Friday 25 September 2015

Immunisations Abroad (Part 2)

Welcome once again readers to the Part 2 of the previous post regarding travel immunisations! Let's jump straight in and kick off with some more useful advice (shortest introduction in the blog's history).

Tuberculosis

In order to be protected against tuberculosis, you should need 1 injection which should last for 15 years. You would need a tuberculosis injection if you are travelling to an area with high incidence or come into contact with an infected person or un-immunised people with a high risk factor (i.e. a health care worker or a person who has been in contact with a patient of tuberculosis) High risk areas are usually deprived places with low sanitation.

Typhoid

If you are travelling to an area with poor sanitation or come into contact with someone who may have Typhoid then it is advised that you take precautions against Typhoid, you can choose 1 injection or an oral course of 3 tablets (each oral dose on an alternate day). The Typhoid injection becomes effective after 2 weeks and the oral dose is effective 7 to 10 days after the last dose, the period of protection against Typhoid is 3 years to ongoing exposure and 1 year to occasional exposure.

Cholera

Cholera immunisation is one that does NOT provide full protection. Cholera immunisation should be 2 oral doses (no injection required) one to six weeks apart, protection will be effective a week after the second dose, the period of the protection is up to 2 years but like I mentioned it does not provide full protection against Cholera. If you are immunised fully against Cholera in an area where Cholera is an epidemic or endemic also pay thorough attention to water, food and personal hygiene.

Malaria 

Malaria is very similar to yellow fever as it is a parasitic disease also transmitted by mosquitoes, injections for malaria can be given and so can oral drugs; however there can be different drugs available for the part of the world you are in as some Malaria strains are resistant to a specific drug, since this particular kind of disease is subject to a lot of change in the form of mutations and resistance, in this case prevention is the answer and not cure; take plenty of shelter, use repellent wherever possible and ask your doctor for any temporary solution to the prevention, treatment or radical cure of Malaria, please don't leave it too late!


Tetanus

Commonly known as 'Lockjaw', Tetanus is a bacteria that lasts a long time outside the human body, if you have an open wound or if there is any possible way the bacterium can enter your body, then you should seek medical advice immediately. Tetanus should have been given to you in your younger years (well, that's what the NHS in the UK recommend) but it is not compulsory. The Tetanus vaccine is cheap, safe and affordable but since Tetanus is also found globally, it is encouraged you're immune.


That's the 2 parted post over! 

I didn't expect myself to be doing 2 parts to this post but lately I have been concentrating on my steady job outside of blogging that I'm building up cash for in order to buy a laptop (this desktop is rubbish) and to help pay for my driving lessons so I can hopefully do my own holidays, commute, joyriding, etc... So if it seems to you that I'm somewhat slacking lately then I apologise for that; but the next post will be about this blog! No, really. Sandboarding Nation becomes a year old on the 12th October (19th October was the real first post) where I announced that the blog came to life! To celebrate, I have a surprise in store where someone will be able to win a prize. Join me on the 12th October for the anniversary post on Sandboarding Nation, it'll be short and a basic message of thanks to everyone in the past 12 months! See you on the twelfth.

Monday 21 September 2015

Immunisations Abroad (Part 1)



Hello readers, welcome for another edition of Sandboarding Nation! Today, I'm gonna go deep into a subject which I mainly do not know, I will mainly be giving advice, precautions and stuff that is fact as well. I'm gonna be talking about how to take care of yourself abroad in terms of health care and if anything goes wrong with you, diseases, potential hazards, etc...




It is important to not at this time that I am NOT a doctor so my words from my mouth may not be recommended or even advisory to you. I will be giving basic tips and common sense on how to make sure you don't get anything bad or essentially not die when you are abroad sandboarding or not.



Medicines & Drugs



I'm talking the legal pharmaceuticals and not the hard life crashers, it is essential to look up what drugs you should take on what part of the world you are travelling to. I read a book called 'Concise Guide To Medicines & Drugs' issued by the British Medical Association; this book is often revised and updated to keep on top of the world of health care and to make sure everyone is healthy and happy.




