Season of the Snake

Definitely, there is something unsettling about getting bitten by a venomous snake (or, hey, any snake). But you know one of the most important things you can do, should it happen to you, is stay calm (whether you're the bitten or the rescuer). Someone recently--and creatively--asked could he take a Benadryl (www.benadryl.com) or another antihistamine. Benadryl does have a mild sedative effect. It can help you sleep. I don't, however, think it would help. The over the counter tabs are not strong enough unless you took enough to be dangerous. And if you were able to chemically alter the patient's level of consciousness, you really would not want to. LOC gives evidence of how the patient is handling the emergency. The only definitive treatment for snakebite remains antivenom. Do what you can, non-chemically, to keep the bitten calm--and find a doctor.

Picaridin

Could be the name of a Knight Templar, but picaridin is an insect repellent, available in the U. S. only relatively recently, although it has been on store shelves in Asia, Europe, and Australia for far longer. It is derived from a substance known as piperidine and was first developed by the people who make Bayer. The EPA has approved it for anyone three years old and up. Less irritating than DEET, and with no indication of any toxicity whatsoever, it works about as well, in the only study done so far, as six percent DEET--which means you have to apply it more often than DEET. I just returned from a trip into Theodore Roosevelt National Park, ND (I love the Badlands) where mosquitoes were moderately nagging problems, as usual, at dawn and dusk. I used picaridin (www.cutterinsectrepellent.com) and found it not only much more pleasant to use that DEET but satisfyingly effective in the conditions on the trail and in camp.