Medicines With Natural Alternatives You Don’t Need To Stockpile

Being prepared means being ready for anything – and that includes medical problems. Without access to the modern healthcare system, in a crisis your first line of defense will be whatever medications you have stockpiled. The problem is medicines can be expensive, or even hard to obtain, and usually have a limited shelf life. So what happens when you’ve run out of the drug you need, or couldn’t get it in the first place?

Luckily, our ancestors weren’t ignorant about medicine, and while they didn’t have a pharma industry they did have nature. Many wild plants actually have powerful medicinal properties – some of our most common medicines are just commercially produced versions of ingredients derived from plants. If you know what you’re looking for you can collect those plants and use them as a substitute for modern medicines. Here are some types of drugs preppers need, and natural alternatives to them.

Pain Relief

For most of us, painkillers are the medication we take most often. Aspirin and Tylenol are top sellers in every pharmacy, and there’s a bottle or pack of them most first aid kits. Can you stockpile enough of them to keep you going long-term if society falls apart, though? Well, you might not have to. Nature has its own painkillers if you know what to look for.

Willow bark might sound like an unlikely painkiller, but the active ingredient in aspirin is actually derived from salicin, found in willow bark. Learn to recognize willow trees, and harvest bark from their branches, being careful not to “ring” the tree by cutting the bark round too much of its width. That will kill it, and you might want to harvest more bark in future. You can chew the fresh bark to get the salicin from it. Alternatively, dry the bark, shred it and use it to make tea.
Meadowsweet is a European plant that’s now common in the US too. All parts of it can be eaten – and it also contains salicin, so it’s an effective painkiller. Meadowsweet also makes a good natural antacid.

When Doctors Are Gone, Knowledge Becomes Medicine

In a real crisis, pharmacies empty fast, doctors may be unreachable, and emergency services can disappear overnight. When pain strikes, infections spread, or injuries happen, you won’t have time to experiment—you’ll need clear, step-by-step medical guidance.

Home Doctor was created for exactly this situation: when modern healthcare is no longer an option, but medical problems don’t stop.

Inside Home Doctor, you’ll learn:

How to diagnose common medical emergencies without lab tests or equipment
What to do when painkillers, antibiotics, or prescriptions are unavailable
Step-by-step treatments for infections, injuries, fever, and internal issues
How to recognize warning signs that mean a condition is becoming life-threatening
Practical medical decisions you can make at home when professional help is gone

If you’re preparing to rely on yourself and your family during a crisis, Home Doctor gives you the confidence to act instead of panic when health becomes the biggest threat.

Anti-Inflammatories

Aspirin isn’t just a painkiller; it’s also an anti-inflammatory, along with Ibuprofen. These drugs are regularly used to treat all sorts of painful inflammations. If you run out, or can’t get to your stockpile, don’t worry; there are some plants with natural anti-inflammatory properties.

Witch hazel, which grows throughout the eastern US, is a small woody shrub. Native Americans chopped up its stems and boiled them to make an anti-inflammatory tea. You can speed up the process by shredding the cut stems to expose more surface area. Witch hazel also contains chemicals that can kill the tumor cells in colon cancer.

Anti-Diarrheals

Diarrhea is always unpleasant; in an emergency situation it can also be lethal. Diarrhea causes massive, rapid fluid loss, and if safe water is in short supply it becomes extremely dangerous. Unfortunately, having someone with diarrhea around can also contaminate nearby water sources if you’re using an improvised latrine. It’s important to treat it as quickly and effectively as possible, which is why Imodium or similar medications have a place in every emergency kit.

There are plants that can also help cure diarrhea, though. In the western US, Native Americans made an infusion from the leaves or bark of the Douglas maple; drinking this can reduce diarrhea.

Ironwood, also called oceanspray, is another western plant that can be used to treat diarrhea. Collect the flowers or berries, and boil to make a medicinal tea.
Common agrimony – also called tall hairy agrimony, hooked agrimony or tall hairy grooveburr – is found across the US. An infusion made from it can also be used to treat diarrhea.
Sumac is a common wild plant across most of the US. Make a tea from its leaves and berries to treat diarrhea. A poultice made of sumac will also take the sting out of poison ivy.

