We’ve made the transfer from cool and budding to warm and lush. The weather is great for hiking, but there are some associated annoyances we face along the way, specifically ticks and mosquitoes, and poison ivy.
Here’s a quick look at prevention and treatment for both.
The following is a post we like to run at the beginning of the warm-weather hiking season.
We’ve made the transfer from cool and budding to warm and lush. The weather is great for hiking — the associated annoyances we face along the way, specifically ticks and mosquitoes, and poison ivy.
We’ve encountered our first 90-degree days on the trail. We’ve also encountered our first signs of heat exhaustion (on a sweaty trip deep into Linville Gorge this past weekend).
Heat exhaustion can lead to heat stroke which can damage the brain and other organs and can lead to death. Fortunately, if you recognize and treat heat exhaustion at the outset you can keep it from devolving into something much more serious.
We’ve made the transfer from cool and budding to warm and lush. The weather is great for hiking — the associated annoyances we face along the way, specifically ticks and mosquitoes, and poison ivy.
Here’s a quick look at prevention and treatment for both.
Ticks and mosquitoes are being shown to cause a growing number of maladies, from Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever (ticks) to viruses including Zika and chikungunya. Ticks, according to current thought, need to be attached for 24 hours before they become a problem (though removal as soon as possible is best); mosquitoes can do their damage immediately.
Follow product instructions. Parents should apply this product to their children, avoiding hands, eyes, and mouth.
Follow this four-part removal process recommended by the CDC:
Your best bet in avoiding poison ivy is to know what this culprit looks like (see photo) and steer clear — way clear. In general, the vine has leaves that grow in threes; usually, but not always, one side of the leaf is smooth, the other has three serrations. Also, the vine itself is furry: if you see a fuzzy vine growing up the trunk of a tree, resist the urge to pet it. A good rule of thumb is to avoid “leaves of three,” which also covers the poison oak and poison sumac.
Even if you only think you’ve been exposed — keeping in mind that it may be hours before symptoms in the form of a rash and really itchy skin — clean the area thoroughly in question thoroughly. There are various recommendations on what to use, including:
If some poison ivy manages to penetrate your best defenses and you develop the really itchy rash, the more popular treatment options include calamine lotion, zinc carbonate, zinc oxide. Baking soda and colloidal oatmeal are also suggested itch remedies. Calamine lotion, though, is easy to apply (dab a little on a cotton ball and apply).
Click on the following links for more in-depth insight into ticks, mosquitoes, and poison ivy.
Wondering whether you really need to take precautions against tick and mosquito bites? Read this sobering piece — “Tick and Mosquito Infections Spreading Rapidly, C.D.C. Finds” — that appeared May 1, 2018, in The New York Times.
Learn more about tick bites from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
For details on dealing with mosquitoes, visit the Environmental Protection Agency here.
Insect Shield
On EPA insect repellant determination tool
Learn more about more natural poison ivy treatments here and
here
New Hope Creek was at its burbling best: the hardwoods nearly leafed out, the air warm but not summer warm, the wildflowers in abundance: spring beauties, bluets, chickweed, violets, periwinkle and a particularly stunning dwarf iris.
My hikers will love this! I thought, thinking ahead to the Sunday GetHiking! trip I was scouting. Then I heard a distinctive hum, with more volume than I was accustomed to. I looked down to see a carpet of bees swarming the trail, darting from this violet to that. I scampered 20 feet down the narrow path, skedaddling before my hairy legs became an annoyance.
Crap! I said to myself. Moments later, I encountered a second swarm, then a third and a fourth.
Before leading a hike, I like to scout the trail, especially one I haven’t hiked in a few months. Usually, I’m looking for downed trees, swollen creeks, anything that might pose a problem. That Thursday, I found a seasonal deterrent: bees.
It’s true, confirmed Rebecca Irwin, associate professor of zoology at N.C. State University, bees are especially active right now.
“They’re just up from hibernating and out collecting pollen and nectar,” Irwin said. “They’re waking up and need food.”
Familiar with the phenomenon of waking up hungry, I asked if they might be particularly aggressive.
“They don’t want to sting you,” assured Irwin, they want nectar, to feed their larva. The only danger is if you get in their way.”
I was glad that I’d elected to give the bees wide berth. An easy decision, considering I’m an EpiPen packer known to swell like the Michelin Man when we tussle. I am not alone.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 2 million Americans are allergic to insect stings. Further, states the CDC, bees are the deadliest non-human critters in America, killing about 100 Americans annually. With that many bees on the trail and those odds, and with my own allergy to bees, I was glad I’d scouted the trail: we would hike elsewhere.
Note: This applies only to omnivorous bees. Wasps and hornets are omnivorous and are more motivated to sting for a meal. Avoid at all costs.
If you are allergic to bee stings, let your hike leader or hiking companions know. Carry an antihistamine or an EpiPen, as prescribed by your physician. Don’t hike alone.
If you or someone you’re hiking with gets stung on a hike, WebMd offers the following advice:
