Perils of Canoe Lake
Come on everyone It Is time to go cannoning. Everyone gets in their canoes at the lake and the camp counselor says be careful not to fall Into Canoe Lake. All of a sudden the canoe flips over and I have fallen Into the lake and cut my foot open on the bottom of the lake stepping on a broken bottle. The camp counselor rushes me to the camp nurse who is now dressing my wound and explaining to me that I am at risk for infection because of exposure to bacteria, parasites, and fungi. What do I do now?
The nurse continues to explain what can happen to me at this point.
I am facing many threats at camp though not Just this cut on my foot. Overheating, sunburn, this deep cut, etc. I know what to do to help prevent the overheating, drink plenty of fluids because I will be sweating and losing a lot of my body’s fluids so I need to keep hydrated. For the sunburn I need to make sure to apply sunburns every 60-90 minutes at least and use SSP 50 or higher to help protect my skin from the harmful rays of the sun.
For my foot It will have to be cleaned every day at least 2 to three times with warm soapy water, antibacterial ointment, and dry bandages. I also need to keep my foot off the ground to keep the cut from getting any bigger than It already s or grabbing any more dirt and bacteria from the ground.
You are very smart young lady make sure you come see me to get that foot cleaned up k. The camp counselor decided that we need to have a meeting with all the camp kids to explain to them the many risks that can happen and exactly what our body is doing or preventing from each threat.
Hi children, as you know one of your friends has hurt themselves cannoning and I think we need to discuss the things that can happen that we are all at risk for during camp. I don’t want any of you to get scared but if you have questions please feel free to ask. First let’s talk about dehydrating. This Is cause by your cringe glands which Is the major gland for sweating.
When we sweat we are losing water and salts such as sodium, chloride, potassium, urea, bicarbonate, calcium as well as other excretions from the body.
It Is very Important that we continue to stay hydrated so that our body can replenish what we are losing. Sunburn is also another risk. Sunburn can be both mild and severe and even cause sun poisoning which can make you extremely sick. Sunburn can also dehydrate you. If any of you have ever had sunburn you know that it hurts right? This is because it has damaged the skin to the revere endings and that is why we feel it.
All the tissues that are between the skin and the nerves are damages causing us to feel it.
Our bodies do produce melanin which does help to protect us from the UP rays of the sun but, it does not completely protect us that Is why It Is very important to put sunburns on at least every 90 minutes and us SSP 50 or higher. Finally let’s talk about the bacteria, fungi, and parasites that we can come In contact with from Canoe Lake. Your friend has a deep cut on her foot from over turning her canoe and cutting her foot on a piece of glass that was at the bottom of lake. Lakes don’t continuously move therefore those things find where they want to live and stay.
The most important thing for you to do if you get cut whether it is small or large is to go see the nurse do that she can clean it and apply antibacterial medications to try and prevent any infection. Infections from these things can spread into the blood stream if not cared for properly so it is very important. Once it is in the blood stream it is very hard to get out and requires medications and possibility of being in the hospital. So children please be very careful and if you need any help come and see me or the camp nurse.
