Are you going on vacation soon? Or waiting for the end of the world, perhaps?
Who wouldn’t rather be prepared than take a trip to the ER or the pharmacy? Can you find a doctor or a pharmacy where you go?
If I moved to a desert island, what medicine would I, a family doctor, take? It is something that I have pondered over the years. It’s easy to say what it wouldn’t bring: no cholesterol meds, no weight loss drugs, no wrinkle creams.
What is really necessary? What is really useful?
To keep things simple, I’ll stick with the low-cost over-the-counter medications. That’s another way of saying, what should you keep in your medicine cabinet? Or embark on a cruise?
Since you might have a toothache or headache or injury, you would take something for the pain, probably two things: ibuprofen (generic Motrin or Advil, less than $ 10 for 500 capsules) and acetaminophen (generic Tylenol, about $ 4 for 100), in case the ibuprofen upset my stomach.
As I expected a diet of bananas and coconuts to irritate my stomach, I would make sure to bring meclizine for nausea, ranitidine or famotidine for heartburn, and loperamide for diarrhea (inexpensive generics for Bonine, Zantac, Pepcid, and Imodium, respectively, each one under $ 10). I would also carry generic Tums for quick relief from acid indigestion and to help my bones as there would probably be no cows around and chewing seashells is hard on my teeth. Meclizine would also be useful for any seasickness or car sickness on the road.
I could have a paper cut out of a palm leaf, so I would pack a tube of bacitracin to prevent infection. In case there is poison ivy, you would have a tube of 1% hydrocortisone (Generic Cortaid 10) on hand. And in case there is any fungus causing ringworm or athlete’s foot, I would also carry a tube of clotrimazole (generic Lotrimin).
And since you would probably have allergies to native plant life, I would bring diphenhydramine (generic Benadryl) to use before bed (also helps insomnia) and loratadine for morning use (also helps hives or itching).
I suppose I would have to be in the water to fish from time to time so I would bring a bottle of hydrogen peroxide to rinse my ears (50:50 mix, water and hydrogen peroxide) if they started to hurt (swimmer’s ear). .
And since my diet might not be ideal, it would take me a year of inexpensive vitamins for around $ 10.
UPS! I almost forgot about the sunscreen; I would need at least SPF 15 or higher until I tan. I’d better bring a book on herbal remedies too, in case I’m stranded for more than a week or two, and a solar charger for my cell phone.
Now I am ready to go.
Copyright 2010 Cynthia J. Koelker, MD
