Medicines are some of the things that might be hard to get in troubled times, and many of them can’t easily be replaced. The good news is that many are also quite cheap and readily available. In case you’re feeling the “I’m too poor to prep” blues, here are some ideas that literally could be picked up for $1 (plus tax) each. Some are more vital than others, but all would be something you’d not want to do without when the need arose.
Do I actually do my stocking up of these things at dollar stores? No, the regular stores where I get household items have larger bottles that are cheaper per dose and take up less storage. The point of the post is to roust that tired old ‘I don’t have money to prep with’ excuse. Check under a couch cushion and you can make a start with these.
Important but cheap medicines
NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) don’t just reduce pain and fever. These medicines also reduce inflammation in general, which can allow you to keep walking on that over-used knee or somewhat sprained ankle.
Diphenhydramine (such as the classic version Benadryl) is an antihistamine. It’s particularly useful for chilling out allergic reactions. It’s like two medicines in one as well, since it is the main component of many sleep aids. Just don’t take it when you expect to have to stay alert. (I’m not a physician; like all of what I write that’s just a friendly suggestion not a medical recommendation).
Medicines to keep you out of trouble on the road
If your plan includes bugging out by foot and you live in a place with intense sun … how would you feel about walking in that all day long for days on end? If your answer is “Like a lobster” or “Blistered”, better pick up some of this. Lifesaving? No. Worth having a bit of, particularly for tender-skinned kids? Yep.
Also under-rated, especially in winter, is the lip balm. Cracking from the cold, dry air of winter isn’t just uncomfortable, it’s a break in the skin that invites infection. When medicines to treat infection are hard to get, avoiding them is doubly important. Besides, why be miserable for the lack of $0.50 and a bit of foresight? This stuff works to reduce hangnails too; and they are also an infection risk.
And speaking of avoiding infections, these are medicines of supersize importance for a pint-size cost. Small wounds are pretty much inevitable if you’re hoofing it. This stuff makes infection of those wounds much less likely.
When there is no dentist…
(I snuck in a link to Hesperian Health Guides there because they have a good book by the same name. Consider this my aside for the post.)
Ok, dental floss is one of my favorite ever cheap preps. It not only prevents dental problems, but also reduces more serious health risks (like heart attack…seriously) and doubles as a very tough for its weight, rot-resistant thread for repair of gear and outerwear.
Oral analgesics are medicines for comfort rather than a lifesaver, but comfort you’d be glad to have if it’s going to be a bit before you can get to a dentist.
Decent rest is hard to get with allergies
Oxymetazoline sprays are the most effective decongestant drugs I know of, and don’t keep you up as does Sudafed and its mimic medicines. Just remember that using this stuff for longer than three days or so risks a very nasty rebound congestion when you do stop it.
One a day allergy tablets can do a lot to improve energy and sleep quality.
Medicines for stress and uncertain diets
Medicines for the itches of the great outdoors
This sort of itch cream may combine anti-inflammatory hydrocortisone medicines with topical antihistamine diphenhydramine. It makes poison ivy much less miserable.
Hydrocortisone works by reducing inflammation, so it’s helpful for a variety of skin irritations, and might even do a bit to reduce swelling and soreness from battered joints.
I have been reading sunscreen isn’t healthy. It has carcinogens, cancer causing agents.
It wouldn’t surprise me a bit if there were some carcinogens in it. However, it’s a lot safer than the sun exposure it’s preventing (based on the strong reduction in cancer among those who use the sunscreen rather than not). My own choice is usually to go with light but long-sleeved/legged clothing and a big hat for sun protection, but that takes a lot of packing space.
From a prepper point of view, I was suggesting it mostly to prevent serious burning in people not suited to the sudden strong exposures ‘indoor people’ might get in an emergency. Cancer is a long-term risk that comes from bad habits; blisters take less than an hour to form in some people.
Long pants, long sleeve shirt and wide brim hat (boonie) 😉
No chemicals, doesn’t wash off, easily adjustable and comes in stylish colors! haha
I have wondered about the (seemingly wide spread) vitamin D deficiency… didn’t it start about the same time sunblock became widely used? Blocking out the bad… and good parts of the sunlight… Just a thought to ponder
Yes, Vitamin D deficiency did indeed come about with the increased use of sunscreen. You need to get some good D3. Let the sun get on your body for at least 15 mins per day, as much skin as is decent should be exposed. Lack of this vitamin can make you feel crappy
im a new reader on this site ,and so far it is very informative. Has there been a review done of fish antibiotics ? My pardon if there is one , I just havnt found it here yet. My understanding is they are the same class as human antibiotics but I have only seen bits and pieces of info on this . If there is a general compendium that someone can point me too ,it would be appreciated . Also ,if this is a stupid question ,please pardon me .
First, welcome to 3BY we are glad it’s helpful.
We haven’t touched on fish antibiotics much, for several reasons that go beyond the scope of a simple answer.
I talked with Spice and we’ve decide we will do an article in the next week or so about our thoughts on them. In the mean time, one place that seems to have a decent amount of info is the Doom & Bloom website, you can check it out by clicking HERE.
There’s a lot more too it for us than “are these antibiotics the same” and we want to talk about all the issues, pros and cons, so check back here for our follow up article to this comment. We have some in our preps, but… well, we have a lot of other thoughts on them as well, so we will write those up in an article for our readers.
I hope you enjoy the site… up in the top corner on the right hand side you can subscribe, so that every story we publish will come to your email. Since we are non-commercial, no ads, etc… you can rest assured we won’t spam you… it’s just whatever articles we publish.
Thank you very much . About to go to the link , that is most helpful .
Ointment for athletes foot works for yeast infection rash and diaper rash