Timely Suggestions

[Bill Johnson]

I just came across this suggestion which and since it is rather timely thought I'd post it here.
Now I know lots of you folks have been in summer mode for a while us northern guys are still thawing out so please bear with me.

ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION FROM THE SUN

People who work outdoors should avoid prolonged exposure to sunshine because of the damaging effects of ultraviolet radiation from the sun.

Excessive exposure to the sun's radiation over the years is a factor related to premature skin aging, skin cancer and cataracts in older people.

The UV levels are highest in the spring and summer between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. At noon on a clear summer day, for example, it can take only 15 minutes to cause a sunburn on unprotected fair skin.

To reduce the exposure of workers to ultraviolet rays while working in direct sunlight when UV levels are high, the following precautions are recommended:
  -Wear a hat
  -Wear tightly-woven clothing covering as much of the body as is practicable.
  -Apply sunscreen with a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of 15 or higher on exposed skin.
The sunscreen should be effective in filtering both UV-A and UV-B rays; this information is usually printed on the product's packaging.
  -Wear eyeglasses that effectively filter ultraviolet rays.
Plastic safety glasses and plastic cosmetic sunglasses have been found to be good UV filters.

END
Source:Ontario Ministry of Labour: Occupational Health and Safety Alert.
 8)

[Bill Johnson]

Now that summer? is upon most of us it is probably timely to remind everyone to make sure they maintain their fluid levels.

Water refreshes, quenches thirst, cools, hydrates and helps body systems function at optimum. There is no downside to potable water.

When sustaining continued fluid loss, such as during exercise or heavy work electrolyte drinks tend to rob the body of moisture as it seeks a chemical balance.

Carbonated drinks decrease the amount of fluids that can be consumed and depletes calcium levels.
Drinks that contain caffeine act as a diuretic and interfere withe the body's ability to absorb carbohydrates. No carbohydrates=low energy levels not good if your are working or playing hard.

Some drink lots of cool clear water and remember by the time you first feel thirsty your are already down about a quart.

Bill

[Tom]

Bill,

Those are good suggestions.

I keep water in my 5 gal cooler and iced if I remember to get it on the way out.

A note:  I was going to be smart and put Gator aide in the cooler a few years ago to keep our electrolytes up.  It was good !!! but...

We were drinking 2+ gallons of water a day (each).  It was hot.  I began to get sick and thought I was having a sun stroke so I sat in the shade.  When I began to feel better I was still nauseous.  The next day it happened again.  I was using the powdered Gatorade and mixing it according to instructions.  As it turns out the problem was the quantity of stuff we were drinking in the Gatorade.
There must have been too many sugars etc.

I cut down on the powder and mixed it 1/2 strength.  We were ok after that.

I still would rather a tall cool glass of clear water when its 110 in the shade.

[Corley5]

We had Gatorade and water on a construction job I worked on.  Gatorade just never appealed to me but the foreman sure loved it.  He was the one that ended sick below the deck.  :D  Good old fashioned water can't be beat.

[Tom]

I agree Corley5.  There is still a lot of talk about losing electrolytes but I'm confused by the rhetoric.  It's said that your body can't function properly when the electrolytes get low and they get washed out in the water.  How do you know if you need electrolytes?

Maybe the U.S. Army wasn't wrong by giving us a salt tablet every once in a while.  At least we didn't eat enough of them to get sick.

I envy those fellows in the North Carolina Mountains that can walk over to the Spring and get a cool drink of water whenever they want. That's the best.

[Jeff]

this is how I prepare for those Hot Summer days.

Fill that empty Milk jug about 80% full each morning and put in the freezer as you take the already frozen one out for work that day. It thaws as you need it during the day.

[Tom]

yep, and if you put 2 frozen gallons in a 5 gal cooler you get 3 gallons of cool water all day and 2 gallons of Ice Water to drink for dinner and the ride home.

[timberbeast]

Interesting!!!!!  A couple years back I was limbing like a madman is heavy cover,  mucky footing,  with a cooler of Gatorade.  Felt sick,  drank some more,  it passed.  It was over 90.  Felt sick again,  managed to walk back to the shack,  felt like passing out.  Drank more Gatorade,  head was spinning.  Finally got a wet cloth on my neck and drank some water and laid down.  I drowsed for about an hour and felt a bit better.  Drank some more water,  and felt better immediately.  I quit for the day,  but now it's gallon jugs of water all the time.  Usually about 3 a day.  Hasn't happened since!  Guess Gatorade ain't all it's cracked up to be!!!!!

