PSA: How to stay healthy in the Chesapeake Bay

John from MD · May 25, 2017

We were discussing this topic in a fishing forum and by coincidence WTOP just published a story on the same subject.

http://wtop.com/health-fitness/2017/05/what-to-know-about-flesh-eating-bacteria-for-this-summer/

This is no joke, I have seen first hand how people can loose limbs to the vibro within days.

Have fun on the Bay but do it safely.

Redcobra · May 25, 2017

I started sailing the Bay in 1965. Sold the last boat in 2015. In those 50 yrs, I have seen the quality of the water in the Bay diminished exponentially.
I won't swim in the Bay anymore.
It's a shame, but true.

Mack C-85 · May 25, 2017

Daughter had a bout with this from the Potomac at George Washington's Birthplace. Fortunately, we caught it very early and there were no long term consequences.

Sent from my SM-J320P using Tapatalk

Biggfoot44 · May 25, 2017

Note to self - Go swimming at the lake in WV .

xtreme43s10 · Jun 2, 2017

Redcobra said:
I started sailing the Bay in 1965. Sold the last boat in 2015. In those 50 yrs, I have seen the quality of the water in the Bay diminished exponentially.
I won't swim in the Bay anymore.
It's a shame, but true.

We duck hunt down from Taylor's island to Deal island and the last 2 years are the clearest I've ever seen the water down there. Also alot of native grasses are starting to make there way back.

Doco Overboard · Jun 2, 2017

Seen it from a small cut that a friend of mine had to his finger. It required surgery twice to the finger and then after he thought it was under control it broke out again elsewhere after a significant amount of time. Had to wind up going to the city for treatment that finally resulted in success. Crab shells and handling oysters can mess you up. Somebody else poked themselves shucking and suffered pretty bad as well, that infection is no joke.

montoya32 · Jun 2, 2017

xtreme43s10 said:
We duck hunt down from Taylor's island to Deal island and the last 2 years are the clearest I've ever seen the water down there. Also alot of native grasses are starting to make there way back.

Agree. In my short 40 years of seeing the bay and specifically the harbor, this is the clearest I have noticed. I think the pollutants are way down, but sediment may be up.

j_h_smith · Jun 3, 2017

Tell this to the hundreds of people at Hart/Miller Island every weekend. There's always a possibility of getting a disease/infection. I've gone swimming on a bet in Bear Creek back in the 70s. Came out smelling pretty bad, but I didn't contract any crazy disease/bacteria.

Sure, it could happen, but it's highly unlikely.

Sticky · Jun 3, 2017

I grew up in the bay... yes, in it and on it, swam, dove, fished, crabbed and I still do today. That said, there are some nasty things out there and perhaps some are more prone to getting infections than others?

The health of the bay, in many ways, has improved over the last several years, but it's nothing like what it was when I was a kid (the 60's). The grasses are making a great comeback in the mid bay where I spend a lot of time.

I do try to be conscientious of those potential risks. I often get stuck by a fish or hook when fishing, or stuck by a sharp crab appendage.. always let it bleed out a little to clean it out as much as possible, may consider not swimming if I had an open wound of some sort, but I always have minor cuts or scrapes (Hey.. I play hard... lol) and have never had an issue. I pray it continues and thanks for the PSA! :beer:

Oh... and I eat the crap outta raw oysters, have since I was kid... LOL

Trepang · Jun 3, 2017

Four years ago while mating on a charter boat I got stuck by a fish fin ....... this is what happens when you "shake it off" and don't get it looked at in time.

7 days in Bethesda Naval Hospital (i was still on AD at the time), two surgeries and nearly lost my finger.

Still in the charter business but I don't blow off hook and fin pricks like I used to :cool:

BTW - thats not a piece of penne pasta sticking out of my hand; its a drain tube

lee2 · Jun 3, 2017

no disrespect to you and i'm glad you eventually decided to seek medical help. but i've patched up too many people who think they can handle injuries them selves, usually with the same outcome.
bottom line: seek medical assistance. :thumbsup:

Trepang · Jun 3, 2017

lee2 said:
no disrespect to you and i'm glad you eventually decided to seek medical help. but i've patched up too many people who think they can handle injuries them selves, usually with the same outcome.
bottom line: seek medical assistance.

