# Homemade Penicillin



## Karen (Apr 17, 2002)

I saw this article on how to make Penicillin, but the article didn't say if it is an injectible, you drink the solution or what; and how much? Anyone have any idea? http://www.howtodothings.com/health-fitness/how-to-make-penicillin


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## goatlady (May 31, 2002)

From the scant description it is a liquid to be drunk, but I would NOT advise that. You have absolutely no idea of the strength of the concoction so how would you know the dosage? I seriously doubt many folks have all those necessary chemicals hanging around at home either. In a situation where making it would be necessary how the heck can those temperatures be maintained as necessary, probably there is no power available. Far better to get educated on herbal antibiotics which will work just as well and are far safer, like Echinacea for one and even garlic as another antibiotic remedy.


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## MichaelK! (Oct 22, 2010)

Oh God, please, please, please do NOT use the word "injectable" with anything remotely homemade!!!

That is really a good way to get yourself or loved ones killed. Most likely you don't understand anything about making a sterile solution, and even if you could, even sterilized water will contain the dead remants of bacterial cell walls containing lipopolysaccarides. These when injected could cause a fatal hyperimmune response.

If you want to play with your lives, why don't you just go to your local animal supplies and buy some cheap veterinary drugs that are injestible.


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

Looking at the instructions, you ain't goinna get those chemicals without some connections, the mix would almost certainly be contaminated, and they repeatedly warn not to use the stuff. I'd sooner lick the moldy orange peel. (I don't do the big P anyway.)

Stuff like that gets filed in the category of "thought experiment." Knowing the basic processes can help round out knowledge, but actually doing the experiment is rarely needed.


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## Pelenaka (Jul 27, 2007)

History of Antibiotics -The ancient Egyptians, the Chinese, and Indians of central America all used molds to treat infected wounds. However, they did not understand the connection of the antibacterial properties of mold and the treatment of diseases.

I thought that was pretty interesting. 
Seems to me that researching molds to treat infection would be easiest with Chinese medicine. 

On a side note since PCN has been around for so long & over used I believe that it would have a limited use in this day & age of super bugs. Don't get me wrong I could see popping hubby in a butt cheek if his bronchitis jumped the fence to pneumonia but I would also have to treat his asthma. And if we are working within the scenario of no modern factory lab produced drugs ... learning a sustainable natural method is something to consider. 


~~ pelenaka ~~


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## halfpint (Jan 24, 2005)

Besides the fact that several of us are allergic to penicillin, I think this would be a little dangerous to try. I would stick with garlic and other herbals as my antibiotic of choice.
Dawn


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## Tracy Rimmer (May 9, 2002)

This is a SCIENCE EXPERIMENT!!! Do NOT USE THIS!

Unless you have a doctoral degree in microbiology, it's a VERY bad idea to even consider using molds as medicine, even in a flat-out survival situation. Many molds are toxic, few "home grown" would be pure enough for ingestion much less injection -- just... don't! Bad, bad idea! There are safer homeopathic options to using "homemade penicillin"!!


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## watcher (Sep 4, 2006)

One thing no one has brought up; penicillin is largely ineffective for most infections


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## margoC (Jul 26, 2007)

I was fixin' to bring it up but you beat me to it.


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## lonelyfarmgirl (Feb 6, 2005)

Hmmmm, penicillan +lonelyfarmgirl = trip to the emergency room. I'll pass.


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## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

No thanks. I think I'll pass on the home made penicillin.


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

"For the relief of constipation, diarrhea..."WHAT!??!?!!?!?

LOL! Yeah, that was my first reaction. Western medical treatments are so specific that we get lulled into thinking along those lines. However, consider something like lithium, which levels out BOTH manic and depressive extremes. In any balancing situation, there are weights at the ends of the balance, AND there is the balance beam AND the fulcrum. Not every treatment is an offsetting weight.


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## Karen (Apr 17, 2002)

Oh lordy, I wasn't thinking of making and using the stuff as a go-to antibotic..LOL! I was looking into this as a senario to an _absolute last-resort_, the herbals aren't working, unable to get any medical attention, and you're going to die anyway type of situation. 

The chemicals and equipment are easy to get from any large homeschool suppliers of chemistry/lab equipment.

I was just wondering how you would use the concoction. Is it meant to drink or as an injection and how much a person would use -- based on the recipe given.


