Pubs for Nada. Tips are Rad. Patrons Rock. Wisdom is Lame.
A recent agony of bubble guts and the trots got me thinking about the real kinds of medical problems I might face in some kind of social collapse or supply chain disruption.
Even now in ordinary times, I get tummy problems 2 or 3 times a year. Nothing dramatic. Just enough to knock me off my game for a couple of days. You don’t eat right. You don’t think clearly. You get tired. You start wondering how long you could keep functioning like that if things didn’t improve.
Which led me to wonder if a lot of prepper medical advice might be a little ass-backwards. There’s a strong focus on fish antibiotics, trauma kits, and how to handle worst-case scenarios—extracting bullets and all that. How often would that kinda thing really come up?
During the Civil War, about two-thirds of soldiers didn’t die from bullets—they died from disease. A lot of that was illnesses that cause diarrhea. In other words, bad water and poor sanitation were deadlier than enemy fire. That’s not just a historical curiosity. It points to a pattern.
Most of the sicknesses that actually knock people down—and sometimes kill them—aren’t dramatic. They’re ordinary problems that get out of control: stomach bugs, respiratory infections, skin issues, small wounds that don’t get cleaned properly. Take away clean water, easy access to care, poor nutrition, or just the ability to rest and recover, and those problems can get dangerous.
80/20 Rule for Medical Preparedness
My general approach to prepping is to follow the 80/20 rule: plan for what’s most likely to happen and cause most of the trouble. And when you look at it that way, a pretty consistent pattern emerges. Across a wide range of real-world situations, the same categories keep showing up:
* Respiratory infections
* Diarrheal illness
* Skin conditions (rashes, athlete’s foot, etc.)
* Minor wounds and injuries (scrapes, cuts, blisters)
* Chronic condition flare-ups
That’s roughly in order of how often they come up, and it makes intuitive sense. It’s what people deal with in everyday life—just with fewer safety nets when something goes wrong.
So that’s what I’m going to prepare for. The medications and supplies I’m talking about aren’t exotic. Most of them are things you probably already have—or should have—under normal circumstances. The difference is being a little more deliberate about it, and maybe keeping a bit extra on hand in case resupply gets harder. (Never forget those COVID supply chain hiccups!)
Mind you, none of this works very well if your sanitation falls apart. Clean water, handwashing, and basic food safety do more to prevent these problems than anything in your medicine cabinet. The best medical prep is not getting sick in the first place!
Here’s what a basic medical stockpile looks like—mostly stuff you’re already familiar with.
Basic Medical Prepping Shopping List
Respiratory infections
Most respiratory issues are viral or allergic. You’re not curing them—you’re managing symptoms so you can rest and recover.
* Acetaminophen
* Ibuprofen
* Thermometer
* Cough suppressant (dextromethorphan)
* Expectorant (guaifenesin)
* Oral antihistamine
* One non-drowsy option (loratadine or cetirizine)
* One sedating option (diphenhydramine)
* Decongestant (pseudoephedrine or phenylephrine)
* Saline nasal spray
* Basic masks (surgical or N95)
Diarrheal illness
This is where things can go sideways fast. The biggest risk is dehydration and electrolyte imbalance.
* Oral rehydration salts (ORS, e.g., Pedialyte)
* Electrolyte drink mixes (e.g., Gatorade)
* Bismuth subsalicylate (e.g., Pepto-Bismol)(Avoid in children or teens with viral illness due to the risk of Reye’s syndrome.)
* Loperamide (e.g., Imodium)
* Oral syringes or measuring cups
* Water purification method (tablets, filter, boiling, or bleach)
ORS is specifically formulated to maximize fluid absorption when your gut isn’t working well. Sports drinks help, but they’re not the same thing. One important note: avoid loperamide if there’s fever or bloody diarrhea, since your body may be trying to clear an infection.
Skin conditions
These won’t usually kill you, but they can spiral into infections if ignored.
* Hydrocortisone cream
* Antifungal cream (clotrimazole or terbinafine)
* Oral antihistamine
* Calamine lotion
* Antiseptic solution (iodine or chlorhexidine)
* Clean cloths or gauze
If you’re not sure what you’re dealing with, don’t throw everything at it at once—especially steroid creams, which can make some infections worse.
