Skin protection for first responders

01 · The scene

Long scenes, no sink

Storm response, search, traffic control and wildland work mean full days outside. Hurricanes and floods knock out water and sanitation, leave standing water behind, and keep crews in the sun for hours.

The hazards that come with the call don’t stop at the scene tape: smoke, soot, chemicals and grime on the hands, with the nearest sink back at the station.

Where sanitation breaks down, poor hygiene drives diarrheal disease, a leading cause of death in children under five worldwide.CDC, as cited in R&R Lotion blog, The Critical Role of Personal Care in Disaster Relief Efforts (2024)

02 · After the storm

The water goes down, the mosquitoes go up

• Before
• After the storm

Mosquitoes breed in standing water, and a storm leaves it everywhere: flooded lots, clogged gutters, a tire full of rainwater. Disease risk can stay up for weeks after the water recedes.

They find you by what you give off. Mosquitoes pick up the carbon dioxide you breathe out from 10 to 50 meters away, lactic acid from hard work at 5 to 10 meters, and body odor up close. A sweating crew on cleanup is easy to find.

Sources: R&R Lotion blog, Mosquitoes After Hurricanes (2024); R&R Lotion, Vector Borne Diseases white paper, pp. 4 and 11.

03 · What develops

What a bite can carry

• Germ in the saliva
• Blood vessel

Most bites just itch. Some carry disease. In the U.S., mosquitoes spread West Nile virus, and ticks in the brush spread Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

• West Nile virus: most people have no symptoms or a mild, flu-like illness 3 to 14 days after the bite. Severe neurological cases are rare.
• Lyme disease: early signs are flu-like (fever, headache, tiredness) and often a bull’s-eye rash.

Wildland and brush crews add a third: urushiol, the oil in poison ivy, oak and sumac, which causes an itchy, blistering allergic rash. In dense-forest states such as California, Oregon and Washington, about a third of firefighters are sidelined by it each fire season.

A tick generally has to stay attached for more than 24 hours to pass on an infection, so a same-day tick check matters.R&R Lotion, Vector Borne Diseases white paper, p. 6; poison ivy figure: Guide to Poisonous Plants white paper, p. 2

04 · Why we built it

Topical PPE for the rig

A long scene calls for the same short list every time: something that cleans hands with no water, sun and bug protection that holds through a long, sweaty day, and sizes that fit in a go-bag. That’s the kit.

Hand sanitizer doesn’t work well on hands that are visibly dirty or greasy. That’s why the kit has a scrub you can towel off.CDC, When and How to Wash Your Hands

05 · On scene

When to use what

1. 1
   At stagingSunscreen first, applied liberally to exposed skin 15 minutes before you’re in the sun. Then repellent over dry, exposed skin. For your face, put it in your palm and rub it on.
2. 2
   Every 2 hoursReapply sunscreen at least every 2 hours, after 80 minutes of sweating, and right after you towel off. Reapply repellent about every 8 hours, no more than 3 times a day.
3. 3
   Before you eatNo sink? Waterless hand cleaner: apply, scrub, towel off. Then sanitizing cream, rubbed in until absorbed.
4. 4
   Back inTick check: knees, groin, armpits, behind the ears, belly button and scalp. If you worked brush, wash with I.C. Ivy Cleanse and cool water, and wash gear separately.

Follow each product’s Drug Facts or EPA label directions and your agency’s infection-control and PPE protocols. Wildland and brush crews: I.C. Ivy Block is a bentonite clay barrier you put on before the brush (label actives zinc acetate 0.1% and dimethicone 3.0%).