Perils of Paradise

[Royall]

semi-slugs.... are those the little 1" to about an 1 1/2" brown slugs found under rocks and boards?

Royall

What goes around comes around!

[bystander]

The semi slug is a small slug with a partial shell and thus the name. I suppose it could also be called a semi snail.

More info on the slug from http://www.malamaopuna.org/

quote:

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ALERT: Semi-slugs (Parmarion martensi) have come to Puna in a herd. They commonly carry rat lung worm nematodes (Angiostrongylus cantonensis) that, if ingested, can cause eosinophilic meningitis. This is characterized by intense headache, painfully stiff neck, muscle spasms and rigidity, joint pain, skin sensitivity and nausea, to name a few. Other snails and slugs are also carriers and have been around for quite some time - the difference is in numbers and that the semi-slugs love to climb and get on everything. Here is a National Insitutes of Infectious Diseases article that includes a photo of the slug and an interesting journal abstract on an outbreak in Okinawa. One way to kill the slugs other than slug bait (and beware some brands are deadly to pets - only get animal friendly brands) is to spoon them into a jar filled with liquid such as alcohol, salt water or vinegar - that way you get rid of the nematode also. A good trap for hunting is thick black plastic. They will be on top of it at night, and if in a shady spot, below in the day. Some people have sprayed liquid copper sulfate solution or Bordeaux mix around water tanks and the base of homes to repel and kill the semi-slug. Be careful not to get the solution into the water supply. Also copper sulfate is not approved for organic farming. As with all pesticides, read warnings and information - copper sulfate.

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[holahan]

hawai'i no fo' wimps!

hawai'i is tough all over, and that's what i like about it. rough roads, no trash pick up, bugs, lots of bugs, wild animals in the ocean and forests. no shoes, no shirt required. i don't think i've ever surfed in hawai'i and not slashed my foot open or my leg. volcanos, crazy characters, its got it all!


:?)

[bystander]

At least there are no venomous snakes or dangerous animals like bears and cougars here. Not to mention blood sucking leeches which are common in other tropical places.

[Tahunatics]

Here's another bugger to worry about.

The establishment of a dangerous new mosquito on the Big Island represents the continued risk Hawaii faces short of stronger efforts to keep out alien pests . . . The Japanese or rockpool mosquito, Aedes japonicus, can carry both the West Nile and encephalitis viruses . . .

http://starbulletin.com/2007/01/29/news/story07.html

[Green]

There is another pest that's making quite a name for itself and the devastation it's causing to many areas of Hawaii, it's called the "D9"

[Cindy Blankenship]

18 days to Moving Day :-)

I still think there are more threats on the mainland as in Hawaaii but that there's much that can be done to prevent the bad stuff from happening. For example, people drown in our rivers too, but except in the case of rare, freak accidents, this is easily prevented with a little knowledge of the river and common sense. I think the same holds true for Hawaii's waters.

Predators - I had to interview a poor guy here whose dog had been snatched from his front porch by a cougar :-( while he was home. A bear walked into a lady's house here in town (she'd left the door ajar for his dog). An entire neighborhood in town lost almost all of the their cats to a cougar. And this is city - folks! More than one child has vanished from group hikes in the mountains (running ahead, playing hide and seek). Nile virus is here. Rabid bats and racoons, rattlesnakes, deadly hobo spiders,
lepro whatever you call it in the creeks and
river..danger's everywhere.

Hawaii really has a good safety record compared to many places here. From
http://moving.about.com/od/whymove/a/best_places.htm

"Forbes recently partnered with Sperling's Best Places to uncover the 10 safest places to live. Here are the top 5:

1. Honolulu, Hawaii..."

And Hawaii residents average a longer life span than the mainland average. Also, Hawaii
rank's high in health:
http://www.unitedhealthfoundation.org/sh...awaii.html

That said, stay off cliffs where rogue waves may crash, wash slug trails of your veges,
use some mosquito deterants like good screens. If you believe in the "law of attraction," use reasonable caution and then focus on the beauty and gentle nature of Hawaii 'nei and all the reasons you are choosing to make your home here. That's my new motto anyway.

Aloha,
Cindy

[Kapohocat]

And again i say if there were no bugs here everyone would move here - so lets say a little thanks to all our insect friends! And Green, sorry but the only "natural" predator for the D-9 is the Sierra Club!

