Hot answers tagged health
18
If you want a natural solution, try lemon eucalyptus oil.
Considering that B1 does not deter mosquitos, any dose you like will be comparable to 75mg (zero effect). However, if we wish to assume it works, you'll want the patch. Eating B1 won't help much. Since B1 is principally excreted in your urine, eating a lot of it would only really help if you ...
14
I traveled in Cambodia with a doctor who has decades of experience in tropical medicine. On his recommendation, our group:
Wore long sleeves and pants at all times, despite the heat. We chose the the lightest materials we could find, but kept our skin covered.
Soaked those clothes in permetherin before going. After it dries, it continues to repel or kill ...
12
I've never succeed in "hardening" my feet, even when I was barefoot growing up.
However these things have worked for me
Vaseline or (preferably) diaper rash ointment before putting on socks
Injinji toe socks (If i double socks, these are always my base layer)
These worked on long hikes even when my feet got wet, and even in poorly fitting boots. ...
12
It depends on precisely how big the kit is. A couple other answers have covered bigger packs, so I'll mention what could be in a much thinner pack.
If it needs to be flat and relatively small:
Bandages.
Alcohol wipes.
Gauze pads.
A flat pad of athletic tape*.
One or a couple small packs of Benadryl
Antibiotic ointment (the small, flat packs of stuff ...
12
It would say it varies to a high degree since the source of the meat and the cut of the meat will be the primary factors in determining how many bacteria (and which type) will be on the surface of the meat. I wouldn't want to trust hamburger or mass market ground meat for even a few hours not refrigerated - so any meats that are mechanically tenderized or ...
11
The short answer is, it varies. The three factors that most influence the UV transmission factor of clothing are kind of obvious:
Material: Some materials are better at absorbing UV than others; for example, the paper cited below suggests that polyester absorbs more UV light (particularly UVB) than cotton.
Weave: The thicker and more tightly woven a piece ...
11
Are you going to be hiking that high, or in a car for a small bit? Going to 15,000 feet without ever having broken 10,000 feet sounds a bit haphazard, especially if you're unsure of the dangers/how to deal with them.
There are several things you can do to help yourself out before your trip.
First, acclimate. Don't just run up to 15,000 feet. Try to spend ...
11
In the core alps (Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and Austria), you can drink water almost everywhere directly without filtering. There are only two exceptions: If there is a thing or something like this that forbids drinking it, or if you can see an obvious reason not to drink it, like for example a strange smell or abnormal color.
In the other countries in ...
11
There are three criteria to be balanced in my thinking on the situation of when and if to activate a call for help to a rescue service:
Do you have the skills and training to extract yourself safely from the current situation? Equally important is your assessment of what other means of communications are likely to be available in the timeframe your current ...
11
Around sunrise and sunset, the sun is much less intense. You would get around 5 times less intensity in the first or last hour of sunlight than in the middle of the day. Here is a graph of this effect (It's from a paper, though the paper itself is behind a paywall), and another one which also shows the effect of latitude.
Therefore, while you can’t say ...
9
The best thing you can do is acclimatize. This means you should adjust your body gradually to the height. This can be done, for example, by increasing the height you're staying at from day to day. Another very important fact that is widely used by mountaineers is that you should always sleeps some meters below the highest point of the day. So for example, ...
9
I appreciate the preference to use natural protection, however, I think it is important to point out that using insect repellent should not be the only method of defence against malaria that you employ. Insect repellent is not 100% effective (*) and does not directly prevent malaria - the mosquito acts as the host to transmit the Plasmodium parasite, which ...
8
There are two types of water-based concerns while doing strenuous activity in the desert: dehydration and hyponatremia.
Dehydration occurs when your body is not getting enough water, and is the most common. Symptoms include irritability, headache, lack of energy, bright yellow/orange and infrequent urine. You lose water while you sweat, but in hot climates ...
7
First, Freeze-dried Vegetables. Unfortunately, the texture isn't quite right, but it works.
Secondly, if you want actual FRESH veggies, then I'd recommend sprouts grown in your pack
Thirdly, if you will be resupplied during the trip, arrange a few fruits/veggies from the local store. I know through-hikers will go into town on resupply-day and eat in a ...
7
As found here:
"With every 1000 m in altitude, UV levels increase by approximately 10 per cent."
Percentages are tricky to work with, so here is a worked-out example. Suppose you start out at sea level (0m), and you climb all the way up to Mt. Everest's summit (8848m). Suppose also that at sealevel, you normally need to apply sun block factor 15. Then, ...
