Emergency Situations in the Wilderness

Found a good "Emergencies In The Wilderness" link? Let Us Know!

Backwoods Surgery & Medicine: A few suggestions on how to treat the commoner injuries and diseases that may befall those who seek recreation in the remote wilds. The rules will necessarily be brief and from the nature of things easily followed. The woods loafer should learn them and be prepared whenever the occasion arises. Works on first aid, written ostensibly for the guidance of the laymen, are apt to presuppose a far greater supply of surgical necessities than the hunter cares to burden himself with. It is one thing to apply surgical measures, having at hand a well-filled emergency bag, and quite another to render the same assistance with nothing to depend upon but your native adaptability. My intention is to tell in the plainest and simplest manner possible how to render intelligent assistance to an injured comrade, using only the fewest appliances and those of the most primitive character.

Emergencies during wilderness trips - A description about how to handle them within the framework of a group.

Steps to follow during a wilderness emergency - A set of logically consistent steps for surviving any accident or disaster.

How to Deal with Emergencies in the Wilderness Smart planning is your best defense in a wilderness emergency by Betsey Foster, MPH, and C. Ben Woodard, WEMT: It's a beautiful day in the mountains. You and your friends are hiking out after a long day on the trail. Martha, the leader of your group, is leaping from rock to rock with a 20-pound day pack. Suddenly, you hear a gut-wrenching scream and see her crumpled among the boulders. When you reach her, you see her leg wedged between the boulders. It looks like she has a kneecap where her shin should be. Martha has suffered a fractured fibula. You and the rest of the group are still above tree line, clouds are moving in, and there is only one hour of daylight left. What do you do next?

The Glasgow Coma Score. Evaluates the extent of an individual's brain injuries. See also: Freeware Download for Palm OS v2.0+

Organ Injury Scaling. by trauma.org. Evaluates the extent of an individual's organ injuries

Poison Oak FAQ. by M. Davis. An informative write up on this incredibly evil plant, and how to deal with the itching once you have the rash.

Poison Ivy: Protecting Yourself Naturally by Randal Jones Usually, a person’s resistance to the plant will diminish with each exposure. This is why some individuals, who for years have never been affected by poison ivy, acquire a blistering rash. At any rate, the best way to make sure that you do not get a case of poison ivy is to immunize yourself. And the easiest way to immunize you is to ingest poison ivy. MEG's NOTE: I've never heard of this- but that doesn't make it true or untrue. PLEASE DISCUSS THIS WITH A QUALIFIED DOCTOR BEFORE TRYING IT!!!!! [Link recovered 7/10/11]

Sassafras: The Real One by Randal Jones Sassafras' medicinal value was first introduced to the Europeans in the mid-1950's. Around this time, a naive group of French Huguenots attempted to colonize a very small section, of what is now, northeastern Florida. These Frenchmen failed miserably. They failed because they did not grow any food! They relied on the indigenous people for almost everything. Needless to say, these Frenchmen got to know the habits of their native saviors very well. And, there were two such habits that the French colonists thought were worthy of note. One was the smoking of tobacco and the other was the consumption of sassafras. [Link recovered 7/10/11]

June Bug Medicinal Insect by Brent Ladd When toasted in hot ashes, the internal body parts and juices of the bug congeal into a nugget of pure golden nutrition. After peeling off shriveled legs, wings, and wing case, the remaining orb of nourishment can be eaten one at a time or by the handful. [Link recovered 7/10/11]

Wound Care (from scrapes to sutures) By George E. Dvorchak Jr. M.A., M.D. - Text file also available in .pdf format. See also: Wilderness First Aid- Dvorchak. pdf 7 Pages

Earth Medicine: Talc by T. R. Zimmermann Talc is a soft, hydrous compound composed of magnesium silicate, also known as soapstone, steatite, or grease rock. The mineral is widespread, often occurring in limestone formations, eroded clays, and in metamorphosed schist and gneiss strata where it forms either thick veins or as a mass of stone. [Link recovered 7/10/11]

Snow Blind on Mount Shasta!. by P. Richins Jr. An account of snow blindness, and how to prevent it.

Hot Days and Hot Heads: Understanding Heat Illness . by B. Tilton. Prevention and treatment. In order to survive as a species, humans adapted in their own special ways, with virtually hairless skin filled with abundant sweat glands and powered by a cardiovascular system of marvelous endurance. Those same additions allow you spring and summer. You are not however, a foolproof design. Overheating can ruin your day, and your life. [Link recovered 7/10/11]

Cooler Heads Prevail Heat Stroke, Dehydration & Prevention. by B. Tilton. Discusses the differences and treatment of dehydration, heat exhaustion and heat stoke.

