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Post by vance on May 29, 2021 15:14:08 GMT -8
I am hiking about 5 miles a day these days, in an effort to stay healthy. I was a bicyclist, but got worried I'd crash and end up hurt for 6 months, or dead, so I've gone over to hiking.
We went to Peru a while back, and just before the Machu Picchu hike, I slipped on gravel on a downhill slope and sprained my ankle and knee. I missed the famous hike up the trail to the ruins, but made it into the ruins by bus. I limped around the ruins, b/c I was there and I did whatever it took to see them.
I was doing my normal hike in the redwoods today, and tripped over a root on a downhill path. I fell hard, on my right shoulder with my right hand under me. I got up and found I'd landed in a poison oak bush. That story is yet to become realized.
I had lots of scrapes and bruises. My right pinky finger was obviously broken and bent over so far, it crossed my palm.
After spending 2 hours at the Kaiser emergency room, I found out I have smashed the lower end of the finger bone and knuckle of my right pinky finger.
I went home with a ridiculous splint on my right arm that doesn't even stabilize the finger. My arm is totally stabilized, though. I'm not wearing this. I don't want my wrist and arm to atrophy b/c of this stupid splint.
With respect and gratitude to the emergency room folks at Kaiser, I was in and out post-haste. They got me fixed up and out of there, plus an appointment with an orthopedic DR in 3 days within 90 minutes.
However, this splint is nuts. I will discuss with the Ortho, but I don't want my finger to set badly! Since I did this on a Saturday (of course, !!!!!), it'll be several days before I can consult with someone who really knows what they're doing.
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Post by scubalawyer on May 29, 2021 16:33:08 GMT -8
Ouch! Sorry 'bout that. Many moons ago I gave up skydiving and the next day fell on a wobbly deck and broke the humeral head of my arm. It's always something that's gonna get you.
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Post by vance on May 29, 2021 16:46:26 GMT -8
I have redone the doc's splint by taping my little finger to the ring finger, and dumping the fiberglass splint, then applying a stretchy band around my forearm a bit past the wrist. The doc was concerned about further swelling. Yeah, that's a concern, but not this time.
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Post by nikeajax on May 29, 2021 18:05:02 GMT -8
Well damn bruddah, sorry to hear that, but you're still able to to post, so things could be worse, right? Do you know about Tecnu: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TecnuIf not, send your wife to the drug store to get some for the Poison Oak! Funny you should mention hiking: I've started getting into old GPS's we thought it would be fun to do some geocaching I just picked up a Magellan Meridian Gold to use with one of my many Windows XP machines: it's from 2005. There's one form 1999 that I'm looking at that I'll use with my first generation Sony Vaio: it originally had Windows 98, first edition, but if I get that GPS I will load Windows 2000 onto it. Do you use a hiking stick: if not you really should? We use the collapsible type. If you are only hiking use one, but if you are walking fast it's recommended that you use two to keep your balance... I hope you start feeling better soon-- SIGH! Jaybird
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Post by SeaRat on May 29, 2021 18:13:36 GMT -8
I am hiking about 5 miles a day these days, in an effort to stay healthy. I was a bicyclist, but got worried I'd crash and end up hurt for 6 months, or dead, so I've gone over to hiking. We went to Peru a while back, and just before the Machu Picchu hike, I slipped on gravel on a downhill slope and sprained my ankle and knee. I missed the famous hike up the trail to the ruins, but made it into the ruins by bus. I limped around the ruins, b/c I was there and I did whatever it took to see them. I was doing my normal hike in the redwoods today, and tripped over a root on a downhill path. I fell hard, on my right shoulder with my right hand under me. I got up and found I'd landed in a poison oak bush. That story is yet to become realized. I had lots of scrapes and bruises. My right pinky finger was obviously broken and bent over so far, it crossed my palm. After spending 2 hours at the Kaiser emergency room, I found out I have smashed the lower end of the finger bone and knuckle of my right pinky finger. I went home with a ridiculous splint on my right arm that doesn't even stabilize the finger. My arm is totally stabilized, though. I'm not wearing this. I don't want my wrist and arm to atrophy b/c of this stupid splint. With respect and gratitude to the emergency room folks at Kaiser, I was in and out post-haste. They got me fixed up and out of there, plus an appointment with an orthopedic DR in 3 days within 90 minutes. However, this splint is nuts. I will discuss with the Ortho, but I don't want my finger to set badly! Since I did this on a Saturday (of course, !!!!!), it'll be several days before I can consult with someone who really knows what they're doing. I second what Jaybird just said, get some Tecnu right now, use it according to instructions, and save yourself a poison oak rash. I'm looking at our bottle right now. I've been hiking/walking most every day with my wife, who's a much better walker than me. Today, I did about 7 miles and Chris did something like 9 miles. We have a wonderful set of trails, and they are mostly paved here. John
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Post by vance on May 30, 2021 14:20:17 GMT -8
I am not sure Technu works, or if it spreads the rash. Poison Oak allergen is an oil which is absorbed into the skin and sets off an allergic reaction. The stuff is horrendous. It can remain active when transferred to a surface like shoes, tools, pets, etc. for 2 YEARS.
