72 
SURVIVAL OK LAKD AKD SEA 
under a net as soon as possible after sunset. This, of course, is 
not always possible, particularly if you have lost part of your 
equipment and have no nets. Under such conditions one should 
cover all exposed parts of the body as far as possible and build 
a smudge of heavy smoke to help drive off the mosquitoes. If 
you have salvaged your first-aid kit and are fortunate enough 
to have atabrine in it, take it. Take 0.1 gm. (1 y 2 grains) just 
before dinner six days a week. If your first-aid kit contains 
quinine instead of atabrine take 0.6 gm. (10 grains) each day 
after the evening meal. 
Seldom seen but often felt are the mites, commonly called red 
bugs, bicha colorada, coloradilla, bete rouge, jiggers or chiggers 
( although they are not true chiggers ) that are widely distributed 
in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Australia, Japan, and the East 
Indies. They are bright red in color but are so small that they 
are scarcely visible without a magnifying glass. Their bites 
do not start to itch for several hours, but once they begin, the 
itching lasts for several days. It can be helped temporarily 
by painting the bites with iodine, proflavine, zephiran, or what- 
ever agent you may have. As far as you are able to avoid it, 
don’t scratch dhese places as you are likely to break the skin 
and start an infection that will produce an ulcer which is ex- 
tremely difficult to heal even when frequently and carefully 
dressed. This holds true for any kind of bug bite. One common 
rule in the tropics is, If you must scratch , keep your fingernails 
cut short . The only sure protection against these mites is to 
avoid going into long grass or other bushy vegetation—a thing 
practically impossible to do if you are trying to work your way 
out of a jungle — to dust finely powdered sulphur (if you have 
it) over your skin and into your underclothing and socks, to use 