[L. Wakefield]

   All the fire and rescue materials and training now suggest half-strength gatorade at most. During trainings they provide water. It is true that sweating removes concentrated electrolytes from your body- that's why sweat tastes salty. But during times of either intense exertion or exposure to heat, blood supply is shunted to the skin or the muscles respectively. So circulation to the gut isn't at peak to accomplish transport and/or digestion. Plain water can evidently still be absorbed with minimal energy requirements, tho you can induce nausea and vomiting if you drink too great a volume of water at one time.   LW

[Gordon]

An electrolytic replenishment fluid such as Pedialyte can easily be made. The key ingredient is Morton's Lyte Salt, a 50-50 mix of KCl and NaCl, mixed with Karo syrup[dextrose/glucose] and sodium bicarbonate with H2O.One specific formula per liter is one teaspoon Morton's Lite Salt, 1/2 teaspoon NaHCO3 and 6 teaspoons of Karo syrup.

People with less than perfect kidneys [kidneys get rid of excess potassium] or on certain drugs,usually for high blood pressure or congestive heart failure, such as 'ace inhibitors'[type 1 or 2] such as captopril(Capoten),Vasotec,Diovan or if already on KCl supplement should consult their physician.Ace inhibitors inherently cause the kidneys to save potassium and are often combined with diuretics that excrete K and Na in the urine so that the net effect is a wash and ,therefore,a potassium suppelment is not needed assuming the kidney function is good or, at least stable.

Lemonade spiked with just a teaspoon of Morton's Lite Salt per liter supplies enough of the essential K & Na.People already on a diuretic such as hydrochlorthiazide or furosemide[Lasix] are dehydrated by definition and sweating and heavy work [each exhaled breath is 100% saturated and can add-up to several liters of fluid loss when the respiratory rate increases.] When you add in the loss from sweat, urine, stool to the above "insensible" loss this can add up to several liters a day.

One good rule is to drink enough fluid so you have pale urine with some K and Na as dicuussed above. Assuming you have good kidneys and certain drugs as described are taken in consideration the kidneys can deal with excess free water[ i.e. water with a little less osmolarity than 0.9%[normal saline] by excreting the extra water and retainig the appropiate electrolytes so that you don't become overly diluted,nor concentratd with a proper total volume.

NaHCO3 is sodium bicarbonate-Arm & Hammer baking soda- that stuff kids mix with acetic acid[vinager] and launch a million rockets

As discussed Karo syrup(sugar/glucose/dextrose/sucrose, pretty much the same)can be left out if you don't need the calories. Lightly sweetened(artificially or with sugar) lemonade fortified with a little Morton Lyte Salt, NaHCO3 drank a little bit often so that the urine is alway pale is the way to go. A 7-11 52 ounce insulated container sounds like just the ticket- like 3 or 4 or even more a day. Kidneys can deal with excess-they just pee it out. What they can't deal with is shortage

Shew that was alot of typing
Can you tell the wife is the smart one of the bunch
Gordon

[Don P]

Thats our way, yellow ain't mellow.  On sunlight, Michelle had her first skin cancer removed 2 months ago. We're still pups at 41. She's up to spf 48, OK I can't stand the stuff but need to do better... neighbors wife wanted to know what I used to highlight my hair when we got back last year. Must need to win a new hat.

[Tom]

L.W. and Gordon (wife), thanks for the information.  I not only learned a whole lot but learned something that I needed to know.  

My High-lighting formula is a secret but the hat really sets it off Don.  ;)

You guys are going to love these hats.

[Gordon]

Your quite welcome. Hope one person uses it, works for me when I remember to take the 2 1/2 gallon cooler from the house. I'm a diet pepsi drinker and the wife hates that. She is always trying to feed me water on the hot days. So I compromise and drink both.

Gordon

[Bill Johnson]

Since we've seemed to have dried up all the input on drinking lots of water to keep the fluid levels up heres another good reminder that folks sometimes forget.

Filling Portable Gas Cans in Pickup Trucks and Cars

There have been several serious accidents associated with fires spontaneously igniting when people were filling portable gas cans in the backs of pickup trucks equipped with plastic liners or in cars with carpeted surfaces.

These spontaneous fires result from the buildup of static electricity. The insulating effect of the truck bed liner or the car carpet prevents the the static charge generated by gasoline flowing into the container or from other sources from grounding.
The discharge of this buildup to the grounded gasoline dispenser nozzle may cause a spark and ignite the gasoline. Both ungrounded metal (most hazardous) and plastic gas containers have been involved in these accidents.

Precautions:
Always avoid the hazardous practice of leaving the portable gasoline container in pickup trucks or cars when refilling.

Before filling, always remove the the container from the vehicle and place it on the ground at a safe distance from the vehicle (provides a path to dissipate static to ground)

Touch the container with the gas dispenser nozzle before removing the portable gas container lid(provides another path)

Keep the nozzle in contact with the container inlet when filling(to dissipate a static charge buildup from flow of gasoline)


Source: Department of Environment and Labour  Province of Newfoundland

[Tom]

That's good information Bill. I remember a this being a major topic on TV about a year ago.  We don't have too much static electricity down here in the summer, a little in the winter, but it is enough to set off a can of gasoline.  Just one spark is all it take and even 1 quart of gasoline makes a fire instantaneously that is almost too large to combat.

