View Full Version : Dental checkup! Hep Shots!
Mrs Baggins
04-03-2008, 09:30
If you're headed out for a thru-hike, or even just for 2 or 3 months, get a dental checkup before you go. Do it in time to have any necessary work and cleaning done. You can go from feeling like your teeth are just fine to an abscessed tooth in no time flat and you don't want that to happen miles and miles from the nearest way to get help. Get them cleaned so you know you're starting out fresh.
Getting your Hep A&B shots are not a bad idea either. Like to reach into another hiker's gorp bag? Let them reach into yours? Put your hands in that filthy "moldering privy" bucket? Keep in mind where the hands of the people before you just were:eek:! Even picking it up to dump the stuff into the privy - cesspool of germs all over it. I just heard on a housekeeping show that "poo" can aersolate (okay, I can't spell it) and spread up to 6 feet away in the air. Everything you touch in the privy is bad. We also got the typhoid vaccine. May as well be fully covered. :D
take-a-knee
04-03-2008, 10:50
If you're headed out for a thru-hike, or even just for 2 or 3 months, get a dental checkup before you go. Do it in time to have any necessary work and cleaning done. You can go from feeling like your teeth are just fine to an abscessed tooth in no time flat and you don't want that to happen miles and miles from the nearest way to get help. Get them cleaned so you know you're starting out fresh.
Getting your Hep A&B shots are not a bad idea either. Like to reach into another hiker's gorp bag? Let them reach into yours? Put your hands in that filthy "moldering privy" bucket? Keep in mind where the hands of the people before you just were:eek:! Even picking it up to dump the stuff into the privy - cesspool of germs all over it. I just heard on a housekeeping show that "poo" can aersolate (okay, I can't spell it) and spread up to 6 feet away in the air. Everything you touch in the privy is bad. We also got the typhoid vaccine. May as well be fully covered. :D
Excellent advice.
Appalachian Tater
04-03-2008, 11:38
It might also be a good time to make sure your tetanus booster is up-to-date, and all your other vaccinations for that matter.
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/schedules/adult-schedule.htm
Any place to get cheap shots? I haven't had any in years.
Appalachian Tater
04-03-2008, 11:57
Any place to get cheap shots? I haven't had any in years.Call your local health department and see if they give adult vaccinations. If they don't, ask if they know who does. You might also try health departments in the surrounding counties. Surely somewhere in the Atlanta area you could find some.
COBB COUNTY:
1650 County Services Parkway
Marietta, Georgia 30008
Phone: (770) 514-2300
Mrs Baggins
04-03-2008, 11:58
It might also be a good time to make sure your tetanus booster is up-to-date, and all your other vaccinations for that matter.
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/schedules/adult-schedule.htm
Yep, got that one, too.
Who's idea was the moldering privy??? I get WHY it's done, but the idea that I'm supposed to reach into that bucket to get a handful of mulch after all those other filthy hands have been in there..and where those other hands just were.......and at least 1/2 the ones we came across had empty buckets so there was nothing to throw in........seems like a good idea on paper that isn't all that great in the real world of actual use.
How many strains of Hep does the vaccine guard against? Last I heard it was only 1 or 2 of the 8 known...
Appalachian Tater
04-03-2008, 12:29
You can be vaccinated for hepatitis viruses A & B.
A is the primary fecal-oral hepatitis and is more "casually" transmitted than those that are blood-borne.
There are many different kinds of viruses and drugs and diseases that can cause hepatitis. Alcohol immediately comes to mind. A close friend just lost her brother in his mid-40s due to cirrhosis and they thought he stopped drinking a decade ago. Apparently not.
Appalachian Tater
04-03-2008, 12:32
Yep, got that one, too.
Who's idea was the moldering privy??? I get WHY it's done, but the idea that I'm supposed to reach into that bucket to get a handful of mulch after all those other filthy hands have been in there..and where those other hands just were.......and at least 1/2 the ones we came across had empty buckets so there was nothing to throw in........seems like a good idea on paper that isn't all that great in the real world of actual use.You can get just as sick from your own bacteria as someone else's. Best to use alcohol gel after using the privy regardless. You're probably better off than in a "clean" toilet because there's no spray when you flush.
