Hot answers tagged prevention
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Sulfur is often suggested for natural mosquito repellents. I've seen recommendations for taking sulfur pills, making sulfur creams, or applying sulfur powders. According to the Colorado State University Extension, the sulfur content of cloves is the science behind garlic-based repellents or recommendations to consume garlic.
That said, I would not think ...
11
Here's a lot more advice than you aked for:
Around 24000 people in the entire world are struck by lightning each year. Supposing you live to be 85, that's 2 million people in your lifetime. On 7 billion people alive today, that's a lifetime chance of 1 in 3500 -- your chances are pretty slim anyway :)
But, to be more elaborate: your chances of being ...
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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 ...
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I have lots of leeches in my (otherwise) lovely swimming hole which is in a creek just as it leaves a lake. I read up on possible leech deterrents and now I rub my exposed skin with just about any kind of skin cream and they all seem to work. Waterproof sunblock is my current favorite but I've also used Off (Eucalytus) and even ordinary moisturizer. I ...
5
Heat illnesses are about heat, not light, and while the two are not unrelated, the hue of your clothing would be a very minor factor— red would not provide better or worse protection than green or blue or any other part of the visible spectrum.
The shade may have some impact: since darker clothing absorbs more energy than lighter clothing, it warms up and ...
4
I've always used Compeed blister plasters to treat a blister. It's like covering the blister with a second, more durable skin. You are supposed to leave the plaster on until it falls off naturally which, for me, is usually three or four days. They are a little expensive but your feet will thank you for them.
By the way, I am not affiliated with Compeed ...
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A moisturiser is what you need - personally I like diprobase, you can safely apply as much as you want to and it's not that oily, it soaks into the skin nice and quickly without leaving any horrible residue.
I actually use this all year round because I'm prone to getting bad eczema - so if it does the job on my awful skin, it should help with yours!
2
A white colour for head protection (and all other clothes) will keep you the coolest, black will keep you the hottest. All other colours are somewhere in between.
This is because white fabric reflects the most light (all wavelengths of visible light), while black absorbs all (red reflects only the red channel).
As for the efficiency - I have sometimes ...
2
Whether it's hogwash or not is besides the point in my opinion - the fact of the matter is match heads aren't designed to be ingested and therefore while consuming them may increase your sulfur levels which may help keep the bugs off, there's also a good chance you'll be consuming random poisonous chemicals. Weighing it up, I think I'd take my chances with ...
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The other answers are good, but here's my personal experience, as well as some of the common advice I didn't see.
Cause - The two causes of blisters while hiking are moisture and friction. This means you want to keep your feet dry and not sliding around, which is where proper boots comes in, as mentioned above.
Proactive - You should treat blisters early. ...
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Very important: Do not exhale air into your gloves/boots or at your hands/feet while still exposed to cold conditions. It may warm them up for a few seconds but since your exhalation contains moisture, your extremities will get wet(ter) and even colder very quickly. Just a simple thing to keep in mind.
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You should use some kind of moisturizing hand lotion. There are a lot of brands, and I don't really have a preference. I like to make sure I get an unscented version, since most moisturizers are market towards women and have floral aromas. Put it on your skin once or twice a day, and the dry cracking should go away.
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I specifically have problems with splits on the finger tips and found the following helped a lot;
Grow your fingernails longer- I used to cut mine very short, this makes a big difference.
Use skin cream such as Neutrogena "Norwegian Fishermans Formula". Every time your fingertips feel harder than normal, apply. This will be something like every hour or two ...
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