Best adhesive plasters

[alick]

Martyn - your comment on PP as a good antifungal is interesting - are there any specific advice on what concentration to use for this and for antiseptic uses - like 1 gram per litre - rather than the pale pink, medium pink sort of rules.

Thanks, great advice :-D

 

[Doc]

Codeine and dihydrocodeine on their own are presciption only medicines, as far as I know. Amongst the over the counter analgesics, Paramol (Paracetamol plus 7.5mg dihydrocodeine) and Solpadeine forte (Paracetamol plus 12mg codeine) are probably about the strongest. Codeine on its own can be useful as a cough supressant, and for symptomatic control of diarrhoea. You might be wise to get a covering letter if carrying it across international borders.

Codeine and dihydrocodeine can cause drowsiness, so 'strongest' may not be 'best', particularly if you are in wilderness on your own. Syndol contains paracetamol, codeine and a sedative antihistamine too, plus caffeine - presumably to try and wake you up a bit.

Codeine and dihydrocodeine do have significant potential for causing dependence. Indeed, injectable codeine is subject to the same level of regulation as diamorphine (heroin).

 

[Lithril]

Codeine has one other use as well as a painkiller... its better than immodium for bunging you up !!! :shock:

 

[dtalbot]

Oh, btw, in case anyone hasn't tried em, for over-the-counter analgesic, get Syndol. IMO, they are the strongest and most effective bar none. I'd even give em first shout over some prescription analgesics. Dont take em at work though, cos they have a tendancy to make you quite drowsy.

For me it is co-codamol (paracetomol and codine) as an over the counter analgesic. No probs with drowsyness and if somthing is going to knock anyone out it tends to be me!
Cheers
David

 

[Les Marshall]

I find that the run of the mill plasters you buy at Boots work well if you put Friars balsam on the sticky part of the plaster, this makes it stick like the proverbial to the blanket. I have used it to great effect in the field.

 

[Martyn]

I thought codeine on its own was illegal to buy over the counter without a presciption unless mixed with paracetamol/aspirin. How did you acquire your 30mg codeine phosphate, was it a previous presciption?

Yes, it's a prescription only medicine, and yes it was "left over" from a previous prescription of my own, and as others have mentioned, it bungs you up and it can cause dependance. But it has it's uses, the tablets are tiny so a couple find thier way into my kit (the list is what I carry, not necessarily a recommendation for what you should carry).

Syndol, as Doc mentions, contains a sedative antihistamine (Doxylamine Succinate 5mg), which does have quite a strong sopophoric effect - although for me, I find that not to be entirely a bad thing. If you've been suffering a banging headache for half a day and take a couple of syndol at night, the drowsiness isnt necessarily an unpleasant side effect - it makes you "feel" better. Just so long as you are aware of it and allow for it (dont operate machinery, dont use an axe, go to bed and go to sleep). It's one to avoid though, if you're one of those folks who hates anything with any kind of sedative effect. I'd much rather take a couple of these, get the job done that be popping paracetamol for days on end.

You can get none prescription analgesics with higher codeine content though (Co-codamol, Solpadine etc), but I dont find them generally as effective as Syndol. ...that's just my personal experience and no, I'm not on commission.

 

[Martyn]

Martyn - your comment on PP as a good antifungal is interesting - are there any specific advice on what concentration to use for this and for antiseptic uses - like 1 gram per litre - rather than the pale pink, medium pink sort of rules.

Thanks, great advice :-D

Sorry, I have no specifics. It used to be used as a treatment for athletes foot, and I believe is still is used for treating fish with fungal infections, though the dose must be very small as it's extremely toxic in watercourses. I think it typically finds it's way into first aid/survival kits because of it's multitude of uses. In very small amounts, it can make water pottable in an emergency (though I wouldn't like to try it). It can be used as a fire starter - it's a powerful oxidant and kills just about everything, so it can be useful as a bacteriocidal wash, or for treating athletes foot. But i dont think you'd find a pharmacist anywhere who would advise it as a first line treatment for any of the above. As regards athletes foot, it'll turn your feet brown and provbably kill off a layer of skin into the bargain. In some situations, that might be acceptable.

If you do a google search on PP and anti-fungal, you might find some advice for solution concentrations in aquatic scenarios, which might give you some idea. I do know it's very toxic to us, if the powder is inhaled - so be super careful about avoiding that.
Buyer beware.

 

[Chopper]

Dear Doc I have this.....................................

 

[Martyn]

On the subject of PP concentrations, I found this on the web...

• Potassium permanganate is the remedy used on this for decades. This is poison, yet used externally, it seems to be one of the best solutions to the problem. Permanganate is a powerful fungus killer! And fungus under the nails demands something very special. The permanganate also stains the skin dark brown, so after soaking your toes or feet in the solution, they will not look very pretty. Formula: Soak the feet for half an hour in a warm 1:5,000 solution of potassium permanganate. Dry the feet thoroughly after use. This is the same formula for athlete's foot, which is a similar fungal foot disease.

• If you need to prepare this solution at home, you dissolve a slightly rounded teaspoon of the crystals in 8 ounces of water. Keep it in a dark-colored glass bottle. A teaspoon of this saturated solution in a pint of water makes a solution of about 1:1,500 strength; a teaspoon in a quart of water makes one of about 1:3,000 strength. With this information, you will be able to prepare about any strength you might need.

I have absolutely no idea how reliable this is.

 

[Doc]

The British National Formulary lists potassium permanganate 1:10 000 solution as suitable for infected/exudative eczematous areas, warning that it should be stopped when the skin becomes dry.

No mention of it as an anti-fungal. I must admit that I've never prescribed it for either.

 

[alick]

Thanks Martyn, cheers doc - just what I needed. Your point about inhalation probably explains why both the tubs of PP I've bought in the past had a slightly "damp" granular texture - it doesn't blow about.

 

[Martyn]

If anyone is interested, here's an american HAZMAT datasheet for KMno4

http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/P6005.htm

 

[Martyn]

No mention of it as an anti-fungal. I must admit that I've never prescribed it for either.

I found it listed here as an anti-fungal, but I think it's "old school" rather than first line.

http://www.aadassociation.org/Guidelines/mucocand.html

Most reliable sources I've seen since, list it as the BNF, as an anti-infective, rather than anti-fungal.

Interestingly, I found a ton of references for watercourse and fishery management which advocate it's use as an anti-fungal.