Backpack Practice Trip

[littletommy]

The only way I ever got rid of chiggers was to scratch til it bled, then douse the area in bleach. Yep, doused it in bleach. Fortunately it was on my ankles.

 

[hooky]

I've done the bleach thing with poison ivy, but never tried it with chiggers.

One thing I've done that's kept me from getting chiggers this year was to start using Permethrin. It actually kills them instead of just repelling them.

Permethrin Premium Insect Repellent - Sawyer

 

[1861navy]

I've done the bleach thing with poison ivy, but never tried it with chiggers.

One thing I've done that's kept me from getting chiggers this year was to start using Permethrin. It actually kills them instead of just repelling them.

Permethrin Premium Insect Repellent - Sawyer

Man that would be great, but I'm severely allergic to permethrin. Fortunately I've only had the bane that is chiggers once.

 

[spencer rifle]

Chigger update:
Five weeks later and some still itch.

 

[hoosierdoc]

Chigger update:
Five weeks later and some still itch.

Anyone develop diarrhea? How did you handle water purification?

 

[spencer rifle]

We had several water purification methods available, but really only used on. I got a First Need filter way back in the early 80s, and that's all we needed. We also had a smaller straw-type filter and tablets, which never came out of the package. We tried the pine branch filter, but it was too slow to be useful. No gastrointestinal distress of any kind.

 

[YayGuns]

The thing I've found that works good for chiggers is to put nail polish over the affected spot. It's said to suffocate them which has been an old wives tale. Seemed to help the time I tried it, but might have juts been the Placebo effect. If you do have them, about the only thing you could do to help the irritation would be some hydrocortisone ointment to try to keep the itch at bay.

For water purification, I've used 2 methods. One is the iodine tabs, and the other is an MSR water purifier. We used the tabs at SERE, and the MSR filters when we did a one week survival trip in NC for a week. Had no issues, and no "gastric distress". The only downside to the Iodine tabs is the taste, which gets fairly old after a few days. Haven't tried them with the tabs that augment the taste.

 

[hooky]

The iodine tabs don't work on everything, so be careful about where you are and what parasites are in the water. I enjoy going to Isle Royal but all the inland waters have the Echinoccosis tapeworms and cysts. Iodine doesn't kill the cysts as the "shells" are too tough. The wolves and moose are the perfect hosts at the varying stages of the parasite.

Cystic echinocccosis (CE), also known as hydatid disease, is caused by infection with the larval stage of Echinococcus granulosus, a ~2-7 millimeter long tapeworm found in dogs (definitive host) and sheep, cattle, goats, and pigs (intermediate hosts). Although most infections in humans are asymptomatic, CE causes harmful, slowly enlarging cysts in the liver, lungs, and other organs that often grow unnoticed and neglected for years.

OP, I feel for you with the chiggers.

 

[rhino]

The iodine tabs don't work on everything, so be careful about where you are and what parasites are in the water. I enjoy going to Isle Royal but all the inland waters have the Echinoccosis tapeworms and cysts. Iodine doesn't kill the cysts as the "shells" are too tough. The wolves and moose are the perfect hosts at the varying stages of the parasite.



OP, I feel for you with the chiggers.

That's why chlorine dioxide tabs are a better choice. They cost a little more, but they are more effective. And they don't taste as bad as iodine.

 

[spencer rifle]

Echinococcus granulosus also causes hydatid disease. These can be fluidfilled cysts that have hydatid sand (embryonic scolices) and highly protienaceous fluid inside. Rupture of the cyst from any event can cause nearly instantaneous anaphylaxis that may be quickly fatal.

I love parasitology.

 

[hooky]

That's why chlorine dioxide tabs are a better choice. They cost a little more, but they are more effective. And they don't taste as bad as iodine.

Unfortunately, those tabs won't guarantee no cysts either. Only a properly working mechanical filter or boiling for the prescribed time can guarantee no cysts in your drinking water.

One of the people on the boat with us on our first trip to the island had iodine tabs and one of the UV pens. It came up in conversation with the ranger while receiving the LNT orientation and he ended up loaning the person his personal water filter.

 

[rhino]

Unfortunately, those tabs won't guarantee no cysts either. Only a properly working mechanical filter or boiling for the prescribed time can guarantee no cysts in your drinking water.