Histoplasmosis: Protecting Workers at Risk. by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. An excellent write up on histoplasmosis, and how to protect yourself against it.

An Idiot's Guide to Gas Detection For people who should know better than to volunteer for Confined Space Rescue! by Technical Rescue Magazine. These folks use a lot of fancy equipment, but then again, so do some cavers!

Biological Hazards A review of some uncommon caving hazards.

HR³ Information - Testing Cave Air Quality During the summer of 1996, members of HR³ located a new Tennessee pit that contained "bad air". After posting a note on TAGNET and the Cavers Digest, several cavers posted follow-up messages that gave information on detecting bad air in caves. After receiving permission from the authors of the articles, HR³ decided to make their articles (along with other information about bad air) available here. [Link recovered 7/10/11]

What To Do if an Injury Occurs While Caving by Eastern Region NCRC. Basic steps to take if an accident occurs:

So your on a caving trip and you or a member of your team becomes injured. In the minutes after this happens you must do several things to insure the safety of the injured and the team. The following is a checklist that everyone that caves should keep in mind just in case an injury happens.

Protect yourself first then your patient. Don't become a victim yourself.
Ensure that you can obtain access to the injured person safely. Check for unsafe conditions before entering an accident site and correct all dangerous conditions.
Determine extent of injuries and stabilize the patient if you have the skill. Treat for hypothermia prevention.
Determine if the person can walk/crawl out, can be assisted to walk/crawl out, or if you will need assistance to get the person out. If there is any chance of spinal injury do not move the patient accept to prevent further injury.
If the injury is serious, use your own judgement. Begin to take notes about your patient. Pulse, respiration, and skin temperature are minimum, clearly time and date all data.
If you need outside help, send for it or wait for your backup person to notify authorities. Remember that your backup person can only call for backup if they know exactly which cave you are at and when to expect your return from that cave.
Inventory all equipment in your group to determine what is available; to help your patient survive, to aid your survival, and determine what may be needed from the outside. Get the information to the surface.
When possible two people should be sent out for help, they should leave as much food and water and dry clothing as possible for the people that remain with the patient. They should carry a copy of all notes concerning patient condition and location. Include information about your needs as well as what you have on site to treat the patient with. Your messengers need to know emergency telephone numbers, have keys to vehicles, and have knowledge and experience to get out safely.

References Universal Study Guide for Cave Rescue Training, by the Eastern Region of the National Cave Rescue Commission. Page 9-6.

Psychological Factors and Cascading Errors: A Fatal Accident Case-Study[My Cave, W.Va.] by William K. Storage and John H. Ganter. NSS News, September 1990. What make a tragedy? According to this analysis, mistake after mistake, after mistake... (BTW, we agree). [Link recovered 7/10/11]

SAM Splint Training. by Seaberg Company. Everything you wanted to know about SAM splints, and how to use them. {Now PDF Download only}

The Camping Headache. by E. Antons. Why we get headaches while out in the woods, and how to prevent them.

Common Chemical Methods for Water Disinfection. by B. Tilton and F. Hubbell. An overview of water treatment.

Hypothermia & Cold Water Survival. A nice write up on how to prevent hypothermia if you're in the water.

Preventing Giardia Infection. by N. Beer. How to prevent and treat Giardia infections.

Lyme Disease. by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An Overview. [Link recovered 7/10/11]

All about Hantavirus. by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A great overview. [Link recovered 7/10/11]

Information on Plague. by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A nice write up. This is of interest to those who have to deal with it in the lava tubes of the western U.S. [Link recovered 7/10/11]

High Altitude Medicine Guide - Altitude Illness Clinical Guide For Physicians. by T. Dietz. A thorough write up on the treatment of altitude illness. [Link recovered 7/10/11]

High Altitude Medicine Guide - All About Altitude Illness. by T. Dietz. A write up on altitude illness, written for the layman. Contains nice descriptions of symptoms. [Link recovered 7/10/11] See the new, updated version: An Altitude Tutorial

Harness Hang Pathology. by J. Green. READ THIS ARTICLE! You can die from harness hang pathology in a matter of minutes. Any vertical caver should understand how this works, and what to do about it.

Harness Induced Pathology. by the National Outdoor Leadership School. A scary look at what happens when you hang in your harness too long.

