First of all I just want everybody to thank Chadow for helping keep things moving during this busy time of mine. Also I should probably insert a disclaimer that I am not a medical professional and this is for informational purposes only. Prior to doing anything medical you should consult a doctor or better yet a panel of doctors to insure that said action is safe and will likely get the desired results. Consider yourself disclaimed. On yeah and check out one of our advertisers today. Guest post follows.

Since Ryan has a new family member to care for, I thought that I would write a couple of articles on a topic that he might appreciate. Medicine administration for every family member. I'll write these so as to be easily printable so that people can reference them. Too often people write survival med articles as if everyone was carrying an AK and weighed 200 lbs. This just isn't the case for the average person looking to prep.

First article: Fever

Dosing: All dosing is in kilograms per kilogram (mg/kg) or milliliters/cubic centimeter/kg (cc/kg). weight in pounds divided by 2.2= kilograms

Considerations:
Infants- Infants have a rapid metabolism and a higher percentage of body fat and water percentage as a ratio of body weight. This translates to some meds actually being in HIGHER dose to be effective.
toddlers through adolescents- Meds are generally safe along this range and are safe if normal precautions and calculations have been made.

Elderly- All meds leave the body one of two ways. They are either metabolized by the liver or excreted by the kidneys. Considerations for decreased function of these organs may need to be considered for this age group. In general if, say, your kidneys did not work well; you would either decrease the dose or give it further in duration apart because it will stay in the body longer.

Fever: Natural reaction to the body when infected by a foreign organism. It is an attempt by the body to either hinder its growth or to kill it while the body increases its immune response to said invader. Somewhat similar to an allergic reaction, but in a systemic way with other symptoms (cough, sore throat, burning on urination). Bacteria and viruses can cause rashes. Allergic responses usually don't get a fever. No normal person can tell whether a fever and a rash is a bacteria or a virus when it first occurs. It is a "wait and see" game.

Good: The body is doing its thing. It is fighting back. If the body temperature drops to 97-95 degrees while you know they are sick, the body is failing. This is an emergency. A fever in and of itslef is not bad. A fever works, it kills bad bugs.

Bad: A fever uses lots of energy as the body ramps-up for the fight. Too high of a fever can cause seizure. No two people and no two illnesses will get a seizure at the same temp. I've seen seizures at 99 and 105 degrees. A fever out of control can ruin a brain-- above 104 or for a sutained period.

Considerations: If someone had a fever but are acting somewhat normal, leave it alone to do it's thing. It will probably help. If a person is becoming symptomatic (ie. lethargic, rapid breathing, hallucinating, not eating or drinking, loud crying), an antipyretic my be warranted.

Meds:
Tylenol (acetomenophen)-- general dosing for all ages. 15mg/kg every 6 hours. Maximum dose in 24 hours is 4000mg for a muture person. No one argues about this one and it is given to babies as well as adults.

Motrin (Advil, Ibuprofen)-- 10mg/kg every six hours. Conservative pediatricians will say not to give motrin until 6 months of age due to its taxing of the kidneys and considerations do exist for the elderly. In the ER, this can be a gray area for the short term, but a very real consideration for multiple days of dosing.

Aspirin-- The wonder drug. Just don't give it to children as it may cause a neurological condition called Reye's Syndrome. Also, you need to choose between motrin or aspirin as the are both NSAIDS (nos-steroidal anti-inflammatories) and have to be excreted by the kidneys. You don't want to overdose your organs. The dosing is highly liberal, but I would only take 162 mg ever 12 hours as it will thin the blood.

The math: Notice that you can give both tylenol and motrin every six hours. Tylenol is metabolized by the liver and motrin by the kideys. This means that in periods of high fever, you can give tylenol and then three hours later motrin and then three hours later motrin again. It is still only every six hours for each med, but beacusemachanisms of action, you have something to give more often. Likewise, if no meds have been given for some time and then they spike a 105 fever, you can give a FULL dose of both tylenol and motrin to bring it down rapidly. But then you will have to wait 6 hours for a dosing of either.

Other Methods: Undress. Despite myth, you do not cover a person who has a fever and is chilled with blankets. They are chilled bacause of the sensation at the skin of all of that heat bleeding off. Don't cover them, you'll just help to cook them to medium-rare. You may cover the person when they have broken in to a full-body sweat. This means that the fever has broken, at least temporarily. Change their clothes and cover them so as not to become hypothermic and they may be able to sleep a while. Tepid cloth wiped over the head, back, and stomach help bleed off heat. For children, a tepid bath works great. Give them a cup and let them drink the water, too. It will be a fun game and help with hydration. Ice packs to the armpit, groin, and neck helps rapidly bring down a temp. People will resist this.

Nutrition: Water and sugar and salt. With and increased metabolism, hydration is key. Also, the person may not feel like eating, but they need the calories. Candy and sugar should be broken out for just such an occasion. Get rid of the diet sprite and G2. I have seen recipes for tepid water, 1/2 tsp of salt, and a tbs. of sugar mixed together and chilled. This way, every time the person takes a sip of water, they get some good stuff with it--even if they vomit some of it up.

Realize that in an era of no antibiotics, people will fight infections for extended periods. Support may have to be given for some time. Don't be afraid of the fever. Watch it and don't let it get out of control. Save your meds for when they are needed most and at the best time.

-Chadow


TOR here again real quick. Please give Chadow a round of applause.