Prescription drugs needed for offshore?

[gbanker]

i have a doctor friend that will write me prescriptions for any drug that i might need while sailing offshore and am away from pharmacy's. any thoughts as to what i might want (and what its for) to have on hand? the offshore sailing will not be longer than a month at a time. thanks

[hellosailor]

If you search for "offshore medical kit" you'll probably find the older threads discussing what to keep in the kit, including meds.

Part of your own decision has to be your own comfort zones, concerns about allergies, and whether you are chosing things strictly for personal use, or considering strangers who may be crewing on board.

Antibiotics, pain killers...and apparently in the US, you need a script to get Silvadene, the dressing of choice for serious burns. Your pharmacist or doctor should be able to discuss specific choices with you (i.e. which antibiotics) and then you can research them before making your decisions. For instance, penicillin types are inexpensive--but there are a lot of allergic reactions to them. Others may be very expensive, but safer bets.

There are also specific antibiotics in "optical grade" for use in the eye. In case you get conjunctivitis, or debris in the eye.

Then there's your teeth...what to do if a filling comes out, or teeth are knocked out.


"Wilderness medicine" is another term that will bring up useful information, being stranded in the Great North is pretty much the same as being 1000 miles offshore.