Acetylene: Produced By Carbide. by Brian Roebuck. A discussion of the hazards of exposure to Acetylene gas. [Link recovered 7/10/11]

Hypothermia - Physiology, Signs, Symptoms and Treatment Considerations. by the Search and Rescue Society of British Columbia. A really nice article on the methods of heat loss, and how to recognize and treat hypothermia. [Link recovered 7/10/11]

Altitude Illness. by T. Schimelpfenig & L. Lindsey. A discussion of the symptoms and treatment of altitude illness, from the NOLS Wilderness First Aid book. [Link recovered 7/10/11]

Are you exposing yourself to histoplasmosis?. by G. Smith. Talks about how cavers can get histo.

Carbon Dioxide, Caves, and You. by G. Smith. A nice overview about carbon dioxide in caves and its effects on the caver.

Radon Update. by the SNM Committee on Radiobiological Effects of Ionizing Radiation. More than you wanted to know about radon, and how it affects you.

Weil's Disease. by the Weil's Disease Information Center. A very thorough write up on Weil's Disease (Leptospirosis).

A Wilderness EMS Medical Kit. by K. Conover, A very complete list for a wilderness EMT.

OA Guide to Heat Related Illnesses & Fluid Balance. by R. Curtis. How hydration can affect your performance.

Can We Really Use Super Glue Instead of Suture? by A. Frye. Yes, really. [Link recovered 7/10/11]

Snakebite Emergency First-Aid Information. by S. Grenard. An overview of what to do... and NOT do for a venomous snake bite. Includes instruction on how to use the Sawyer Extractor. See also: Is Rattlesnake Venom Evolving? Recent reports suggest that the venom of North America's rattlesnakes is growing increasingly potent, making their bites more difficult to treat.

Cold Injuries. by T. Schimelpfenig & L. Lindsey. A discussion of cold weather injuries, from the NOLS Wilderness First Aid book. [Link recovered 7/10/11]

First Aid Tutorial. by P. Tilanus. A review of first aid.

First on the scene . by B. Tilton. Initial patient assessment.

Sprained Ankle Management . by B. Tilton. Treatment of sprained ankles, of course.

Closed-Head Injury: Sorry, There's No Room Left . by B. Tilton. How to deal with head injuries.

Open Wounds . by B. Tilton. More of Buck's wisdom on wound management.

Road Rash - Road Optional. by B. Tilton. Buck's methods on managing scrapes [Link recovered 7/10/11]

Wound Cleaning 101. by B. Tilton. How to clean out a wound in the wilderness. [Link recovered 7/10/11]

Managing Minor Burns. by B. Tilton. A nice little article on treating small burns. [Link recovered 7/10/11]

Black Widow Spiders. by B. Tilton. First aid and bite prevention. [Link recovered 7/10/11]

Pit Vipers. by B. Tilton. Preventing and treating bites. [Link recovered 7/10/11]

Brown Recluse Spiders. by B. Tilton. Avoiding the bite. [Link recovered 7/10/11]

Scorpion Stings. by B. Tilton. First aid tips for easing the pain. [Link recovered 7/10/11]

Backcountry 911: 1,001 Uses for Duct Tape and Safety Pins: Learn how to use common supplies to treat emergencies in extreme environments. How to improvise in the construction of splints and transport aids. The minimum necessary supplies and how you can use them will be reviewed. [Link recovered 7/10/11]

Wilderness and Environmental Medicine presents original research and clinical reports from scientists and practitioners around the globe. It publishes articles on all aspects of wilderness medicine, including high altitude and climbing, cold- and heat-related phenomena, natural environmental disasters, immersion and near-drowning, diving and barotrauma, hazardous plants/animals/insects/marine animals, animal attacks, search and rescue, ethical and legal issues, aeromedical transport, survival physiology, medicine in remote environments, travel medicine, and wilderness trauma management. [Link recovered 7/10/11]

Horse Accidents With Injuries: January through March 2002 [reproduced from Spring 2002 Caution: Horses] What kinds of injuries result from horse accidents? From what kinds of accidents do serious injuries result? Here are brief summaries of stories from English-language newspapers and similar sources throughout the world reporting on deaths and injuries to humans from accidents involving horses. The full story is often available on the web site of the newspaper that reported the accident. Sometimes, those archived stories are available without charge and sometimes for a small fee. The name of the newspaper and the date of each story have been included in the summary to facilitate locating the full story. [Link recovered 7/10/11]

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