Did You know - outdoor edition

[WV Sawmiller]

   The well is feeling a little dry this morning and I know this should probably be in the health and safety thread but Did you know malaria remains one of the top killers in the world? There are several types of malaria common in Africa, Asia and South America. Malaria is spread by mosquitos biting an infected person then buzzing over to someone else and biting them. When Mozzie bites he she first injects and anticoagulant to start breaking down and thin the blood so she (As with so many dangerous animals in the world it is the female who is dangerous ;)) can suck it up into her proboscis. When she injects the anticoagulant she also injects a small amount of the infected blood and the bacteria take root and begin to grow and multiply exponentially in the new host. (This is the same way heartworms are spread in canines here in America.)

There are several ways to prevent and several other ways to reduce the risk of Malaria. One of our on site doctors may chime in with corrections or updates on the medicines but methods to prevent malaria I took when working in Africa, Afghanistan/Iraq and visiting in the Amazon include:

1. Stay away from everyone else with Malaria - if there is no infected host for the mosquito to bite you are perfectly safe.
2. Stay away from all mosquitos - if there is nothing to transfer the disease you are safe. This is easier said than done if you are in a warm climate.
3. Don't let the mosquitos bite - also easier said than done but boots, long sleeve shirts and long pants, mosquito repellent on your skin and clothes, mosquito bed and head nets, etc. are techniques people use to keep from getting bit.
4. Take medication to stop the bacteria before it can start growing - there are several kinds including Larium (Weekly dose), Malerone (Daily and expensive), Doxicycline (I am not sure about the recommended dose here. We took 250 mg/day in Afghanistan but the company fed it to us as a general preventive for other maladies too so that may not be the correct/normal dose.). With any of these preventive meds you have to start well in advance of visiting the affected area and continue for a certain amount of time after you leave so you have enough in your bloodstream to protect you any time the bacteria is present.

  Quinine used to be and may still be used as a treatment/preventive. Quine present in the Sable Palm (Swamp cabbage/Heart of Palm), which was a staple food item for the Seminole Indians is one of the reasons given that they did not get malaria.

We had several co-workers who died from Falciparum malaria on our project in Cameroon. They all died at home in the USA. They would go home on leave and get flu like symptoms and go see their local doctor who had not seen malaria since he took his parasitology class in college and they evidently forgot to tell the doctor they were working in the tropics. The doctors would treat them for the flu and the disease just kept spreading until it was too late. Any hole in the wall clinic in Africa would have assumed malaria and started proper treatment immediately.

Anyway if you plan a visit or vacation to any warm tropical area check with the CDC site to see if malaria is a risk and start your medication as required in advance before going.

[WV Sawmiller]

   Did you know Sulphur can be used to help repel various insects, ticks and chiggers? You can buy small boxes of "Flowers of Sulphur" at most pharmacies. My grandfather spent most of his life working in the woods girdling cypress, hunting for food, plume hunting, gator hunting and finally as one of the early game wardens for the state of Florida. He would sprinkle powdered Sulphur into his shoes and it would be absorbed by the skin of his feet. He'd drop a drop of syrup into Sulphur and roll it into a ball and swallow that to help get more into his system. Across the line in southern Ala from where I grew up in N. Fla a community of Pollard Ala had a community artesian well and many of the residents would stop and get a drink. It was high in Sulphur and when visiting near dusk I remember we would be slapping mosquitoes like crazy while the people who lived there and drank the local water did not seem to be affected. I remember as a kid when we'd get into a batch of chiggers my dad would feed us Sulphur Cream of Tartar tablets which seemed to help repel them.

[Tacotodd]

I'm wondering if @mike_belben saw that.

[WV Sawmiller]

   I went back and re-visited Mikes post again. He was asking about a spray to kill ticks and chiggers it seems on the bushes and grass along a walking path. I doubt the Sulphur would kill them but it might help repel them. I don't know how long it would linger in the area or how much it would take to cover as much area as Mike needs. I think you can buy 50 lb bags and such commercially but don't know if feed stores would handle it. I don't know of any harm it should cause the plant life. We always used Sulphur as a repellent not as an insecticide or such.

 If you check your feed supplier you will see yellow salt blocks which are salt with the Sulphur mixed in so evidently it helps repel flies and maybe horseflies and such from cattle and other livestock. It make even be a wormer medication of sorts. It also is a good indicator it does not harm the animals. I know sulpha drugs have been used for medicine for a long time but do not know how it works. Maybe one of our doctors can chime in and elucidate (and help clear things up).

[Tacotodd]

Now you're in @doc henderson territory.

[doc henderson]

we had a counselor at camp brown who always was chewing on match heads from paper military matches.  His dad had told him to do it.  He was not the most pointed tool in the box so we worried that it was not a good idea ;).  I have posted before about use of sulfur.  it is a micro nutrient for plants and animals.  (I will see if I can find it).  Bactrim has a sulfur group and is therefore called a sulfa medication.  great for urinary infection.  sulfur can bond to itself, so can attach two bigger molecules like two magnetic objects.  your mucus has disulfide bonds.  we use mucomyst as an aerosol to break up mucus to provide another sulfur group so it is not so stringy.  It is also used for Tylenol overdose to keep the better enzyme breakdown pathway working.  acetylcysteine.  used to have to drink it and it smelled like rotten eggs, but now have an iv preparation.  so it wont kill you in moderation.  can cause nausea.  and may not be as effective as deet.

