Liveaboards and Cruisers get the flu/sick too

[minimalism]

a good, small air purifier worked wonders on my 30ft liveaboard:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000DK35B...=3J9PVLZ5ZGGFE

Obviously with consistent filter changing, etc, but I havent been sick once since I installed it.

[BandB]

Originally Posted by minimalism

I had this problem once I started livingaboard: I was always under the weather. What worked wonders for me was getting a small air purifier (I have a 30ft power boat, so a small one was just fine). After a week, I felt a lot better and havent been sick since.

tip: clean the filters monthly.

this is the one i have: https://www.amazon.com/Holmes-Deskto...e+air+purifier

Definitely you point out something important that if an environment change leads to illness, find out why and mitigate it. I know a couple that rented a country house. Immediately they found themselves getting very sick. There was tons of black mold. Worse, the owner knew about it but hid it all.

[JPA Cate]

A few posters have mentioned the potential for contracting something, flying, or using other public transportation where you are closed up with unfamiliar germs.

Some years back, we discovered an OTC multi-vitamin and mineral dissolveable tablet, Supradyn, and we take one before we go to the airport for long flights. Since we started doing it, we have not got a travelers cold--about 20 yrs. now. The underlying idea is to give a boost to our immune system.

Meanderthal, i think you're onto something with your idea of medical or health problems being more common than boat ones, with well prepared boats. I had to be medi-evaced once, by helicopter, for a femoral hernia. When we were dismasted, we got our own boat to harbor safely. Without surgery, i'd not be writing this now. Afterwards, the repair failed, and prophylactically, i had bilateral repairs done, because (as you know) when your location is remote from services, well the outcome may not be what you had planned.

Most of our efforts health wise are diet related, only use the Supradyn (as indicated). Wake up with a sore throat, bomb it with that, and, although not 100% effective, it staved off the last virus' attempt on me.

Incidentally, on the seasickness issue, we rarely get seasick any more. But, for me, the deal is that if the motion that caused it eases, then it gets rough again, I will get seasick again, even though it's been over a week at sea, and it will be another 3 days, and so on. So, on our boat, we have to carry enough for both of us for quite a while, not just for the usual 3 days. Mal de mer symptoms depend a lot on what kind(s) of motion you're sensitive to. It's also one of the hazards of taking on crew.

Ann

[Meanderthal]

Minimalism--good point, especially during the winter or inclement weather. I don't have the power supply for an air purifier, but future me and many here do :-). BandB, also a good point. Our environment does play a pretty big role. I hadn't gotten sick in a long time, then a few weeks ago I was cleaning and repainting the engine and heat exchanger and gassed myself pretty good. Some corners of the boat just didn't ventilate. I felt a little run down the following day, sat next to a guy with a virus, got sick. Of course, I wouldn't have gotten sick if I hadn't been around people, or dragged down defenses by inhaling a bunch of hi temp paint fumes and cleaner through my inadequate mask. Or maybe I would have gotten sick anyways, but it sure felt like the two were connected!

JPA Cate: Wow--I love you using such crazy misadventures (and successes!) from your own lives to help us. I agree, in our experience of multiple modes of travel, sickness and injury (and one often leads to the other) are more likely to derail adventures than issues with the mode of transportation. It doesn't take much, sometimes. Nathan once walked 4 miles carrying a transmission on his shoulder, swapped it for the old one, then kept on driving. When the same sturdy athletic man came down sick after we hiked rim to river and back in a day at the Grand Canyon, he was so prostrate we abandoned our camping and hiking two weeks early-- he just wanted to go straight to Vegas and drown his misery in the chlorinated pool, and lay about. He wanted material comforts, and I couldn't provide those from our small camper, so we wound up missing out on two weeks in the Grand Canyon!

On our last sailing trip, we turned around because we were worried about our dog--we couldn't make her comfortable, she was miserable. The trip was so hard on her, she hates the boat now. Two days ago, I brought her down and gestured for her to load up. She looked at the boat, at me, then turned tail and trotted all the way from the boat to the parking lot. Nope.

Funny haha but also damnit.

I use these as examples on the opposite end from JPA Cate but the same point--major or minor, medical and comfort related to medical issues can really derail plans!

