Where to get medicine for ships medicine chest?

[matt357]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

AFAIK, yes, although I'd bet the feds would take a look at any Schedule 1 narcotics, etc. going out this way. Or any large or regular shipments of them.

Do they honor captains licenses obtained in other countries besides the US?

[Whaubner]

Great comments.


I would second the wilderness first aid training. More so than the EMT training. Or perhaps better yet wilderness EMT training.
The key thing I learned from this training was how to tell if you have a situation that needs immediate outside assistance. For example is a head injury a bump on the head our internal bleeding and swelling of the brain?

In regards to meds, talk to you doctor. My doctor had left the practice before my appointment so the first time I met my new doctor was to have this conversation. She was a great resource on advice. I think the only thing you may have issue with is the strong pain killers. That was something I didn't ask for given the huge addiction and abuse problem we have in society at large with some of these.

Your crew should also talk to their doctor. They may have unique issues or allergies to antibiotics or such.

Finally if you have a sat phone subscribe to a tele medicine service like the one at New York university.

[matt357]

Does anyone have any recommendations of pharmacies that will sell to people with a captains license?

[zeehag]

helpful hint..... inflammation is main cause of pain. even post operative pain is due to inflammation.
find ketoralac sublingual. this stuff actually does work in pain situations.
i use sublingual ketoralac here as it is otc, and i used to administer it in post anesthesia care in 1990, iv and im , as post op pain med . works.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by matt357

I plan to sail around the world with several people and regulations state that I have to have a stocked medicine chest. I have a book by the world health organization called "International medical guide for ships" that has a list of the different medications I need to have and when to use them and the dose ect. but it does not say where to get these medications, many of which are normally prescription in the US. Where do you get them?

These regulations and conventions do not apply to recreational vessels and were never intended to. For example, they specifically apply to vessels capable of carrying 100 or more passengers on international voyages of more than 3 days.

The document is a good reference, but the requirements are way beyond the needs of a typical cruising vessel.

A typical cruising vessel is not required to comply with these regulations and I have never had any maritime authority check my onboard medical supplies, nor heard of anyone who has had such an inspection...any one else?

[sestina]

I recommend you do the following two STCW 95 courses.

Medical First Aid Aboard Ship and Medical Care Aboard Ship. These are proper professional seafarer's qualifications. They will give you the knowledge to deal with the most likely problems. Probably the most comprehensive medical course you can do outside of medical school. SWMBO and I have done them twice as preparation for our Atlantic Circuits. OK, they are expensive, but they are a lot of fun to do. The qualification will allow you to order medical supplies from a company like L E West.

We based our requirements on the British Marine and Coastguard Agency's rules for British flagged commercial shipping. The quantities where reduced. We reckoned that we needed to keep someone alive for three days. By that time help from shore or another vessel would be to hand. In the four years we were away the "Serious" medical kit was never used.

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by lorenzo b

Dude, no one anywhere is going to sell you morphine.

Really? I have bought morphine twice, once in Tasmania, once in South America.

Probably would not have happened if I had just walked in off the street though.

[matt357]

Originally Posted by sestina

I recommend you do the following two STCW 95 courses.

Medical First Aid Aboard Ship and Medical Care Aboard Ship. These are proper professional seafarer's qualifications. They will give you the knowledge to deal with the most likely problems. Probably the most comprehensive medical course you can do outside of medical school. SWMBO and I have done them twice as preparation for our Atlantic Circuits. OK, they are expensive, but they are a lot of fun to do. The qualification will allow you to order medical supplies from a company like L E West.

We based our requirements on the British Marine and Coastguard Agency's rules for British flagged commercial shipping. The quantities where reduced. We reckoned that we needed to keep someone alive for three days. By that time help from shore or another vessel would be to hand. In the four years we were away the "Serious" medical kit was never used.

It looks like that pharmacy is in England, are there any in America?

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by lorenzo b View Post
Dude, no one anywhere is going to sell you morphine.

Its easy to get , well where I am, to get opiate related painkillers, like tramadol( ZyDol). I always carry some quick acting and slow release on the boat.

dave

[haiqu]

In Australia I believe the procedure calls for a visit to a doctor, and they then approve the list of medicines/drugs for the pharmacist to fill.

