[pct-l] antibiotics, FAK

[Laura Newman]

Please note that Cipro causes damage to the tendons in the Achilles  
heel.  Most long distance runners and hikers won't touch the stuff.   
For me, it's not worth a risk when there are other equally effective  
antibiotics.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NHF/is_1_20/ai_86649554/

On Mar 21, 2010, at 10:38 AM, Dan Africk <danstheman at gmail.com> wrote:

> I'll be bringing azithromycin, brand name Zithromax, as well as cipro.
> They're both broad-spectrum and powerful antibiotics, but the nice  
> thing
> about zithromax is that a full course of treatment is only 6 pills(its
> available in a 6-pill blister pack, sometimes called a Z-pack). You  
> take 2
> on the first day, then 1 pill for 4 days, and you're done. A full  
> course of
> treatment for Cipro is usually 7-14 days, and a common dosage is 1  
> 500mg
> pill taken 2x day.
> I don't know if these drugs are optimum for crypto or giardia, the  
> consensus
> seems to be that Flagyl is best for that, but I like that these are
> broad-spectrum and can be used for a wide variety of infections. I  
> suspect
> that they'd work well for crypto or giardia, but I'd like to hear from
> anyone that has specific knowledge about how well they work for this.
>
> I don't plan on taking any antibiotic unless I have overwhelming or  
> very
> compelling reasons to believe I have a bacterial infection, and I  
> don't have
> access to a doctor or medical testing. Nevertheless I feel much better
> carrying antibiotics, knowing that if I get a nasty infection in the
> back-country I can treat it right away. For any drug you carry but
> especially antibiotics, make sure you read up on side effects, drug
> interactions, etc before you leave. For example Cipro increases  
> sensitivity
> to sunlight, and can make the effects of caffeine stronger, and may  
> interact
> with ibuprofen. On a related note, I read a study a while back that  
> showed
> that drinking green tea while taking antibiotics makes the  
> antibiotics up to
> 3x more effective! Good to know.
>
> If you ever do take an antibiotic, it is very, very, important to  
> finish the
> full course of treatment, even if you feel better right away. People  
> not
> finishing their antibiotic treatments is one of the reasons we now  
> have
> incurable, multiple-antibiotic resistant "superbugs. Scary stuff.  
> One option
> for something like cipro is to carry a partial course of treatment,  
> say, 5
> days worth, and keep the rest in your bounce box, or have a doctor  
> who will
> send out a prescription on short notice.
>
> Evan and Ryan, I'll email you off-list with my full first aid kit  
> inventory.
> I have a very different opinion than most about what qualifies as a  
> first
> aid kit and what is the minimum you should take, so my FAK is huge  
> by mosts
> standards, even after spending a lot of time removing as much as I  
> could
> bear to take out. It will probably get smaller after a few weeks on  
> the
> trail, but I'll still bet that I arrive in Canada with one of the  
> biggest
> FAKs of any thru-hiker.
>
> Some of the other drugs I consider important are diphenhydramine 
> (benadryl),
> naproxen and/or ibuprofin(naproxen lasts up to 12 hours vs 4, so is  
> more
> weight efficient), loperamide HCL(immodium), and prescription pain  
> killers
> if you can get them. I'm also bringing prednisone, a prescription  
> steroid,
> in case of a severe reaction to poison ivy/oak, or any severe  
> allergies.
> When thinking about bandaging and wound-care supplies, keep in mind  
> that if
> you have a serious injury, you may need to change a dressing 2 or  
> more times
> a day for several days, or until you reach a resupply point with  
> medical
> supplies. I rarely get anything worse than a small cut, but  
> personally I
> don't want to have to call for help just because I didn't bring enough
> gauze. I consider teflon dressings covered with guaze pads and then  
> secured
> with a roll of stretch gauze or vet wrap(kind of like an adhesive,
> waterproof ace bandage), to be the gold standard for any wound  
> larger than
> what a band-aid will cover(and in that case, your wound will  
> probably heal
> faster without the band-aid)
>
>
> -- 
> www.hikefor.com/haiti-2010-Dan
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