles from my residence, and I am distributing some survival medical supplies there as well as the basics of food, clothing, and so on. And just as there are many types of survival guides, you should consider many types of supplies for different types of emergency. Classic “prepping” considers three levels of emergency: the seventy-two-hour evacuation, the six-week problem, and the long-haul survival scenario. Regarding medical supplies, I really envision only two types of supply kits. There is the really emergent small kit for the quick evacuation. And beyond that, medical organization should be by function, not time.

You will need to create (1) a small pack to get you by in a dire-straits, leave-in-minutes emergency; and (2) multiple problem–based supply units that are as complex as your level of medical knowledge and expertise.

THE TRUE EMERGENCY PANIC KIT

What would you grab to flee Hurricane Katrina, Mount St. Helens, or perhaps a forest fire, where you have less than thirty minutes to leave? This is when you grab your seventy-two-hour packs, your important documents, and your valuables if possible. And now let’s add an emergency medical kit.

You can buy seventy-two-hour kits with basic first-aid supplies: Band-Aids, ACE bandages, salve, and so forth. But these won’t come with your personal medicines, nor will they anticipate your particular needs if you have them – think diabetes. These standard seventy-two-hour kits (with food, water, candles, and such) are for surviving the first seventy-two hours. (See
appendix B
for representative contents of a seventy-two-hour kit.) It is assumed that there will be everyday supplies available after that. While it is true that nonmedical supplies, such as food and water, are pretty universal, medical care is not. So a seventy-two-hour emergency medical kit needs at least two weeks of medication in addition to basic first-aid items. One pack may work for a healthy family. But if people have medical care needs, everyone may need to evacuate with a seventy-two-hour pack
and
a medical pack. And remember that others you encounter along the way may need help. So this pack is not just for you; it is also to lend aid to those around you to some degree. The ability to help others is both good in itself and may provide a bartering tool if needed.

SHORT-TERM EMERGENCY PACKS

Prescription medicines (in daily-dose ziplock snack bags – enough for at least two to three weeks)

Chewable vitamin C

Vitamin D
₃

Iodine supplement

Melatonin 3 mg sublingual