6 ms·
This and Lyme are my main(ly irrational) reasons for never hiking outside of, like, Hawaii. And I'm sure a more seasoned HNer can scare me away from that, too.
by eganist 5y ago
This and Lyme are my main(ly irrational) reasons for never hiking outside of, like, Hawaii. And I'm sure a more seasoned HNer can scare me away from that, too.
Any news on whether exposure treatments like those for peanut allergies have any effect on alpha-gal allergies too?
- ajkjk 5y agoI feel like it is necessary to be scared of it an amount proportional to how bad it is times the expected chance you get it. And as bad as these are, they're just not likely, and even less likely if you're careful at all.
- IntrepidWorm 5y agoAgreed- the psychological and physical health benefits attributed by several studies to regular exposure to wooded and rural outdoor spaces is almost certainly worth the risk.
- EvilEy3 5y agoWorth the risk of being food impaired for life? Don't know about that.
- jjeaff 5y agoThere's a much greater chance you could die in a car accident, do you also avoid the highways?
- EvilEy3 5y agoPersonally I'd rather die than give up one of the main joys in my life.
- bruce343434 5y agoDon't let perfect be the enemy of good. You can never 100% insulate yourself from all harm. But you can choose to reduce it where you see fit.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- MadAhab 5y agoYou get used to diet modifications after a while, took me a year at least before I stopped 'mourning' my old diet so to speak. There's plenty of other delicious foods out there and it may go away eventually. There's plenty of outdoor spaces that are treated for ticks prevention to enjoy too, to get the best of both worlds.
- op00to 5y agoI disagree as someone who spent all my time outside up through age 18 or so.
- japanuspus 5y agoYou can come hike in Denmark. Over the last decade it has apparently become more efficient to keeps the dairy cows inside and harvest the grass for them. Feels completely wrong, and I never figured out what changes in rules or technology triggered this. Then you just need a TBE-vaccine and a daily tick-check to make sure you don't get lyme -- and you are good to go exploring our great nation which includes e.g. the one and only "Sky Mountain" [0]. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himmelbjerget https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himmelbjerget
- seaorg 5y agoWow. Denmark reportedly has the lowest amount of corruption in the world if I am not mistaken. What a special country. Does your culture have a “directness” to it like the Dutch? What is your opinion on the immigration backlash of late?
- dmichulke 5y agoYou should also ask about gross vs net salary. Both, in general, and specifically when talking about Scandinavian countries.
- kawsper 5y ago> Denmark reportedly has the lowest amount of corruption in the world if I am not mistaken Lowest _percepted_ corruption, which is quite a bit different than what you suggest, maybe us danes are just completely oblivious ;) Danes do have the same directness that you speak of.
- 867-5309 5y agoyou know you're in a flat country when "one of the highest natural points" is 147m!
- r0m4n0 5y agoYea honestly I think a reasonable fear (at least I can relate). I have been van-life the past year and have seen my fair share of ticks. Just general advice that has been effective for me (I’m sure you can probably find this online) Before any hike, deet or other repellant on your skin and clothes/shoes. Know where they hang out and try not to go into deep grass. After a hike, shed all your clothes and shoes carefully and wash it all. Take a shower and either have someone check you out or do a self inspection. Some places, like desert climates, I have never seen any. One of the worst hikes I’ve encountered I was in Idaho by a river and must have seen 100. I literally turned around and stopped the hike. I usually start by looking at the tips of grass blades hanging over the trail. As you walk you kinda just scan and after a while you might see them just hanging on the very end with their arms extended. If you don’t see any, there probably isn’t much to worry about. Ive avoided a bite so far but I also obsess…
- wtallis 5y agoDEET on skin and permethrin on clothing and shoes is more effective. With the right kind of clothing and thorough permethrin treatment, any ticks that get on you will be dead before they find their way past the clothing to bite your skin. Just don't use it on skin, and keep it away from your cats. DEET can also do nasty things to clothing made from synthetic fibers, which are generally some of the best clothing choices for hiking.
- blisterpeanuts 5y agoThis is what many hunters use. Permethrin adheres so well to clothing fibers that it lasts through several wash cycles.
- LinuxBender 5y agoAlso avoid passing under low hanging branches. Ticks will hang out on a branch and wait for animals or humans to pass by underneath and then drop off onto them.
- devenson 5y ago
- irrational 5y agoI’ve never heard of ticks anywhere in western Oregon or Washington. I’m sure there are other places without ticks also.
- steve_adams_86 5y agoVarious species (specifically the brown dog tick) are all along the west coast from California to British Columbia. In this study it mentioned the Lone Star tick specifically though ("In the United States, the condition most often begins when a Lone Star tick bites someone"), and apparently it's not present in either of those states or Canada as far as I or the internet appears to know. I guess it comes down to your risk aversion - assuming it can come from any tick, there's no 'safe' place to hike in most of North America. Personally I've been outdoors a lot all of my 35 years and ticks haven't been an issue here on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The Pacific Northwest is probably safe enough. As someone else mentioned, being outside and exercising is well worth the risk pretty much anywhere. Just be cognizant of the risk, check yourself and hiking partners if you're in a high risk area, etc.
- jschwartzi 5y agoI’ve had a couple of ticks here in Washington. They’re more common in Eastern Washington.
- refurb 5y agoI agree. I’m never leaving my mom’s basement. Too scary out there.
- DoreenMichele 5y agoJust wait. Sooner or later you will learn why the basement is horror central. Black mold comes to mind...
- op00to 5y agoSpending time in the wilderness on the east coast is not worth it anymore.
- alcover 5y ago> never hiking outside I still do very long hikes each summer, but now I'm obsessed with ticks and constantly scan and dodge grass blades. I refuse to apply nasty chemicals on myself though.
- blackbrokkoli 5y agoGiven that figuratively all the causes of death in the Western World are directly caused (strokes) or heavily correlated (depression) with a sedentary life style, I am quite sure that regular hiking will massively improve life length and quality. I sometimes wonder what the world would look like if people cared about the things that actually kill. Like, what if we would invest 300 trillion dollars into fighting prostate cancer instead of "terrorists"? What if we would design an entire education system around healthy sport instead of the prevention of "stranger danger"?