As a rule, field crew members should befamiliar with the telephone number and locationof the nearest hospital or dispensary their partywill be operating, should have a transport vehicleavailable and ready, and should have valid govern-ment vehicle operator’s licenses. In addition, afirst-aid kit should be kept handy at all times.PROTECTING AGAINSTWEATHER HAZARDSFor all weather hazards, the best preventivemeasure is the wearing of adequate protectiveclothing. When the weather is cold enough tocause frostbite, wear a hat that covers your ears,gloves or mittens for your hands, and cold-weather footgear for your feet. These are theprimary areas most subject to frostbite. Wear ahat also when there is danger of heatstroke. Unlessor until you are immune to sunburn (by tanning),keep your skin covered against the sun. Fair-haired or sandy-haired individuals, even whenthey tan, may be susceptible to a form of skincancer caused by exposure to sunlight. If you arein this category, you should keep the skin coveredwhether you “tan” or not.Two very common weather hazards, frostbiteand heatstroke (commonly called sunstroke), arefully covered in the Standard First Aid TrainingCourse. Lesser weather hazards, such as theexposure caused by wearing insufficient clothingin cold or wet weather and the possibility of a badsunburn in hot weather, are not mentioned.In general, when you set forth with a fieldparty, wear or carry with you clothing that willprovide adequate protection against the weather—not just as it is at the time you set forth, but asit may possibly develop before you get back.RECOGNIZING AND AVOIDINGPOISONOUS REPTILES AND INSECTSAs a general rule, it is best to assume that allreptiles of the snake family found in the UnitedStates and overseas and that all insects you can’trecognize as poisonous MAY BE poisonous.The poisonous snakes of the North Americancontinent belong to the viper family. Thedistinguishing characteristics of a viper area flathead and a thick body. The most common NorthAmerican viper is the RATTLESNAKE. Allrattlesnakes are distinguishable by a row of hardrings, called rattles, on the tail. The snake makesa hissing sound with them when it is angry oralarmed. The banded, or timber, rattler of thenortheastern United States is smooth, silver grayin color. The diamondback rattler of the UnitedStates Deep South is silver gray with a diamond-shaped pattern on the skin. The western diamond-back rattler has the same diamond pattern, butis a copper color. The red rattler of southernCalifornia is a deeper copper color.Besides the rattlesnake, the most commonNorth American poisonous snake is the WATERMOCCASIN, sometimes called the cottonmouthbecause of a white mouth lining that the snakeexposes when preparing to strike. The skin of thewater moccasin is dark brown with black bars onthe upper side and black blotched with yellowishwhite on the under side.The reddish brown COPPERHEAD has norattles. This viper is found especially in uplandsof the eastern Unites States.The most common poisonous insects encoun-tered in North America are the BLACK WIDOWSPIDER, the TARANTULA, and the SCORPION.The black widow (which may be encountered any-where in the United States) is recognizable by itssmall, shiny black body. The tarantula is a long-legged, hairy member of the spider family, foundchiefly in and close to Texas. The scorpion, foundmainly in the semitropical parts of the UnitedStates, resembles a lobster or crawfish in shape.The symptoms that develop from the bite ofeach of the reptiles and insects mentioned,together with the appropriate first aid, arethoroughly described in the Standard First AidTraining Course, NAVEDTRA 10081 (latestedition).AVOIDING OR TREATINGPOISONING FROM POISONOUSPLANTSThe Standard First Aid Training Course con-tains an extensive section on a variety of poisons.However, it does not mention a type of poisoningto which survey parties are particularly exposed—poisoning resulting from contact with poisonousplants. Poisoning of this kind is not likely to befatal (although it can be, under certain circum-stances), but it can cause you a lot of misery andconsiderable reduction in on-the-job efficiency.The most common poisonous plants in theUnited States are POISON IVY (including avariety called poison oak) and POISON SUMAC,both of which occur everywhere in NorthAmerica. These plants contain and exude aresinous juice that produces a severe reactionwhen it comes into contact with the skin of theaverage person. The first symptom of itching ora burning sensation may develop in a few hoursor even after 5 days or more. The delay in the12-28
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