Anti-Emetics

Vomiting can be just as dangerous as diarrhea; it also sucks fluid out of your body. Worse, once you start vomiting it can be difficult to keep fluids down, making it even harder to stay hydrated. Anti-emetic drugs to treat nausea and vomiting are essential items. They can also be collected from nature.

Blackberries are tasty, but various parts of the plants also have medicinal uses. The berries can help calm down nausea. Make tea from the leaves – you can add some berries to sweeten it – and it will also help fight off diarrhea. Soak crushed blackberry root in honey to get a natural sore throat remedy.
Mint is another plant that can reduce nausea. Use the leaves to make a soothing tea.
Wild ginger has many medicinal uses, and it’s particularly good against nausea. Make a tea from the roots and leaves. It’s also good for general digestive problems.

Antibacterial

Antibiotics are one of the real miracle drugs. They can also be hard to get, and you can’t ration them to extend supplies either. If you start taking antibiotics you need to take the full course, otherwise the infection is likely to come back stronger – and more resistant to antibiotics – than before. Be ready to use natural alternatives.

Honey contains natural antibiotics – actually made by bees – and has been used since ancient times as a dressing on burns and wounds. Coating a wound in honey will prevent infection and kill any bacteria that are already there. Just make sure to cover it, so the sweet, sticky honey doesn’t attract dirt and insects.
Wild garlic, also called the Canada onion, is another plant that’s been used as medicine in many cultures. One of its most impressive properties is that it’s a strong antibacterial. It can be used as a poultice on wounds and burns, or eaten to fight systemic infections.

Turn Wild Plants Into Real Medicine – Safely and Correctly

Knowing that a plant can heal isn’t enough. The real skill lies in preparing it correctly, using the right part, storing it properly, and avoiding dangerous mistakes. That’s where most people fail—and where serious harm can happen.

Forgotten Home Apothecary teaches you how to build a true herbal medicine cabinet from plants growing around you.

This guide shows you:

Which plants are safe to use medicinally—and which look-alikes can be deadly
How to prepare teas, tinctures, poultices, and infusions correctly
Proper dosages and usage guidelines when precision matters
How to preserve medicinal herbs so they remain effective for years
When natural medicine works—and when it’s dangerous to rely on it

If you plan to replace or supplement modern medicine with natural remedies, this guide helps you do it with confidence instead of guesswork.

Statins

Statins are controversial, but there’s no doubt they can help lower levels of harmful cholesterol. What if you have high cholesterol but can’t get hold of your medication in a crisis?

Prickly pear is common in the western and south central US. When eaten it helps reduce bad cholesterol levels. The cactus itself is safe to eat, as long as you remove the sharp (and toxic) bristles first – but beware of getting the wrong species. Some toxic cacti look similar, but have milky sap. Prickly pear has clear sap; if you see anything else, avoid. You can also split the cactus pads and use them as a poultice on wounds or burns. A tea made from prickly pear helps ease urinary tract infections.

Learn the Medical and Survival Wisdom That Kept Families Alive for Generations

Long before pharmacies, insurance cards, and emergency rooms, families survived using knowledge passed down—not prescriptions handed out. The Amish are one of the few communities that still practice these traditions today.

The Amish Ways Book reveals how old-world families handled illness, injuries, food shortages, and hard seasons without relying on modern systems.

Inside, you’ll discover:

How traditional communities treated illness when doctors were days away
Natural remedies and practices used alongside food preservation and self-care
Why simplicity, routine, and preparation mattered more than technology
How families reduced dependence on outside systems entirely
Survival habits that quietly protected generations through hardship

If you’re serious about long-term self-reliance, this book shows how entire communities survived without modern medicine – successfully.

Final Thoughts

You can get great results using natural medicines, but you do need to be careful. The biggest danger is picking the wrong plant, so before you go foraging make sure you know exactly what you’re looking for. You also need to be aware that there’s no way to get a precise dose, and some natural remedies – wild garlic, for example – can be dangerous if you take too much of them. If you’re careful, though, nature can supply effective replacements for many modern drugs.

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