by Nate Kennedy

It is always good to have some basic medical knowledge, but couple a minor injury, like a bee sting, with environmental concerns, like being stuck on a muddy trail on a 100 degree afternoon as a thunderstorm looms and the patient has an allergic reaction to the sting, and a minor issue can compound quickly.

Wilderness Medicine has evolved to give some direction to the adventurous among us when such emergencies occur. Medicine is medicine, of course, and much of what you’ve learned in an urban setting carries over to the woods (clean and sterilize wounds, CPR technique, etc). But when you are more than an hour away from professional medical attention and it’s your job to determine if the patient’s life is on the line, the rules change.

Someone’s job becomes that of live saver, and possibly expedition-ender. Someone’s job becomes leader and decision maker, and the comfort of the group can depend on how prepared that person is.

The brief introduction that we provide here is by no means a replacement for wilderness first aid and wilderness first responder training. It is meant to be an introduction to some common emergency situations, and a primer on how to deal with them. If you are interested in pursuing wilderness medicine, contact: the Wilderness Medical Society (WMS), or the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS).

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