[JPA Cate]

Meanderthal, there's a post by Vet Tails, Sheridan, a veterinarian, who had advice for a guy from NZ ;about how to encourage his 8 yr. old independent minded bitch to learn to toilet on the boat. I imagine, she'd have some input for helping your dog get over her aversive reaction.

Ann

[Meanderthal]

I'll follow up, thank you!

[john61ct]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

DIY Fecal transplants

in the news
http://deadspin.com/the-next-big-thi...ing-1796302781

[BandB]

Wifey B: One item we've added to our medical kit very recently is Narcan. We also carry it with us on the road. One of the leading killers in the US today is Opiate overdose.

In Philadelphia and Denver, Librarians are being trained on it's use. It's available for $37 or so. Opiate overdose is at epidemic proportions. Some incredible young people falling into it's web. Others getting hooked first on prescription pain meds. Fentanyl at 10,000 times the strength of morphine. New drugs that can kill you just from you handling them. We became personally convinced to keep it available after we read an email one night that someone in downtown Fort Lauderdale had overdosed and, unknown to us, there was some in our office medical kit and an employee went out and saved their life. You can encounter it anywhere. There's even a nasal spray available now but it's expensive so far, so most stick to the injectible.

This is a drug saving lives every day. We obviously need to address the source of the problem, but meanwhile anything we can do to potentially save a life we will. We have friends and acquaintances who have lost kids and other relatives to it.

Anywhere you think it isn't, think again, it is. So, having Naxolone/Narcan available might save a life. Far more likely to do so than an AED, which we also carry.

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by john61ct

in the news
deadspin-quote-carrot-aligned-w-bgr-2

I'd appreciate you not misquoting me and making it look like I condone this totally nutty and unsafe procedure of putting someone elses feces up your butt.

There're countless horrible diseases that can be transmitted by this kookiness, like hepatitis and AIDS just to name two. You seem determined.... so have at it, stuff whatever you want up your own arse, but don't encourage others to follow your foolishness.

[john61ct]

That's very funny. Apparently too late to edit, here's the full quote:

Originally Posted by Kenomac

DIY Fecal transplants??

It doesn't get any kookier than that, congratulations... you win.

My apologies, was not my intention to imply you approved of them.

Obviously the tech is in its infancy; in decades to come, science will come to understand more about our internal ecosystems, and devise procedures less disturbing to those toilet trained too harshly.

[flblowfish]

Originally Posted by NorthernSeaWolf

Do you have apples?

I have a juicer, which allows me to 'eat' those antivirals 4 apples at a time, but raw apples have more antivirals than Tamiflu - especially green ones.

You have a juicer on board? What make, model?

[Meanderthal]

Heyo, just to update this post:
Lived aboard all summer, just a few day sails. Took off for a few weeks on the boat, and just got back. Used some of the first aid kit on the trip. Now, this does not represent a typical trip for us, we usually go on far longer trips with fewer incidents, lol, but...

1) One of us needed a root canal--2400mg IB/day and lots of mouthwash rinses.
2) One of us hurt their back and used the silicone hot water bottle for a day or two.
3)One of us got seasick for a bit and took generic seasickness pills (we had a few different formulations, all generic).
4) One of us used moleskin as a blister prophylactic on hot spots before hiking.

Nothing serious, just a few oops and a dental appt upon our return. The dental could have been a trip killer, it lasted the whole trip.

A few dents and burns too, but we tend to just clean and ignore those.

In summary: we used ~100 ibuprofen (mix of softgels and pills), ~30 antinausea pills, orajel, some burn creme, some antibiotic ointment, a few bandaids, ~ 2 sq in moleskin, and the hot water bottle. Oh, and lots of mouthwash.

[JPA Cate]

Meanderthal, consider adding clove oil against tooth pain, too.

Sorry about needing the root canal. Not much fun.

Ann

[Meanderthal]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Meanderthal, consider adding clove oil against tooth pain, too.

Sorry about needing the root canal. Not much fun.

Ann

Thanks! Lol you zeroed in on the only thing that was me :-)

Meh, I wasn't going to miss a trip for anything. We would still be out there if we hadn't had someone watching our dog ;-)