Know Your Ticks…And Understand The Diseases

Back in the days of my youth wood ticks were nothing more than a nuisance of spring and early summer…but somewhere along the way as I got older things seemed to get a whole lot more complicated with these little buggers.   Indeed, the common wood tick is becoming a 21st Century menace of dangerous proportions to outdoors folks in many areas of the country.
Tick
As a kid, I knew of the dangers from the creepy crawly little pest.   We knew it transferred Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever…but the fact is to a small child in rural Minnesota my chances of contracting this ailment seemed about as likely as my parents traveling to Vegas and winning enough money to pay off the farm mortgage.   Sure it could happen…but the odds were simply too astronomically high to really worry about this health malady.

Such is certainly not the case today.   In fact, the more we learn about the common wood tick (and its host of cousins, such as the deer tick, etc.) the more we discover that this pest is actually a carrier of some down-right nasty diseases.   Diseases that left unrecognized could permanently debilitate you and at worse…could kill you.

In today’s Minneapolis StarTribune there’s a good article about a deputy sheriff in Northern Minnesota who had a triple whammy, of sorts.   This poor individual came so close to dying as a result of ticks that it’s truly a miracle he’s still alive today.   Check it out by linking here.

For the balance of today’s blog, I want to review the different diseases these ticks carry and also highlight some of the more common symptoms (by linking to the disease).   I’m not going to harp on preventative measures…as I think we all know what needs to be done.   Check!  Check!  Check!   Also liberally use some of the great repellents much like you would spray your clothes for mosquitoes.

The common tick-borne diseases include (sourced from webMD.com):

  • Lyme disease.   Symptoms usually start 1 to 4 weeks after the tick bite, with up to 90% of people developing an expanding, circular red skin rash.
  • Rocky Mountain spotted fever.   Symptoms usually start 3 to 12 days (average 7 days) after the tick bite.
  • Tularemia.   Symptoms usually start within 21 days (average 1 to 10 days) after the tick bite or other exposure.
  • Ehrlichiosis.   Symptoms usually start from 1 to 21 days (average of 7 days) after the tick bite.
  • Relapsing fever.   Symptoms usually start 3 to 11 days (average of 6 days) after the tick bite.
  • Colorado tick fever.   Symptoms usually start within 14 days (average of 3 to 6 days) of the tick bite.
  • Babesiosis.   Symptoms usually start 1 to 6 weeks after the tick bite

The important thing is to remove the ticks promptly and carefully.   There are many good methods for doing this…but most often you want to remove the ENTIRE tick.   Don’t use a match to burn the tick.   Likewise, rubbing nail polish or Vaseline on the tick does not always result in an effective, clean removal.   Finally, be sure to thoroughly wash the infected area with soap.

My technique of choice is to simply grab the tick and apply gentle, constant pressure pulling away from site of attachment.   I don’t pull too hard so that the tick’s head breaks off and remains attached to the skin.   Instead, my main goal is to play a sort of tug-o-war type of game with the tick hoping that eventually it will lose its grip.   If it takes a minute or two to accomplish this…so be it.   In this case patience is a virtue when it comes to proper tick removal.

Sometimes I wonder if ticks are actually carrying more diseases these days or if through the marvels of medical science we are simply discovering more tick-borne illnesses we never knew previously existed.   Whatever the case…if you’re a sportsman who spends time in tick country you owe it to your good health to do a complete inspection after every outing.   Might I recommend taking an opposite-sex buddy with you that you might later want to get naked with…it makes the tedious task of finding ticks a lot more fun.

© 2005 Jim Braaten.  All Rights Reserved.   No Reproduction without Prior Permission.

Geocaching: It’s All About Finding The Treasure

Okay, admit it…a year or so back you purchased one of those handy GPS (global positioning system) hand-held receivers because it was either on sale or your friends had one…so you made the purchase.   Am I right?   I know I sure did…when used properly they are one of the handiest little devices a sportsman can own.   Besides, the magnetic compass is so last Century.   Get with it and start letting satellites guide your way through the woods rather than some electromagnetic device which to operate properly you must compensate for with declination factors.

The point is GPS and the technology it makes use of is really a slick thing for sportsmen.   The main problem is, unless you use your device somewhat regularly…it can be intimidating and downright frustrating learning about all the modes and functions for your particular model.   More often than not…the GPS unit sits at home in the drawer when it could be used much more often on trips into the out-of-doors.   I feel if sportsmen are going to own the technology…they need to learn how to use it….and they might as well have some fun doing it.

One of the most exciting and fun ways to learn how to use that GPS unit is by geocaching.   Never heard of it?   Log on to www.geocaching.com and search for cache sites near your home.   Chances are good you will discover dozens if not hundreds of geocache sites within close proximity of your home.   Some are near historical markers…others are in the middle of nowhere…yet others have a complex purpose serving as a piece of a bigger puzzle in this geocaching game.
Geocache1
Essentially geocaching is this.   A fellow player has taken let’s say an old Tupperware container and filled it with all sorts of trinkets to be placed in some hidden location.   Inside there may be some small children’s toys, some dice, poker chips, coins, key chains, bottle openers, patches, you name it.   Just about anything of little or no value can be stashed in a geocache container.   Then, all of these items are placed in the container…left in a secure hidden location…and entered into the web site called www.geocaching.com.

