What painkillers would a doctor have available in their travel bag, specifically one who periodically visited isolated communities in either Alaska or Canada? Asking because my character is a doctor who needs to take the edge off of a wound, and they are stuck alone in a survival situation with only the gear they brought with them. Edit - I'm not sure I was sufficiently clear. The doctor was traveling to one of those communities as part of a routine rotation, so they have everything they would normally have.
When is this happening? I was an antiques dealer for quite some time. Antique medical bags with (now empty) vials of heroin are ten-a-penny in the trade. But, clearly, doctors today do not travel with straight, raw heroin in their bags, so... WHEN?
Pain killer is a very general term . I fell off my garage roof in February. A paramedic was first on the scene and he gave me Codeine When I put in the ambulance, they gave me some morphine.
I would say morphine in liquid form, probably. They do make morphine pills, but if the doctor is carrying it around for emergencies it would probably be something that could be injected so it's fast acting. There's another one that can be given by injection of IV that's a little stronger, but I forget what it's called. It's something they give in hospitals. I think it starts with a D. It's going to bug me that I can't remember the name of it, but that drug too could be one found in a doctor's bag. I'll let you know if I think of the name. Obviously, morphine is one everyone knows so you might want to use that on your story, but there are some similar drugs that your doctor could have on hand instead that would work in the situation.
Probabaly: Vicatin and OxyCodone They might have Flexerall for muscle relaxation... All are incredibly small pills but pack a whollop.
Found this list on a website for doctors: Analgesia Paracetamol - 120 mg/5 ml and 250 mg/5 ml oral suspensions, 500 mg tablets. Ibuprofen - 100 mg/5 ml oral suspension, 400 mg tablets. Codeine - 25 mg in 5 ml syrup, 30 mg tablets. Morphine - 10 mg/5 ml oral solution, 10 mg/ml injection. Diamorphine - 5 mg or 10 mg (powder for reconstitution with water for injection). Diclofenac - 25 mg/ml injection, 25 mg tablets and 100 mg suppositories. Diazepam - 5 mg tablets (for muscle spasm). Naloxone - 400 micrograms/ml injection (to reverse opioid overdose). Here's the page: Doctor's Bag - Contents. What to have in a Doctor's Bag. Patient | Patient
So for something like Vicodin or morphine the doc can just have them on hand, without a patient with a prescription? Of course, I could have the doc bringing the patient his prescription...
that does not answer my question. I’m pretty sure a doc hauling around a whole bunch of controlled substances without prescriptions is committing a crime.
In America they have to be registered with the DEA in order to prescribe in the first place, and there are storage and safety requirements. I think the drugs need to be registered. Of course if the doctor is carrying illicit morphine around then sure he's committing a crime.
Like @Wreybies said, when is this happening? Big difference between a Civil War medic with a hacksaw for removing gangrenous limbs and a 2020 paramedic. You said present day, but how about location?
I honestly think some of this is overthought. A person checking baggage is looking for something unexplainable, and for a doctor, medication is a normal tool of the trade. IF he had a case of morphine...yeah that is kind of hard to explain, but a few prescriptions or sample boxes of some heavy-hitting pain killers is not going to set off red flags. It is something a security officer would expect to find for a Doctor. What would happen if the security officer did give them a hard time. NOTHING. The security officer stops the Doctor and refuses admittance, the doctor pitches a fit, the supervisor gets involved, overrides the security officer's decision, and the doctor moves on his way. A writer can certainly use that in a scene to generate some conflict if they want, but more than likely, a security officer enduring this a few times, is going to only stop people that he is sure need to be detained. A Doctor with a few prescriptions …nope. Not worth the hassle.
I don't actuly know what the law is , but I can tell you from experience that medical staff , not even a doctor , can give a patient Morphine if necessary. It is normal give in a liquid form .
I don't know how it works in the US and Canada, but here, while a nurse with the appropriate training can administer the painkillers, it requires a doctor to prescribe it. I'm not sure a prescribing nurse can even do that.
My wife, a nurse, carried morphine with her when she was a home hospice nurse. Definitely prescribed by a doctor, but she was allowed to carry and administer it using her judgment.
Yes, my experience in hospital was that, once it's been prescribed, a nurse is able to administer it when required (subject to the usual restriction on number of doses per day). But a doctor had to issue the original prescription. That applied even to paracetemol and other over-the-counter medication though. Mind you, in hospital I can understand it, in case it interferes with any other medication or other conditions (I can't take ibuprofen, for example).
Probably morphine or the synthetic version hydromorphone (brand name Dilaudid). Also tablets like hydrocodone (Vicodin) and Darvocet.
Gave me that once for a back injury. Holy smokes... I can totally see how people get hooked on opiods/heroin right from the git.
I think I'll go with Vicodin. Just to be on the safe side, I'll make sure my doc is refilling a patient's valid prescription. I appreciate everyone's thoughts.
