Medical conditions in post-apocalypse world (Drugs etc)

[martin_blass]

This topic has been on my mind for a long time and since we have a nice forum here...

I think all the drugs would inevitably run out sooner or later (since no one would be manufacturing them anymore) so what then? In some cases this is not an issue (you do not need anti-conception pills and such) but for people with chronical medical conditions?! I know there are some alternatives (willow bark acts as an antipyretics...)

Any other alternatives which would be useful?

[HappySashimi]

I feel like those people would be some of the first to die out. Survival of the fittest dictates that if you're not the cream of the crop, you're creamed...

[logang]

I have to agree with @Mook , while there will still be a limited supply of medication, and there may also be natural treatments for some ailments, without the mass transportation and production of medications there are many people who would not be able to survive due to both the initial lack of medication as well as the harsh struggle that life would become.

[martin_blass]

That is pretty much what I think...

But has anyone experience with naturally occuring substances as a substitution for drugs? Like I mentioned - willow bark for antipyretics etc.

[martin_blass]

Or sage extract as an antiflamatory

[robdoar]

Most Dr.s you have a personal relationship with will write prescriptions for needed medications for emergencies.

That being said, the conclusion is inevitable if you need X to survive, and X runs out....

[TattooedMac]

The thing with alternative medications ie: Natural that grows in the region you are trying to survive, you need to be a expert on these Medications especially if they are to be ingested to settle stomach cramps and the like.

Paste type natural medications are the same too, if you put something on your skin, and it is irritated more, then you are sure to get a lot sicker quicker.

This is one thing i wouldn't be pursuing, and in the frozen climate of the North, you will be hard up finding anything to help you. I have seen the Natural stuff and know a little about Aboriginal Medicine, where they can make up a paste from Pandana tree and other roots that when wrapped around a break can heal it to a point of not hurting and you can continue activities, and the Emu Bush is used for ailments like cuts and sores as it has antibacterial properties.

You really need to be careful with this stuff as there is so much natural poison out there and if you don't know what your doing, then you end up 6' under.

I do have a Natural Medicine book, but it will be useless to me in the Frozen Northern Canada and to implement this into the game, there are 100's 1000's different concoctions the Dev Team would NEED to hire a expert for that region for it to be successful.

[JetroKoro]

My little brother suffers from type-1 diabetes. He doesn't have more than 3 months worth of drugs and injection needles at a time.

Since he was diagnosed (last summer) with it, I've been thinking about this. I know it's stupid to lose mind over something that's so unusual (apocalypse), but it scares the crap out of me.

[anomrabbit]

I think once all the medications run out people who depend on them will be out of luck. There's just no replacement for things like chemotherapy and insulin.

However, depending on the area there may be herbs that can help with certain ailments. That's how pharmaceutics got started. The available herbs would depend entirely on where you are; like @TattooedMac says, there's probably not a lot of useful things in Frozen Northern Canada.

P.S. @Martin_Blass: Some people do need anti-contraceptive pills, because they do more than just prevent pregnancy. They're also used to manage cramps, dysmenorrhea (painful menstruation) and, in some cases, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

[martin_blass]

P.S. @Martin_Blass: Some people do need anti-contraceptive pills, because they do more than just prevent pregnancy. They're also used to manage cramps, dysmenorrhea (painful menstruation) and, in some cases, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

I was not aware of that they have other uses. I mentioned them only as an example of "not-really-important" type of drug. My primary concern was antibiotics and such.

Insulin especially would be a problem even shortly after the EVENT.

[robdoar]

P.S. @Martin_Blass: Some people do need anti-contraceptive pills, because they do more than just prevent pregnancy. They're also used to manage cramps, dysmenorrhea (painful menstruation) and, in some cases, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Are any of those fatal without orthotricyclin (or similar)?

[anomrabbit]

P.S. @Martin_Blass: Some people do need anti-contraceptive pills, because they do more than just prevent pregnancy. They're also used to manage cramps, dysmenorrhea (painful menstruation) and, in some cases, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Are any of those fatal without orthotricyclin (or similar)?

Not the cramps and dysmenorrhea as far as I know (though from personal and second-hand experience the pain can be debilitating and can last from a few minutes to weeks). As for PCOS, I don't think the syndrome itself is fatal, but it can increase the risk of Type II diabetes and stroke which would most likely be fatal in a no-meds-available situation.

[robdoar]

I hear ya, debilitating pain = unable to work

unable to work = unable to survive

[RollingCarey]

As someone with a physical disability if a scenario like TLD happened I would be dead within the week. I am completely reliant on a electricity wheelchair for movement which would stop working and even if that wasn't a problem just a few inches of snow would stop me dead in my tracks. Well that got rather dark here is a link to an otter being tickled

[meg_rector]

When I was a kid, there was a book called The Foxfire Book - a series of them, actually - that taught you everything from finding food in the wilderness, to building a log cabin, to curing and canning, to survivalist medicine. That book (those books) would be the FIRST thing I would grab on my way out the door.

[robdoar]

Aren't there 12 of them?

[logang]

When I was a kid, there was a book called The Foxfire Book - a series of them, actually - that taught you everything from finding food in the wilderness, to building a log cabin, to curing and canning, to survivalist medicine. That book (those books) would be the FIRST thing I would grab on my way out the door.

I would just find an old survivalist guru, maybe in his/her 70s-90s and carry them around on my back like a backpack so they could advise me as I went

[Kessa]

@LoganG: So you'd want to carry around an older Robdoar, eh? Sounds like it's going to be a GREAT symbiotic relationship.

[logang]

hopefully their advanced age would leave them weighing less than 100 lbs and requiring little food but still mentally sound enough to give good advice.

[anomrabbit]

hopefully their advanced age would leave them weighing less than 100 lbs and requiring little food but still mentally sound enough to give good advice.

100 lbs is still a lot of weight. I'd think the ideal would be a Futurama-style living-head-in-a-jar

[logang]

That would be a great option

[phelps]

All the chit chat about contraception , really? , this is a game ! , and survivalist at that , the world which were covering is snowbound , not City dwelling per say as in walking dead etc , even their , I've not seen , heard , or made mention of contraception , let the games begin and have fun , besides for the guys it's too cold for relations ( wink wink ) .

[phelps]

P.S. @Martin_Blass: Some people do need anti-contraceptive pills, because they do more than just prevent pregnancy. They're also used to manage cramps, dysmenorrhea (painful menstruation) and, in some cases, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Are any of those fatal without orthotricyclin (or similar)?

I agree in reality , but this is a survivalist game , and highly doubtful you would come across these types of medication , in the terrain were in , it's gonna be natural meds that ultimately get us through

[anomrabbit]

All the chit chat about contraception , really? , this is a game ! , and survivalist at that , the world which were covering is snowbound , not City dwelling per say as in walking dead etc , even their , I've not seen , heard , or made mention of contraception , let the games begin and have fun , besides for the guys it's too cold for relations ( wink wink ) .

But we're in the General section, so I think this conversation is non-TLD real-world speculation.

[robdoar]

I agree in reality , but this is a survivalist game , and highly doubtful you would come across these types of medication , in the terrain were in , it's gonna be natural meds that ultimately get us through

We have become accustomed to pharmaceutical medicine, and created our own worst enemies. Super bugs, antibiotic resistant microorganisms, and weakened our natural immune system.

Aside from some very minor injuries / conditions, we're incredibly vulnerable to disease/infection when limited to natural medicine.