My recent acquisition.

Hello my fellow survival freaks!

I'm currently in the process of moving (Thank you, Mr. Economy)
Well my family owns a non-profit organization which sends gifts, medical supplies, and other forms of aid to impoverished locations in the Americas.
Well it never occurred to me that whatever we can't send or sell we... yes... throw away!

We throw away thousand of dollars worth of medical supplies!!!

So upon realizing that I immediately launched myself into the boxes headed for the garbage and found TONS of useful supplies.

I managed to get as much as I could use (some of the meds were already way past the exp. date).















-Acetonel 8wk Supply
-Heparin Flush Solution Vials x6
-Pump Kits x 4
-Huber Infusion Sets x25
-Albuterol Sulfate Vials x100
-EMLA Cream x1
-Sterile Sealed Gauze Sponges x 100
-Morphin
-Sulphane
-Sterile One time Use Gloves x8
-Oral Swabs x36
-Surgical Gloves x 200
-Gastrostomy Kit
-Surgical Face Masks x20
-Hypodermic Needles x 100
-Child Respirator Mask


That's about all I could carry. The great thing is we get shipments of these every year.

Now how should I store all this stuff? and what can some of this stuff be used for?

Well, you can ditch the medicines straight away. They are not thrown away for no reason. Some of those medicines/drugs will be more dangerous than when in date, plus it is no good having drugs/medicines if you dont know what they are, what they are used for, what equipment is used to dispense them and a host of other things. Thats why drugs are dispensed by 'registered' people.

Latex gloves are not used anymore due to lots of people being allergic or having sensitivities to them.

Second that.

Ditch all the drugs. It is likely to be some sort of crime or felony just to have them even if they are expired. Many of them are only safe before they break down into two or more toxic compounds. Better no drugs than old drugs. Herbal knowledge and a coffee grinder is even better.

Vacuum seal the rest according to a few pieces of each item. If you must produce some supplies to help out in an incident, you only risk biocontamination of a single package full of pieces, rather than a box of this or that.

Okay so the drugs go.
The latex gloves go too.
WHat about the alcohal preps and the sodium chloride?

Things like dressings, gauzes, syringes, scissors, giving sets and such like as long as they sealed should be okay. SEALED and STERILE is the key here.

Dump the sodium chloride. Inject ables are only valid for use when they have been stored in a known controlled environment.

What you need to look for are things like these:

Stainless scissors, tweezers and clamps. The can be soaked in trays of alchohol and be 'emergency clean' if there is such a thing.

Rolls of cotton batting.
Rolls of gauze.
rolls of tape and rolls of ace bandage.

any sterile splint or bandage tie material.

With these you can cut the gauze and cotton to size for most anything, and only use what you actually need conserving supplies and possibly coming up with a better custom bandage than you could buy.

Plastic irrigators. (look like a syringe but have curved plastic needles.) These are for two purposes, the first to flush wounds the second being they can be trimmed to a little wider tip and will help pull forgien matter from wounds with suction.

More masks and plastic eye guards. As indicated fresh gloves. The make different materials and some shelf out pretty good. Remember to split them all up into equal quantities and vacuum seal or ziplock as small set of disposables. In a jam you could toss a bag to someone in need and show you care even if you don't actually render first aid, or want to avoid exposure.

Originally posted by Wotan
Well, you can ditch the medicines straight away. They are not thrown away for no reason. Some of those medicines/drugs will be more dangerous than when in date, plus it is no good having drugs/medicines if you dont know what they are, what they are used for, what equipment is used to dispense them and a host of other things. Thats why drugs are dispensed by 'registered' people.

Latex gloves are not used anymore due to lots of people being allergic or having sensitivities to them.

I second that.

Medicines become unstable at the molecular level and can rapidly become toxic. Ask any pharmacist and they will throttle you if you say you use out of date stock.

Dressings are not too bad, but the packaging will become weak and the goods become un-sterile.