Agreed - trust me, I learned my lesson :cool:

I did go to sick call a day or two after it started hurting and was given oral antibiotics. When they failed to have an effect, I was slow to go back.

About 3 months after this had all healed up, I broke a Rockfish fin off in my hand - I was in the ER that evening

Sticky · Jun 3, 2017

I am always conscious of hook pricks and dorsal fin pricks from fishing. I have had a time or two, when I didn't 'bleed it out' a little, that it got tender like an infection and I would always lance and drain it a couple of times to ensure it was cleaned out. This has worked for me for years and never had an issue with infection, but I am always wary. I would not hesitate to visit a Doc if it was ever more than that!

Trepang · Jun 3, 2017

From April - Nov, I am on the water 3-5 days a week. I have had thousand, if not tens of thousands of hook and fin pokes. This was the only one that has turned ugly. White perch are the worst.

Half-cocked · Jun 3, 2017

The last time I went out on the bay was during one of the pfisteria outbreaks around 15(?) years ago. The sight of thousands of dead fish with sores floating belly up was so sickening, I lost all interest in ever going out on that shitty cesspool ever again.

EL1227 · Jun 3, 2017

Something of note ...

Infections from Vibrio vulnificus are relatively rare, but you have a higher risk of infection or serious complications if you have a health problem such as diabetes, cancer or cirrhosis of the liver, or if you’ve recently had stomach surgery.

A compromised immune system makes this an even higher risk. Being diabetic and fighting cancer, I won't even go near crabs or oysters ... which is torture, but I'd rather be safe than sorry ... or dead.

pbharvey · Jun 3, 2017

I thought about this thread when I licked a palomar knot this morning

Derwood · Jun 8, 2017

Some of you have noticed water quality improvements over the past couple of years. I've seen this, too. I mostly get out on the lower Potomac in St. Mary's county. I get in the water in the summer as long as there aren't jellyfish around. I also eat the fish I catch.

The total maximum daily load "pollution budget" for the Bay and its tributaries has been in effect since 2010 and seems to be starting to work. Basically, each state is allowed a maximum "budget" of how much pollution can go into the Bay. It's up to the local jurisdiction to decide how to achieve reductions meet the budget (i.e. agriculture, construction sites, storm water control, etc.) https://www.epa.gov/chesapeake-bay-tmdl

One reason it's hard to get the Bay clean is that the pollution comes from six states, so no one ever really "owned" the responsibility. I'm glad EPA finally stepped in with the TMDL program. Once the water gets to a certain point, grasses, oysters, crabs and other wildlife come back and do a lot of the cleaning for us. From what I've read, we're getting close to that point.

CrazySanMan · Jun 8, 2017

These stories about hooks and fins remind me of a funny story. I was in the Navy, down in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Me and a few friends were fishing in the gulf. I was standing on a big rock that was part of a sea wall and slipped and fell down. There were a lot of barnacles and what not on the rock and I got a lot of bits of barnacle and muscle and oyster shells imbedded in my arm. A day or two later I had a bunch of raised red bumps in my arm and it was itching and burning so I went to medical. There was a corpsman there, an E3, who looked at my arm, then quickly put on rubber gloves and said "That's herpes!". He kept poking around saying "That's herpes!". Then he went and got a chief. Chief looked at my arm and said "You f-ing idiot, you can see bits of shell sticking out of the skin!" They spent the next 20 or 30 minutes with tweezers picking everything out of my arm.

hi3cho · Jun 9, 2017

I grew up on the water near Bethlehem Steel, Since they have shut down, the water area has greatly improved in Jones Creek and Bear Creek. I have been in and on the water in that area for my whole life and have never had an issue. We even used to wake board in Curtis Creek by Grace Chemical and The Coast Guard Yard. That water is pretty gross and I probably wouldn't get in it again. I was a teenager at the time and never saw any effects.

As for fishing or crabbing cuts. I know tons of rec and a few commercial crabbers and have only seen a few commercial guys have infection issues. I think I would try to use the bleach method if I had a decent cut from a crab or fish. My buddy swears by the putting bleach on all cuts to help healing and avoid infection. I know I saw the guys on Swamp People who hunt alligators everyday using bleach in their baths to kill the bacteria.

PSA: How to stay healthy in the Chesapeake Bay

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