Diplomate, Board Certification of Emergency Medicine
Chairman, Department of Emergency Medicine Ma'ayenei
Hayeshua Hospital
Before we delve into the depths of the ocean to speak
about bites from dwellers of the ocean floor, a couple
of notes.
First, I had a wonderful two-day getaway in Tiveria,
where I met Mrs. S. from London. She is a reader of my
column and I hope she is feeling well. I also received
word that I shouldn't take offense at the title
`Mister' which in Great Britain is a mark of respect
for surgeons. My point in making an issue about being
called 'Doctor' was not for my own honor, but only to
make it clear that Yated is the only religious
newspaper -- to the best of my knowledge -- that uses a
physician to write their regular medical column. Other
medical editors of most periodicals are laymen.
Bottom dwellers of the ocean can be very dangerous.
Yellow-bellied sea snakes can cause severe muscle pain
and even gangrene, but like the box jelly fish, large
sharks and crocodiles -- they are found mostly in
Australia. Sea Urchins are common in Israel, they look
like a pincushion with spines sticking out that easily
break off into a person's foot after stepping on them.
They are painful, and often lead to infection from
retained pieces, but fortunately they are not
dangerous.
Stingrays and skates hide in the sand and stepping on
them can cause severe pain, and even affect the heart
and cause seizures. Cone shells have a stinger that
comes out of the shell to give a person a nice shot of
toxin that can stop breathing. The scorpion fish can
cause the most painful bite in the animal kingdom,
while the stonefish can cause death within an hour if
their spines find their way into the skin.
If you are careful to identify these fish before going
into their environments, or better yet, not touch any
corals or fish you see while swimming, and you swim on
a supervised beach that is used often by humans, you
probably will not meet up with any of these sea
monsters.
Let's move on to insects. Mosquitoes are all over and
their stings are well known. We have written about them
before -- they are not usually dangerous in themselves
unless you are allergic to them, but they can carry a
number of diseases.
In Africa and Asia (but not Israel) malaria is rampant;
it is the most common disease in the world. Travelers
should check with their local health bureau concerning
the need for taking anti-malarial drugs before
departing. Fevers that come and go are characteristic
of malaria. Yellow fever is also spread by these pests -
- a vaccine is available.
West Nile Fever has now spread to the USA and will
probably be worldwide soon. It causes flu-like symptoms
that can be dangerous in the elderly. Encephalitis --
infection of the brain -- is devastating and can be
traced to certain mosquitoes who live in climates
similar to the Midwest USA. AIDS has not been found to
be transmittable by mosquitoes, despite the mosquito
using the same stinger to extract blood from all its
victims.
By the way, only females sting. Males are much bigger.
Mosquito lights do not work, but repellent does. Write
me in care of the Yated.
A message from Glaxo, sponsor of this column. We
haven't spoke about asthma in a while, but Glaxo is the
world leader in medications against this disease.
Seretide combines an inhaled steroid with the long-
acting bronchial relaxant Serevent, making it the most
potent protection against asthma attack. Speak to your
doctor about Seretide.