Ditch it matey, its not worth the risk especially as you don't know what you have there.

For instance why do you need sodium chloride for injection if you have no venflon to flush ??? or another other use for it ?

awesome! thanks guys!
ill be getting more of this stuff soon!

Keep the Gloves for working under the sink, or on your car.

The lidocaine Creme is a topical Pain killer. ( Skin Surface )

The Syringes are good for flushing dogs ears, pulling brake fluid out of a reservoir, or other uses. I would not dump those.( flushing Wounds with Saline)

All the bandages are still good, just the packaging, as another poster mentioned, might get damaged.

I can tell you this... You have probably 100.00 worth of stuff there.

I personally tend to keep things a bit longer than most, then dump them at a later date.

I think you should take advantage of your Family's business, as often as you can. I personally would push it to get as much as possible.

Make a Home Kit, a car kit, and a backpack kit. Then Make a Large Hospital Grade kit, over time, with the stuff you get.

As for the Meds... I cant advise you except to look them up in a PDR and see what they say about expiration dates. ( Dump the injectables )

I suspect the Lidocane will still be ok to use, in MY OPINION, and without having it in my hand to check it out.

Maybe its just me, But I tend to NOT dump stuff, unless I KNOW its going to do more harm than good.

Really depends on what you know and how bad the sitaution is.

Keep Scrounging, honestly. I know you have 100.00 worth of stuff there.

Check the PDR for detailed data. Then decide if you want to print it out. Just the Knowledge you gain will be worth it.

ALSO... some of the stuff may still be used by someone who is trained, later on when the chips are down, so dump the out of date drugs, and keep the hard supplies.

Best regards,

Blitzkreigen

reply to post by n0b0DY


How about helping your fellow survivalists by shipping some of these extra supplies to us? I'm sure there are people here who would gladly pay for shipping and for your time if you could send us some of these supplies. It would save us the trouble of having to go around and collect all of these items individually (if it's even possible), and not have to go through the trouble of explaining to every cashier and pharmacist that we are buying this stuff for the end of the world!

I second that.

If you don't object could we list our wanted items and get in touch with you via U2U for available gear.

Right now, for example, I'm on the look-out for a stitching needle (the wound stitching type).

Here is a Great Company that I can Personally recommend for Sutures and Lidocaine. ( yes, Its Legal To order Lidocaine )

www.midcoastal-environmental.com...

They have a Wound Flush that is excellent, and kits for suturing, including the topical painkiller and other items. The ADVANCED suture kit is only 16.00 MATE! Cant go wrong with that!

Fast Shipping, Highly Recommended company. I trusted them with my CC, and never had a problem.

Best Regards,

Blitzkreigen


By The Way, search E- BAy for "Combat Lifesaver Kits" The Best Ones ( Newest 2007 ) are 200.00, but you can get smaller older ones for about 50.00 fully stocked, no drugs or injectables, because thats how they come from the Depot when issued to the Medics. The Meds get added later on.

[edit on 8-6-2008 by Blitzkreigen]

Hey guys!

Thanks for the advice!

To Blitz- I am taking as much advantage as possible. This was all I could carry at the time. We had about 6-7 boxes leftover PACKED with all kinds of things. Our next round we'll have enough to fill the C-130 that the airforce lets us use
I am allowed to keep as much as I'd like.

To Rasputin- Actually I've already have request for shipments. I will GLADLY help you guys out. I'm not greedy. Ill charge somewhere around 2-5 dollars for a small box (shoe box) filled with whatever we have at the moment that you'd like to obtain.

To Watchrider- I've personally seen about four of those. I'll see if I can hold on to one for ya.

I wold strongly discourage giving yourself or others injections unless you are properly trained, unless you like air embolisms. I worry about that kind of thing even when getting needles from doctors.

