From: Mother Earth News
By James A. Duke, Ph.D.
From grade school through high school, I lounged by the swimming pool all summer, soaking up the sun. In college, I played the bass fiddle and guitar at several beaches during the summer. All that sun exposure placed me at considerable risk for skin cancer, and I’ve endured the consequences. I’ve already had a patch of cancer removed, and other blemishes have appeared that soon will need attention.
I’ve learned my lesson. Now, whenever I know I’ll be in the sun, I use sunscreen and wear long-sleeved shirts, and sometimes don lightweight gloves and a broad-brimmed hat.
Given that I frequently travel to the Amazon, all of this protection is essential. And although I do what I can to keep the sun off, I seem to get sunburned even when I’m all covered. Still, it’s worth the effort to protect myself, and I’d urge you to do the same.
Green Pharmacy Herbal Remedies for Sunburns
As burns go, most sunburns are comparatively mild. But sunburns cover more of the body than most everyday burns. In addition to increasing cancer risk, they can be quite painful. Fortunately, nature has provided us with several good remedies.
Tea (Camellia sinensis). In China, it is often recommended to apply cooled black tea to the skin to soothe sunburn. That makes sense to file because of several beneficial chemical compounds tea contains.
One researcher I know says the tannic acid and theobromine in tea help remove heat from sunburn. Other compounds in tea, called catechins, help prevent and repair skin damage and may even help prevent chemical and radiation-induced skit) cancers. The latest studies show green tea is high in chemicals called polyphenols. When ingested, these chemicals help protect the skin against damage from the harmful ultraviolet radiation in Sunlight that causes sunburn.
It’s better to avoid sunburn than endure the aftereffects. But if you do spend too much time in the sun, soothe the bum by sipping iced green tea. Apply cool tea compresses to any areas of skin that have been overexposed.
Aloe (Aloe vera). The inner gel of the aloe vera leaf has been shown to speed the healing of radiation-induced burns. Scoop the gel directly from split leaves or buy commercially prepared gel at a health food store or herb shop. Apply aloe gel after showering, then reapply it a few more times each day until the pain has subsided, suggests cardiac surgeon and sports medicine specialist Dr. Robert D. Willix of Boca Raton, Florida. Usually, he says, the redness disappears in a day or two and the skin does not peel.
Cucumber (Cucumis sativus). The cool cucumber is often used for soothing burns, says ethnobotanist Albert Leung, Ph.D. Simply slice open a cucumber and wipe it directly on your skin.
To read the rest of this article click here Sunburns Sizzle
Showing posts with label safety. Show all posts
Showing posts with label safety. Show all posts
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Outdoor Survival Skills: How to Start a Fire
From: Mother Earth News
By: Matthew Stein
March 28, 2011
Your ability to start a fire is important for staying warm in cold climates, for cooking food and for sterilizing water. I’ll start with simple instructions for building a campfire with matches and paper, and then proceed through the more Spartan methods, ending with the difficult process of starting a fire by rubbing two sticks together.
Starting a Fire With Matches
Materials
I like to separate my materials into piles by size. Start by gathering a couple handfuls of tinder, about one-third of a shopping bag’s worth of kindling, at least half a shopping bag’s worth of small sticks (1/2 to 2 inches thick), and at least a shopping bag’s worth of thicker wood (2 to 12 inches thick).
Tinder
Any kind of material that takes very little heat to start on fire can be used for tinder. Paper makes great tinder, if you have matches. If you don’t have matches and are attempting to build a fire with a spark (see “Starting a Fire with Flint and Steel,” below), you will need extra-fine dry tinder. Dry pine needles, fine dry grasses, shredded paper, birch bark, dried moss, bird down, mouse nests, cotton balls, wood shavings, pulverized dry pine cones and fibrous inner cedar bark all make good tinder.
Kindling
Kindling must catch on fire within a few seconds from burning tinder, yet burns for only a few minutes to ignite the larger pieces of wood. Dry pine needles, still stuck to branches, are perfect. Small twigs, 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick, are also excellent. Test the sticks to see whether they are wet or dry. If the sticks can be bent and twisted without snapping, they are wet and will not do for kindling. If all available kindling is wet, you can still burn green pine needles, but otherwise you must find standing wood, which can be split with an axe or shaved down to find a dry core. You can make “feather sticks” for kindling from larger sticks of wood by carving many shallow cuts with a knife to create fine, curved shavings protruding from the side of the sticks.
To read the rest of the article click here Fun with Fires
By: Matthew Stein
March 28, 2011
Starting a Fire With Matches
Materials
I like to separate my materials into piles by size. Start by gathering a couple handfuls of tinder, about one-third of a shopping bag’s worth of kindling, at least half a shopping bag’s worth of small sticks (1/2 to 2 inches thick), and at least a shopping bag’s worth of thicker wood (2 to 12 inches thick).
Tinder
Any kind of material that takes very little heat to start on fire can be used for tinder. Paper makes great tinder, if you have matches. If you don’t have matches and are attempting to build a fire with a spark (see “Starting a Fire with Flint and Steel,” below), you will need extra-fine dry tinder. Dry pine needles, fine dry grasses, shredded paper, birch bark, dried moss, bird down, mouse nests, cotton balls, wood shavings, pulverized dry pine cones and fibrous inner cedar bark all make good tinder.
Kindling
Kindling must catch on fire within a few seconds from burning tinder, yet burns for only a few minutes to ignite the larger pieces of wood. Dry pine needles, still stuck to branches, are perfect. Small twigs, 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick, are also excellent. Test the sticks to see whether they are wet or dry. If the sticks can be bent and twisted without snapping, they are wet and will not do for kindling. If all available kindling is wet, you can still burn green pine needles, but otherwise you must find standing wood, which can be split with an axe or shaved down to find a dry core. You can make “feather sticks” for kindling from larger sticks of wood by carving many shallow cuts with a knife to create fine, curved shavings protruding from the side of the sticks.
