Hey All,
Just wondering if anyone else here has ever contracted any sort of health problem from/during activities related to treasure hunting. What I mean is, whether you realize it or not, this is a hobby where we are frequently exposed to elements, pathogens and organisms that are hazardous to your health. For example, our rusty farm field finds can harbor the bacteria that cause tetanus, and the thick vegetation we venture through is prime real estate for ticks, which carry Lyme disease. Now most of us probably don't think twice about things like this, but it really is something you should be aware of on your travels.
I personally learned this the hard way.
My Story
It was a hot day last summer, and I was swinging the detector in a residential area when I came upon a quite impressive clad spill in a patch of loose dirt. I was finding so many coins that I put away my detector, sat down Indian-style on the ground and just used my pinpointer to locate each one. I probably spent an hour sitting in the exact same spot just pulling out penny after dime after nickel with my bare hands and pinpointer. When I got home, I was tired and didn't feel like showering, so I just dusted myself off, changed out of my shorts and t-shirt, and went to bed. The problem is, I hadn't thought about the small, almost-healed cut I had on the side of my lower leg when I was sitting Indian-style in the dirt for an hour. That whole time, I was getting dry, crumbly dirt rubbed into what remained of the cut, which is bad enough -- but then I didn't even wash up when I got home later.
The next day I had a couple of pink bumps around the cut, and assumed I had gotten bit by a spider or something. When I woke up the second day my lower leg was in horrible pain to where I could barely walk and was swollen to the point it was hard to tell where my ankle started. After a week of ice, antibiotics, and laying with an elevated leg literally any time I wasn't going to the bathroom, I went back to the doctor and we realized it was not spider bites but an infection which had developed into cellulitis (WARNING: do NOT Google that). This time they brought in a med student for the wonderful opportunity to gaze at my condition, drew a border around the infection with a surgical marker, and sent me home with two new antibiotics which would cover antibiotic-resistant strains such as MRSA. Another week of ice and staring at the ceiling went by and the infection got worse to the point where I went to the E.R. in the middle of the night and received intravenous antibiotics and fluids while they monitored a low-grade fever. By this point I had been using a cane to get around (despite normally being a regular jogger) when necessary. Fortunately the IV antibiotic got me on the path to recovery, but in the few resting days afterwards I ended up getting an allergic reaction to one of the oral IVs and developed a horrible rash all over my body which I had to apply steroid cream to hourly for several more days. To top it all off, I received an absolutely heinous bill from the combined effects of my two office visits and E.R. visit.
In the end I had lost close to 3 weeks of my life which I spent tied to an ice pack, staring at the ceiling, feeling like nauseous from the antibiotics and in severe pain, then had to pay about a month's salary in exchange for my experience. All of this could possibly have been avoided if I had done any one of several things: a) worn jeans instead of shorts while playing in the dirt; b) worn a bandaid to cover an open cut; c) taken my annual bath after I got done rolling in the soil; d) got a weekend job instead of hunting for corroded zinc pennies buried in the ground.
Your Stories
While I'm sure my story is unusual, I know for a fact I am not the only person on this forum who has had a health problem develop during/following a treasure outing. If anyone else is willing to share their stories, I'd appreciate it! And of course, I'd also be interested in hearing about anything you do to protect yourself from ending up in situations like I did. As for me, that experience led to me going out far less frequently and I've only hunted two or three times since then. When I do, I make sure I have even the smallest cuts bandaged and covered, I wear long sleeves and gloves, only touch dirt with the shovel, never sit, and take a shower with pre-surgery soap after I get home. I feel like the germophobes from TV shows, but I am happy to report that although many people who get cellulitis once are re-infected within six months (and regularly afterwards), I have yet to have a repeat experience. I credit this at least partially due to the preventative measures I now take. Crossing my fingers for the future.
Either way, take care of yourselves out there!
-mcl
Just wondering if anyone else here has ever contracted any sort of health problem from/during activities related to treasure hunting. What I mean is, whether you realize it or not, this is a hobby where we are frequently exposed to elements, pathogens and organisms that are hazardous to your health. For example, our rusty farm field finds can harbor the bacteria that cause tetanus, and the thick vegetation we venture through is prime real estate for ticks, which carry Lyme disease. Now most of us probably don't think twice about things like this, but it really is something you should be aware of on your travels.
I personally learned this the hard way.
My Story
It was a hot day last summer, and I was swinging the detector in a residential area when I came upon a quite impressive clad spill in a patch of loose dirt. I was finding so many coins that I put away my detector, sat down Indian-style on the ground and just used my pinpointer to locate each one. I probably spent an hour sitting in the exact same spot just pulling out penny after dime after nickel with my bare hands and pinpointer. When I got home, I was tired and didn't feel like showering, so I just dusted myself off, changed out of my shorts and t-shirt, and went to bed. The problem is, I hadn't thought about the small, almost-healed cut I had on the side of my lower leg when I was sitting Indian-style in the dirt for an hour. That whole time, I was getting dry, crumbly dirt rubbed into what remained of the cut, which is bad enough -- but then I didn't even wash up when I got home later.
The next day I had a couple of pink bumps around the cut, and assumed I had gotten bit by a spider or something. When I woke up the second day my lower leg was in horrible pain to where I could barely walk and was swollen to the point it was hard to tell where my ankle started. After a week of ice, antibiotics, and laying with an elevated leg literally any time I wasn't going to the bathroom, I went back to the doctor and we realized it was not spider bites but an infection which had developed into cellulitis (WARNING: do NOT Google that). This time they brought in a med student for the wonderful opportunity to gaze at my condition, drew a border around the infection with a surgical marker, and sent me home with two new antibiotics which would cover antibiotic-resistant strains such as MRSA. Another week of ice and staring at the ceiling went by and the infection got worse to the point where I went to the E.R. in the middle of the night and received intravenous antibiotics and fluids while they monitored a low-grade fever. By this point I had been using a cane to get around (despite normally being a regular jogger) when necessary. Fortunately the IV antibiotic got me on the path to recovery, but in the few resting days afterwards I ended up getting an allergic reaction to one of the oral IVs and developed a horrible rash all over my body which I had to apply steroid cream to hourly for several more days. To top it all off, I received an absolutely heinous bill from the combined effects of my two office visits and E.R. visit.
In the end I had lost close to 3 weeks of my life which I spent tied to an ice pack, staring at the ceiling, feeling like nauseous from the antibiotics and in severe pain, then had to pay about a month's salary in exchange for my experience. All of this could possibly have been avoided if I had done any one of several things: a) worn jeans instead of shorts while playing in the dirt; b) worn a bandaid to cover an open cut; c) taken my annual bath after I got done rolling in the soil; d) got a weekend job instead of hunting for corroded zinc pennies buried in the ground.
Your Stories
While I'm sure my story is unusual, I know for a fact I am not the only person on this forum who has had a health problem develop during/following a treasure outing. If anyone else is willing to share their stories, I'd appreciate it! And of course, I'd also be interested in hearing about anything you do to protect yourself from ending up in situations like I did. As for me, that experience led to me going out far less frequently and I've only hunted two or three times since then. When I do, I make sure I have even the smallest cuts bandaged and covered, I wear long sleeves and gloves, only touch dirt with the shovel, never sit, and take a shower with pre-surgery soap after I get home. I feel like the germophobes from TV shows, but I am happy to report that although many people who get cellulitis once are re-infected within six months (and regularly afterwards), I have yet to have a repeat experience. I credit this at least partially due to the preventative measures I now take. Crossing my fingers for the future.
Either way, take care of yourselves out there!
-mcl