When you go to certain destinations you will need the appropriate vaccinations and treatment abroad so if you're travelling within Europe, North America, Australia or Japan then you won't need to worry to much but if you are crossing continents or going to an unknown area then take note of these tips:

 

Hepatitis A


For the prevention of Hepatitis A, which is prevalent in high risk areas outside of Western & Northern Europe, North America, Japan, Australia & New Zealand; it is recommended that you have 2 injections that are 6 to 12 months apart which will start to become effective 2 to 4 weeks after the initial dose, the 1st immunisation protects you for up to a year and the 2nd immunisation for up to 20 years.

 

Hepatitis B


If you are travelling to a location where Hepatitis B is prevalent and who may require medical or dental treatment and/or may be likely to have unprotected sex should be protected by having 3 injections, a month between the first and second doses and 5 months between the second and third doses, the protection against Hepatitis B will be effective after the third dose and will give you protection for up to 5 years.

 

Rabies


Known for giving horrific symptoms then eventually killing you, Rabies is a nasty but preventable disease which is present in a surprising amount of countries around the world; 3 injections are required, a week wait is needed between the first and second doses and 2 or 3 weeks between the second and third doses, the doses are effective after the third dose and the period of protection lasts from 2 to 5 years.

 

Yellow Fever


Yellow fever is a viral infection transmitted by mosquitoes. South America and Sub-Saharan Africa are areas at most risk from infection of yellow fever, this immunisation programme is easy: 1 injection is effective after 10 days and can protect you for up to 10 years. Simple.

 

Japanese Encephalitis


If you are staying for a long or extended period of time in and around India, China, Southeast Asia and the Far East, it is recommended you are immunised. To be immunised against Japanese Encephalitis, you would require 2 injections that are 28 days apart, it will be effective about a week after the second injection from which you will be given protection for a year. Sandboarding Nation likes to help but there are sand dunes in these places so it's worth that I gave you this tip.

 

Meningitis


In this section, I will be referring to certain but not all strains of Meningitis (check with a doctor or medical practitioner for confirmation) but for strains Meningitis A, C, W135 and Y; you would need 1 injection which will become effective after 2-3 weeks of injection and the protection period is 5 years, this immunisation is encouraged for people travelling to Sub-Saharan Africa and if you are doing certain Islamic pilgrimages in Saudi Arabia, an immunisation certificate is compulsory.



Next time (Part 2 to this post):


I didn't expect to do a big post like this one (because it is big by my standards), so to cover all of the appropriate diseases plus to do this in an appropriate time & non-rushing manner, I will need to do a part 2 to this post. I will schedule this for Friday 25th September where I will be continuing my travel immunisation advice and recommendations for the diseases of Tuberculosis, Typhoid, Cholera, Malaria and Tetanus. I will await your presence for the next post. I would like to thank information derived from the World Health Organisation and the British Medical Association which I have inferred information from in order to write this post. See you on Friday!

Saturday 19 September 2015

Facebook Page problem resolved

If you saw the previous post a few hours ago regarding that the Facebook page was inactive, this post is to update that the page is back online and is active once again!

The blog post due for the 21st September will still be published and is still in progress.

Facebook Page Problems

Due to my main Facebook account having problems and me being unable to log in, the Facebook page for Sandboarding Nation will be inactive for hopefully a couple of hours (maybe days) until further notice on this blog.

The Twitter feed for updates and the blog posts (and progress of the current one being published on Monday) will not be affected. I apologise for any inconvenience caused.

The reason the page isn't gone temporarily along with my personal account is that I put my mother as a moderator on the page so in the event of this happening, the page will remain online (even though she would get the notifications and no posts can be made).

So even though I'm down, the blog remains! Hopefully this situation will be resolved as soon as possible and I will keep you updated via Twitter (@sandboardblog) and the blog until further notice.


Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Wednesday 9 September 2015

Sports camera

Welcome back readers! This post is gonna be a short one and it will only have a few bits and not much knowledge of sandboarding included in this one but it will have some news that's relevant to the blog and for some resources to the blog for time to come!

Sports Camera

You would have seen its first pictures and full capability on the 2015 Session: Holywell Bay post where I had a set of 9 photos of the sand dunes at Holywell Bay. According to the smart technology on the photos that tell me the model of the camera when I upload the photo, the sports camera is an SP5K Series Digital Camera, exposure time is 1/2,000 seconds (0.0005), F-number is f/2.8, photos taken are up to 12 mega pixels and the ISO speed rating is 50. I personally have no clue what those numbers mean but my mind works in the form that if I can see the photo clearly, it looks good to me.

For the video aspect of the camera, it's a powerful toy! The camera can record up to 60fps in 720p HD or 30fps in 1080p HD. On the maximum (32GB) storage card the camera can take, just over 6 hours of film can be captured in 720p and it's just over 5 and a half hours in 1080p.

If you're familiar with the video of me on Holywell Bay on a couple of posts back, then you would have noticed that I captured that video whilst I was on the dune and I done it with the new sports camera itself! The video above was shot in the 60fps in 720p mode and it made good quality despite being in a hard shell case made of plastic, covered in sand & in mid session.

Also, the many photos which you can see on the blog that I've taken and made creative commons for re-use can be taken on this very 'small but mighty' sports camera too! It's more of a fun toy than a sophisticated camera!

Personal Endorsement

On this part of the post in particular, I'd like to remind you that I'm an independent blogger and for this camera I have not personally been asked or requested to use this camera for the purposes of advertising or publicity. I bought this camera for my personal use and I genuinely believe this is the 'one toy in the box' that you need with you wherever you go! Plus, when you buy this camera you don't get a HD camera with a protective shell & a power lead with the instruction manual in a box; You get whole array of stands, switch support, ribbon, tape, adaptor for computer transfer, plug charger, camera lens wipe and much more packed in the little box of fun! Did I mention this camera supports WiFi connectivity? Yeah, because uploading sports clips to the Internet became a whole lot easier; forget the use and cost of cyber cafes, mobile data where you can just upload over a WiFi connection!

How much will it cost & how can I buy it?


The link to buy the camera will be included here, the camera cost me £45 ($68 rounded to the nearest dollar as of 6th September 2015) plus shipping to the UK (which will vary depending on location) that took an extra £5 to get to me.

This camera may vary in cost depending on which colour you want to buy, the 3 prices for the 6 available colours (White, Black, Blue, Pink, Yellow & Gold) and the prices varied from £45 to £47 (as of 7th September 2015).

It's important to note that the maximum data memory card that this camera will accept is only 32GB so if you have a 64 or 128 gigabyte SD card, they will not be compatible. Since I believe this is the camera that may suit your needs (It certainly fitted my needs and ticked all my boxes) Let it be your camera by clicking on the link below!


https://www.wish.com/c/54ddbf39d55e5d18c6affd3d


Maybe in the future when this blog does get a decent following and/or money starts to come in, I may start a competition where a new and boxed version of this camera can be won, but this is still an idea.

Next time on the blog!


Thanks again for always reading my latest blog post, also a warm welcome to those who I've recently recruited via my Facebook advertising campaign for the blog and the Sandboarding Nation Facebook page! Please like the Facebook page if you haven't already, also follow the blog on twitter! See the next blog post be published here on the 21st September 2015 when it will be concerning Medical aspects, essential safety and well being when you're in very rural, exotic, tropical and unknown locations; it'll be about taking the correct medicines, vaccines if you want to travel, precautions to health, etc... It'll become more clear when I publish the post on the agreed date and stick to the Facebook and Twitter feeds for some clues about the next post. As always; sandboard safely, sandboard legally and take care of yourselves my blog readers, see you on the 21st.

