Prepper medicine: Combat antibiotic resistance with these medicinal herbs

01/31/2022 / By Zoey Sky

As of writing, America is facing shortages in critical antibiotic supplies. At the same time, the country is also dealing with increasing antibiotic resistance.

Americans have gotten used to having easy access to clean water, food and medical care. Thanks to these, the pathogens that regularly cause diseases are no longer able to test and build up people’s immune responses.

While this situation sounds ideal, this isn’t actually good news. (h/t to PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com)

What is antibiotic resistance?

When SHTF, you need to make sure you are prepared to deal with bacteria and contagious diseases. Before you get sick, read up on medicinal herbs that work synergistically with conventional antibiotics, which is important if you’re worried about antibiotic resistance.

As the name implies, antibiotic resistance occurs when germs like bacteria and fungi develop the ability to defeat the drugs that are used to kill them. This is worrisome because the germs aren’t killed and continue to grow.

Every year over 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur in America. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s 2019 Antibiotic Resistance (AR) Threats Report, over 35,000 people die as a result.

When Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile), a bacterium that isn’t usually resistant but can cause deadly diarrhea and is linked to antibiotic use, is added to the data, the U.S. toll of all the threats in the report exceeds a shocking three million infections and 48,000 deaths.

Antibiotic resistance can potentially affect people of all ages working in the potential to affect people at any stage of life and the healthcare, veterinary and agriculture industries. It is also one of the world’s most urgent public health problems.

Pairing antibiotics with the right herbs

While antibiotic resistance is alarming, the good thing is using the right herbs can also help reduce the time for healing to occur and reduce the number of pills you need to take. In a post-SHTF, this might just save your life because it can help make your supplies last a little longer.

However, not all physicians are familiar with the use of medicinal herbs. Before SHTF, do your research so you’re prepared when bacteria strike. (Related: 10 Potent herbs to protect your respiratory system.)

Below is a list of commonly used antibiotics and the medicinal herbs you can pair with them to maximize their efficacy. Some lines might include notes on certain conditions or bacteria where the combination of an antibiotic and herb is particularly effective.

Prescription depends on infection – Piperine or licorice. Piperine is a bioactive compound found in black pepper. It is an alkaloid that can help relieve headaches, nausea and poor digestion. Piperine also has anti-inflammatory properties. Use piperine or licorice with antibiotics when treating infections caused by gram-negative bacteria.
Ampicillin – Japanese barberry, juniper, nasturtium, pomegranate and thyme.
Bacitracin – Ginger and thyme.
Ceftriaxone – Isatis. Use this pairing when treating methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
Chloramphenicol – Nasturtium and pomegranate.
Ciprofloxacin – Isatis, pomegranate and rosemary. Use isatis for MRSA and rosemary for Klebsiella pneumoniae.
Clarithromycin – Ginger and usnea can be used when treating H. pylori.
Erythromycin – Juniper and thyme.
Fluconazole – Japanese barberry.
Gentamycin – Ginger, isatis and pomegranate. Use isatis for MRSA.
Oxacillin – Japanese barberry and pomegranate.
Penicillin – Isatis, piperine and thyme. These herbs can be used when treating MRSA, but use piperine for meningitis.
Polymyxin B – Ginger.
Streptomycin – Ginger.
Tetracycline – Ginger, pomegranate and thyme are most effective against Staphylococcus bacteria.
Trimethoprim / Sulfamethoxazole (TMP SMZ) – Nasturtium.
Tobramycin – Ginger.