[mella l]

Found this on another forum, yes there is a DR. shortage on the Big Island. Seems Oahu isn't unhappy about this as it keeps medivac patients traveling from all islands and the BI to Oahu, a good revenue stream. Recently read about this on Maui also. Just a curious thought.

Mayor Kim came out in an interview with the paper and recommended that nobody have a heart attack in Kona, since we HAVE NO DOCTORS. Did he have an inkling of how to fix this? Is he planning on doing anything about it? No, he just wanted to remind us to make sure we're on Oahu if we're planning on one.

Here in No. Cal a healthy 58 year old man, just died due to a super infection, not sure if it was the MSRA yet. The infection of unknown origin didn't respond to antibiotics and caused his death. What a shame and rather frightening as it was an un seen invader.

Eat healthy, stay clean and keep your fingers crossed, life is tenacious no.

mella l

[David M]

Can't say I anticipated responding to this thread, but here I am poking this out with a few fingers.

My too long, perhaps boring, but hopefully helpful story follows:
Last Sat I believe I was bit by a spider. I think spider only because I think I would have witnessed had it been a centipede or something. I did realize a burning/stinging sensation on my hand Sat evening and a smallish "pimple with hole". It was an itchy/burning feeling. Sunday was much the same, just more intense, possibly a bit of immediate swelling. Basically, it reminded me of a similar bite/sting last year that was a discomfort for about a week and did clear up just fine. First part of the week, I just worked through the pain even though the swelling increased and the immediate area reddened slighly. A nurse friend suggested I be watchful. By Thurs AM, the pain was pretty intense and the redness so off to the Hamakua clinic where I was promptly seen and prescribed an antibiotic (Augmentin) for the infection which I had filled immediated and started taking. When I got up Friday AM (notice I didn't say wokeup as I'm not sure I really slept), my swelling had increased dramatically and the redness had turned to deep purple. I was glad I was on the antibiotic but not convinced it was very effective yet. My hand was actually too painful and swollen to do any work. We normally only work half day Fri anyway and this week we had scheduled our initial dental exams. I think exam of my hand may have trumped exam of my teeth. The urgent advice of both dentists in the office was to go to Hilo ER immediately. A phone call back to Hamakua clinic cleared that (gotta keep the insurance people happy right?)
So off to Hilo ER. I'm processed and ready to go to a treatment room by the time Sophie parks the car - not bad considering I'm left handed and this is my left hand, seems you can do the form verbally. Of course every person along the way makes an observation as to how bad/serious this looks. In fact, I don't think I heard what might be called a positive comment until the orthopaedic surgeon remarked - "We can fix this". Why an ortho surgeon? The attending Dr was concerned the infection might had spread deep enough to affect my inner hand, sorry I don't recall the jargon, but plenty serious stuff. The surgeon drained my hand. My only comment as to that painful experience is I'm very thankful I was wearing slippahs to allow my toes to curl so much. I was given an IV antibiotic, pain med (thank you, thank you, thank you), then the wound cleaned and bandaged. I received 2 prescriptions, instructions to return to the ER Sat and Sun for dressing changes and see the surgeon on Mon for further evaluation. In and out or Hilo ER in 3 hours. I was treated professionally and personally in a manner I can't compliment enough. OK, could do without the construction jackhammer noise. This AM, Sat, I received wonderful treatment again.
At this point, I have high hopes my antibiotics are working and treatment is effective, then again, I am taking my pain meds(percocet) on schedule and feeling pretty good LOL

So, I guess my point is if anyone experiences such a bite/sting get some medical attention sooner than later - it can get very serious very fast.

02/06 - UPDATE:
My Sunday ER appnt was also quite good. I must have had one of the "usual" admitting nurses as she insisted I fill out the form LOL. Fortunately, my nurse from the previous day snagged me from the waiting area and did the dressing change without first waiting for the paperwork. Sunday's Dr insisted on getting the lab report, which showed no culture growth in 2 days. All agreed the wound was looking better.

Unable to get insurance referral in a timely manner, I was not able to see Dr Matsuura for followup until today. He too was pleased with the progress. Amazing how the swelling has regressed, but how stiff my fingers got being inop for almost a week. Good thing we can't do pics here, this is one ugly wound. Anyway, will continue Augmentin and percocet, returning to Dr next Monday.

No confirmation as to what or how, but I'm convinced it was most likely a spider bite that somehow got infected.

Be careful out there!!!!!!
David

Ninole Resident

Edited by - david m on 02/06/2007 17:39:58