Peck Lake is part of the ICW with a narrow spit of land between it and the ocean. Had I been feeling better, we would have taken the dinghy to shore and then walked the short distance to the ocean. What’s big, red, ugly and angry? Answer: The horrible infection on my inner thigh that grew from the size of a silver dollar on Wednesday, when we made a hurried trip to our family physician before we left port, and is now the size of an oversized grapefruit. The doctor is not sure of the cause, and she took a specimen to culture. Bottom line: I’ve been on an antibiotic since the visit to the doctor. I told Gary I would rather be miserable on White Swan than miserable at home; and I’m not really worried because tomorrow we’ll be anchored in Lake Worth at Palm Beach; and if it‘s not better by Sunday, we‘ll go to the hospital there. At this moment, I’m thankful we are in the states and not in the Bahamas.
Before we started our cruising last November, I went to a seminar for boaters, given by a doctor, regarding first aid at sea. He recommended boaters keep two different antibiotics: one to use for issues above the waist and one for below the navel. I keep that info in our Wilderness First Aid manual (written by William Forgey, MD) and the two recommended antibiotics in our inventory. He didn’t mention a sulfa drug for staph. I think from now on, it will be part of our inventory as well.