Health

[Nynaeve]

Trying to get things prepped for the burn this year and one of my biggest concerns is my health. Last year I got tonsillitis and I am guessing its going to be DUSTY AS FUCK this year I really want to avoid getting sick. I don't have insurance to go to a doctor so i need tips, advice anything you can tell me on staying healthy out there. What vitamins do I take, how can I get antibiotics if I need them? MASKS which should I get, order, saw dust grade?? Any advice will be so greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Jackass]

Start partying and staying up til the sun comes up, that way you'll be used to it, then you only have to adjust to the heat, dust and elevation. Just a thought

[Savannah]

Read the 2012 Survival Guide linked in my signature--this is straight from there.

As a member of a community built on self-reliance, YOU are responsible for your own basic first aid needs. However, if you or someone you know (or encounter) requires medical assistance, contact an Emergency Services Department volunteer or a Black Rock Ranger, or visit our Medical Clinic near Center Camp at Esplanade & 5:15 or at the Emergency Services Stations behind the Civic Plazas located at 3 & 9 o’clock. Trained emergency medical personnel are on duty 24 hours a day and emergency evacuation is available. The most common problems we encounter are dehydration and lacerations from stepping or tripping on unprotected rebar or tent stakes. Please avoid injury and act responsibly. If you are looking for your friend whom you suspect may have been injured and medi-vac’d from Black Rock City, go to Playa Info for more information.

It's possible Emergency Services may have certain antibiotics (not at 3 & 9 o'clock Plazas though, only at Center Camp where the most serious cases end up). Treatment on the playa is free. If you are very, very sick they'll evacuate you, and THAT will cost you, but them's the breaks. If you are medically stable and they need to write you a prescription they don't have, you'll need to persuade someone to drive you to Reno to fill that prescription. (There is no longer a clinic open in Gerlach.) Take your ticket stub, your wallet (I believe it's $20 to exit/re-enter, plus whatever else you're going to need in Reno) and stop at Gate on the way so you can get a re-entry token.

What do you want for overall health? Well, only you can say for sure. I take children's chewable vitamins and other ordinary supplements, Emergen-C, Pedialyte and Gatorade for electrolytes (others swear by Vitalyte), fruit cups/100% juice/dried fruit, and V-8. And a big first-aid kit. I don't actually wear a mask (I'm more likely to pull a scarf across my lower face) so I can't make a recommendation.

[lemur]

i eat lotsa junk foods, salty shit....canned stuff.. one 'real' meal a day... i drink lotsa water..1 or 2 cans of coke each day... use a cheapo sawdust style dustmask/bandana sometimes (nothing special).. ..usually try to sleep before the sun comes up... usually get 6 hours sleep.... only drink booze in the final 4-5 hours of my day..

..i dress really warm at night and stay safe from the sun during the day .. with shade and proper attire.... oh and i bring a little spray bottle to mist myself and get that nice cool off feeling.

no holistic shit or healthy food or any vitamins or special shit to prepare ahead of time.

and ive never had any problems, WORKS FOR ME.

if it aint broke dont fux it..

for most ppls... its only a week, yo.


(oh.. well the main health concern i deal with out there is playa hand. i got pussy hands..and my cuticles bleed from the playa dust.. so i wear gloves whenever im working with anything dusty.. i keep my hands clean of dust when possible.. soak em in vinegar at the end of the day.. bring tons of lotion to keep em hydrated.... if my hands start-a-burnin i will spray my little spray bottle on em! that feels nice)

[Savannah]

Lemur, you need some Liquid Bandage for your cuticles. I love that stuff. It's antiseptic skin glue. Most drugstores will have it next to the bandaids.

I still wear gloves anyway.

[theCryptofishist]

It's antiseptic skin glue.

I love it when you talk dirty...