[WV Sawmiller]

   Did you know you can load 4 full sized camels in the back of a full sized long bed Chevy pick up? My last assignment in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia was just on the other side of the Bin Laden Memorial Park (The park was dedicated to Ossama's Dad) from the camel souk. I would go over there and talk with the Bedouins there and watch them milk the camels and load them for transport. They would sit the camel down and wrap wire between the ankles and thigh area so they could not straighten them and stand up. They would wrap a couple of slings around them and lift with a boom truck and position them in the bed of the truck to be transported. Camels are amazing animals and can transport a huge load across soft sand and they will get fat of forage that would starve a billy goat. They are also one of the world's most obnoxious beasts and will bite and spit on you.

[JJ]

I would give my dog 2 garlic tablets with her food to keep ticks off of her.
Seemed to work, I had more ticks on me than I found on her, but she had bad breath.
         

[Ljohnsaw]

used to have to drink it and it smelled like rotten eggs

So, my well on my cabin property has a huge excess of iron but also "sulfur fixing bacteria" which makes the water smell like rotten eggs a little.  The taste is somewhat metallic (duh), well, actually really metallic!  Maybe I should drink this water to keep the mosquitoes at bay!  Was planning on just using it for showers/dishes.

[doc henderson]

I think you can infuse bicarb to raise the Ph and get rid of the bacteria and smell.  

[WV Sawmiller]

used to have to drink it and it smelled like rotten eggs

So, my well on my cabin property has a huge excess of iron but also "sulfur fixing bacteria" which makes the water smell like rotten eggs a little.  The taste is somewhat metallic (duh), well, actually really metallic!  Maybe I should drink this water to keep the mosquitoes at bay!  Was planning on just using it for showers/dishes.

I would verify it is safe to drink before drinking it. The health risks might be worse than the skeeters. If you have problems with mosquitoes and ticks and chiggers it might help to drink some of it. We have had wells with iron and sulfur and it turned the clothes yellow in the wash and made strings floating in the tea water. 

[doc henderson]

mmmm mmmmh.  sounds good   ;)      :D

[jb616]

I think you can infuse bicarb to raise the Ph and get rid of the bacteria and smell.  

Don't they do that with Peroxide too? 

[Hilltop366]

I'm not sure what else it does but peroxide will oxidize the dissolved iron so it can be filtered. Water with dissolved iron in it can still look clear until it has access to oxygen.

[doc henderson]

I am not a well expert.  someone was on last month and spoke to this.  I do not recall the handle.

[Tacotodd]

But that's still interesting about the camel. I had no idea. They are supposed to be very smart as well. But of course, it's from a movie, so who knows(rhetorical)? 

[Billbob]

  Did you know you can load 4 full sized camels in the back of a full sized long bed Chevy pick up? My last assignment in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia was just on the other side of the Bin Laden Memorial Park (The park was dedicated to Ossama's Dad) from the camel souk. I would go over there and talk with the Bedouins there and watch them milk the camels and load them for transport. They would sit the camel down and wrap wire between the ankles and thigh area so they could not straighten them and stand up. They would wrap a couple of slings around them and lift with a boom truck and position them in the bed of the truck to be transported. Camels are amazing animals and can transport a huge load across soft sand and they will get fat of forage that would starve a billy goat. They are also one of the world's most obnoxious beasts and will bite and spit on you.

!  Brings back memories of when I was in Amman, Jordan for a year back in 2004.  Spent a couple of weekends in the desert riding camel.  Just about ruined my back.  At the time I could spend 8 hours on horseback and think nothing of it.  Spent 3 hours on camel back and couldn't straighten up for 2 days.  lol

[WV Sawmiller]

   I asked a Saudi co-worker one time why we would see all these 4 door pick up trucks with the men and boys in the front seat and the back seat area would be full of sheep and goats and the bed of the truck would be full of the women and girls. (They would be wrapped up in their black Abayas and wearing veils.)  My Saudi friend sagely told me "You don't have to tie the women and girls in the back to keep them from jumping out."

   Its pretty hard to argue with that kind of reasoning.

[KEC]

I'm going to have to keep this in mind if I ever decide to sell my Chevy pickup. What a great selling point  ! 

[WV Sawmiller]

   Yes, it is a definite selling point. You can only get 2 big camels in a long wheelbase toyota.

[Ljohnsaw]

I would verify it is safe to drink before drinking it.

The water was tested and it is indeed safe to drink.  The iron level is "above the level where it affects the taste" but not unsafe.  Tested for all sorts of stuff and passed with flying colors - except for the iron.  The water is even somewhat soft - not much calcium and one other thing that I don't recall the name right now.  My sister had a place that had high iron.  Just NEVER use bleach.  It causes it to stain clothes big time!

Water with dissolved iron in it can still look clear until it has access to oxygen.

Yep, comes out of the well crystal clear.  Let it sit and it turns brownish and it settles to the bottom of jugs.

[WV Sawmiller]

   Did you know a newborn camel looks kind of like a 5'-6' long fuzzy snake with long legs? The ones I saw did not look like they were over 6" diameter at birth. They are born ugly and do not improve much with age. 

[doc henderson]

bout like us Howard?.   :D :D :D,  except our girth exceeds 6 inches.  

[WV Sawmiller]

Doc,

   Don't tell me I am out of shape! Round is a shape. :D

[doc henderson]

I should have quoted the born ugly and do not improve much with age.  we are round just not under 6 inches.   ;) .