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by haiqu

In Australia I believe the procedure calls for a visit to a doctor, and they then approve the list of medicines/drugs for the pharmacist to fill.

Ed Zakery.... and they check your wrists and stuff....

[Tacmed]

I work as a remote area paramedic/rescue paramedic. Medications are not as easy to give as a lot of people might think. Many have extreme side effects which can cause the situation to become much worse than the root cause. ie morphine can quite often stop you from breathing.
I have an extensive medical kit along with a license to prescribe.
I would sugest you focus on the first aid, CPR, Blood control, broken bone management and basic cleaning of wounds etc.
An EPI-pen is good for 12 months, however, if you use adrenalin ampoules and a syringe, you can do more and last longer. Epi-pens are good for about 15 minutes anyway.
As Paramedics specialise in emergency medicine and remote area medicine, I would sugest you make a friend at your local ambulance depot and get some private training. I have done this for many people with a target on what adventure they are looking to undertake. I don't charge, so I am guessing, many others don't.
I have worked all over the world, I inspect the medications carefully in some third world countries. Many fakes and out of date meds with new labels. In India, i found the medications from main pharmacies to be genuine items.(mind you, they did act differently once they know I was an informed buyer)
I would make sure you have your "shots" before you go, such as A.D.T. shots etc.
Once you get into the world of self prescribing or prescribing for others, you are in a dangerous world. I have seen this many, many times.
If you really want to carry top end analgesia, I would make sure you get a letter of authorisation. Otherwise, that opiate based med you have could get you put in jail.
It is great that you are thinking ahead. Google "CAT torniqet"and "celox" these are two items that could come in handy also. You wont find these in most training schools.

[hellosailor]

Tacmed, I think the OP is here in the Colonies, where there is no such thing as an "ambulance depot" and any paramedic who violated the terms of his employment by offering free training, on any basis, to civilians would be terminated on the spot. Fear of liability exposure would probably ensure that no such training was offered, in any case.

It's a different world here, yes.

And a boat offshore may readily obtain medical advice over radios, but if there are no meds available on the boat--the radio can't very well transmit them. So there's quite a good point to having the meds available, in case the expertise to use them also happens to be on that trip, or available when needed.

Aspirin can kill people very quickly, but that doesn't stop us from carrying it in first aid kits, along with ibuprofen and other meds that the victim themselves may be very familiar with.

[Garrettw]

Originally Posted by matt357

Do they honor captains licenses obtained in other countries besides the US?

I'm reviving an old thread here with some info that some might find useful. The specific statute in the US Code of Federal Regulations (US Law) that allows a vessel master to act as an authorized recipient of a controlled substance is Title 21, Part 1301.25. See Paragraph D. It does not appear to specifically require US generated documentation.

I suspect the bigger issue is that the rule seems to be clearly targeting merchant and commercial vessels. Not sure how tough it would be to squeeze a pleasure craft into that definition. The state of Florida, and probably others, even go as far as to add to 21 C.F.R. 1301.25 and further clarify:

Florida Administrative Code 64F-12.001 - ... A licensed ship captain or first officer for a vessel engaged in international trade or in trade between ports of the United States and any merchant vessel belonging to the U.S. Government is an authorized recipient for prescription drugs intended solely for emergency medical purposes, provided the prescription drugs are delivered by the wholesaler directly to the ship...

[travellerw]

Another piece of advice I can offer.. Do a google search for "Prepping and medication" or "Prepping and Antibiotics".. Preppers have found all the legal ways around most of the laws (at least in the US).

There is also been studies about the expiration dates. If you look up "Medication expiration SLEP". You will see that many medications do not actually expire anywhere near the date on the label. Some are good indefinitely as long as they are stored right (most antibiotics).

As to Mexico not selling anymore.. I was just in Mexico in March and was able to buy any Antibiotics that I desired.

One other medication that I keep on hand is Colchicine as I'm prone to gout outbreaks every few years. Colchicine shortens the duration of the outbreak to 2 - 3 days.