Minor wounds and injuries
Most serious infections start small, so the key is dealing with them early.
* Clean water or saline for irrigation
* Gauze pads
* Adhesive bandages
* Medical tape
* Antiseptic wipes or solution
* Antibiotic ointment
* Tweezers
* Small scissors
* Wound closure strips (Steri-Strips)
* Moleskin or blister pads
* Disposable gloves
Clean it early, keep it clean, and check it regularly. If it’s getting more red, swollen, painful, or starts draining, that’s a sign things are going the wrong way.
Chronic condition flare-ups
This is the trickiest category—and often the most important. There’s no real backup to the normal supply chain for prescription medications, and you can’t legally stockpile large amounts in the U.S. But anything you can do to build a small buffer is a smart move. (Read my post on how there’s no Plan B for prescriptions.)
* Prescription medications (personal)
* Backup supply of critical meds
* Inhalers (if applicable)
* EpiPen (if applicable)
* Glucometer and test strips (if diabetic)
* Blood pressure cuff
* Spare glasses or contact lenses
* Contact lens solution
* Pill organizer or medication tracker
Other Common Problems
Urinary Tract Infections
One thing not on that previous list, but worth mentioning, is urinary tract infections—especially for women. They’re common, painful, and can get worse if ignored.
Over-the-counter meds like phenazopyridine (Azo) can help with the discomfort, but they don’t treat the infection itself. Fluids help, but if it doesn’t improve, you’re likely going to need antibiotics.
In other words, this is one of those edge cases where the limits of a home setup show up pretty quickly.
Dental Pain
Tooth problems are another common issue that can get bad fast. A small cavity or lost filling can turn into serious pain in a hurry. Clove oil (eugenol) can help numb the area temporarily, and over-the-counter temporary filling material can buy you time. Like UTIs, though, this is one of those problems that often needs real dental care sooner rather than later.
When This Isn’t Enough
This kind of basic setup handles a lot of everyday problems—but it has real limits. If symptoms are getting worse instead of better, if you can’t keep fluids down, if there’s high fever, severe pain, confusion, or anything that just feels like it’s going sideways fast, you’re out of “manage it at home” territory.
At that point, the goal isn’t to push through—it’s to get real medical help if you can.
What About the Serious Stuff?
Now, some of you are probably thinking: what about the serious stuff? Severe infections, trauma, the situations where the stakes are high and the wrong move really matters—and when skilled medical help isn’t around.
Fair—but that’s a different level of prepping, and it starts with training, not gear. You need to be able to recognize what’s happening, decide what matters, and use the right tool under pressure. That’s not something you pick up from a list or a stocked cabinet.
First aid and CPR courses are a good start, and a bleeding control class is even better. From there, you can go deeper—wilderness medicine, EMT training, and so on. There are books that can help too, like Where There Is No Doctor, which focuses less on tools and more on how to think through medical problems when help isn’t readily available.
You’ll sometimes hear people talk about stockpiling antibiotics—including veterinary products—as a workaround. Maybe, maybe not. Either way, that’s not the real issue. The hard part isn’t getting your hands on pills—it’s knowing when they’re appropriate, which one to use, and how to dose and duration it correctly. That’s where laymen who treat themselves go wrong.
Getting some medical training is worth exploring if you want to go further. But most people try to skip straight to the advanced stuff without ever getting good at the basics—and the basics are what you’re most likely to need.
My Recommendation? Start With That Basic Stockpile
There’s nothing wrong with going deeper into medical training. In fact, it’s probably one of the most useful things you can do if you’re serious about preparing for the worst possible scenarios. But it’s not where most people should start, IMHO.
Start with what actually happens most of the time. Start with what you can understand, use, and maintain right now.
That’s where I’m starting. Maybe I’ll move on to formal training down the road. But for now, I’m headed to the drug store to fill out this list.
That’ll get me 90% of the way there—or better.
Pubs for Nada. Tips are Rad. Patrons Rock. Wisdom is Lame.
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