By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
With Chuseok, or Korean Thanksgiving Day, just around the corner, many will once again take to the road to meet up family members they haven't seen in a while.
However, driving for a long time requires careful preparation for safety and comfort to be kept to a maximum. Here are some tips from Dr. Yoo Jun-hyun of Samsung Medical Center about holiday healthcare.
Be prepared for carsickness: Take some anti-sickness patches with you. Either take the medication at least an hour before the drive or put on the patch four hours ahead. If you have glaucoma or prostatitis consult your pharmacist or doctor before use.
If stung by a bee, try to remove the sting with a plastic card and massage the wound with ice. You can apply some anti-histamine or steroid ointment. If not, pat some milk on the part.
The best way to prevent a bee sting is to cover your flesh with dark tone cloths or shoes and avoid wearing too thick or fragrant makeup. Also wear gloves. If you see bees, avoid making loud sudden noises.
Should you be bitten by a snake, you will see two tiny holes on the wound. Try to clean up the wound and wrap it with a pressure dressing. Try to keep the wound below the heart in order to prevent the poison spreading to it. Do not try to suck the poison out or cut the wound with a knife.
Treat burns with care to avoid infection: If you are seriously burnt, you will get a blister. Do not try to remove it.
If clothes or other materials are stuck to the skin, do not try to pull them off, but pour cold water on them and cut them with scissors. Wrap it with a dressing, but do not press it. Do not put on soy sauce, oil or soy paste as some urban myths tell you.
If you catch a cold within two weeks of visiting a graveyard, visit the doctor immediately as there is a fair chance that you can get Manchurian (Korean hemorrhagic) fever, leptospira, or scrub typhus, all common endemia for autumn.
Manchurian fever is carried by rats and rabbits. If you do not visit a doctor, it could kill through renal failure or hypotension. Do not try to lie down on the grass.
Leptospira is infected through wounds. Do not put hands into outdoor pools and always wear boots and gloves when doing fieldwork.
Scrub typhus is caused by larva of ticks. Do not lie on the grass or walk barefoot and always take a shower after visiting a graveyard or the countryside.