As a geocacher, your objective is to program your handheld GPS unit with the coordinates, and then head out in search of the cache.   The goal is to use your GPS unit to locate the site of the cache…but in most cases that is only half the battle.   Even when you arrive at the precise location of the cache it doesn’t mean finding the loot is always easy.   Sometimes it is…and sometimes you can search for over an hour with mounting frustrations…until you finally give up and leave.

Geocaching is a fun, family event that can be done at absolutely no cost…provided you already own a GPS unit.   In many cases the locations are near parks…so if you plan things correctly you can spend the day geocaching and then plan a picnic, too.   You’ll find that the entire family has fun because it sometimes takes many sets of eyes searching for the container…and to the young kids it can be a game with a prize as an incentive.
Geocache2_1

When you eventually find the container it is proper protocol to jot an entry into the log book (as well as to later come back home and leave a log on the web site), search through the container for a trinket or two to take with you…but also bring a replacement trinket to leave.   Visit the web site and learn all about this elaborate system of travel bugs, etc.   The bottom line is be prepared to leave something in the container…if you decide to take a prize with you.

This weekend I went geocaching for the first time and discovered just how much fun it actually is.   I also discovered just how rusty I was at the proper use of my GPS receiver.   As much as I hate to admit it, I did finally have to pull out the owner’s manual to see how I needed to program in the coordinates.   At first I was a bit embarrassed to admit I didn’t know completely how to operate some gadget I owned…but after a few hours…and locating several cache sites I was operating my device like a champion.
Geocache3
Right now if I used the GPS I own to mark a location on the lake or to log a site for a nice deer stand this fall…I am completely confident that I could use it with no difficulty.   Like anything else in life, the more you use something the more familiar you become with the proper operation of that equipment.

As sportsmen, realize there are times you need to do fun things with the family.   Without a doubt, geocaching is a fun activity that the whole family will enjoy…and with a bit of practice and exploring on the website…you can choose just how difficult you want your searches to be.   The bottom line is geocaching is a fun activity that, in the process, will hone your navigational skills…and any fun family game that can do that certainly can’t be all bad.

Give geocaching a try…and let me know how it works out for you.

© 2005 Jim Braaten.  All Rights Reserved.   No Reproduction without Prior Permission.

In-Fisherman Magazine Turns 30

This week the 30th Anniversary Edition of the In-Fisherman Magazine goes on sale at newsstands around the country…but why is this milestone of any importance to sportsmen?   Quite frankly, it was the foresight of brothers Lindner who helped to revolutionize the process and the science behind the way many of us go fishing.
Infisherman
As the fishing industry grew there was also a need to satiate the growing thirst for knowledge that permeated throughout the outdoors world.   For deer hunters it was a group in Wisconsin called Stump Sitters who eventually parlayed this deep desire to learn everything about deer into a club, of sorts, to share experiences and blend knowledge.   Eventually, this effort evolved into the magazine now called Deer and Deer Hunting.   But for fishermen nothing could ring more credible than the wisdom spewed forth in In-Fisherman published by the Lindner Brothers of Bemidji, Minnesota.

You see, the Lindner Brothers were well on their way to making a name for themselves even before they published their first written article.   In Northern Minnesota the name Lindner quickly became synonymous with success even way back in the early 70s.   In fact, these brothers started dabbling in producing fishing-related TV shows dating way back to 1970.   Their uncanny ability to mix fishing fun with hardcore fishing science paved the way for these pioneers of fishing to permanently make a mark in the fishing world.

As fishing lure manufacturers (Lindy Tackle – Lindy Rig, etc.), to publishers of books, magazines, TV, radio, videos, websites…the Linder Brothers really have done it all.   And perhaps most notable of all is that after nearly four decades in the industry their reputation and energy is still going strong, where many others have often failed.

Ever since the early days the credo at In-Fisherman was to conduct the research out on the water…and that’s what they did best.   The Lindners resisted the temptation of burying their noses into books or research articles and instead opted to do the research themselves…on the water…with fishing reel in hand.   On average they would log over 200 days each year using fishing experience as their best teacher to prove or disprove their theories.

Today, as I understand it, the Lindner Brothers no longer own their multimedia enterprise known as In-Fisherman.   They sold that a few years back to Primedia, Inc. a large New York-based media giant.   Still, many of the same old influences that were present way back in the beginning continue to help make up a part of In-Fisherman yet today.

The Lindners, however, have now embarked on a new venture called Angler’s Edge which has much of the same flavor of their old venture producing quality TV Shows and videos, but now you can also see a more open reference to their Christianity faith.

To many of us the In-Fisherman will always be about a couple of brothers from Chicago who grew fed up with big city life and moved to Northern Minnesota to begin their fishing education empire.   Unfortunately, as so often happens when success blossoms, that empire grew so big that the brothers were actually spending more time catering to the business than casting for the fish.   Hence, the sale of their business to begin life anew.

As we reflect back on the past 30 years of knowledge printed in In-Fisherman…it’s more a celebration of Al, Ron and Jeff Lindner’s dream of mixing science with a sport that mysteriously was taking place underwater where we could not see the action.   What we now take for granted as fishing fact was once cutting edge knowledge some 25 to 30 years ago.   Thanks largely to the Lindners; they taught us all how fishing can not only be a fun activity, but also a never-ending learning opportunity.

© 2005 Jim Braaten.  All Rights Reserved.   No Reproduction Without Prior Permission.