Rescue Journal

here is the soggy foot post from 2008

Carol  ·  Feb. 28, 2016

there are a few risks to rescue that not everyone is aware of…

Posted: January 10, 2008 at 7:59 pm

everyone knows the common ones…like….bites, scratches, ringworm, and temporary (or permanent) insanity. broken bones are a possibility, and speeding or parking tickets are too. and then there is bankruptsy, certain parasite infections, and blood poisoning if you don’t treat a cat bite in the first 48 hours.

what people are not aware of, is there are other dangers too. some of them we never talk about because they are embarassing, except i have no filter so i am going to talk about one of them now.

i call it “Soggy Foot” and it is from 12-18 hours with a foot stuck in a rubber boot. and it is upsetting to see your poor foot all white and wrinkly and worry if the skin is going to peel off anytime soon.

rubber boots are meant to be non-porous…impermeable to water from the outside. they also suck at oxygen exchange which is why “Soggy Foot” occurs.

i spent all my summer vacations…banished to various family and friend’s farms (it was my mothers way of getting rid of a whiny, rebellious and difficult child so she could have a few weeks of summertime peace)

none of the farmers i hung out with, ever talked about soggy feet…and i have 2 theories on this A. being farmers who hung out with other farmers and all of them wore rubber boots, maybe they thought that was how feet were supposed to look cuz everyone elses looked exactly the same.

or B..maybe they never suffered from soggy foot because their diet was so high in saturated fat. they ate fried eggs, and fried bacon, and fried ham, and fried tomatoes, fried potatoes, and fried bread at almost every single meal. you cannot possibly eat all that fat and not have it ooze out your pores. so maybe their feet were so encased in grease that moisture just couldn’t get to the skin.

in any case, “Soggy Foot” is for sure a problem in rescue but i am not sure if it is a risk in farming. but it is something to be aware of so you do not freak out one night when you take off that freaking rubber boot and think that your foot died sometime during the day.

Comments

alyson nerker

also called "trench foot" in the army. We were issued gortex socks :) might be something to look into