SANParks.org Forums

We often give out advice or ask for advice, but there has never really been a feedback thread. I am going to start one. Advice that I asked about an animal problem has proved invaluable to my pets and myself.

Thanks Jenb

I wrote some time ago asking about my limping dog who seemed to have a fungal infection between the pads at the bottom of his front paw.

Jenb suggested Gentian violet.

It worked in a few days. My hands looked very pretty. , but my dog stopped limping. I started using gentian violet on many other minor problems and realised that it really does clear up infection.

My elderly foxy is allergic to fleas and licks his flea bites until the area is raw. Keeping fleas off a dog in the veld is a bit like keeping a hungry toddlers hands off chocolate at a check out counter. I found that if I applied a little gentian violet it dried up the bite and he did not have the need to soothe the area.

I recently developed a nasty infection in my nail bed. It was very painful and my usual treatment, "bactroban" had disappeared into noman's land. I applied gentian violet and within a few hours I could feel the pain subside. It has cleared up completely with no other treatment.

I find that my response to sand fleas in the Park is terrible. I can still be struggling for weeks after leaving. On my last trip I applied gentian violet and have had no problems.

This is my first feedback post. I am wondering if any of the other mites have had simlar experiences from advice asked

The advice given by you MM to freeze bottles of water or cold drink and take them with you the next day on your trips during very hot weather worked for us in November last year when it was so hot - above 40 degrees . Just curious - what is “gentian violet” and where do you buy it?

Grantmissy gentian violet comes in a little bottle , is not expensive, and can be bought in the medical section of the super market or of course at a pharmacy . Its very messy but it works . I always have some in my med cupboard.

Crystal violet or Gentian violet (also known as Methyl Violet 10B, hexamethyl pararosaniline chloride, or pyoctanin(e)[2]) is a triarylmethane dye. The dye is used as a histological stain and in Gram’s method of classifying bacteria. Crystal violet has antibacterial, antifungal, and anthelmintic properties and was formerly important as a topical antiseptic. The medical use of the dye has been largely superseded by more modern drugs, although it is still listed by the World Health Organization.

The name "gentian violet" was originally used for a mixture of methyl pararosaniline dyes (methyl violet) but is now often considered a synonym for crystal violet. The name refers to its colour, being like that of the petals of a gentian flower; it is not made from gentians or from violets.

After reading this thread I decided to google "gentian violet" and see what came up. Clicking on "Images", I was amazed at the number of pictures depicting babies with purple mouths (apparently stained by gentian violet"). Was this done on purpose? (in other words are there a known use for gentian violet in babies' mouths -- maybe something to do with teething?) And isn't gentian violet poisonous when ingested? Just wondering...

Gentian Violet was used to treat thrush in babies mouths, don't think it is any longer and yes, it made them look very odd indeed.
Possibly it would be poisonous if ingested in large quantities.

It is wonderful for mouth ulcers and cold sores too -- if you don't mind walking around with a purple mouth

Never managed to poison any of my kids by using it

Also great for those little old ladies who want an inexpensive purple tint to their white hair ..works very well.A drop in the rinsing water does the trick !!!

So the advice continues. Thanks for the further uses on Gentian violet. My earliest memories of that purple muti was as a young child.

We campers all know how hard the ground is in Kruger. It didn’t matter what quality the tent pegs were, they always seemed to land up getting bent after being hammered into rock like soil. Now I never travel without 6 inch nails (or longer) and washers. These have replaced my tent pegs in most instances.
This very valuable piece of advice came from ecojunkie, if my memory serves me correctly.

Well, last year the lens fell out of my specs while in Lower Sabie. I posted a plea for help and Oddessy replied suggesting cotton. It worked like a dream, saved me an expensive visit to the opticians and I helped out a work colleague who had a similar problem recently. I never go anywhere without a needle and thread now.

Hi Saraf, did it fall out because of the tiny screw at the side holding the lens section of the specs together?

Yes. In my case the screw didn't fall out but had just worked it's way loose. I now have a small screw driver to fix that. But in Kruger I just bound the two sections together. If the screw falls out then you should be able to "sew" the sections together using the screw hole. It's only a repair job until you can get to an opticians to have them fixed, but it works.