Medical Monday, Arthropods and other Animals

With the weather warming up across the US nature’s most annoying creatures bugs are starting to show up. And while some are cool to look at and some are even beneficial to our crops, most are downright annoying and a pain in my a.. some can be more than just a nuisance. Primarily arthropods (invertebrate animals with exoskeletons and a couple of other defining features. Basically, we’re talking about bugs). We’re concerned with the ones that can spread disease (fleas, ticks, flies, cockroaches) and the venomous ones (spiders, scorpions, etc). Again, instead of worrying about how to treat ALL the different issues you can get from these, just prevent them from biting you or getting near you.

Most people will at this point say (well I use 100% deet already, what else can I do?!) well, when was the last time you used permethrin to treat your clothing? I have some clothing I need to treat and will be doing a follow up post on how I treat it. You can even get the permethrin from most large box stores (I picked mine up from my local(ish) walmart). Just simply follow the insructions on the box (did he really just say that?!) and you will go a long way to preventing all sorts of nasty issues from occuring. Add your normal deet to any exposed skin and you should be able to keep 99% of the normal irritants bugs off of you.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you need to keep yourself clean. Human body odor attracts all sorts of bugs that carry an assortment of nasty diseases. At least once a week in the field wash yourself, even if it’s just in a creek or river. Wipe yourself down daily in the worst spots (groin, feet, armpits) at the bare minimum. You do have baby wipes, don’t you?

For the creepy crawlies that can bite us, we just need to make sure we don’t encourage theycome near us. A big way to do that is make sure the stuff the normally eat isn’t in our areas. So use the deet and permethrin, and keep yourself and your area clean and organized, spiders like to hide under trash and scraps. There’s a reason why cleanliness is next to godliness. Also, shake out boots and clothing before you put it on. Shake out bedding if it has been sitting out. Last thing you want is to crawl into your bedding to find something already there. I have a funny story about crawling into a sleeping bag on a tank range that I tell after class.

Any that has spent any time in uniform has heard this phrase “don’t fuck with the wildlife!”. There is a reason why so many higher ups say this and why every area brief includes this phrase. Wildlife can either ruin your day directly (snakes) or indirectly (wild animals that carry fleas and other bugs with nasties). Just leave wild animals alone. It will make everyones lives better. Don’t go poking around under rocks or in random bushes. You might just come across something that just wants to be left alone and nature tends to skip that whole “angry words” step that humans use to correct behavior. Barn cats aren’t just a cute accesory for that #farmlife instagram vibe. They kill mice. People used to (and still do in smaller amounts) bring animals into their lives to do a job. It seems crazy to say this, but we’re having to relearn lessons that used to be common knowledge.

Snakes have a huge list all to themselves that honestly could make it’s own post. But to sum it up here, leave them alone, if you know there are alot of snakes in your area, sleep off the ground if possible. Avoid large brush piles and overturn rocks our debris towards yourself so you will be shielded shoud a snake be underneath. If you do get bitten, don’t bring a live snake to the ER with you, if you can kill it, just bring the head. Also, only handle freshly dead snakes by the tail or with a long stick as they can reflex bite after their death.

When is the last time you treated your clothing? Are you familiar with the dangerous wildife in your area?