As far as I'm aware, bad/expired morphine has the potential to make you go blind or make your hands swell up like balloons, etc. But that's just what I have heard second-hand

What about sealed but out dated suture kits?

Should still be sterile as they are factory sealed.

reply to post by hinky


Cat GUT might deteriorate. Ethicon ( nylon) will be ok. I have both from the early 80's, that still look good, and newer stuff from last year as well.

Beats a fishing line and a hook for sewing up an arm, or the bottom of the foot, calf, thigh... eye.

I suggest SMALL sizes as well, for delicate facial areas.

The Wound Clenser and topical painkiller goes hand in hand with these. ( If your a Trained Medic, Syringes and a Subcutaneous injection , or 3 )

Gauze rolls and tape, anti stick gauze pads, Suture Holder ( Hemostat ), possibly a disposable scalpel, tweezers , betadine swabs and alcohol prep pads, gloves, sponges, surgical towels. Headlamp. Triple Antibiotic ointment for the next few days, AFTER 24-36 hours.

A suture tray is sealed with scissors and tweezers to remove them later. Plastic and disposable, but streile and cheap.

Lidocaine spray is Excellent for a topical, as well as a burn, itch, rash or puncture, sting or bite. Solarcain spray is Over the counter, but you can get it stronger, or make your own. See previous link . Spray, Cream, or pure powder to mix. Hello toothache? I suggest Ora Gel and Oil of Cloves.

Something else to look into is "Quick Clot" Blood Stopping Powder, bandages and compresses. Made from Shrimp Shells, clots the blood quickly in a major Wound. Issuide to US Troops, standard IFAK first aid kits. ( Newer Versions 2007 + ). Also available commercially for individuals, or EMT's. 12 to 18 dollars a pack for major wound, lifesaving immediate action. Not the Old Vietnam type bandage anymore.

All this is 'over the counter' BTW....

Best Regards,

Blitzkreigen

This statement is for informational purposes only!!!!

Depending on the meds, they should be recycled for their chemicals as many are of a purity that can't be easily duplicated. Expired or heat exposed antibiotics are worse than useless.

Pure honey is an excellent topical antibiotic for folks who aren't allergic to bee stings.

Part of any survival community's library should be the latest pharmacist guide. Many give a chemical breakdown of common commercial meds ie nitroglycerin and sulfur based drugs. Any decent student of chemistry can make some fairly useful compounds from old meds like industrial strength acids for home brew batteries or smokeless gunpowder.

Once again, making and handling any dangerous substance is best done by professionals, so don't try this at home except under the most dire emergency after a complete societal breakdown.

reply to post by crgintx


We are discussing Complete Societal Breakdown here, so I wanted to add a few Items to this Medical Aid "List".

I know I cant count on my local Hospital, nor could I get there if I even 'Might' need these supplies. They are all Multi Function, and cheap.
All Over the Counter..... Dont Be afraid to self help, you ARE allowed to do that!

By all Means, use what PROFESSIONAL Services are "available" for the Situation, but I'm thinking way, way past that.

Any Bandages you can get. More than you ever think you will ever need. They go quick when your dealing with blood, ooze, dirt and have to change them out daily after 'repairs'.

Telfa pads and other NON stick Pads.

Sterile Wound Flushing Saline Solution. ( Pints and quarts ) Dated, Stored Properly. years 2.00 a bottle.

Irrigation Syringes, 60 cc Plus. ( 2 to 3 dollars a tray with Bottle, Syringe, -no needle- and tray )

Sterilized Water ( quart Bottles ) Dated, Stored properly years 1.50 bottle.

Hydrogen Peroxide ( Pints and quarts ) Dated 1-2 years. 1.00 bottle

Bleach for disinfecting surfaces, unscented, sodium hypochlorite 5.25 % - 6.0 % available chlorine. Clorox Regular. Dated 1 year. 1. 25 bottle.

