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Medical
& Other Good Stuff Lyme disease is transmitted by the bite of the
deer tick, which may be carried by field mice,
deer, and other wild animals. Woodys areas, marshy
areas, and areas with high grass and brush are
prime breeding places for the tick. One misconception about Lyme disease is that it
is confined primarily to the Northeast. However
cases have been reported in nearly every state.
The areas where the most cases have been reported
are in Lyme disease can be serious, but it is almost
never fatal. If treated promptly, before you
experience joint inflammation, the diseaes can be
cleared up completely with antibiotics. The most recognizable sign of Lyme disease is a
slowly expanding skin rash at the site of the tick
bite. Other symptoms include fatigue, fever,
headaches, stiff neck, and muscle and joint aches.
These symptoms, which can last for several weeks,
may resemble those of flu. Good news is, new studies suggest that doctors
are overreacting to their fears that a tick bite
will lead to Lyme disease. In places where Lyme disease is present, only
1% to 4% of the people bitten by ticks get the
disease. But those who go to a doctor after a tick
bite, 95% have blood tests and 55% are given
antibiotics. "If I were to find a tick that had been on
me for a few hours, I'd remove it and do nothing
more," says Alan Fix, MD. "If a tick has
been attached for three days, that is where Lyme
disease comes from." Remember the best approach: watch and wait,
look for early warning signs of the disease, a
rash around the bite and flu-like symptoms. Then
call your doctor. Note: another example of unnecessary antibiotic
use, which is causing antibiotic resistance. New studies suggest that doctors are
overreacting to their fears that a tick bite will
lead to Lyme disease. In places where Lyme disease is present, only
1% to 4% of the people bitten by ticks get the
disease. But those who go to a doctor after a tick
bite, 95% have blood tests and 55% are given
antibiotics. "If I were to find a tick that had been on
me for a few hours, I'd remove it and do nothing
more," says Alan Fix, MD. "If a tick has been attached for three
days, that is where Lyme disease comes from." Best approach: watch and wait, look for early
warning signs of the disease, a rash around the
bite and flu-like symptoms. Then call your doctor. Note: another example of unnecessary antibiotic
use, which is causing antibiotic resistance. A
FEW TRICK USED IN THIS SPORT FOR FOOT PAIN Many foot problems can be treated while in
camp, some when on the trail with a little common
sense, simple treatments and camp rest could keep
you from retreating home. But always remember if
the problem does not show improvement within a few
days, you should concider seeing a doctor. There's always another camp and common sense
should say when to hang it up, it may be the
difference between being krippled and healing up
for another trip. You will note that most problems
listed are of our own doing, poor fitting or wrong
sized footwear. MORTON'S NEUROMA; intense pain usually caused
by tight-fitting shoes that squeeze the nerves
between the bones, causing the nerves to swell.
There may also be numbness between the toes. Use footwear that have plenty of room around
the ball of the foot. Take aspirin or another pain
reliever as directed for a few days to a week
while in camp. I have taken deer or elk mocs, put
two pair of heavy socks on , walked in a near-by
stream until soaked, then wear them dry. Takes a
good day for drying, put them in my bed roll at
night to keep them from getting to stiff. The next
morning use one pair of socks or barefooted when
in camp, this seems to help with the numbness in
short order and the sole of your foot is still
protected. BUNION; when looking at your bare foot, if your
big toe points toward your other four toes, the
end of the bone behind your big toe may rub
against your shoe. The skin thickens over this
bone, and the bone itself may develop a bony spur
- which is called a "bunion". Place a small amount of cloth between your big
toe and your second toe so that your big toe
becomes aligned with the other toes, (several
cleaning patches work very nicely). The same
padding around the bunion may help relieve
pressure. Use the method as described for Morton's
neuroma for sizing an old pair of As soon as returning home see your doctor, as
an inflamed bunion may need a cortisone injection
to provide relief, if to much out of alignment
surgery may be needed. CORNS & CALLUSES; usually caused by
ill-fitting shoes and a friction or rubbing action
happens. Corns are usually found on top of the toes or
arch. they appear as lumps of thickened skin that
may either be hard, with a clear core, or soft and
moist. Calluses are thickened skin found across the
heel and on the ball of the foot. Make sure your footwear fits properly; wear
your PLANTAR WARTS; often found on the ball of the
foot, are caused by a virus, not by friction that
many claim. You'll see small, black dots within
the warts. Again good footwear and corn plasters can help,
but you will need to see your doctor. Not really a
good camp treatment other than wearing comfortable
shoes and do not go barefooted as you can pass
this virus to others. Doctors can use cold liquid nitrogen, heat
electrocoagulation, or surgery to remove a plantar
wart; unfortunately, they often recur. METATARSAL STRESS FRACTURE; unaccustomed,
strenuous use of the feet can crack the long
metatarsal bones in the foot. The pain usually
comes on gradually, and it gets worse with
continued activity. Unusual but can happen, your laid up with
giving your feet a rest for a few days to a week
or more. Crutches may be in order for a period of
time, and could last as long as six weeks or
longer. A cast should be avoided if at all
possible; it will not reduce the healing time and
may create other problems. Use common sense, exercise indoors; home,
health club, mall walking, if its dark, icy, and
/or very cold outside. If you have angina (chest
pain) or asthma, exercise indoors and avoid the
cold air. Wear layers of clothing; peel them off if you
become overheated. It's too cold to exercise
outside when you can't put on or carry enough
layers to stay warm. Cover your ears, head and hands especially if
it's cold and windy. exposed skin can freeze in
one minute in bitter cold. Up to 50% of heat loss
is through the head. Warm your muscles up before you go outside, use
a treadmill or stair climber, and do some
stretching. Drink plenty of fluids, sweating in
cold weather is less noticeable than sweating in
hot weather. Keep your feet warm and dry. NOTE At the '97 Western Nationals I stepped over a
dead limb, catching the end of it with my heel,
causing it to fly up and hit me in the back of the
leg and calf. I went down like being kicked my a
mule, my calf and muscle tied-up so tight that I
was unable to straighten my leg for 15-20 minutes,
and could only lay on the ground. Such a dumb
thing to happen when helping to carry in another's
equipage and ended up having to be helped back to
camp. Turned out that stick hit my sciatica nerve and
I ended up on crutches for a period, chronic pain
in hip and thigh, with a 3 1/2 to 4 month recovery
time; I am told that this is a common injury with
hikers and skiers. You can not believe the pain
such a simple injury can give one and our sport
makes us a natural for such a problem with our
footwear, heavy packs, etc. The bottom line is good footwear that fit
correctly, an old pair of to let your feet relax while in camp and use
care when moving down the trail, even flat ground
can be a problem if not paying attention. Source: Take Care of Yourself by Donald M. Vickery,
MD & James F. Fries, MD. The Physician and Sportsmedicine, Vol 20,
No1 Do not drink untreated water from lakes, rivers
or streams, even if crystal clear. A number of
micro organisms can cause illness for hikers and
campers. BOILING; bring water to a full, rolling boil
for at least 3 minutes (5 to 10 minutes for
elevations above 5,000 feet). PROBLEM; flat taste, no removal of debris from
the water; fuel is required; water must be cooled
before you drink it. A small group of us have traveled many of the
waterways of the west, we carry oak kegged water
for drinking and boil water for washing campwares
and equipage. We bathe in these rivers and have
been very lucky not to have had any problems yet.
If limited for space figure about two quarts per
person a day, if possible go with three quarts per
person per day, and have resources available to
refill your supply on longer trips. IODINE CRYSTALS & TABLETS; available in
recreational stores, shelf life printed on the
container is very important, many are only dated
with a 6 month useable date. Most with current
dates are effective and convenient. PROBLEM; slight change in the taste; no removal
of debris from the water; does not kill
cryptosporidium (systemic infection caused by
fungus). FILTERS; best systems have replaceable filters
that can be removed and cleaned or replaced. Some
filters screen out all organisms over 0.5 microns,
which takes care of giardia cysts. Some filters
screen down to 0.2 microns and eliminate cocci,
protozoa, fungi, bacteria, and parasites. Some
remove cryptosporidium. PROBLEM; cleaning or disposal of used elements;
cost. Filters are probably not effective against
viruses such as hepatitis A. NOTE If you have diarrhea or stomach cramps that
last more than several days, call a doctor. SOURCES: REI, Seattle; EPA, Groundwater & Drinking
Water Branch These plants can cause an allergic reaction in
a large number of us, only a small minority have
significant swelling and blistering. One does not have to touch the plant to have
problems. You can pick up oily resin of these
plants from your clothes, a pet’s fur or a
fellow trekker, even the smoke from burning the
plant will give you problems. Symptoms are: itching, redness, swelling and/or
blisters. The itching and rash may not begin for
several hours or even a day later. If known, you touched a poisonous plant, wash
with soap and water to clean the area and change
or wash your clothing. Many carry baking soda in
camp supplies, this works when mixed. (1 tsp. of
water with 3 tsp. of baking soda). This makes a
paste and can be applied until you return home and
then use modern items and a possible treatment
from your doctor, if required. While in camp if
the itching continuities, immerse the area in hot
water, (water should redden, not burn), do not use
soap. The heat will release the histamine in the
skin’s cells that cause the itching. Even though
you feel itchy during the process, it should give
you up to eight hours of relief. INFECTED WOUNDS AND BLOOD POISONING Blood poisoning is a serious condition where
there is a bacterial infection in the bloodstream. In normal wound healing, the body pours out a
yellow and/or clear serum into the wound area,
later it becomes a scab.( Often this serum is
mistaken for pus. Actually, pus is thick, cheesy
and smelly, and not seen in the first day or so.)