7
My mother suffers from every form of travel sickness, and the only solutions she has found that help to ameliorate the symptoms (if not actually remove them entirely) are:
Drugs: specifically Stugeron
Bracelets: I am a bit skeptical of these, as is Skeptics.SE, but they seem to work for her. Example here
If I feel at all queasy in really heavy seas (ie ...
6
Normal detergent should be able to break down the poisonous oils in question, it shouldn't require any specialist stuff to remove them. Just be sure of a few things:
Wash infected clothes separate from "clean" (i.e. unaffected) ones to eliminate any possible risk of spreading
Make especially sure you don't overload the machine - leave plenty of room so the ...
6
Either option is acceptable, particularly since you aren't going very high. There are rare instances where people get Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) or worse even at relatively low altitudes, and these are more common when there is no acclimatization. However, it is very rare for such problems to suddenly arise and not be fixable (through rapid descent). Each ...
6
The wikipedia article on sun protective clothing is very informative. A summary of the relevant parts:
Apart from clothing specifically marketed as protecting against the sun most clothing will not block all sun to fully protect you against sunburn depending on circumstances.
Some general rules of thumb:
Darker clothes provide more protection than ...
5
From your question, it sounds like you already have a plan to supply your body with calories. I'll further assume you will have protein and fat, not just carbohydrates.
With those covered, you then need vitamins and minerals. Fiber is a good idea, too.
It is possible to be healthy eating only wild animal foods (hunting / trapping) for quite some time, but ...
5
Okay just broke out my kit. Here's what we carry. This may seem like a long list, but it's small. It fits in a ziploc bag (almost).
Tylenol -- pain where ibuprofen is not ok (ie - patient is bleeding)
Ibuprofen -- pain that involves swelling but not bleeding
Small bandages -- comfort item and to help prevent infection on longer hikes
Triple Antibiotic ...
5
Bring a wilderness first aid guide! Even if you have training, it could save your life if you're the one injured and someone else is trying to take care of you with your own kit.
Here is a list of things I would have in pretty much any hiking first aid kit. There are other items worth considering for kits, but I consider these to be the minimum.
Wound Care
...
5
This is really up to you, but I think if postholing is enough of a issue it would be good to wear snowshoes. If nothing else, it just makes things easier.
One problem of postholing can be sometimes difficulty in getting out. You're not likely to actually get hurt, because "falling" onto the snow isn't a problem when it's deep and soft enough for your foot ...
5
Dimenhydrinate (popularly known as Gravol in Canada and as Dramamine, Driminate, Gravamin, Vomex, and Vertirosan in the USA) is an over-the-counter drug used to prevent nausea and motion sickness that's considered highly effective.
Anecdotally, I was constantly throwing up on boats in South East Asia until I started taking gravol.
5
Your blood and body need sodium, potassium and various other solutes in order to function (without the correct potassium levels, your heart will start to fail etc)
In a hot country, where you may sweat a lot, and top up your liquids by drinking water, you lose these solutes quite rapidly. The quantities you require are generally a lot higher than you might ...
4
I don't think that a limited diet will cause you health issues. (caveat, I'm not a doctor...)
But, keep in mind that hiking is typically a strenuous activity. You need energy, and lots of it. You need short-term energy, medium-term, and long-term. A meal of whole-wheat pasta with some tuna or salmon from a pouch and some added olive oil and salt will ...
4
All of your situations look like emergencies, especially if you are alone. I read an article where the National Park Service was angry at use of PLBs because someone climbed a mountain and did not want to down-climb, or they were "tired" but seemed to not have nay other condition that would negatively affect their ability to walk out of the wilderness, or ...
4
I used to think I knew the answer to this, from having a couple of very small leeches, but this guidance from wildmadagascar.com is quite comprehensive:
Identify the anterior (oral) sucker which will be found at the small end of the leech.Put your finger on your skin adjacent to the oral sucker
Gently but firmly slide your finger toward the wound where the ...
3
The knee is a complicated area of the body, and joins the shoulder as a common area for imbalances in sport and extreme adventuring. In my circle of climbers and extreme sport enthusiasts, knee and shoulder issues are common over time. Your first port of call should be a doctor specialising in sport injuries, or a physiotherapist. Given how small tears can ...
3
For such a long trip, however, you should do your best to make your diet a little closer to a home diet if at all possible. While not as convenient as an MRE, a variety of simple minimally processed whole grains, seeds, and nuts are easily transported and cooked on the trail and are nutritious enough to support civilizations. Whole wheat, quinoa, brown ...
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