Technu is a cleanser which abrades the skin. I think it actually spreads the oil around, and makes it more able to penetrate the skin, due to the abrasion it causes.
Park rangers I've spoken to about this say to use liberal amounts of isopropyl alcohol to remove/cut the oil. They told me they wipe themselves down with alcohol after doing tasks like weed-whacking.
I have done this, and again when I feel a little spot that itches like crazy. It seems to stop the spread and dries it up fast.
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Post by nikeajax on May 30, 2021 15:48:48 GMT -8
PY, it doesn't have to have the scrubbies in it: it's actually a water soluble oil that mixes with the urishiol-oil of the plant. This oil cuts the urishiol like an engine degreaser allowing you to wash the majority of it away with soap and water. I love that stuff JB EDIT: isopropyl alcohol is not a good solvent for urishiol
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Post by cnotthoff on May 30, 2021 16:27:02 GMT -8
Poison oak has gone nuts up here this year. We see huge stands of it on our hikes. Here's wishing you a speedy recovery for that hand. If that nasty plant does cause a rash, try a soak with Aveeno Oatmeal Bath, or my recommended treatment for almost everything, jump in the ocean.
Good Dives, Charlie
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Post by SeaRat on May 30, 2021 18:24:45 GMT -8
I am not sure Technu works, or if it spreads the rash. Poison Oak allergen is an oil which is absorbed into the skin and sets off an allergic reaction. The stuff is horrendous. It can remain active when transferred to a surface like shoes, tools, pets, etc. for 2 YEARS. Technu is a cleanser which abrades the skin. I think it actually spreads the oil around, and makes it more able to penetrate the skin, due to the abrasion it causes. Park rangers I've spoken to about this say to use liberal amounts of isopropyl alcohol to remove/cut the oil. They told me they wipe themselves down with alcohol after doing tasks like weed-whacking. I have done this, and again when I feel a little spot that itches like crazy. It seems to stop the spread and dries it up fast. Phil, I will attest to the use of Tecnu, as I have been using it for decades. It works. It was developed in Albany, Oregon in response to the high amount of poison oak we have in Oregon, especially Western Oregon. Here are the instructions on the box: Tecnu Instructions001 by John Ratliff, on Flickr Here is the Safety Data Sheet on Tecnu: www.forestry-suppliers.com/Documents/2619_msds.pdfI have used it, and it does prevent the rash from occuring after an exosure. John
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Post by vance on Jun 1, 2021 15:26:29 GMT -8
I never got a poison oak rash, even though I was in the bush. I wiped myself down with isopropyl alcohol soon after, and it seems to have kept me from getting the rash. I'm either lucky or prudent!