To read the rest of the article click here Fun with Fires
Cook Fire Warnings for Children
From: Old Fashioned Tips
Posted: 21 Jul 2011 08:01 PM PDT
I love food cooked over an open fire, especially when we are camping. My copy of the Home Comfort Cookbook, published in 1948, gives tips for "Cooking Picnics". I'm guessing this would be our version of campfire food. If you have a firepit in your backyard like we do, you can do this on a nice summer afternoon when it's not too hot, and not too windy. We've always had rules for the kids whenever they were near any type of fire, and I can happily say no one was ever burnt or injured so they seemed to have worked.
1. No running when the fire is lit. Stand still or walk slowly.
2. No touching-- not with a stick, a hotdog fork or your finger.
3. No throwing things in the fire. Nothing. Not water, not stones, not your brother.
4. Never put anything in the fire unless mom or dad tells you to (such as trash at the end etc.)
5. No jumping. Not over the fire, near the fire, or in the fire. Jumping is bad.
The Conclusion: STAY AWAY FROM THE FIRE.
As the kids got older we allowed them to help us build the fire, and cook. This may seem overly cautious, but burns are nasty and I always believe it's better to be safe than sorry. My two oldest are now teens and have wood fires in our firepit for their friends without our help. (Yes, I do still peek out to see if they are doing okay.)
The following is from the Home Comfort Cookbook. ( I suggest using long, wooden handled hotdog forks. They are inexpensive and can be cleaned afterwards in hot, soapy water, then rinsed. )
A small hot fire of twigs will cook some food like the Cheese Bobs below, but for corn or potatoes you will need good hot coals. Always be sure your fire is cold before leaving it. (Cold water can be slowly poured on the fire if you need to leave before it's cool.) Below is a picture of one of our fires. The "coals" are where the wood is whitened and red-- but not falling apart into ash yet:
Cheese Bobs: Cut cheese in one inch cubes. Wrap each cube in a strip of bacon and fasten it with a toothpick. Cook them until the bacon has cooked and the cheese has just started to melt. Have rolls or bread ready for the Cheese Bobs will be very hot.
Roasted Potatoes: Cover medium-sized potatoes with a coating of firm mud. Place them on a bed of hot coals. Turn them carefully at least once while they are cooking. They will need to be cooked for one hour.
(Notes: my husband remembers this from Boy Scouts, and he told me that the mud hard hardens and breaks off fairly easily. Remove carefully from the fire with tongs and allow to cool slightly.)
Roasted Corn: Dampen ears of corn (do not remove the husks) with salted water. Lay the corn on the hot coals (there should be no flames). Turn them often with a fork or stick (tongs) so that the husks do not burn. Young, tender corn will cook in about ten minutes. Serve with salt and plenty of butter.
On OFL we have a neat article from Mary Emma on Fried Chicken traditions:
http://oldfashionedliving.com/kitchen52.html
I love food cooked over an open fire, especially when we are camping. My copy of the Home Comfort Cookbook, published in 1948, gives tips for "Cooking Picnics". I'm guessing this would be our version of campfire food. If you have a firepit in your backyard like we do, you can do this on a nice summer afternoon when it's not too hot, and not too windy. We've always had rules for the kids whenever they were near any type of fire, and I can happily say no one was ever burnt or injured so they seemed to have worked.
1. No running when the fire is lit. Stand still or walk slowly.
2. No touching-- not with a stick, a hotdog fork or your finger.
3. No throwing things in the fire. Nothing. Not water, not stones, not your brother.
4. Never put anything in the fire unless mom or dad tells you to (such as trash at the end etc.)
5. No jumping. Not over the fire, near the fire, or in the fire. Jumping is bad.
The Conclusion: STAY AWAY FROM THE FIRE.
As the kids got older we allowed them to help us build the fire, and cook. This may seem overly cautious, but burns are nasty and I always believe it's better to be safe than sorry. My two oldest are now teens and have wood fires in our firepit for their friends without our help. (Yes, I do still peek out to see if they are doing okay.)
The following is from the Home Comfort Cookbook. ( I suggest using long, wooden handled hotdog forks. They are inexpensive and can be cleaned afterwards in hot, soapy water, then rinsed. )
A small hot fire of twigs will cook some food like the Cheese Bobs below, but for corn or potatoes you will need good hot coals. Always be sure your fire is cold before leaving it. (Cold water can be slowly poured on the fire if you need to leave before it's cool.) Below is a picture of one of our fires. The "coals" are where the wood is whitened and red-- but not falling apart into ash yet:
Cheese Bobs: Cut cheese in one inch cubes. Wrap each cube in a strip of bacon and fasten it with a toothpick. Cook them until the bacon has cooked and the cheese has just started to melt. Have rolls or bread ready for the Cheese Bobs will be very hot.
Roasted Potatoes: Cover medium-sized potatoes with a coating of firm mud. Place them on a bed of hot coals. Turn them carefully at least once while they are cooking. They will need to be cooked for one hour.
(Notes: my husband remembers this from Boy Scouts, and he told me that the mud hard hardens and breaks off fairly easily. Remove carefully from the fire with tongs and allow to cool slightly.)
Roasted Corn: Dampen ears of corn (do not remove the husks) with salted water. Lay the corn on the hot coals (there should be no flames). Turn them often with a fork or stick (tongs) so that the husks do not burn. Young, tender corn will cook in about ten minutes. Serve with salt and plenty of butter.
On OFL we have a neat article from Mary Emma on Fried Chicken traditions:
http://oldfashionedliving.com/kitchen52.html
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