Medical Health

Doing It For The Next Guy

A pharmacist once told me, “You have to do it for the next guy.”

Slander, libel, gossip, rumor, hearsay and betrayal

A doctor once told me, “You are their movie and they want you to be the bad guy.”

Desert Venom

Although a number of medical professionals still recommend applying a tourniquet to rattlesnake bites (and then briefly releasing the tourniquet every 15 to 20 minutes), Tony Nester, the author of Desert Survival Tips, Tricks, & Skills (Flagstaff: Diamond Creek Press, 2003), writes that most of the doctors he spoke to advise against applying a tourniquet (it simply concentrates the venom in the tissues immediately adjacent to the bite). Your best treatment is to get to a hospital or clinic as quickly as possible: do not delay.

Nester says that two important rules of desert living are 1) “Don’t put your hands where you can’t see” and 2) “Vigorously slam your boots on the ground and shake clothes before you put them on.”

Watch out for Gila Monsters, Africanized Bees (Killer Bees), Black Widow Spiders, Scorpions, Rattlesnakes, and Coral Snakes. Wear sturdy hiking shoes or boots. Do not hike alone. Carry a cell phone, an ultralight emergency blanket, snacks and at least two liters of water. Always let a friend or neighbor know where you are going and when you expect to return.

You will also want to read The Ultimate Desert Handbook : A Manual for Desert Hikers, Campers and Travelers by Mark Johnson and 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Phoenix: Including Tempe, Scottsdale, and Glendale by Charles Liu.

Also see my posts Hiking and Backpacking Gear and Cotton for the Grand Canyon.

Hiking in Arizona

When you look up a hike in one of the many popular books on the subject or you find a good reference on the Internet (for example, http://www.toddshikingguide.com), keep in mind that if you are over 40 and have not regularly worked out for at least a year of two, you should choose the easiest (and shortest) trails. And irregardless of your age (you might be 18 or 52), your best estimate of the time it will take to complete a hike is to double the times reported in the various paper and online publications, because it seems that many of these top-notch hikers and outdoors writers treat their outings as workouts, and push hard, and do not often stop to enjoy the views and the endless allure of nature in the wild.

Chelation Therapy Today

Buyer Beware:

We hear on the news that we should eat right and exercise, that fruits and vegetables help prevent cancer, and that the right foods and daily exercise help prevent heart disease. Furthermore, we are told to restrict fats and cholesterol and avoid deep-fried and fast foods. We are in the midst of an obesity epidemic and obesity brings about heart disease and cancer. But sometimes common preventive measures are not enough, either because we are burdened with genetic predispositions or, for example, because we have sustained a lifetime of pollution.

Given our present health concerns, many individuals and practitioners of alternative health strategies have expressed their faith in the benefits of chelation therapy, a process whereby alternative health practitioners (but NOT certified medical doctors) claim that EDTA (Ethylene Diamine Tetra-acetic Acid) binds molecules (metals or minerals) and removes them from the body. When so-called patients undergo oral chelation, using liquid EDTA, hardened mineral and metal deposits are apparently removed from the circulatory system, improving blood flow and increasing the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the tissues. I say APPARENTLY because the therapy is unproven and does not appear to be backed by hospitals and insurance plans.