In normal wound healing, the edges of a wound are
pink or red. The wound area may be warm and
swollen (this is normal). An infected wound usually festers beneath the
surface of the skin, which leads to pain and
swelling. If the festering wound bursts open, pus
will drain out. This is good, and the wound will
usually heal well. Bacterial infection requires at least a day,
usually two or three days to develop. Always keep wound and wound area clean, leave
wound open to the air, unless its unsightly, oozes
blood or serum or gets dirty easily. (If so, put a
clean dressing on it daily and whenever bandage
gets wet.) For short periods, soak and gently
clean the wound with warm water, three or four
times a day. This will remove debris and keep the
scab soft. If your wound fails to heal within a reasonable
time, you will need to contact a doctor. He will
need to examine the wound and regional lymph
nodes. Your temperature may be taken (fever is an
indication of infection). It’s always a good
idea to check with your doctor on any wound that
is taking longer than usual to heal. This should jog the old gray matter and bring
back some of our teachings in the Boy Scouts,
military and Red Cross classes we had many years
ago about general first aid. In the This is only part of the problem in the higher
passes, the drier climate, seems to dry out the
thin layers of tissue (membrane) on the inside of
the nose, causing it to crack and bleed very
easily. We were at 9,500 feet in northwestern Colorado
a few months ago with some brothers from
Pennsylvania, one brother went to swing under a
small pine limb and hit the bridge of his nose
when he turn to see where we were. Almost
instantly the blood flowed like you turned on a
hose. He fought nose bleeds off and on the whole
weekend, not a fun time for him and after
returning home we found several of our home
remedies, were not the right things to have done. After talking to the family and company
doctors, here are a few proven methods we should
have used. DO’S 1. sit or stand so the head is higher than the
heart, this slows down the flow of blood to the
nose. 2. tilt the head forward to prevent blood from
running down the throat. 3. pinch the nose between the bridge and the
nostrils with the thumb and index finger. Hold for
5 to 10 minutes firmly with steady pressure. 4. when bleeding stops, apply a small amount of
petroleum jelly (patch lure worked OK for us)
inside the nose, helps to keep moist. 5. avoid blowing your nose hard for at least 12
hours. If bleeding recurs go through same steps
again, if it continues contact you doctor as soon
as possible. DON’T S do not hold head back or lie down, these
positions allow blood to run down the throat which
may cause vomiting. (we did this, wrong). do not pack the nose with gauze, its
uncomfortable and may lead to infection.. (we did
this with cleaning patches, wrong). ice can help swelling caused by a blow to the
nose, can not stop bleeding. According to the doctors, they see a lot of
people from lower elevations that come to the
western states have nosebleeds, they feel its
about equal / altitude and dryness. On another trek a friend who I usually travel
with, (he’s always looking out for me, as I have
the lower (3) vertebrate fused and a steel pin in
my back) puts his back out while unloading some of
our gear from the iron mule. He rests for an hour
and we decide to give up the trek as my pain
medicine does not give him much relief. (Brother
did I catch hell from my doctor about giving him
my medication and all the possible side effects he
could have had). According to my family doctor and an article he
loaned me in one of his medical magazines, 80% of
adults suffer from back pain. Back pain and back
injuries are one of the most common problems among
adults, on and off the job. Back injuries are the
most reported type of injury in hiking, climbing
and lifting accidents in Interesting facts taken on trekkers (hikers)
back injury. • 95% of back-pain patients recovered within
six months, regardless of the type of doctor they
saw or the treatment they received. • People who saw their family doctor or an
orthopedic specialist made 3 to 5 vists. People
who saw a chiropractor made 10 to 15 vists. • Only 19% to 30% of the people who saw a
family doctor got x-rays. Orthopedic specialists
and chiropractors order x-rays for 60% to 70% of
their patients. • Average charges over the course of
treatment: urban family doctor: $214;
orthopedists: $383; and chiropractors: $545. Research showed instead of one large pack,
split the load up into two lighter packs, maybe a
backpack and a haversack. Day "use
items" in haversack can help to balance with
your rifle or fowler and shooting bag. Try to not twist your back when raising from a
kneeling to standing position, turn your body in a
controlled manner after reaching the standing
position. This is easier said than done in some
conditions. Bend your knees and use your thigh muscles to
lift heavy packs or equipage. Never swing heavy loads in one swooping motion
from one level to another level, make the transfer
in several forward lifts avoiding twisting and
lifting. Everyone should use good lifting techniques -
back straight, lifting from your legs rather than
your back whenever possible. Wear proper fitting
footwear, adjust your backpacks to fit firmly (not
sliding around), keep items hung on belt or packs
from swinging (could throw you off balance). If
you give it some thought, you will find several
items that can be either packed inside or fastened
from moving around. Only, one with a bad back, can know what a
problem little things can be and how they can
become big problems down the trail if not cared
for. We can still be period with our reenactment of
the different periods, but use a little common
sense, so we’re around for another adventure.
You don’t have to be a hero, when physically
uncomfortable or hurt, take care of the problem
first. Good trekking and as always we leave as
friends, References: "Your Body Comes First" by Chris
Plott, MD, MS. Take Care of Yourself by James F. Fries, MD
& Donald M. Vickery, MD The legendary 17th century Dutch physician
Herman Boerhaave left in his will an elaborately
bound book said to contain the secrets of
medicine. All its pages turned out to blank, except one
on which was written, "Keep the head cool,
the feet warm, and the bowels open." ________________________________________________ Until next time, we leave as friends and followers of
those that went before us.
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