Rat Lungworm (Pahoa: living in, dangerous, food)

[BasicallyTori]

How prominent is this?

[hotzcatz]

Not frequent, but nasty enough that you want to wash all vegetables you're eating raw. It's easy enough not to get it, just wash the veggies unless they are gonna be cooked. Although, generally, those still get washed anyway.

[BasicallyTori]

Okay, thanks.

[terracore]

Washing isn't 100% effective but if you grow your own food there are other things you can do such as practice good rat and slug/snail population control measures. You'll never be able to eradicate them but keeping their numbers limited will also limit the parasite.

[hotzcatz]

Yup. And Corry's Slug and Snail Death is much more fun than Corry's Slug and Snail Killer. "Death" leaves little dead bodies laying about, "Killer" lets them slide away so you don't know if they were there or not.

There's a lot of little oddball things about living in Hawaii that may not be overly obvious. There's the aforementioned rat lungworm disease, as well as leptospirosis. Leptospirosis is something you catch from swimming in fresh water downhill from pastures. Both of those have fairly long term health risks and if you happen to catch them while on vacation, many mainland doctors don't know to look for them. There's also all sorts of little fungal afflictions you catch now and then as well, although they're just annoying and not that dangerous.

I'm sure most areas have their own particular little quirks.

[Grassyknoll]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

Yup. And Corry's Slug and Snail Death is much more fun than Corry's Slug and Snail Killer. "Death" leaves little dead bodies laying about, "Killer" lets them slide away so you don't know if they were there or not.

There's a lot of little oddball things about living in Hawaii that may not be overly obvious. There's the aforementioned rat lungworm disease, as well as leptospirosis. Leptospirosis is something you catch from swimming in fresh water downhill from pastures. Both of those have fairly long term health risks and if you happen to catch them while on vacation, many mainland doctors don't know to look for them. There's also all sorts of little fungal afflictions you catch now and then as well, although they're just annoying and not that dangerous.

I'm sure most areas have their own particular little quirks.

Might be a good new thread topic. I have only been here a year, know about Rat Lung and Lepto, but would be interested to hear about other specific sources of or types of nasties to watch out for (other than coral scrapes/ocean infections, figured that one out quick).

[hotzcatz]

A title of "Rat Lungworm" aught to cover loads of nasties, shouldn't it? Tori already has this thread covering these sorts of things, no need to proliferate threads about nasties, especially since it's not fun stuff.

Not sure if the fungal infestations have a specific name. As a generic group, I've heard it called "jungle rot", but that may not be overly medically specific. It's not specifically ringworm, although sometimes that shows up too. Jungle rot is more typical to be found on folks who live off in the jungle and have catchment water. But, it can show up anywhere and your basic antibiotic soap keeps a lid on a lot of it. Jock Itch preparations pretty much gets rid of the rest.

I don't suppose ukus (head lice) count as a particular thing to watch out for, do they?

What do you do for coral scrapes? Is there a specific for those? Somehow I've managed not to get any coral scratches that did anything or stepped on any sea urchins.

[leilaniguy]

I know of at least 3 people in Pahoa who caught flesh eating disease. Cleaning up after Iselle last year I got a little scratch on my foot that turned into multiple infections that took over a month to heal.

[tpirsig]

East Hawaii is the epicenter for rat lungworm in Hawaii.

[Grassyknoll]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

I don't suppose ukus (head lice) count as a particular thing to watch out for, do they?

What do you do for coral scrapes? Is there a specific for those? Somehow I've managed not to get any coral scratches that did anything or stepped on any sea urchins.

For anyone with kids contemplating a move, I think it does warrant a mention that headlice (ukus) are very prevalent here. Between my two daughters, only one ever caught them on the mainland, and that was one time. Here, my one daughter has already had them twice in a year.
As for coral scrapes (or in-water lava rock), they just get good old neosporin or another antibiotic ointment. Minor scrapes that I wouldn't pay any attention too on the mainland get a liberal application of antibiotic ointment here.