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Signing in blood? Is this is a joke/satire or real and serious?


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I have posted something about not being able to sign a log right away due to a lock of having an ink pen on me. Another member asked if he found a cache because he could not access it due to apparent safety issues with doing so. More than one response in both if these discussion threads stated to use blood to sign the log. For me it just simply use my own blood to sign the log of the cache I found. For the other member it was use blood on the end of a stick and reach up to the cache to try and sign it.

 

Is this for real? Are people being serious when they recommend to sign with blood? Or is this a joke and satire?

 

I ask because a whole host or serious problems come with using blood to sign with. One is cutting ourselves to extract blood is not a natural act and most reasonable, logical and sensible people will not do so. Second is the risk of infection and disease to the person who would cut themselves to extract blood, even if it is just a little bit on the tip of a finger. Any open wound on the human body is a access for bacteria and disease. There are other problems and issues associated with such an act but a third problem is the risk to others who access the cache and touch it with their bare hands. Even dried blood can transmit infectious diseases. One in particular is Hepatitis. So using blood to sign is putting others at risk who access the cache after the fact. Especially if one person signs with blood and them the next person does. And since most of the caches are on public property doing so could be defined as putting the general public at risk.

 

So I ask again is this a real thing and a serious recommendation? Or is is satire?

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I will going forward but I am also thinking I should carry nitrile gloves with me too to protect against form possibly being exposed to someone else's blood.

 

I did find the recommendation of using a leaf with a house key to sign the log a cool idea.

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I will going forward but I am also thinking I should carry nitrile gloves with me too to protect against form possibly being exposed to someone else's blood.

 

I did find the recommendation of using a leaf with a house key to sign the log a cool idea.

 

Not necessarily blood, but you will in the course of caching touch some dirty stuff sometimes. I recommend some alcohol based hand sanitizer, and also to wash your hands after caching and before eating.

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Mostly in jest.

 

But there has been the odd occasion:

There aren't any chickadees around here at night, but beware the vampire staples! :o Like some previous cachers, I had real trouble getting the log out. I punctured my fingertip on a staple (HEY!), and kept pulling on the log sheets until I realized I was getting blood on them. Okay, well, I guess I've signed the log! In blood. :)

 

If there are multiple blood stains, mine are the O-negative ones. Not to worry, it tests clean when I donate. Hope that staple was clean.

 

That was years ago and I'm still alive...

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Mostly in jest.

 

But there has been the odd occasion:

There aren't any chickadees around here at night, but beware the vampire staples! :o Like some previous cachers, I had real trouble getting the log out. I punctured my fingertip on a staple (HEY!), and kept pulling on the log sheets until I realized I was getting blood on them. Okay, well, I guess I've signed the log! In blood. :)

 

If there are multiple blood stains, mine are the O-negative ones. Not to worry, it tests clean when I donate. Hope that staple was clean.

 

That was years ago and I'm still alive...

 

I have inadvertently gotten blood on many caches, I am sure. And open wounds just mean I had a good day!

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I have posted something about not being able to sign a log right away due to a lock of having an ink pen on me. Another member asked if he found a cache because he could not access it due to apparent safety issues with doing so. More than one response in both if these discussion threads stated to use blood to sign the log. For me it just simply use my own blood to sign the log of the cache I found. For the other member it was use blood on the end of a stick and reach up to the cache to try and sign it.

 

Is this for real? Are people being serious when they recommend to sign with blood? Or is this a joke and satire?

 

I ask because a whole host or serious problems come with using blood to sign with. One is cutting ourselves to extract blood is not a natural act and most reasonable, logical and sensible people will not do so. Second is the risk of infection and disease to the person who would cut themselves to extract blood, even if it is just a little bit on the tip of a finger. Any open wound on the human body is a access for bacteria and disease. There are other problems and issues associated with such an act but a third problem is the risk to others who access the cache and touch it with their bare hands. Even dried blood can transmit infectious diseases. One in particular is Hepatitis. So using blood to sign is putting others at risk who access the cache after the fact. Especially if one person signs with blood and them the next person does. And since most of the caches are on public property doing so could be defined as putting the general public at risk.

 

So I ask again is this a real thing and a serious recommendation? Or is is satire?

Don't worry, it's just a joke/satire. I never cut myself while caching. In the woods here in Georgia there are plenty of vines with long, sharp thorns, but local officials place a protective cover on the tip of each thorn, for safety.

 

Once, someone found one of my caches and placed a poop inside. I believed that person did in fact find it, no signature necessary. I guess he had no blood, so he used the next best thing that would not put the general public at risk. Then he put the ammo can back in place (a rope hide in a tree), for the next cacher. That seemed very effective. Bring poop and you don't have to use blood.