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Post by DavidRitchieWilson on Jun 2, 2021 2:53:55 GMT -8
During my English boyhood, I read books and magazines about life in America with some bemusement when I chanced upon references to the poison oak and poison ivy awaiting youngsters and oldsters there who dared to brave the wilds. Here in the UK, Nature's menace takes the form of stinging nettles, which cause nasty blisters on bare legs and knees. Fortunately, where there are nettles, there are also dock leaves, which ease the pain when rubbed on the sore areas. See below. Another potential natural danger here is the variety of fungi on the forest floors, which may look like edible mushrooms but which aren't worth testing for edibility on pain of death. I have hiked since in the USA, although I have never encountered poison oak or poison ivy on my walks there. Mind you, the only fauna I have ever seen during any US woodland walks was a single specimen of the giant slug for which Washington State is famous. It stretched out on a tree stump and my companions weren't pleased when I failed to alert them of its presence at the time. DRW
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Post by nikeajax on Jun 2, 2021 8:48:25 GMT -8
DRW, I haven't been stung by nettle for several decades--thankfully! I remembered that you can actually eat that stuff so I looked it up on Wikipedia, and wouldn't you know it, you can make beer from it: theherbalacademy.com/nettle-beer/This is something very similar to what I make, only I never cook mine as that destroy the health benefits of the vitamins therein and I try to take advantage of the naturally occurring yeasts that traditional brewers love to whine about infecting their brews. I love to go for hikes and harvest things like pine needles, sagebrush, mugwort and dandelion. East of he Rocky Mountains we have something called "Poison Sumac" (Toxicodendron vernix): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxicodendron_vernixI have a friend Dave who is actually not allergic to poison oak Did you know that the Banana slug (Ariolimax dolichophallus) is the school mascot of UC Santa Cruz, the Banana Slugs! JB
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Post by SeaRat on Jun 3, 2021 14:59:01 GMT -8
DRW, I haven't been stung by nettle for several decades--thankfully! I remembered that you can actually eat that stuff so I looked it up on Wikipedia, and wouldn't you know it, you can make beer from it: theherbalacademy.com/nettle-beer/This is something very similar to what I make, only I never cook mine as that destroy the health benefits of the vitamins therein and I try to take advantage of the naturally occurring yeasts that traditional brewers love to whine about infecting their brews. I love to go for hikes and harvest things like pine needles, sagebrush, mugwort and dandelion. East of he Rocky Mountains we have something called "Poison Sumac" (Toxicodendron vernix): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxicodendron_vernixI have a friend Dave who is actually not allergic to poison oak Did you know that the Banana slug (Ariolimax dolichophallus) is the school mascot of UC Santa Cruz, the Banana Slugs!JB We have those slugs here, and I got this photo of one on my back yard patio cement. IMG_3383 by John Ratliff, on Flickr Species: Limax maximus; Common names: Giant garden slug, Leopard slug Family: Limacidae Page 18, www.oregon.gov/oda/shared/documents/publications/ippm/odaguidemolluscs2016forweb.pdfJohn
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Post by nikeajax on Jun 3, 2021 16:52:39 GMT -8
John, thanks for sharing your image At the park we like to go to, were having a tree die-off: they're not exactly sure why but it is linked to global-warming. We first noticed it because of the pines dying en masse: other trees/shrubs affected are manzanita but also eucalyptus, which has a plus side as they are highly evasive and nothing native grows under them. In the late 19th and early 20th Centuries we got a handful of bloody freakin' geniuses who decided to plant them in California: one stupid sap thought he'd become a Lumber Barron Eucalyptus wood is caca for lumber, but it does make a great forest fire because of all the highly flammable compounds therein. JB
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Post by SeaRat on Jun 3, 2021 22:31:25 GMT -8
JB,
I’m surprised, as pines and manzanita are considered here as more adapted to drier climates than our Douglas fir forests on the west side of the Cascades. The pines are probably dying due to the bark beetle, but are usually the lodge pole pine, and not ponderosa. These pines are there because the Ponderosa pine have been harvested, and the lodge pole pines come in as a succession tree. Ponderosa were probably not replanted, and natural “seed trees” ware also harvested.
John
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