Every year our troop goes up to Boy Scout camp at Robert S. Lyle scout reservation in Antigo Wisconsin. We take somewhere between 40 and 50 scouts each year who range in age from 11 to 18 years old. They spend a week-long time in the adventures of the outdoors sleeping in tents, cooking their own food, and having fun in all the different program areas. For some of them, it may be their first time away from home for that long of a period. Some scouts get a little homesick or have other problems is not uncommon. This camp year was no different than other years, with people always asking the scoutmaster questions on this and that in the next thing.
It was a standing rule whenever a scout didn’t feel well he should come to the scoutmaster and let him know. And this day was no different than any other any other year camp. A scout by the name of Blue came up to me. I was sitting in a group of people all other adults and we were just talking. He said he wanted to talk to me, I said fine he said no I need to talk to you in private. So we stepped off to the side and I asked him what was wrong. He says I need to go see the medical officer. I said what for? He says I have a rash. I said where is this rash? He says, “down there” as he points to his crotch. Knowing as most scouts probably he hasn’t taken a shower for the three or four days they have already been at camp. I recommended that he go and get his stuff for the shower and I would take them up to the health lodge after we stop at the shower. So he went and got his stuff for a shower while I got another adult to go up with me to the health lodge with him.
As we were exiting camp he seemed not to be carrying much and I asked if he had a bar of soap which he quickly responded NO my mom went shopping just before we left camp and there wasn’t any soap available, which kinda caught me off guard. What store does not have soap?? The other adult that was with me was Kathy, and she volunteered a bar soap that she had just purchased for a washstand we had in camp. So she went back and gathered that bar of soap and then we continued to walk up to the health lodge. While en route, I noticed Blue was not carrying the towel either. I asked Blue, where is your towel. He said I lost it. I asked how he planned on taking a shower without a towel, he said I will drip dry. Then again Kathy piped up and said, I have one in my car you can use. Blue said fine. So we got up to the shower facility, Kathy gathered the towel for Blue and we sent him into the shower facility. Kathy sat outside the door while I made my trip over to the health lodge to warn him that we had someone coming. I got to the health lodge and found the health officer it was in two or 3 minutes later Blue and Kathy came knocking on the door. My thought was, wow that was quick. So I stayed in the health lodge while Blue came in along with the health officer while Blue told the health officer the problem. The health officer instructed Blue that he would have to pull down his pants for him to see what the problem was, something none of us was looking forward to especially Blue. Just turned and looked at me and says I don’t want Mr. F in the room when I do that, which I responded quickly with Blue, I don’t wanna be here either but we have to for youth protection. I suggested that Blue turn around and look the other way while he pulled his pants down for inspection. That was not anything I wanted to see either. The health officer proceeded to check Blue for the rash but did not find anything. I had suggested to Blue that he show him exactly where it felt irritated. Blue pointed out and the health officer finally located an irritated area. Manned now ready with rubber gloves the health officer pursued to get some cream and put it on the rash. Needless to say no one was excited about this and all. He asked Blue if it felt any better, and Blue responded I guess a little. He then gave Blue instructions that he should make sure he keeps the area dry as we felt that it might have been caused by him possibly wearing his wet bathing suit longer than he should have. The health officer also told Blue if he had any more problems that he should come for up to the health lodge and he would take care of it, Blue seemed hesitant at best. I then suggested that if he had more of a problem if he came up to the health lodge that the health officer would give him some cream that he could apply in the bathroom on his own, he seemed much more willing for that option. So did the health officer, as he said “yeah that’s a great idea, next time you can put it on”. So Blue pulled up his pants and got ready to go, and I sent him outside and while I talked to the health officer privately. The health officer suggested that maybe Blue needed to do a little bit more on personal hygiene seeing if he had just taken a shower it wasn’t necessarily a good shower for him. That cleanliness might be a cure for this problem, which isn’t always easy to explain to a 14-year-old (it is also not uncommon for a scout to shower in their bathing suit). It was after this incident we never heard more from Blue about the problem so we can only assume that it had taken care of itself hopefully not wearing a wet bathing suit and maybe doing a little bit better on personal hygiene helped the situation out. After all, a Scout is Clean. So when it comes to the job of the scoutmaster there are pretty much no restrictions. It’s not an experience I would wish that anyone else would have, going into the health lodge to have that type of treatment, but it sure beats taking them to the hospital for other things, which I have done plenty of that as well.
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