A Proposal part 2. A Monkey Wrench in the works…

Ok last week I wrote of my plans for traveling down to Okefenokee Swamp to propose to my “Co-planner” of trips, Pamela.  Several of you have responded with some wonderful ideas for my proposal. So far my favorite bit of advice has been “Good luck, and remember: going down on 1 knee is proposing, going down on 2 knees is begging.” Thank you GK for that bit of advice. Right now I am leaning towards the sunset proposal at the observation tower / nature trail. But either way I want to thank all the wonderful blog readers for reading and giving me some wonderful advice and encouragement. Read more  Read More →

A Proposal ….

It has been a long time since I have had enough time to write on this blog.  I hope I am remembered for my articles on Health and First Aid.  But today I want to write on a totally different subject.  In a couple of weeks I am going on my first camping trip of the year to the Okefenokee Swamp down in Georgia.  What makes this trip a little different is that it is anniversary trip for my trip “Co-Planner” Pam and me.  About 4 years ago when I had a small pop up camper and a canoe and a desire to go camping down in the south for the spring. I also decided to ask my girl friend of  a year if she wanted to go along.  I figured this would be a excellent way of finding out if we would be compatible after a week of camping in a pop up. Read more  Read More →

Ticked off with Ticks part 2

Last time, dear readers, we talked about how ticks attached themselves to you and were often a carrier of disease.  But I left you hanging about what to do about them.  Several Readers also mentioned that ticks have been found to carry diseases like Lyme disease, that are not as well known, these are called Babesiosis (a parasite disease of the blood) and Ehrlichiosis (a bacterial disease). Read more  Read More →

Ticked Off With Ticks … Part 1

Hello everyone. First off, I want to wish every Mother a belated “Happy Mother’s Day” (and also wish everyone a Happy Memorial Day). My mother is one of the main reasons I like camping so much. As a single mom, she managed to take two wild and woolly boys (and other family members) on many wonderful camping trips as I was growing up! I hope you all are ready for the “start of the camping season” with memorial day here. For a lot of us, this holiday seems to signal the unofficial kick off of our summer activities. We are already planning camping trips and canoe trips and fishing days and the list goes on. In fact, I have to be honest, as I write this, we are en route to a vacation trip to the Gulf coast of Alabama. In fact, it will be our first time in Alabama… woo hoo another state. But to get to the actual meat of the article, today I want to talk about ticks, you know the little creepy, crawly things that get on you and (say it with a Dracula type accent) “Want to suck your blood.” To be honest, I really don’t like ticks, but I have to kind of admire them. They can crawl all over your body and attach themselves to you, and you never feel a thing. That is stealth! There in lies the problem. When Ticks attach themselves to you, they often mix some of the fluids they carry with your blood. This leads them to be carriers of several diseases; the two most feared are Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Lyme disease. To even further complicate matters,... Read more

Cleanliness is next to….Disinfecting your camper.

First, I want to say I hope everyone had a wonderful and joyous Easter (or other spring holiday).  If your family is anything like mine, Easter is the start of the year’s camping preparation and planning season.   Now planning for us is deciding where and when we can take time to enjoy the summer.  Most often for us it is camping and boating or canoeing.  Or camping and motorcycle riding or camping and elk watching or just being outside.  Planning is easy.  Generally we plan a whole lot more than we can actually do! Now, preparation is a whole other story as my kids will tell you.  It is more in line with what my mother called “Spring Cleaning”.  We clean EVERYTHING top to bottom, and, when I say top to bottom, I mean it.  We start with the outside and scrub and clean and wax the outside and check the caulking and all compartments and equipment, lights and batteries and anything else I can think of. Wait, do I hear the kids whining already? Read more  Read More →

Choking or the Cafe Coronary

Imagine this, you are eating in a restaurant and your friend tells a joke while you have a mouthful of food; you try to laugh and instead you suck your mouthful of food down your throat and you can’t breath!  You want to tell your friends, but you can’t speak; your hands go to your throat, and you began to get lightheaded and sounds began to fade.  Your sight begins to dim, and you just want AIR!  The next thing to happen is you pass out.  This really happened to me.  The food was a piece of pie.  What saved me was I stood up and tried to go out a set of french doors because I mistakenly thought that the “fresh air” would help, and, as I became unconscious, I fell face first onto the deck outside.  The blow from falling dislodged the food in my throat.  I woke up, and, other than a cut above my eye and some impressive bruises, I was fine and alive!  But many people have the same accident, and many of them don’t have the lucky outcome I did. Read more  Read More →

Your Body, Time for Scheduled Maintenance.