Edited by kunarion
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I will going forward but I am also thinking I should carry nitrile gloves with me too to protect against form possibly being exposed to someone else's blood.

 

I did find the recommendation of using a leaf with a house key to sign the log a cool idea.

 

Not necessarily blood, but you will in the course of caching touch some dirty stuff sometimes. I recommend some alcohol based hand sanitizer, and also to wash your hands after caching and before eating.

 

I already have. I always carry a product called Wet Ones Big Ones wipes when I ride bike. And since 99% of my geocaching has been when I am riding bike I always have the wipes with me. I have had to use one to clean my hands after searching for a cache before I took off again on the bike. Had sticky tree sap all over my hands and did not want to get it all over the bike.

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Rules don't say what you use to sign your name. I'd accept it. And also replace the cache. I've had a cache that was used as a toilet so it wouldn't be the worst thing I've seen.

 

Using gloves is a bit too far. It's something out in the public so it's never going to be sterile. Geocaching is not the game for peple scared of dirt and germs.

 

I carry wipes and shop towels in my car, although that may be a bit tough to do on a bike. And I have work gloves for the prickly bushes and other places likely to cut me up, although I don't usually go for those caches.

Edited by T.D.M.22
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I will going forward but I am also thinking I should carry nitrile gloves with me too to protect against form possibly being exposed to someone else's blood.

 

I did find the recommendation of using a leaf with a house key to sign the log a cool idea.

I'd think if being sqeamish of the possibilty that you might come in contact with something icky is an issue, maybe this hobby's not right for you. :)

 

After a couple of (very) lonely caches, a clear field now overgrown with rasberry, wild rose and bayberry, everyone in the group I was with were covered in scratches, and yes, some may have been dripping blood.

- There might be a chance that a drop got dropped somewhere...

 

I was with a group in mid-Summer once, and noticed a man dripping sweat from his nose onto the log as he signed.

 

Just leaving a container in the wild is kinda a guarantee that something has covered, or entered the container at some point.

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I have posted something about not being able to sign a log right away due to a lock of having an ink pen on me. Another member asked if he found a cache because he could not access it due to apparent safety issues with doing so. More than one response in both if these discussion threads stated to use blood to sign the log. For me it just simply use my own blood to sign the log of the cache I found. For the other member it was use blood on the end of a stick and reach up to the cache to try and sign it.

 

Is this for real? Are people being serious when they recommend to sign with blood? Or is this a joke and satire?

 

I ask because a whole host or serious problems come with using blood to sign with. One is cutting ourselves to extract blood is not a natural act and most reasonable, logical and sensible people will not do so. Second is the risk of infection and disease to the person who would cut themselves to extract blood, even if it is just a little bit on the tip of a finger. Any open wound on the human body is a access for bacteria and disease. There are other problems and issues associated with such an act but a third problem is the risk to others who access the cache and touch it with their bare hands. Even dried blood can transmit infectious diseases. One in particular is Hepatitis. So using blood to sign is putting others at risk who access the cache after the fact. Especially if one person signs with blood and them the next person does. And since most of the caches are on public property doing so could be defined as putting the general public at risk.

 

So I ask again is this a real thing and a serious recommendation? Or is is satire?

 

Is it Friday the 13th or April Fools Day? Is this an actual, serious thread? Next up: Is it ok to sign logs in urine or feces?

Edited by SicilianCyclops
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I think some may have missed the point of this discussion. That's OK. I am not squeamish, I am not a germaphobe. I understand there is risk associated with geocaching and accept such risk. Someone else's sweat does not bother me. I fully understand in an outdoor environment there is no such thing as a sterile barrier. But at the same time I am not going to purposely expose myself to a potential bio-hazard such as blood on, about or in a geocache. I will continue to participate in this hobby but if I come across a cache that appears to have blood in it I will avoid exposing myself to the blood as much as possible, do whatever is necessary to decontaminate myself if I came into direct contact with it, this includes sanitizing my exposed skin and up to and including going to a doctor if I show symptoms of an illness after the fact. I will also immediately inform the cache owner. And before anyone says anything, yes I have all of my immunizations up to date, including tetanus shot.

 

I ride bike side after all and have had some nasty spills with major road rash on various parts of my body. When this has happened I sought and received immediate medical treatment to prevent infection. One such incident left me with road rash that took off most of the layers of skin from half way up my left side all the way down to my left ankle. Some of you come across as oh I would not worry about it and just tough it out and walk it off. OK that is fine, more power to you. But when prudent and necessary I will seek medical treatment and not purposely expose myself to something that will cause harm when knowingly encounter it or first come across it.