Thursday 3 September 2015

Holywell Bay, England

Welcome readers! I'd like to say hello to the new readers and followers which I've managed to recruit via my facebook advertising campaign and twitter account! I haven't managed to blog, update or do many edits at all due to one main problem; WiFi. I've been on holiday and have lived on my phone's internet for the past couple of weeks and now that period of time has had to be extended because my home's internet has been cut, However; let's disregard that and just give you some information about this lovely sandboarding location!

As you know, I did my first ever sandboarding 'session' here as you saw it in my previous blog post

Holywell Bay sits on the north coast of the British county of Cornwall, it is a 10 minute drive from the seaside town of 'Newquay', the nearest train station is roughly the same and the nearest airport is only a 20 minute drive from the dune complex. South of the dunes there lies a popular beach, the small but seasonal village called 'Holywell' and an active military camp, to the west of the dunes you will see the sea, that's all, sea. East of the Holywell dunes you will end up on a golf course near the dunes as there's a golf course, small amusement park and a long village road not far from the dunes and village itself; Finally, if you go north from the dunes you will not find much there at all apart from a big field and maybe a path that'll take you the next beach above the coast as Holywell Bay's beach and dunes are separated by England's 'South West Coast Path' which will take you to another beach. 

Courtesy of: Ganymede81 License: CC BY 3.0 (This is the top of the highest dune, looking to the South-East)


When I came here in August 2015, I cut my foot and toes in the sand to pieces of barbed wire and going down into ditches, the barbed wire is because that many years ago the beach was used as a training ground by the military camp in order to stave off Nazi invasion; some of the pieces of barbed wire are still in the sand today so be very careful!


On the other hand, the complex is not very big on a map and even though the dunes don't go on a network they make pretty good fun for tourists coming to the beach; unlike the Sand Master Park in Oregon, Holywell Bay does not have slopes based on difficulty level, it's more of a natural arrangement of dunes close to a seaside with a good view rather than a serious contender in the contest for 'Best sand dune complex in the universe'. On entrance via a little path towards the dune and a slightly longer one for the beach, there are 2 shops which sell general holiday and seaside souvenir goods, they both sell sandboards but one of which sells both round (sit on them and slide down) boards and also the most commonly known and more fun (stand up and ride down) boards, there are no more sandboarding related products as this sport isn't as well-known in the UK and the demand isn't high.


Final Thought:


Holywell Bay's beach or dunes are not on Tripadvisor, but if it were I personally think it wouldn't gain much credit due to not many people knowing about sandboarding itself. As a blog writer I'll explain why Holywell Bay should need some attention for its dunes as I feel there needs to be improvement in sandboarding as a whole, there should be an authority on the sport and in this particular 'final thought' I'll address why Holywell Bay needs an attraction for its sand dunes:


There isn't a dedicated park, site, reserve, attraction or even a fenced off area for a dune complex to even begin there, there needs to be a business or a public space recognised by local power so that the public and that people who want to come here can experience how sandboarding can be a thing to do and how it can become more than just a holiday hobby, there needs to be that creativity or flair that someone has in order to turn some natural lumps sand dunes into a hot tourism spot and leisure park, the risk could be high but with the right promotion and the correct management, sandboarding could be coming to the UK; it might not be the proper way or even the right way to promote a sport but I think in this exceptional case, it's an opportunity that shouldn't fade away.

I understand that this post may have been longer than others and the quantity of writing may be inconsistent among posts but I try to do them based on content, personal knowledge and the availability of outside sources such as social media, photograph sites, maps, etc... I have come up with more ideas for post and I keep these ideas on my cork board at home so I can easily refer to them if there are any writers' blocks. This post has just added some more ideas (I won't reveal them as they're gonna be future posts) but soon they'll come from an idea to a proper post!

Next time on Sandboarding Nation:

 

In order to make up for lost time and a few delays, meet me on this blog (your blog & our blog) on the 9th September for a post on the new camera which I've ordered and you may see me use more often, the post will be short but it's an idea to take off the list and content for you to receive! Hope you have a good week to come.