This time of year most of us are planning on getting our campers and Tow vehicles or toads in shape for camping.  We are changing oil and putting in new batteries and cleaning awnings and all the other stuff to get ready for the spring, summer camping season.   One of the biggest things that we forget to do is take the time and get ourselves checked out.  Think of it this way, you wouldn’t expect your camper to tow well (or safely) with the wheels damaged or tires bald would you?  Well, how to you think you can safely camp if your own wheels (legs) are having problems? So I would like to encourage all of you to go see your doctor and have a check up.  Think of it as your ten-thousand mile maintenance for your body.  But what most of us don’t know is how to approach a check up.  To be honest, most of us are afraid of our doctors.  Folks, they are just people too…. Heck, some of them even like to camp; ask them you maybe surprised.  But how do you get the most out of your doctors visit? Read more  Read More →

Water, Water everywhere and not a drop to drink. The final chapter.

We are going to finish the discussion of some of the most common water bore illnesses.   We have discussed Giardia and E. Coli.  Sometimes known as beaver fever and travelers trots respectively.  Today we are going to learn about the organism called Cryptosporidium which also causes a diarrheal illness called Cryptosporidiosis.  This organism wasn’t discovered until 1976, unlike E. Coli which was observed with some of the most primitive microscopes over a hundred years ago.  It has been found to be one of the most common waterborne diseases and is found worldwide. Once again, it is transferred by the fecal – oral route, usually by drinking infected water or by poor sanitation practices and not washing hands.  It is most hardy and easily transmitted as a cyst or the “Egg” form, and, if it is taken into your body, it hatches and goes into the intestinal tissue.  Now this organism is not much of a danger to those with a good immune system.  In those people, after a brief period of diarrhea, the patient often feels better and and their immune system kills the organism.  However, the patients with weak or compromised immune systems (the very young, elderly, organ transplant patients, patients taking medications that effect the immune system and Immunodeficiency diseases), the body cannot kill the organism, and the infection can last for months or years.  While healthy people have a 2 to 4 week bout of watery diarrhea, these patients can have acute/persistent... Read more

Water, Water everywhere and not a drop to drink Part 2

Last week we talked about the organism Giardia and the effect it can have on your digestive system… very Bad to say the least.  Some of you have written to me asking if you do get it, how you can treat it.  If you remember, up to half the population can be silent carriers of this organism and would need no treatment.  Another portion of the infected have minor symptoms and, sooner or later, will seek treatment and be treated correctly, usually if they give a good history and tell of drinking possibly infected water.  The Final group are those that have major symptoms and with progressive weakness, dehydration and of course the explosive diarrhea; they will end up in the hospital.  Once again, a good history will uncover the fact that the patient might have ingested infected water, and they will be treated quickly and easily.  But, as far as I know, there is no over the counter, quick and easy treatment.  So, unless you are one of the lucky ones that are carriers, you will need to see your doctor or local hospital! Read more  Read More →

Water, Water everywhere and not a drop to drink. Part 1

It is a beautiful day in the spring, and you are out hiking and gotten all hot, tired and thirsty.  Suddenly you come upon a sparkling, clear and cold stream.  It certainly looks clean, and the water is so nice and cold.  So you take your water bottle out of your pack, fill it up, and enjoy a long, cold drink.  Much, much refreshed you finish your hike.  How many of us have done this when you have gone out for a hike on a beautiful day?  I have, and I am sure most of you have taken a drink from a wilderness stream and enjoyed it and gotten away with it.  While most of the time you can get away with it, sometimes the ending changes to something, like this: A few  days later, you suddenly start to burp foul sulfur-smelling gas.  Then you suddenly feel like you have to go to the bathroom, and, as you run for it, you have what can kindly be described as “Explosive Diarrhea.”  As the hours pass and the s*** continues to hit the fan, you become weaker and weaker until, finally dehydrated, you go to the hospital. What happened to you?  Most likely you have fallen prey to the microorganism called Giardia Lamblia otherwise known as Giardia or Beaver Fever. Hard to belief that something this small and innocent looking could send almost 30% of the people that ingest it seeking medical treatment.  While another 30 to 50% become silent carriers.  Today in America, some of infected animal populations include cows, sheep, deer and, of course, the animal that gives it... Read more

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