Mrs Baggins
04-03-2008, 12:49
You can get just as sick from your own bacteria as someone else's. Best to use alcohol gel after using the privy regardless. You're probably better off than in a "clean" toilet because there's no spray when you flush.
I always have the Purell with me. I've used what were supposed to be toilets in Central America........:eek: I do know dirty when I see it........or smell it.......:(
I use the alcohol gel quite frequently when in the woods. I bought the little bottle that has a 'lasso' around it and just attached it to my trowel, so its right there when I need it!
Appalachian Tater
04-03-2008, 12:53
I always have the Purell with me. I've used what were supposed to be toilets in Central America........:eek: I do know dirty when I see it........or smell it.......:(Just be aware that a "clean" surface can be covered with harmful bacteria. I have seen studies where they cultured various surfaces and in offices, peoples' desks and keyboards, etc. were frequently "germier" than the bathroom surfaces. Same thing with kitchen countertops being "germier" than the toilet seat in peoples' houses.
I saw a tv show (Mythbusters? maybe?) they did swab testing of public toilets. There was more cooties on the floor than on the seats.
Mrs Baggins
04-03-2008, 13:13
I saw a tv show (Mythbusters? maybe?) they did swab testing of public toilets. There was more cooties on the floor than on the seats.
Still not sticking my hands in or on that mulch bucket............they'll have to send the privy police after me I guess.
Blissful
04-03-2008, 13:34
Yeah, we went to the dentist before our hike last year - and Paul Bunyan ended up needing his wisdom teeth pulled as they were becomming impacted. You can get very sick from bad teeth, esp if a root is infected.
And yes, tetanus is good to get. Lots of rusty nails and fencing on the AT.
Blissful
04-03-2008, 13:35
I was healthier on the trail then at home. At home I got colds, stomach flu, everything.
Undershaft
04-07-2008, 12:37
Why the big aversion to touching wood chips? They are no more germ-ridden than anything else around a privy, including the handle on the door, the door latch on the inside, and the lid on the seat. I never had a problem with any of it. I just used liberal amounts of hand sanitizer After leaving the privy, killing all the germs that came in contact with my hands. Pretty much everything in this world is covered with germs and bacteria. Life must suck for germaphobes. The best defense is to wash your hands with soap and water or alcohol gel.
Seeing the dentist before a long hike is a good idea. Go a month or two before your hike so there is plenty of time to schedule needed dental work before you leave.
I hate shaking the hands of strangers, especially filthy outdoor people. Is that wrong?
RadioFreq
04-07-2008, 14:20
I hate shaking the hands of strangers, especially filthy outdoor people. Is that wrong?
And when you refuse to shake hands with someone, especially other filthy
outdoor people, just tell him/her that your own hands are dirty and you don't
want to pass anything on. Rather than be insulted he/she should be appreciative.
:) T-minus 11 months....and counting :)
sofaking
04-07-2008, 14:29
i like to do 'taste testing' for germs...if it don't taste like sh1t, then there ain't no germs. of course, i'm a very strong and virile man. i can out shoot, out drink, out curse.......
Thanks for that AT... I'll give them a call.
Call your local health department and see if they give adult vaccinations. If they don't, ask if they know who does. You might also try health departments in the surrounding counties. Surely somewhere in the Atlanta area you could find some.
COBB COUNTY:
1650 County Services Parkway
Marietta, Georgia 30008
Phone: (770) 514-2300
smokymtnsteve
04-07-2008, 19:28
Any place to get cheap shots? I haven't had any in years.
try whiteblaze..the forums are full of cheap shots:D
smokymtnsteve
04-07-2008, 19:31
Still not sticking my hands in or on that mulch bucket............they'll have to send the privy police after me I guess.
perhaps you should consider not using the privy?