Drink a lot of liquids so that you have a portable fire extinguisher too.  

[Jeff]

Thats what I meant about a hat full! :D

[Tom]

.........I guess you could use a hat !  

[Bill Johnson]

BEAR FACTS:
Did you know that:
Black bears killed about 35 people in North America in the 20th century. By comparison 150 people were stung to death by bees and wasps and 375 were killed by lighting.
Only about 1/4 of the bear's diet consists of meat. Mostly they eat plants and other vegetable matter.
Bears have poor eyesight but excellent sense of smell and good hearing.
While black bear attacks are extremely unusual, more than 96% of recorded incidents involved an adult male bear.
Black bears have been recorded running at speeds up to 30 miles per hour.
Studies done in Algonquin Park (central Ontario)have found evidence of adult male bears preying on moose and other bears.

Bill

[Bill Johnson]

IF YOU ENCOUNTER A BLACK BEAR....
-When they see a human, the vast majority of bears run away.
-If a bear begins to move towards you, stop and face the bear. Make sure the bear has a clear escape route, then yell and wave your arms above your head to make yourself look larger. The idea is to be aggressive and to persuade the bear to leave.
-If these tactics don't frighten the bear away slowly back away, watching the bear. It may stand upright, make huffing or popping sounds, swat and beat the ground with its paws and even bluff a charge. These are the bears way of telling you that you're too close.  Give the bear more space. If it comes within range, use pepper spray if you have it.
-In the highly rare event of an encounter with a predatory bear, the animal may not give any visual warning of its intention,pressing closer and closer to you, assessing whether its safe to attack. Never turn and run in such situations. Be aggressive, yell, throw rocks or sticks, and use pepper spray if you have it.
-If the bear makes contact with you, do not play dead, Fight back, hitting the bear in the nose with a branch, rock,or whatever you have on hand to hurt the bear. Protect your vital organs and your neck.

Source:Ontario Forestry Safe Workplace Association,The Log, March 2001

Bill

[Kevin]

Bear encounters are etremely numerous here, several have been shot in residential areas, last year the incidents were weekly and this year they`re daily.
Two bear in two different locations last week poked their heads through screen windows where people were present inside.
One was whacked on the head by the homeowner and the other left on its own.

[Don P]

We were taught if there are 2 people to spread apart about 10' so the bear won't feel like coming after one and losing track of the other. Don't eat while hiking, kinda like trolling for bear. Keep a clean camp or even eat away from camp in bad places.All this was old info when taught to me,things might have changed.
There are places in the Smokies where the boars have run the bears out, there are bears there that know how to take down food caches

[Jeff]

While in the U.P. this week I visited with a friend that has been having some bear problems. Mama and the little one have took to coming on his deck to rob the bird feeders. His solution? He just showed it to me, and had not had a chance to work yet. He bought a pepper spray canister. He hung it, still in its cardboard and shrinkwrap packaging, from the porch roof. He then "painted" the whole thing with peanut butter. You get the idea of what he hopes will happen.

[Don P]

She'll come inside for chips and a brew to go with the peanut butter salsa! :D

[KiwiCharlie]

G'day Guys,

This reminds me of when I was in Canada in '94.  I was staying with friends in a smallish A-frame house (probably made with an Alaskan Mill!) by the water in a remote bay up Clayquot Sound (West Coast, Vancouver Island).  Each morning the black bears would come out of the hills around the bay from us, and head around to the large shed, where the fish food was stored for the salmon farms just offshore. They had corrugated iron for the first 6 feet of the shed to try and keep them out, but often you could see where a bear had peeled back a section to get inside!!  Very strong animals.  Turning over rocks on the beach like they were pebbles.  For someone from NZ where we have no animals like this that can kill you, it was an ammazing thing to see.  Having never seen one before, I think I was over-weary.
In the late afternoon, the bears would head back around the bay, and dissapear into the bush.
Once when I was home by myself, a small bear came up onto the deck out the front, and went up onto its hind legs against the ranch-slider!!  Soon left but scared the crap out of me!!  I grabbed the camera, but missed the best shot!  I will try to post a pic of him dissapearing off the deck.  The second pic is just of the A-fame.
We had those aerosol can-powered claxon horns to take with you when you went to the long drop, which was a good 20 metres from the house!
Cheers
Charlie.

[Tom]

Hey KiwiCharlie,

We've got fellows who live on the edge of the Okeefenokee swamp who wouldn't have reached for a camera.  There would have been a shattered door from the shotgun blast and they would have been picking glass out of their teeth after supper.  :D

Good story.  Good thing you got pictures or we might have had to start a "Tall Tales" topic.  ;D