[ygmir]

Trying to get things prepped for the burn this year and one of my biggest concerns is my health. Last year I got tonsillitis and I am guessing its going to be DUSTY AS FUCK this year I really want to avoid getting sick. I don't have insurance to go to a doctor so i need tips, advice anything you can tell me on staying healthy out there. What vitamins do I take, how can I get antibiotics if I need them? MASKS which should I get, order, saw dust grade?? Any advice will be so greatly appreciated. Thanks!

as village wisdom, one might think you'd have the answer? Ask the Wise Ones, perhaps?
Certainly, a healing, Aes Sedai?

[Savannah]

It's antiseptic skin glue.

I love it when you talk dirty...

It puts the skin glue on its . . . well . . . skin / Or else it gets the hose again

[Nynaeve]

ha! that made me laugh. I should totally ask Aes Sedai - maybe get one to come to the burn with me and heal me daily.

as village wisdom, one might think you'd have the answer? Ask the Wise Ones, perhaps?
Certainly, a healing, Aes Sedai?[/quote]

[Canoe]

...MASKS which should I get, order, saw dust grade?? ...

Typical particle size distribution of BRP soils.
Particle Size Weight Percent
Sand (>62.5um) 3.1%
Silt (15 - 62.5um) 10.4%
Silt (3 - 15um) 21.2%
Clay (<3um) 65.3%

Saw Dust 30 - 600 um

[trilobyte]

Others have said it well. DEFINITELY take the time to read the Survival Guide, they reworked it pretty good for this year.

I'll guess you got tonsilitis out there as a coincidence (your tonsils were going to do it anyways), not as a direct result of diet or exposure to anything out there.

Air quality is always something to think about, see that shit floating around in the air during a dust storm? Your lung tissue doesn't like it. I just use a bandana, but you could take it a step further with the ultra inexpensive 3M N95 respirator mask. Little disposable dudes you can get at Home Despot or any other hardware store for very little money, it's what contractors use when painting or working in shops with lots of chemicals or dust in the air. And of course, drink lots of water.

[Canoe]

Particulate filters discussed within this thread
viewtopic.php?f=279&t=54723
I can't get clear data/claims, but a number of sources are saying that the N95 filter only filters down to 5 um. The bulk of the playa dust is under 3 um.
Doctor on-playa said those with lung issues need HEPA.

That said, a lot of people do fine with bandana, or wet bandanas as the next step, and then the N95, and then bandanas over top of an N95, then a web bandana.

If you really need filtration for smaller particles, then the only one I've seen that claims that is:
Someone found and posted about RESPRO, which specifically mentions Playa Dust, sub-micron & Clay Dust for their Sportsta and Techno masks (the Techno is a Sportsta with an activated-charcoal filter).
http://www.playalung.com/products-page/masks/sportsta/
http://www.playalung.com/products-page/masks/techno

[Bob]

...MASKS which should I get, order, saw dust grade?? ...

Typical particle size distribution of BRP soils.
Particle Size Weight Percent
Sand (>62.5um) 3.1%
Silt (15 - 62.5um) 10.4%
Silt (3 - 15um) 21.2%
Clay (<3um) 65.3%

Saw Dust 30 - 600 um

Cite?

[Canoe]

Typical particle size distribution of BRP soils...

Cite?

Black Rock Playa particles:
Desert Research Institute, Black Rock Playa, Northwestern Nevada: Physical Processes and Aquatic LIfe, Kenneth D. Adams and Donald W. Sada, May 24, 1010, Page 4.
looking for the link

Saw Dust particle size:
Engineering Toolbox, Particle Sizes
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/parti ... d_934.html

[Canoe]

Typical particle size distribution of BRP soils...

Cite?

Black Rock Playa particles:
Desert Research Institute, Black Rock Playa, Northwestern Nevada: Physical Processes and Aquatic LIfe, Kenneth D. Adams and Donald W. Sada, May 24, 1010, Page 4 of report.
http://blackrockdesert.org/friends/blac ... a-dynamics
or
http://blackrockdesert.org/friends/file ... Report.pdf

Some interesting stuff in there. Including eggs or dead parts of aquatic life that can be blowing in the dust.