Skidsteer
04-07-2008, 19:36
Still not sticking my hands in or on that mulch bucket............they'll have to send the privy police after me I guess.
So don't stick your hands in the bucket.
Pick up the whole bucket and shake some in. Be careful; The spiders live under the bucket. Not all of them though. Some would rather live under the privy seat.
Crapping in the woods is looking better all the time.:D
smokymtnsteve
04-07-2008, 20:01
or use your cat hole digger to scoop up a little mulch out of the bucket.
that's what you are supposeed to do anyway....you're not supposed to stick your hand in it,,,didn't you know?
Privies are for nincompoops. badum ching!
fiddlehead
04-07-2008, 21:55
Any place to get cheap shots? I haven't had any in years.
Kathmandu for one.
I got a gamma goblin shot there for $15 last time i was there. ( i think they are about 10 times more in the US. The one i got was from a Canadian clinic in Kathmandu, over past the kings palace)
I quit getting shots for anything else 15 years ago. and have been living in Asia for the past 6 with no problems other than a hernia.
I'd say, just save your money. Like someone else said: i'm more healthy when hiking than when i stay at home.
A visit to the dentist may be a good idea though.
Mini-Mosey
04-08-2008, 06:52
I'm not sure if this happened near me, but I heard of a 12-year-old boy who died from an infection that had started from an abscessed tooth. An $80 dental procedure could have saved his life. That's just so sad. (That said, I haven't been to a dentist in at least 4 years. Guess it's time....)
smokymtnsteve
04-08-2008, 15:42
I'm not sure if this happened near me, but I heard of a 12-year-old boy who died from an infection that had started from an abscessed tooth. An $80 dental procedure could have saved his life. That's just so sad. (That said, I haven't been to a dentist in at least 4 years. Guess it's time....)
yes this is the health care plan the USA currently has.
tina.anderson
04-15-2008, 13:15
I hate shaking the hands of strangers, especially filthy outdoor people. Is that wrong?
I don't think that's wrong at all. I am the same way. I like to meet people on the trail, but I cringe when they want to shake hands, because both of our hands are probably dirty.
Mrs Baggins
04-15-2008, 14:46
So don't stick your hands in the bucket.
Pick up the whole bucket and shake some in. Be careful; The spiders live under the bucket. Not all of them though. Some would rather live under the privy seat.
Crapping in the woods is looking better all the time.:D
Not touching any part of that bucket! On this last week out the woods were perfectly accommodating. One more privy complaint (and then I'll drift quietly away on the subject) - - who decides to build them so that the seat is out in the open and the stupid bucket is behind the wall??? Why does the bucket need the privacy??? Some are built the other way but not enough of them. Must be the same people that build restroom stalls with a 3" gap between the door and the door frame. :mad: Nothing like having someone's little kid staring into the stall at you - especially when some mom brings her son into the ladies room and the kid looks to be at least 8 years old. :eek:
smokymtnsteve
04-15-2008, 14:50
some amerikans are so up tight
Mrs Baggins
04-15-2008, 15:11
some amerikans are so up tight
And proudly so! :D Lived in Germany for a couple of years. Went camping for a few days in a campground where the privy was a multi-holer - I think there were 4, maybe 5 holes, all next to each other. The Germans went in in groups, no problem. We Americans waited in line outside and went in one at a time. In Alaska last May ate in a cafe with friends of 40 years. Went to the ladies room to find 2 toilets side by side - no wall. We looked at that, looked at each other, and burst out laughing! No way we were going to sit side by side!! :eek:
smokymtnsteve
04-15-2008, 16:03
my outhouse is currently a single seater, however I'm building a two-seater this summer, now on to honey-buckets...you gotta honeybucket at your house?? we got a fancy one with a lid a toilet type seat.
what is the big deal about natural bodily functions?
the winter before last our outhouse didn't even have a door,,,but did have a beautiful view of the northern lights on those night time excursions:D