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## Limon (Aug 25, 2010)

Considering it took a couple of decades for a usable form of penicillin to be developed after it was isolated in a lab, I'd say any form of home-brew would be too dangerous to even consider. 

If there ever comes a time when access to antibiotics is a thing of the past, you'd better come to terms with the fact that some people are going to die slow, lingering deaths. And some are going to die very rapid deaths. We take infections for granted now, but they were once a major source of fatalities, and not even that long ago.

My father was one of the first people to get penicillin after it went on the market. He had a post-operative infection as a little kid and lived almost nine years in a hospital. For a systemic infection like that, nothing works but antibiotics.


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## ryanthomas (Dec 10, 2009)

Unless you know what you're doing, don't inject ANYTHING into your body. Yeah, heroin addicts usually do just fine with it for a while, but that's not exactly a ringing endorsement. I don't think there's much chance homemade penicillin would work, but if it's a last resort and it would make you feel better to try everything you can think of, ingestion would be a much safer route of delivery than injection.


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## Karen (Apr 17, 2002)

What am I not seeing that you all are? From a chemical standpoint, I'm not see anything toxic in the recipe. Lactose Monohydrate is milk sugars; Sodium Nitrate is a food grade perservative; Magnesium Sulfate is epsom salts; Potassium Phosphate Mono is a buffering compound (in asprin); Glucose Monohydrate is a simple sugar; Zinc Sulfate and Manganese Sulfate is a mineral suppliment; and Hydrochloric Acid (bleach) is used only as a drop or two to adjust the ph of the mixture (less than what you'd use to treat water).


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## lonelyfarmgirl (Feb 6, 2005)

Sodium Nitrates cause cancer. not instantly dangerous, just sayin'.


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## ryanthomas (Dec 10, 2009)

Just an FYI, bleach is not hydrochloric acid. Bleach is sodium hypochlorite. To answer your question, injecting anything into your body is serious, especially if it's IV. Your blood is very sensitive to foreign substances. Intramuscular and subcutaneous are less serious, but purity is SUPER important even that way. The digestive tract protects you from a lot of nasty things that aren't good in the bloodstream.


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## Karen (Apr 17, 2002)

I think maybe there's a misunderstand.:happy2: I'm not planning on injecting it in someone; I was just wondering if, _based upon the recipe_, if the end result was for an injectable solution *or* oral solution and/or what would be the dosage. My chemistry knowledge ceases when determining medical compounds and dosage.

Ryan, technically your are correct about today's household bleach. I was giving the common term of the chemical and it's only used in the recipe to adjust the ph of the solution so, since only a couple of drops would be used, it's not a danger in consuming it. Also, I'm curious as to why you don't think it would work since it is actually the same ingredients and method used before mass production of penicillin?


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## ryanthomas (Dec 10, 2009)

Penicillin made by pharmaceutical companies isn't even very effective anymore. It's still widely used, but generally only for conditions that are not life-threatening. Overuse has led to many bacteria becoming resistant. And that's the stuff produced in carefully controlled laboratory conditions, which would be tough to replicate outside of a lab. It's possible you could make something that could work, just not likely. When I say "work" I mean in comparison to pharm grade antibiotics. There have been fungi-based treatments for sickness for probably a thousand years and there's plenty of evidence that certain fungi do have beneficial properties.

From the recipe you linked to, I would have to say it's an oral medication, since it would not be sterile. I have no idea of what the dosage would be, since I don't know how much pen would be in the liquid. Lab-produced pen is standardized. Homemade stuff would likely vary from batch to batch.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

watcher said:


> One thing no one has brought up; penicillin is largely ineffective for most infections


That is important information. I think I would use colloidal silver before trying homemade Penn. Maybe on a skin infection, it would be usable, but I don't think it would be my first choice to take internally.


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## Old Vet (Oct 15, 2006)

Karen said:


> I think maybe there's a misunderstand.:happy2: I'm not planning on injecting it in someone; I was just wondering if, _based upon the recipe_, if the end result was for an injectable solution *or* oral solution and/or what would be the dosage. My chemistry knowledge ceases when determining medical compounds and dosage.
> 
> Ryan, technically your are correct about today's household bleach. I was giving the common term of the chemical and it's only used in the recipe to adjust the ph of the solution so, since only a couple of drops would be used, it's not a danger in consuming it. Also, I'm curious as to why you don't think it would work since it is actually the same ingredients and method used before mass production of penicillin?