Disposable Sterile Towels paper. Bard Paper Products URL..
Lifetime sterile. 15.00 for 100 to 1000 folded and boxed depends on brand Kimberly Clark.

Sterile 'Burn Blanket', disposable, paper... have to shop it to get the best price. Bard Paper

Paper Sheets, disposable, not sterile. Pack of 12. Bard Paper

Hospital Paper Gowns, 3 to 12 , clothing may be burned, destroyed, missing or soaked in bodily fluids. I'm not just going to lay there naked... sorry girls. You can help with the rehab. Bard Paper


Tylenol Extra Strength, Alieve, Excedrin Migrane, and Bayer Aspirin. ( Pain ) Dated 1-2 years 5.00 to 7.00 a bottle. Get all 4.

Antibacterial Wipes ( Wet Ones- Red package) SKIN Cleaning. 1 year, will dry up. 1.00 per 'travel pack' in plastic resealable 'bag'.

Lysol 4 in 1 Disinfecting Wipes ( Flu virus killer, and many others on surfaces) 1 year will dry up. 2.50 per Tub, or 2 pack for 4.00,

Lysol Spray Disinfectant / Cleaners. Surfaces. years. 3.00 can LARGE.

MSCO Burn Spray, or Total Resources 'be smart' Burn Spray. ( many many uses , both Lidocaine) Dated for FDA regs. 5.00 per bottle. Worth 3 times as much!

Tea Tree Oil. Topical Painkiller. Lifetime. 3 to 5 dollars in 1 oz. bottle. Eyedropper lid.

Clove Oil for teeth. Tiny Cotton Balls, Q tips, toothpicks, popsickle sticks. Lifetime. under 10.00 for all. Eyedropper Lid.

Add Ora Gel as well again. Dated for FDA. 5 to 7 dollars. ( Beats an Ice Skate and a Coconut Mr. Hanks)

Aloe Vera Liquid or Gel. ( 5.00 to 9.99 per bottle-- more expensive in a 'sunburn' type product ( bullfrog ), not necessary to get the best )

SMALL trash bags, for bio waste and bandages, sponges, towels. ( thick w/ ties) years. 3.00 box.

After all this is collected , start looking into Hospital Grade Disinfectants.

Lysol and Clorox 'both' make them, but there are others out there that will kill MRSA and other pathogens. Good For Instruments, and surfaces.(Spray Bottle, refill Gallons)

2 Brands are Best, but they escape me at the moment. ( Spirodex? )19.99 per Gallon, concentrated. Suitable for spraying down and entire room and killing all bacteria and viruses. No cleanup necessary, allowed to sit on surfaces.
Something like "30 minutes" everything is 'killed' time effective. Lasts for 48 hours after continuing to work. 29.99 if you dont 'shop' it and have a 'Hospital Supplies' Purchasing Account to buy from, on someone else's dollar.

Everything listed in both posts is useful for Suturing and Many other Medical tasks. Its such a good foundation, and really inexpensive, when you factor in your Family. We are still under 200.00 total EASY.

Hygene is Probably the MOST Important for these supplies, and is NECESSARY for any Medical Aid. Including how you handle and store/ open/use your supplies. Just being conscious of it is Half the Battle.

Best regards,

Blitzkreigen


[edit on 11-6-2008 by Blitzkreigen]

I strongly suggest that you get some info on what sort of native medicinal plants will grow in your area. Aspirin for instance can be extracted from willow bark. Most of our modern sedatives are derived from the coca leaf or opium poppy. Many species of plants have different astringent and antibacterial properties as well. I've read somewhere lately that many conventional medical doctors are thinking twice about prescribing any antibiotics unless the patient is actually showing signs of infection. Any clean cloth can be used as wound dressing as long as it's been disinfected. Boiling it for 20 minutes showed do the trick. Vinegar, citrus fruit juices and alcohol are great disinfectants as well. In a collapse situation, you'll really need to start thinking out of the box when it comes to emergency medical treatment.