Please be careful out there!

[Uncle Siphuncle]

With spring rains and rising temperatures, the riparian expanses in Texas and elsewhere return to their verdant glory and beckon us afield with promises of nature's treasures.  With renewed opportunities for spectacular collecting come renewed opportunities for dangerous encounters and serious maladies.  Let's review a few:

 

Insects

 

A fossil buddy swung by my house one night last week after a whirlwind, one day road trip.  We hung out for a while and traded a few fossils.  A couple days later, he started showing me pics of strange rashes and finally went to urgent care, and then the hospital.  It turns out that he has contracted Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.  This is a very serious deal.  

 

This could happen to any of us.  A few precautions that I take include liberal application of potent bug spray, and choosing a course to minimize brush busting.  Before entering the field, I pull up cuffs of pants and spray my ankles, shins and calves.  Also, I pull up my shirt and spray the waistline.  After spraying hands and shirt (I wear long sun block shirts) I spray my neck, then block my eyes, hold my breath, and spray my whole head.  So far I've been lucky.

 

Snakes

 

The upswing in temps has brought a marked increase in my encounters with various snakes, mostly water mocassins, often coiled with mouth open and head shaking.  Although I generally carry a licensed firearm, considering human reaction time and distance of snake encounters, it is best to walk with a stick or similar to knock a snake out of the way if needed.  In my experience, they aren't very aggressive unless I haplessly stomp inside of their comfort zone.  I've never had to kill a water mocassin and try to stay in areas open enough to see for at least 10 feet.  That way I tend to see them with time and distance to reroute without even having to take a swing.

 

Poison Ivy, Oak, etc.

 

Best bet for highly allergic people like me is to not walk through the stuff.  Through great suffering and reflection, I have learned to be constantly aware of what type of vegetation I'm walking through.  I try not to touch any plant unnecessarily.  Tecnu is a great topical protective barrier, but I saw a Youtube video of perhaps an even more useful idea.  A guy explained an informal study he conducted and his most useful suggestion post contact was to get down in the creek and scour the contact area with handfuls of wet sand without delay.  He felt that the mild abrasive action of sand administered in a timely fashion was effective at lifting urushiol from the skin before it could set up and do its nasty deed.  I have employed this technique and not had serious outbreaks in several years.  But my first line of defense is avoidance of contact.

 

Be safe and have fun!

[Fossildude19]

Thanks for the wise safety tips, Dan. 

Reminders of this type are always welcomed at the beginning and during the fossil hunting seasons.  

 

[Uncle Siphuncle]

I did a little googling on Rocky Mountain spotted fever.  It is a bacterial infection that progresses quickly if not treated within 5 days.  Rashes and fever are the least of the victim's worries.  Heart and kidney damage can result without prompt care.  

 

This is the second of my buddies to contract this condition in Texas in the last 10 years.  My other friend ultimately recovered, but his energy level was knocked very low for about 6 months.  

 

Don't fool with Ma' Nature....she has the upper hand.

[Darktooth]

Thanks for posting this. Sometimes we forget about, what should be common sense. Especially when we are in a location that we have been to many times without any event. You can let your guard down. And lets face it when you get focused on finding  that special treasure you tend to forget about everything else around you. Atleast I know that I do.

[Yvie]

Please don't forget ticks,we have an increasing problem especially here in southern England.Have someone check your back too.A bullseye rash needs to be looked at quickly,keep the tick so it can be tested for the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi,which causes Lyme disease.Lyme is an insidious disease and I have had a patient diagnosed with dementia,which was later found to be caused by a tick bite,unfortunately too late for treatment.

[Darktooth]

1 hour ago, Yvie said:

Please don't forget ticks,we have an increasing problem especially here in southern England.Have someone check your back too.A bullseye rash needs to be looked at quickly,keep the tick so it can be tested for the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi,which causes Lyme disease.Lyme is an insidious disease and I have had a patient diagnosed with dementia,which was later found to be caused by a tick bite,unfortunately too late for treatment.

Though ticks were not mentioned specifically, I believe that is what Uncle Siphuncle was alluding to when he mentioned Rocky mountion spotted fever. This disease is spread by ticks mainly in the mid-western United States. On the East coast we have ticks that carry Lyme disease.

[Nimravis]

We cannot forget the most dangerous encounter of them all- "The Angry Spouse". Remember to always check with your spouse before leaving for any fossil collecting excursion, they may have other plans that slipped your mind. Also, check with them prior to bringing any of your new found treasures into the house, they might not be welcomed. LOL

[Archimedes]

Thanks Daniel, another very common tick disease is Lyme disease, can be very serious, any yes the scorpion and snakes are out in and around the rocks.

[Dsailor]

The ticks are out in the Northeast. I found some on me when I was working yesterday FYI 

[erose]

Crazy weather will get you too. Pay heed to thunderstorms and flashflooding.

[smt126]

Way to scare me right before I head to Texas lol. I was already preparing for these things but hoping to have neither my family or me contract these.

[Plax]

Identifying poison ivy and avoiding it is of course best. I always douse myself with strong rubbing alcohol after field tripping or yard work though just in case. Not sure why this isn't better known as a preventative for the rash. Apparently the alcohol is solvent to the uroshiol oil. Was in the hospital with PI as a kid and it can be a real horror. I use waders if I must go into it for a fossil site and turn them inside out upon return.