Pocket First Aid and Wilderness Medicine

Jim Duff has more than 30 years' experience of climbing, trekking and teaching wilderness medicine, first aid and leadership in the Himalayas. He was doctor on Chris Bonington's 1975 Expedition, which made the first ascent of Everest's Southwest face, and on the Australian first ascent of the North face of Everest in 1984. As well as expeditions to K2 and Changabang, Jim has climbed in the UK, the Alps, Norway, New Zealand and North America. Dr Peter Gormly was involved in safety, first aid and health issues in Antarctica for many years.

Diagram: The skeleton
Diagram: The internal organs
Abbreviations and conversion tables
Preface
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PART 1 THE FUNDAMENTALS

1 Prevention

Preparation (hope for the best, plan for the worst)
Keeping healthy
Safety in extreme climates
Particular situations
Care of local people

2 Positioning and moving a victim

Positioning a victim
Immobilization techniques
Ways to move a victim

3 Medications - what you need to know

The basics
Special considerations
At altitude

4 Pain management

Painkillers (analgesics)
Other medications and techniques for pain relief

PART 2 ACCIDENT AND ILLNESS PROTOCOL

5 Accident and illness protocol summary

6 Primary survey - dealing with life-threatening emergencies

Response
Airway
Breathing
CPR or chest compressions

7 Primary survey for specific situations

Suspected spinal injuries
Life-threatening bleeding
Choking (blocked airway)
Near-drowning (submersion)
Hypothermic victim
Primary survey for children
Fainting
Triage

8 Shock management

Common causes of shock
Symptoms and signs of shock
Shock prevention and management

9 Secondary survey - working out what the problem is

Taking a medical history
Carrying out a physical examination
Checking the vital signs

10 Evacuation

Sending for help
Evacuating the victim
Helicopter evacuation

PART 3 PROBLEMS AND THEIR TREATMENT

11 Spinal and head injuries

General management of spinal and head injuries
Spinal (neck and backbone) injuries
Head (skull and brain) injuries

12 Burns

Burn management
Specific burns

13 Broken bones and dislocations

General management of broken bones (fractures)
Specific broken bones
General management of dislocations
Specific dislocations

14 Sprains and strains

General management of sprains and strains
Specific sprains and strains

15 Wounds

General management of wounds
Complications
Specific wounds

16 Bites, stings and toxins

On land
At sea

17 Near-drowning and diving problems

Near-drowning (submersion)
Diving

18 Altitude illness - AMS, HACE and HAPE

AMS, HACE and HAPE
Treatment of altitude illness
Going back up again?
Treatment of altitude illness (table)

19 Cold weather problems

Hypothermia
Frostnip and frostbite

20 Hot weather problems

Heat stress, heat exhaustion and heat stroke
Other hot weather problems

21 Dehydration

Type of rehydration
Amount of rehydration liquid
Rate of rehydration

22 Diarrhoea and food poisoning

Mild diarrhoea
Severe diarrhoea
Food poisoning

23 Abdominal (belly) problems

Common abdominal problems
Serious abdominal problems
Specific serious abdominal problems

24 Respiratory problems

Respiratory tract infections
Non-infective respiratory problems

25 Infectious diseases

Malaria
Typhoid
Meningitis
Tick-borne diseases
Viral illnesses
Dengue fever
Hepatitis A
Rabies
Yellow fever
Japanese B encephalitis
Other infectious diseases

26 Eyes, ears and mouth

Eyes
Ears
Mouth and teeth

27 Skin problems

Rashes
Other skin problems

28 Gender-specific problems and STIs

Women
Men
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs)

29 Other problems

Allergy
Diabetes
Epilepsy (Grand Mal)
Fever (cause unknown)
Headache and migraine
Blood circulation (vascular) problems
Mental problems
Insomnia (cannot sleep, poor sleep)

APPENDICES
Appendix 1 Chart of medications
Appendix 2 First aid kits
Appendix 3 Lake Louise Score (LLS)
Appendix 4 Altitude illness flowchart
Appendix 5 Rescue request forms
Appendix 6 Useful contacts
Appendix 7 Index of diagrams


Index