There were 3 of us.Originally Posted by Uncle Silly
Interesting first and second posts by this user
Yeah, I was an avid trailplace user, and posted on there quite a bit before/after my hike.
I just wanted to bring it to everyone's attention, because if a thru-hiker gets out there and gets an abscess and doesn't get it seen about the results can be quite devastating.
I agree with the statement about staying away from hostels, shelters and privies, but without them it can make the trail pretty miserable.
Don't use my number of posts as a sign that I don't keep up on the A.T. I just wanted to do a little public service.
MRSA is all over the school systems here in the DC area right now. THey just said on the news that it showed up now at the fire academy in DC. It's rampant.
If you don't have something nice to say,
Be witty in your cruelty.
That is funny in a sad way. I wouldn't have thought of that but it makes a lot of sense. I knew a patient who lost a leg to necrotizing fasciitis, I think it was a Strep. and it started where he had a small bruise, no abrasion or cut. The skin is the largest body organ and in many ways very amazing with all the things it does and all it endures.
I have worked in a hospital for 25 years and community acquired MRSA has become an increasing issue.My infectious disease docs tell me your best protection is to make sure you wash your hands frequently .Also
stay from folks with hacking coughs, treat open sores quickly especially blisters and in particular on the trail don't shake hands with people-you don't know how clean their hands are ,dont share food out of the same zip lock -actually you are a much safer situation on the trail than probably any place else.
Hillbilly
Which is exactly what nurses have been trying to convince physicians to do since the 1840s.
Probably safe to assume that they are filthy. Maybe not with MRSA but with some nasty stuff nonetheless.in particular on the trail don't shake hands with people-you don't know how clean their hands are
Especially if your suggestions are followed.Probably a safe bet actually you are a much safer situation on the trail than probably any place else.
In addition, people who get sick on the trail need to be scrupulous about not infecting others. I have seen someone drink out of a glass in a hostel and set it back down in the dishrack without washing it.
Here's a great tip, can't remember where I first ran across it, but get yourself into this habit on the trail: If someone offers you some [gorp, crackers, other tasty snack from a ziplock], don't reach in to grab some. Instead, pour some out (or have them pour some out) into your hand. If you're the one offering, politely insist that anyone taking you up on the snack accept it poured into their hands.
This keeps the bag's contents from being cross-contaminated by all those hands but still allows you to share with your friends.
"when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." --HST
Uncle Silly VA->VT '05, VT->ME '07, VA->GA ??
That's polite manners in general, even off the trail. Don't serve yourself from a common dish with your own utensils or with your hands unless you are taking a single serving of say, bread, in a way that doesn't cause you to touch anything else in the serving dish.
That is ignorant. Sanitation is at its worst on the trail. That's why a greater percent of people that hike the trail come away with it. You are more likely to get MRSA on the trail than if you live a normal existence.
I'm in the health field, most of us (right or wrong) think we already have it. Nasty stuff, especially if your immune system isn't "Up to speed" so to speak.
I agree that someone in your group may already have had it, then a little shared food (usually everyones hands into same food bag, like GORP or whatever) & presto MRSA for everyone.
Curse you Perry the Platypus!
Speak for yourself! With soap and water &/or baby butt wipes soaked with a little alcohol &/or alcohol gel and a little common sense you can maintain an acceptable level of sanitation and avoid disease. Just because you aren't squeeky clean doesn't mean your face and private parts can't be cleaned daily and your hands can't be cleaned after you go to the bathroom and before you handle food.
Huh? Where did you get your statistics or even an impression that this statement is true? Greater percent than what anyway?? How many cases have been reported? Over what period of time? You should worry more about tick-borne disease on the trail as it occurs frequently, is much harder to diagnose, and can be permanently disabling.That's why a greater percent of people that hike the trail come away with it.
How so? You get MRSA from other people either directly, or indirectly from things they have touched. Use a little common sense, the same sanitary precautions you should take all the time to avoid disease, and seek medical attention quickly for any infection.You are more likely to get MRSA on the trail than if you live a normal existence.
You're probably safer on the trail because you're not touching doorknobs, light switches, copier buttons, etc. that everyone else touches. There are fewer people in general, and fewer sick people. The place you would most expect to get MRSA is in a hospital.
Start here and read some of the linked pages: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/mrsa.html
There is a big difference between being stinky and being sanitary.
I always hike with alcohol wet-wipes. Probably more diligent about washing my hands prior to eating than when I am not hiking, simply because I know that I am dirty and sweaty.