One of the people on the boat with us on our first trip to the island had iodine tabs and one of the UV pens. It came up in conversation with the ranger while receiving the LNT orientation and he ended up loaning the person his personal water filter.

Everything I've read about chlorine dioxide tabs and solutions says that it is effective against amoebic cysts, specifically citing giardia and cryptosporidium.

You're not thinking of hypochlorite, are you? Different thing.

 

[hooky]

I'm just going by what I've read and been told, which is chemical disinfection isn't reliable with echinococcosis. I'll admit that I haven't seen any specifics on Chlorine Dioxide, just the general "chemicals won't work" statement.

It sounds like Spencer knows a thing or two about parasites. Maybe he'll chime in with something definitive.

Also, I'm saying cysts when I think I should be saying eggs.

 

[spencer rifle]

I'll get back to you after I check my parasitology text, and that's at work.

 

[spencer rifle]

The usual way for humans to contract hydatidosis from Echinococcus granulosus is from dogs (especially those raised with sheep or other herbivores) that eat offal from slaughtering operations. Especially prevalent in the deep south and far west.

Echinococcus multilocularis is more northern and usually associated with foxes and sometimes coyotes and dogs.

Neither of these is commonly found in water, but more associated with the feces of the above-mentioned carnivores.

Eggs are about 30 to 40 microns in diameter, large enough to be filtered out by most good water filters. Snow and freezing conditions do not affect them.

 

[rhino]

The usual way for humans to contract hydatidosis from Echinococcus granulosus is from dogs (especially those raised with sheep or other herbivores) that eat offal from slaughtering operations. Especially prevalent in the deep south and far west.

Echinococcus multilocularis is more northern and usually associated with foxes and sometimes coyotes and dogs.

Neither of these is commonly found in water, but more associated with the feces of the above-mentioned carnivores.

Eggs are about 30 to 40 microns in diameter, large enough to be filtered out by most good water filters. Snow and freezing conditions do not affect them.

How do they fare against chemical treatments like bleach, iodine tabs, and chlorine dioxide?

I assume boiling ruins their day?

 

[spencer rifle]

Boiling will kill them, but if they are at all like Ascaris eggs, they are practically immortal. They can survive freezing, acids, 50%bleach solutions, practically anything. They can be filtered though. Chemical treatments are usually targeted at bacteria, which are usually much more of a threat than cestodes or helminths.

 

[hooky]

I found this: http://www.cfsph.iastate.edu/Factsheets/pdfs/echinococcosis.pdf

Under ideal conditions, E. granulosus s. l. eggs remain viable for several weeks or months in pastures or gardens,
and on fomites. They survive best under moist conditions
and in moderate temperatures. Viable eggs have been found
in water and damp sand for three weeks at 30°C, 225 days
at 6°C and 32 days at 10-21°C. The eggs survive for only
short periods of time if they are exposed to direct sunlight
and dry conditions.

The life cycle and transmission of E. multilocularis is
very similar to that of E. granulosus s. l.. Although this
species usually cycles in wildlife, with a variety of
carnivores serving as definitive hosts, the adult tapeworms
can also mature in domesticated dogs and cats. Eggs can
remain viable for up to a year in a moist environment at low
temperatures. E multilocularis eggs are cold resistant to –
50°C, but they are killed by desiccation, high temperatures,
or sustained temperatures of –70°C or below

Chemical disinfection is unreliable for clinical samples,
but a percentage of the eggs may be destroyed by sodium
hypochlorite. Echinococcus eggs are inactivated by heat
(hot water of 85°C or above is effective) and desiccation.
They can also be killed by freezing at –80°C for 48 hours or
–70°C for 4 days.
Laboratories can be decontaminated by setting the
environmental conditions to 40% humidity combined with
30°C room temperature for at least 48 hours.

Tough little buggers.

 

[rhino]

I found this: http://www.cfsph.iastate.edu/Factsheets/pdfs/echinococcosis.pdf


Tough little buggers.

Probably have an attitude, too.

 

[hooky]

If they do, can't say I'd blame them. They've certainly earned that right.

don't do a google image search of Hydatid Cyst