Based on the recipe if all of the sterilization of the mix and the temperature of the air around it you may have a good results but any other list of things that can go wrong is is large. If you can have the right temperature and have a sterile environment you may have a good product but any derivations can cause other lethal mold to grow.


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## Welshmom (Sep 7, 2008)

So why not keep a bottle of pen. or other antibiotics for animals on hand? I have livestock, and do have some meds in my fridge for them. I've never used them on myself or other people, but I've thought if it were a life-threatening SHTF scenario, I think I'd use some of my vet-grade antibiotics on a person with say, pneumonia for instance, before I'd let them die without trying... since I raise pigs I figure most of the drugs developed for them would be efficacious in humans...

You can get an awful lot of meds through the mail, and they are made in a labarotary, sterile, etc. Sure, you have to inject rather than take it in a pill, but better than no meds or 'home-cooked'..., enit?

Just sayin'.


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## belladulcinea (Jun 21, 2006)

Karen, I've wondered about this myself. I get where you are going with this! And I also know that you weren't going to inject yourself or someone else. Sometimes people are really really just asking questions.


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## lonelyfarmgirl (Feb 6, 2005)

I took dog sulfa for a bladder infection once, years ago, and it was fine.


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## Horse Fork Farm (Jan 3, 2006)

I would go with something like that externally, in a bad burn situation etc,,, after the SHTF. Internally, it would be colloidal silver, olive leaf extract, echinacea, grapefruit seed extract, garlic, oil of oregano. Large list of effective plant/herb preparations I would try first, but, if death was probable who knows what any of us might try...


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## copperkid3 (Mar 18, 2005)

Karen said:


> What am I not seeing that you all are? From a chemical standpoint,
> I'm not see anything toxic in the recipe. Lactose Monohydrate is milk sugars; Sodium Nitrate
> is a food grade perservative; Magnesium Sulfate is epsom salts; Potassium Phosphate Mono is
> a buffering compound (in asprin); Glucose Monohydrate is a simple sugar; Zinc Sulfate and
> ...


****************************************************
but when I saw you make the claim that hydrochloric acid is just bleach......
couldn't remain silent......Someone with a little bit of knowledge is going to hurt 
someone else or hurt themselves trying to make do-it-yourself antibiotics. 
And you know what they say about a little bit of knowledge??? It's a deadly thing. 
Even I knew that there is a *BIG DIFFERENCE* between sodium hypochlorite,
NaClO) and hydrochoric acid, (HCL). Trying to downplay it, is just silly.


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## wogglebug (May 22, 2004)

I would say that, come desperation time, you might be able to use something like this applied topically - that is, on a wound. NOT injected, not even ingested - too many impurities, unknown strength. In fact, used topically (as a poultice) is the traditional way to use such things.
So... infection, yes. Disease, no. Just the way it is.
And even at that, alternatives like garlic; essential oils of rosemary, tea-tree, lavender, geranium, thyme; even oregano if used VERY carefully, would probably be more consistent, more reliable and do a better job.


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## Karen (Apr 17, 2002)

belladulcinea said:


> Karen, I've wondered about this myself. I get where you are going with this! And I also know that you weren't going to inject yourself or someone else. Sometimes people are really really just asking questions.


Thank you, I was beginning to think people thought I was out to make cheap drugs and shoot up my family or something..LOL! 

I was looking at it in terms of a senario this way. 

REMOTE senario: I have all these chemicals on hand from teaching chemistry so have the means to make this and in a pretty sterile environment. So let's say my child gets a bad cut that gets infected. All herbal treatments have failed. It's 100% certain that he'll die if he does not get an stronger antibiotic. Personally, when all hope is gone except for taking a long shot to save his life -- you bet I'd do whatever I had to do to save my child. I'm not willing to just say, "oh well, people are going to die during these times". If he dies from taking the medication, then at least I tried every thing that was in my power to do. I think most parents would. 

Now the possibility of something that actually happening are extremely slim to none; but, just wondering about the possibility of the solution should it ever happen. :runforhills:


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## ryanthomas (Dec 10, 2009)

I understood you were just asking questions, and I was just trying to answer them.


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