How to Assemble a Medical Kit for a Wilderness Trip
Advanced Wilderness Life Support
by pat
2y ago
Opinions vary, but over the years we’ve learned some principles to help put together a useful–but still packable–kit. To start, it’s good to consider which of the following items is NOT one of the Ten Essentials of survival gear? Navigation Sun Protection Emergency Shelter Toilet Paper Hydration Correct Answer: D – Although I may personally disagree, toilet paper is not necessarily a survival essential.  Still, human waste management should be considered to limit our impact on wilderness areas! The Ten Essentials are: navigation, sun protection, insulation, illumination, first-aid ..read more
Visit website
Wilderness on the Highway
Advanced Wilderness Life Support
by pat
2y ago
Because “Wilderness” is defined as a situation more than one hour from definitive medical care, you can certainly encounter a wilderness situation along the highway. Consider this case of a holiday drive home. What’s Your First Responder Priority? It’s 29 degrees outside and the wind keeps howling. Your grip tightens on the wheel. You were able to take the day off and head home for holidays, but seven hours into the trip, lumbering snowflakes crowd the windshield. You would have just cut across Pennsylvania, but the turnpike was a mess of accidents when you left, so here you are on I ..read more
Visit website
What You Need to Know about Snakebites and Treatment in the Wilderness
Advanced Wilderness Life Support
by pat
2y ago
Venonous Snakes The three major families of venomous snakes are: Elapidae (cobra, king cobra, krait, and coral snake): These snakes have heads that are of about the same width as their necks, round pupils and short, fixed fangs. They cannot bite through clothes and usually deliver only a sublethal dose of venom. Viperidae (vipers): Triangular wide head, elliptical pupils, long needle like mobile fangs. Crotalinae (pit vipers) like Rattlesnakes have a “pit” organ on the head to detect their warm-blooded prey Viper bites mainly affect the vascular system. Rapidly swelling, necrosis, dry g ..read more
Visit website
How to Make Litter Using Webbing
Advanced Wilderness Life Support
by pat
2y ago
In this video made by Madigan Austere and Wilderness Medicine Fellowship, rescuers fashion an evacuation litter from webbing. This technique would be ideal for 6 people to carry, but they also show how it can be used by two rescuers. If you’re interested in learning more about wilderness medicine, take advantage of our online wilderness medicine modules. Anyone can complete the interactive modules, and medical personnel can also earn CME credit. Courses include tick bite prevention, hand/wrist injuries in the wilderness, submersion injuries, lightning, Ebola, and many more. Browse the courses ..read more
Visit website
Patients with Helmets: Remove or Not?
Advanced Wilderness Life Support
by pat
2y ago
Imagine this.  You are the first responder on a ski patrol team.  You are called to the scene of a patient who has collided with a tree.  You determine that he has significant enough risk for spinal injury that you would like to put him in a c-collar and on a spinal board for extrication and transport.  The patient is wearing a helmet.  Should you remove it? A recent paper published in WEMJ attempted to answer this question.  Classic teaching has been to remove the helmet in order to properly assess, board, and collar the patient.  However, Murray and Rust (s ..read more
Visit website
Basics of Bear Safety
Advanced Wilderness Life Support
by pat
2y ago
Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My! Okay, maybe just bears. Having spent the last month in Yosemite and Denali National Parks, I certainly have learned plenty about bears, which are actually common in most of the United States. (Check out The National Park Service interactive bear map.) Whether you are a weekend car camper, solo backcountry enthusiast, or anything in between, it is good to have a basic knowledge of bear safety. Preventing Bear Interactions The best way to prevent a bear mishap is to avoid them completely. In most cases this can be done with some simple prevention tech ..read more
Visit website
May Flowers: Tips for Foraging Wild Edible Plants
Advanced Wilderness Life Support
by pat
2y ago
Springtime is an exciting time for foragers. Sweet, garlicky ramps emerge in the woods along with violets, fiddleheads, dandelions, and other delicious wild edibles. Foraging is a great way to get outdoors and learn more about the wilderness. Here are a few tips to consider before venturing out on your own foraging adventure. First and most important is to learn to identify the dangerous plant species in your area. Knowing the poisonous plants you might encounter will help you avoid accidentally harvesting non-edible look-alike plants. For example, there are several plants that might be confus ..read more
Visit website
Finger Pulley Injuries & Treatment Remedies
Advanced Wilderness Life Support
by pat
2y ago
A common injury for rock climbers is to finger flexor pulleys.  Climbers put massive stresses and dynamic loads on their fingers while trying to haul themselves up the wall. This post introduces a new therapy for these injuries. Breaking News!  There is now a rock climbing emoji!  This is almost as exciting as competitive rock climbing being included in the 2020 Olympics.  Designed by professional climber Sasha Digiulian, it features both male and female versions of a rock climber.  After tweeting her displeasure with the lack of a climbing emoticon to @GetEmoji about ..read more
Visit website
Using Drones for Search and Rescue
Advanced Wilderness Life Support
by pat
2y ago
Unmanned Aircraft Systems, or drones, have been used for military and government purposes for many years.  Recently, the consumer and commercial drone industry is growing exponentially.  Companies like UPS, Amazon, transportation agencies, telecommunications companies, Shell, and various media outlets are all capitalizing on the capabilities of drones. It seems like drones in search and rescue (SAR) would be a natural fit due to their need to cover substantial ground in often complex terrain.  Unfortunately, there has been no published scientific literature on the topic… until n ..read more
Visit website
Quicksand: Know How to Escape
Advanced Wilderness Life Support
by pat
3y ago
Two hikers were recently hiking the remote Subway Trail in Zion National Park, Utah, when, believe it or not, they became trapped in quicksand! The first hiker stepped in the colloid suspension and when the second hiker attempted to rescue her, he too became caught and buried up to his knee. The first hiker was able to escape, but no amount of effort from either of them could pry the second hiker loose. He was not only stuck in the frigid quicksand, but also exposed to the elements. There was no cell service in the area, and with no chance of extracting the second hiker on her own, the first h ..read more
Visit website

Follow Advanced Wilderness Life Support on FeedSpot

Continue with Google
Continue with Apple
OR