Ticked off with Ticks part 2

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our E-mail Digest or RSS Feed. We will then send you the stories that are posted each day in an e-mail digest. We use a service called Feedburner for delivery of these emails. You will receive an e-mail from Feedburner after you subscribe and you must click on that email to activate your subscription. Thanks for visiting and enjoy all the information! RV.Net Blog AdminLast 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 Tell a Friend Read More →

Swine Flu Originates in California?

THIS JUST IN. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, there is a growing body of evidence of a possible start of the Swine Flu in California, not Mexico. To that end, I am calling on Congress to order the immediate closing of the border with California. Additionally I demand that the states of Arizona, Nevada, and Oregon mobilize their respective National Guard Units to secure not only their borders with the Ground  Zero Swine Flu state but the stockpiles of TamiFlu as well while their respective health departments of each state should use all means necessary to distribute face masks to its 12,890,407 citizens. Read more Tell a Friend Read More →

Swine Flu H1N1, Face Masks and Duct Tape

In a follow-up to the 27 APR post entitled, Swine Flu (Influenza) and the Best Tip for Surviving Its Spread I am amazed at the large number of news outlets (national and local) showing or suggesting the use of these tiny blue surgical/face masks as a part of their Swine Flu reporting on defensive measures. I’m sure you’ve seen them over the last few days bracketed by terms like contamination, outbreak, pandemic or deadly influenza. They sure dig props. Remember how shortly after 9/11 everyone was encouraged to go purchase duct tape to protect themselves? Read more Tell a Friend Read More →

Swine Flu (Influenza) and the Best Tip for Surviving Its Spread

Spending as much time surviving outdoors as I do, you learn pretty quickly how to combat a list of natural ailments. Cryptosporidium (Crypto), Giardiasis (Giardia), West Nile Virus and Lyme Disease are just a few of the “critters” one has to deal with in the wild. Swine Flu is making the rounds of late via human transmission and the media. As a strain of Influenza, it is something to deal with but not panic over. Could it be the beginning of a pandemic? Perhaps. Remember, the word “Pandemic” simply means wide spread or even worldwide and does not directly indicate the strength of the Flu in question. Either way, there are some things you can do to protect yourself from contracting the Flu. The CDC is a great resource to check out. Read more Tell a Friend Read More →

Safe Pet Travel

Solvit Pet Vehicle Safety Harness PetTravelCenter.com participated in an event over the weekend in Winston-Salem, NC called “Art Unleashed,” which was sponsored by the Forsyth County Humane Society. Musical entertainment, dog contests, delicious refreshments, business and art vendors, and a dog walk around Hanes Park were all part of the festivities. Read more Tell a Friend Read More →

VIDEO: Gear to Get with Brian Brawdy - SPOT

As an RV enthusiast and Explorer, there is one piece of gear that I always have on my dash and in my pack. The SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger lives up to the saying, ‘Big things come in little packages.’ This 7-ounce unit is packed full of innovative technology that keeps you connected with others regardless of cellular coverage (or the lack thereof). SPOT is the world’s first Satellite GPS Messenger that can send your location and status message to others from virtually anywhere in the world, no matter where you find yourself, on the road or off the beaten path. Read more Tell a Friend 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 Tell a Friend 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 Tell a Friend 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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