Product Description

Manage any medical emergency you encounter in the great outdoors! Every day, more and more people are venturing into the wilderness and extreme environments...and many are unprepared for the dangers that come with these adventures. Whether these victims are stranded on mountain tops, lost in the desert, trapped deep in the woods, or injured far out at sea, this indispensable resource equips rescuers and health care professionals to diagnose and treat the full range of emergencies and health problems encountered in the wilderness!

• Prepares you to handle everything from frostbite to infection by marine microbes, not to mention other diverse injuries, bites, stings, poisonous plant exposures, animal attacks, and natural disasters.
• Introduces health care professionals to essential aspects of search and rescue.
• Helps you to improvise using available materials.

• Presents brand-new guidance on volcanic eruptions, extreme sports, splints and slings, wilderness cardiology, living off the land, aerospace medicine, mental health in the wilderness, tactical combat casualty care, and much more.
• Discusses how to meet the needs of specific patient populations such as children, women, elders, and the disabled.
• Offers guidelines for pain management, and addresses considerations for persons with chronic medical conditions.
• Equips you to make smart decisions about gear, navigation, nutrition, and survival.
• Moves all bibliographical references onto a bonus DVD in order to fit more content inside the book without making it too unwieldy.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #31959 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 2316 pages

Customer Reviews

The PDR for wilderness injuries & related illnesses
Foregoing knowledge of the existance of this text was unkown, until it was needed in an emergent situation on site. At that time a stingray injury required our immediate attention. With no previous experience in this kind of injury, the book provided immediate no frills information on treatment, backup care and procedures. After this experience, I carefully examined the text at length and was amazed at the comprehensive nature of the topic that was covered. I would recommend this text to be present in all health care provider libraries and offices, as it is in mine. Dr. H.J. Willis D.O. Emergency & Trauma Physicia

New edition is even better
It is no surprise that the Fifth Edition of this unique medical reference is better than ever. For those who are new to this authoritative tome, you will immediately notice how well it is organized to help those in an emergency effectively find the answers they need. The chapters cover Mountain Medicine, Cold and Heat, Burns, Fire and Radiation, Rescue and Survival, Injuries and Medical Intervention, Animals Insects and Zoonoses, Plants, Food and Water, Marine Medicine, Travel and Environmental Hazards, Equipment, Special Populations (issue related to children and the elderly) and the Wilderness.

Every subject is carefully explained so the medical injuries surrounding the subject can be identified and understood in context and with greater detail. For example, to understand how to rescue someone from an avalanche, the reader must understand how avalanches are formed. The book also goes into detail on rescue equipment and their correct use as well as proper self and organized rescues before discussing medical treatments for avalanche victims.

The bulk of the book consists of chapters regarding various injuries and conditions encompassing symptomology, description diagnostic techniques (tests and such) that can be employed, treatment options, and the range of expected prognoses--in a nutshell, what is the likely injury, how do we treat it, and what's the outlook in terms of cure and survival.

A wealth of reliable, understandable information is readily accessible primarily targeting the medical professional but also for the lay person accompanied by very helpful illustrations.

The update is most welcome, as the area of wilderness medicine has grown significantly beyond rescue of mountain climbers to the practice of medicine in situations of constrained resource, during times of catastrophe like 9/11 or Katrina and often in appalling conditions. This new edition also identifies new and better treatments of everything from high-altitude pulmonary and cerebral edema to heart stroke.

The definative source for wildernss medicine
Doctors have a hard enough time looking for the definative source for information that is current and accurate. Dr. Auerbach, founder of Wilderness Medical Society, has updated this tome with a cast of experts from across the globe, in fields that range from water disinfection to acute mountain sickness. The detailed and well-referenced chapters are clear and informative, giving both practical field-based treatment as well as care follow up care for the ER and primary care provider. It is equally useful for clinicians, researchers, and field-deployable medical providers in rural remote areas like paramedics, expedition docs, disaster relief personnel, military medics, and guides.