NH - just talking from personal experience and as a person with good hunches about health in general.
good point about the diuretic quality of the cranberry. Then again, antibiotics dehydrate me.....
is this phenonoma specific to enlisted personnel or does it effect Officers as well?
UTI, VI in deployed females
A link - it does seem that deployed women have higher rates of Genitourinary Infections.
Y'all joke if you want but my stepdaughter is over there and the sanitation conditions are the stuff nightmares are made of. And the desert hasn't even heated up yet. Our girls will be LUCKY to get away with just a common UTI.
Virginal newlyweds also have problems with urinary tract infections. "Honeymoon bladder" was a diagnosis that existed long before antibiotics.
Meanwhile, men are subject to infections from ingrown facial hair (especially when conditions for shaving are primitive). Perhaps they should also be removed from the front lines. Jock itch is another sex-linked medical phenomenon--most inconvenient in combat.
eoe - we are having a discussion a2k-style. There is joking, there is almost always joking on these threads, but we are also addressing a serious problem in a serious manner.
Thanks for the link, littlek. What can I put in the next carepackage to our girl to prevent a UTI?
Didn't mean to sound so serious, littlek. You know that that kind of admonishment is just a sobering attention-getter like, "laugh if you will but..."
well stated Phoenix, i remember well in Vietnam the comments from some who stated that women were too emotional to function well, were the truth be known, the women, especially the nurses were consistently more emotionally stabile then the men. IMO
eoe--
As Little k mentioned, you can get cranberry juice extract in capsule form. Baby wipes are useful--and for more than just potty occasions. There are also creams and lotions for the incontinent which might well prove to be useful under battlefield conditions.
Some women are more prone to UTI's than others. Your stepdaughter would probably find more use for lip balm and sunscreeen than incontinence aids. Send the practical stuff, but put in some goodies, too. She's far from hope and playing dangerous games with some nasty people.
Hold your dominion.
I want to send her everything I can think of that she may possibly need, that the military won't provide. Right now, they barely provide toilet paper or the facilities to use it in.
This is my first time in contact with a soldier at war and I'm stunned by how unorganized and chaotic it all is for our troops. My girl is no super-feminine creature, either. She's a pretty tough chick but she says that things are truly nasty over there. Altho' you wouldn't expect four star accomodations, you would expect adequate water on base and a semi-decent lavoratory system. 2 portapotties per 300 member unit?
Seems like we could provide for our men and women a little better than this.
Eoe--
Ours not to reason why....
Remember the old military toast, "Confusion to the Enemy". There aren't a lot of Picture Book heroes who come out of the Quartermaster's Corps (unless fired upon) but the men and women who deal with essential trivial are vital.
Suggestions from what I've read:
Skin cream and lip balm.
Pantyhose--for a barrier against sand fleas
Lots of baby wipes
Paperback books, puzzle books, books of riddles. (Remember, a lot of war is waiting-waiting-waiting--and waiting is dull).
A paperback star guide--the desert skies are magnificent.
Silly practical jokes--check the toy stores.
Playing cards.
I'm sure you'll get other suggestions.
Noddy - baby wipes are a great suggestion! Snacks, can you send snacks? Luna Bars...?
noddy24:
Jock itch in army men? Have you seen the shorts these guys wear? I don't think they're getting too much itch in those shorts....They're too baggy and the fungi hate sun,heat ( from sun) and all that O2 in the army shorts.
dyslexia:
The nurses in WWI,WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Gulf, etc were ALL emotionally stable and characterize what a true American hero should be like.
Sand flees and panty hose?
Do the bedouin ladies wear panty hose?
New Haven re nurses in war. did i indicate otherwise?
Littlek--
I'm not sure what Luna Bars are, but remember an Iraqi April has temperatures of 100 degrees and up. Chocolate is not a good idea.
New Haven--
Sand fleas don't bite through panty hose. Iraq has billions of sand fleas--all bloodsucking, all hungry, all perfectly willing to greet the Americans with enthusiasm.