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I will going forward but I am also thinking I should carry nitrile gloves with me too to protect against form possibly being exposed to someone else's blood.

 

I did find the recommendation of using a leaf with a house key to sign the log a cool idea.

Probably a good idea. Considering the host of diseases you can pick up from dirt and other parts of the environment, blood exposure is the least of your worries.

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Aside from the scratches from thorns ... the other 'blood' that I encounter when caching is due to the mosquitoes! When you smash a mosquito on your arm, is that your blood or someone else's that comes out? Always wondered that.

 

And then there are the ticks ... I always hope to find them and kill them before they bite me.

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Aside from the scratches from thorns ... the other 'blood' that I encounter when caching is due to the mosquitoes! When you smash a mosquito on your arm, is that your blood or someone else's that comes out? Always wondered that.

 

And then there are the ticks ... I always hope to find them and kill them before they bite me.

 

Even in an urban environment, which is the only type of geocaching I intend on doing right now, mosquitoes and ticks are still a concern. Especially along the waterways, such as creeks and rivers. I live in a city that has 3 river valleys and one major creek valley that merge into one area. I literally live in what is called the Loess Hills.

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Aside from the scratches from thorns ... the other 'blood' that I encounter when caching is due to the mosquitoes! When you smash a mosquito on your arm, is that your blood or someone else's that comes out? Always wondered that.

 

And then there are the ticks ... I always hope to find them and kill them before they bite me.

 

I can sort of live with the idea of someONE else's blood in a mosquito. SomeTHING else's blood? That kind of freaks me out.

 

Even though I know, scientifically, another human's blood is probably more likely to carry a disease I could catch.

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Considering the host of diseases you can pick up from dirt and other parts of the environment, blood exposure is the least of your worries.
+1

 

I'd be much more concerned about whatever might be growing in a soggy, smelly, moldy "biology experiment" cache, than about whatever organic material someone might have signed a cache log with.

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When you smash a mosquito on your arm, is that your blood or someone else's that comes out? Always wondered that.

 

Hence, how malaria is spread, although most cases in the U.S.are now brought in by travelers (malaria was officially eradicated in the U.S. in 1949 due to an aggressive Public Health program and DDT).

 

Don't worry, there's still a plethora of diseases that mosquitoes , ticks, and other vectors can transmit. If you really want to loose sleep at night, check out the CDC's web page for the Division of Vector Born Diseases. You won't worry so much about a little blood on a logsheet after that ;)

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I think some may have missed the point of this discussion.

 

No, you just don't understand about the biological risks of blood.

 

But at the same time I am not going to purposely expose myself to a potential bio-hazard such as blood on, about or in a geocache. I will continue to participate in this hobby but if I come across a cache that appears to have blood in it I will avoid exposing myself to the blood as much as possible, do whatever is necessary to decontaminate myself if I came into direct contact with it, this includes sanitizing my exposed skin and up to and including going to a doctor if I show symptoms of an illness after the fact.

 

Wow. Just wow.

 

BTW: you either ARE a germophobe or you don't understand the transmission of blood-borne illnesses. I am guessing the latter. My recommendation is that you educate yourself.

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A person can contract Hepatitis from dry blood.

 

Which type? How?

To the OP: Statements without citations doesn't lend much confidence in your knowledge level:

 

http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/hcv/cfaq.htm

 

Although the page addresses Hep C, it wouldn't surprise me that it also applies to B. Hep A, of course, is usually transmitted through contaminated water or food.

Edited by Touchstone
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A person can contract Hepatitis from dry blood.

 

Which type? How?

To the OP: Statements without citations doesn't lend much confidence in your knowledge level:

 

http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/hcv/cfaq.htm

 

Although the page addresses Hep C, it wouldn't surprise me that it also applies to B. Hep A, of course, is usually transmitted through contaminated water or food.

 

Hep-B and Hep-C viruses can survive in dry blood for 7 days and 4 days, respectively. However, simply touching dried, infected blood will not cause infection. One would have to come into contact with the dried blood through a fresh cut or via a mucus membrane, so don't use a log sheet to rub your eyes and avoid touching the dried blood with a cut finger.

 

Some related threads:

OCD (phobia of bacteria) and geocaching

GeoAnxieties

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I think some may have missed the point of this discussion.

 

No, you just don't understand about the biological risks of blood.

 

But at the same time I am not going to purposely expose myself to a potential bio-hazard such as blood on, about or in a geocache. I will continue to participate in this hobby but if I come across a cache that appears to have blood in it I will avoid exposing myself to the blood as much as possible, do whatever is necessary to decontaminate myself if I came into direct contact with it, this includes sanitizing my exposed skin and up to and including going to a doctor if I show symptoms of an illness after the fact.