I don't think one needs to be a pig to qualify as being a hiker.
I agree but behavior by some make you wonder...
I've seen posts on bp forums by folks who stop just short of bragging that they don't care or bother about 'washing up.' There's even been posts about not washing hands before inserting contacts.
In the end, it is a matter of drawing lines...some wash their hands 'all the time', some only after toileting, some never. But if you want to stay healthy, you must start by staying clean. The second step should be to stay away from those who don't. IMO.
FB
"All persons are born free and have certain inalienable rights. They include the right to a clean and healthful environment..."
Article II, Section 3
The Constitution of the State of Montana
Since Methicillin-Resistant Staph aureus (MRSA) is killed by the UV rays in sunlight, I would imagine that being infected on the trail is far less of a threat than being infected in a normal community setting - especially if one avoids shelters and hostels, uses clean methods to share food and does not accept food from others, and avoids touching other hikers.
Doesn't make sense.
MRSA is a resistant staph infection, not just a plain old staph infection. It became resistant because it was exposed to common antibiotics in humans and the stuff that became MRSA was able to survive it, either because the antibiotics were not dosed properly or treatment was not followed through completely, or just because the infection strain evolved into a tougher form. The critical element in its evolution into MRSA was the presence of lots of people AND ineffective treatment with antibiotics, thus MRSA is most common in hospitals schools, prisons, etc. where close communities of people (even transient communities) combine with medical treatment/antibiotics and detergents. in the absence of these factors it will not be present.
On the AT the bacteria have only the one element...people. Thus it is FAR more likely that your group developed MRSA infections from contact with an infected person in your group or close to your group who caught the infection in a hospital, prison, jail, school etc. rather than encountering it randomly in the woods...its just not native to the trail environment.
I'm assuming that it is actually MRSA, properly diagnosed by medical personnel who took a culture? Staph infections are otherwise pretty common.
Now getting an infection that runs rampant on YOU in the woods or on trail isn't surprising, you are right about that. From filthy boots to filthy skin, hikers don't tend to be terribly clean folks, so any infection we do get tends to get bad.
Andrew "Iceman" Priestley
AT'95, GA>ME
Non nobis Domine, non nobis sed Nomini Tuo da Gloriam
Not for us O Lord, not for us but in Your Name is the Glory
On the trail I carried betadine wipes, Dr. Bonner's peppermint soap, treated water, and doxicycline. I seldom (only in the event that there was an available spot) stayed in shelters and that only when a big storm was about. I hate privies and groan inwardly when I realize that one is available and that I, therefore, will be expected to use it. I also have opted not to stay at hostels, preferring in the days when I had more income, to stay at motels.
Every evening on the trail, I would duck into my tent before dark. There I would give myself a good wash down with Dr, Bonner's soap and treated water, I would wash out my underwear and hang them to dry within the tent. Usually the were dry by morning, being made of synthetics.
Any break of the skin got my full and immediate attention with the betadine wipe and then with neosporin if necessary. I'd give it as much air as I could and would repeat the treatment that night, in the morning, etc. until there was clearly no problem.
Only once did I think something was getting out of hand. One doxicycline pill, and the next day it was totally healed.
More than once I was amazed at how any break in the skin would heal overnight or in two days without any antibiotic taken orally or applied topically. My conclusion was that I became so healthy out there that my body benefitted in untold ways and that this is the way we are s'piosed to live.
I disagree that the trail is a medical trap of any kind.--Kinnickinic
You never know just what you can do until you realize you absolutely have to do it.
--Salaun
I would enjoy a medical opinion on the merit of sulfa-powders. I have used these on animals and was told they were state of the art way back when. Course it was a cow doctor...
Not sure about taking one doxy. Is that a normal run?
Maybe Bag Balm! That'll fix it!
Sulfa Drugs tend to make one more sensitive to sunlight. I'm not sure what the impact of sulfa powders would be. They were standard battlefield sterilization/antibiotics during WWII providing a significant benefit. Penicillin was a major Allied advantage at the time...the Axis powers didn't have it, making wounds a more difficult situation on their side.
Andrew "Iceman" Priestley
AT'95, GA>ME
Non nobis Domine, non nobis sed Nomini Tuo da Gloriam
Not for us O Lord, not for us but in Your Name is the Glory
Rem has just demonstrated his own ignorance on the subject
I'm not a doctor, but I would think that taking ONE doxy (or one of any antibiotic) would be a waste of a good antibiotic, unless, of course, you were trying to create a superbug that was immune to that antibiotic!
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