 

Wow. Just wow.

 

BTW: you either ARE a germophobe or you don't understand the transmission of blood-borne illnesses. I am guessing the latter. My recommendation is that you educate yourself.

 

I'm not an expert on such things. Would you mind elaborating and educating and enlightening the rest of us? Thanks.

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A person can contract Hepatitis from dry blood.

 

Which type? How?

 

Try a little Google Fu:

 

Hepatitis C virus dried on inanimate surfaces can remain infectious for up to six weeks

 

Dried spots of blood contaminated with hepatitis C virus (HCV) can remain infectious for up to six weeks at normal room temperatures, research published in the online edition of the Journal of Infectious Diseases shows. Commercially available antiseptics reduced the infectivity of the blood spots, but only when used at recommended concentrations.

 

And

 

Inactivation and Survival of Hepatitis C Virus on Inanimate Surface - See more at: http://hepatitiscnew...h.yimJ64UA.dpuf

Edited by knowschad
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I will going forward but I am also thinking I should carry nitrile gloves with me too to protect against form possibly being exposed to someone else's blood.

 

I did find the recommendation of using a leaf with a house key to sign the log a cool idea.

 

Not necessarily blood, but you will in the course of caching touch some dirty stuff sometimes. I recommend some alcohol based hand sanitizer, and also to wash your hands after caching and before eating.

 

I already have. I always carry a product called Wet Ones Big Ones wipes when I ride bike. And since 99% of my geocaching has been when I am riding bike I always have the wipes with me. I have had to use one to clean my hands after searching for a cache before I took off again on the bike. Had sticky tree sap all over my hands and did not want to get it all over the bike.

You "always" carry wet ones. Can you add a pen/pencil to that?

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You do have to be careful with...unexpected bodily fluids associated with caches. I found a bucket-cache just a week ago that had been used by someone (presumably a non-cacher) as a urinal. It was disgusting.

 

In that case I decided to post it as "Found" and "Needs Maintenance" but I gave myself a pass on signing the completely soaked paper log...

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I often don't have a pen, either I lose it, forget it, or didn't plan on going caching and did. So I've added one of these to my keychain:

 

http://amzn.com/B007IOHPKY

 

It's small, I always have my keys, and it's packaged in a container you could use as a geocache!

 

I love that thing! Except I use it so rarely, I usually have to scrape it vigorously against my palm or some other rough object to get it to start writing again. Which sometimes leads to scrapes which... oh... :P

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A person can contract Hepatitis from dry blood.

 

Which type? How?

 

Try a little Google Fu:

 

Hepatitis C virus dried on inanimate surfaces can remain infectious for up to six weeks

 

Dried spots of blood contaminated with hepatitis C virus (HCV) can remain infectious for up to six weeks at normal room temperatures, research published in the online edition of the Journal of Infectious Diseases shows. Commercially available antiseptics reduced the infectivity of the blood spots, but only when used at recommended concentrations.

...

 

But then of course you would need to actually inoculate yourself with some of this dried contagion. I wouldn't stress too much about catching diseases from old logbooks or caches.... relax!

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I will going forward but I am also thinking I should carry nitrile gloves with me too to protect against form possibly being exposed to someone else's blood.

 

Based on this and other posts from you, I think in all seriousness you should consider whether or not geocaching is the right activity for you.

 

At less than 20 caches found, you have already indicated that you are upset by Needs Maintenance logs, whether or not to sign the paper log, and the prospect of finding blood in logbooks.

 

I'm not criticizing you at all by this. I just think that caching works well for some people and not so well for others. From what you have written so far, I think you might find it frustrating and not your cup of tea.

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I sporadically work as a substitute teacher (parapro), and I had to bandaid a bleeding kid at recess today. I thought about this thread. It's pretty hard to keep from touching things when you're bandaging that big of a scrape. :rolleyes:

 

But I bet you washed and even sanitized your hands with some sort of germ and bacteria killing agent afterward, right? Or did you touch other kids, food, drink, etc. before you sanitized your hands?

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I sporadically work as a substitute teacher (parapro), and I had to bandaid a bleeding kid at recess today. I thought about this thread. It's pretty hard to keep from touching things when you're bandaging that big of a scrape. :rolleyes:

 

But I bet you washed and even sanitized your hands with some sort of germ and bacteria killing agent afterward, right? Or did you touch other kids, food, drink, etc. before you sanitized your hands?

 

Well, I can't leave in the middle of recess, so no. I'm not a very big proponent of sanitizer. Soap and water is fine.

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