Medicine for the Outdoors
The Essential Guide to First Aid and Medical Emergencies
- 7th Edition - October 13, 2022
- Authors: Tate Higgins, Ali S. Arastu, Paul S. Auerbach
- Language: English
- Paperback ISBN:9 7 8 - 0 - 3 2 3 - 6 8 0 5 6 - 1
- eBook ISBN:9 7 8 - 0 - 3 2 3 - 6 8 0 5 7 - 8
- eBook ISBN:9 7 8 - 0 - 3 2 3 - 6 8 0 5 8 - 5
For nearly 40 years, Medicine for the Outdoors: The Essential Guide to First Aid and Medical Emergencies has been the take-along manual of choice for anyone venturing into the… Read more
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Request a sales quoteFor nearly 40 years, Medicine for the Outdoors: The Essential Guide to First Aid and Medical Emergencies has been the take-along manual of choice for anyone venturing into the mountains, forest, desert, or on water. This essential guide provides highly illustrated, easy-to-follow guidance on immediate stabilization and treatment of persons with virtually any possible medical problem—designed for on-the-spot use when higher-level medical care is not accessible. Written by experts in outdoor medicine, this updated edition helps you manage any situation until medical personnel can take over.
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Covers key information on a wide range of disorders related to specific environments, including natural disasters, high-altitude problems, water-related incidents, heat- and cold-related illnesses, and wildland fires.
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Provides easy-to-understand recommendations for dealing with animal attacks, venomous wildlife, wild plant and mushroom poisoning, minor and major medical problems, infectious diseases, water disinfection, and severe bleeding.
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Discusses key topics, including antibiotics, medicines, opioid overdose treatment, wound closure techniques, severe bleeding, spinal assessment and immobilization, tourniquets, the use of a Gamow bag for severe altitude illness, splinting, dental emergencies, disaster preparedness, global conflict guidelines, canine medicine, today’s infectious disease threats, and much more.
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Includes up-to-date guidelines, even more helpful illustrations and diagrams, and a new chapter: Patient Assessment: A Structured Approach to Emergencies in the Outdoors.
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Includes advanced topics valuable to physicians and expedition medical staff at all levels of training and experience.
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Enhanced eBook version included with purchase. Your enhanced eBook allows you to access all of the text, figures, and references from the book on a variety of devices.
- Cover image
- Title page
- Table of Contents
- Copyright
- Preface
- About the authors
- List of Illustrations
- Part One. General Information
- How to use this book
- Before you go
- Be in good health
- Be prepared
- Common sense
- Falls prevention
- Rules of the road
- Conditioning and acclimatization
- Equipment
- Trip plans
- Medicines
- Nutrition
- Fluid requirements
- Personal hygiene and bodily waste disposal
- General injury prevention: Risk factors
- Disaster preparedness
- Disaster response triage
- Duty to assist
- General first aid principles
- While you are waiting for help to arrive
- Assisting a victim of starvation
- Medical decision-making
- Hand offs
- Patient assessment–a structured approach to emergencies in the outdoors
- Overview
- Primary survey (a search for immediate life threats)
- A note on ABC vs. CAB
- Airway
- Choking
- Helmet removal
- Breathing
- How to assist breathing (mouth-to-mouth)
- Circulation
- Disability and neurologic status
- Logrolling the victim (see Figs. 27 and 28)
- Lifting and moving a victim
- Expose and environment
- The secondary survey
- The physical exam
- Vital signs by age group
- Pulse oximetry
- Temperature
- History
- Part Two. Major Medical Problems
- Introduction
- An approach to the unconscious victim
- Drug overdose
- Long-term care of an unconscious or gravely disabled person
- Chest injury
- Broken ribs
- Flail chest
- Pneumothorax
- Bruised lung
- Treatment for chest injuries
- Serious lung disorders
- Asthma
- Pulmonary embolism
- Heart failure (often called “congestive heart failure”)
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- Pneumonia
- Chest pain
- Angina pectoris
- Heart attack (acute myocardial infarction “AMI” or “MI”)
- Treatment for a suspected heart attack
- Aortic dissection
- Very rapid heart rate
- High blood pressure
- Noncardiac causes of chest pain
- Bleeding
- Treatment for bleeding
- Applying a tourniquet
- Internal bleeding
- Shock
- Head injury
- Concussion
- Treatment principles for head injuries
- Simplified motor score
- AVPU
- ACDU
- Pain control
- Lacerations of the scalp
- Allergic reaction
- Treatment for a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis)
- Seizure
- Treatment for seizure
- Fractures and dislocations
- Compartment syndrome
- Splints and slings
- Taping
- Specific injuries
- Neck
- Logrolling the victim (see Figs. 27 and 28)
- “Clearing” a cervical spine
- Skull and face
- Nose
- Jaw
- Wrist, hand, and finger
- Forearm
- Elbow
- “Nursemaid’s elbow”
- Upper arm
- Collarbone (clavicle)
- Shoulder dislocation
- Shoulder separation
- Rib
- Thoracic and lumbar spine (chest and lower back)
- Pelvis
- Tailbone (coccyx)
- Femur
- Hip
- Knee and kneecap
- Lower leg
- Ankle
- Toe
- Heel
- Amputation
- Burns
- Definitions (Fig. 132)
- Treatment for burns
- Tar burn
- Burn prevention
- Inhalation injuries
- Thermal injury
- Smoke (chemical) injury
- Air quality index for particles
- Aspiration injury
- Carbon monoxide poisoning
- Abdominal pain
- General evaluation
- Physical examination
- Epigastrium
- Right upper quadrant
- Left upper quadrant
- Right lower quadrant
- Left lower quadrant
- Lower abdomen (central)
- Flanks (sides of lower back)
- Problems of ovaries and vagina
- Ovarian infection
- Ovulation, ovarian cyst, and torsed (twisted) ovary
- Bleeding from the vagina
- Vaginitis, vaginal discharge, and vaginal infections
- Emergency contraception
- Safe sex
- Disorders of the kidneys, bladder, and prostate
- Bladder infection
- Kidney infection
- Kidney stone
- Blood in the urine
- Acute urinary retention
- Prostate infection
- Problems of the penis and testicles
- Painful testicle
- Penile discharge
- Infection of the foreskin (balanitis)
- Safe sex
- Emergency childbirth
- Complicated deliveries
- Cellulitis of the breast (mastitis)
- Diabetes
- Stroke
- Infectious diseases
- Fever in the returning traveler
- Malaria
- Yellow fever
- Dengue
- Chikungunya fever
- West nile viral disease
- Zika virus disease
- Eastern equine encephalitis
- Tick bites and prevention
- Relapsing fever
- Rocky mountain spotted fever
- Colorado tick fever
- Lyme disease
- Ehrlichiosis
- Anaplasmosis
- African tick-bite fever
- Babesiosis
- Schistosomiasis
- Trichinellosis (trichinosis)
- Leptospirosis
- Tularemia
- Typhoid and paratyphoid fevers
- Meningococcal disease (including meningitis)
- Tetanus
- Ebola, lassa, and other viruses that cause “hemorrhagic fevers”
- Emerging infectious diseases
- COVID-19
- Rabies
- Part Three. Minor Medical Problems
- Introduction
- General symptoms
- Fainting
- Fatigue
- Fever and chills
- Cough
- Coughing blood
- Hiccups (hiccoughs)
- Dizziness
- Head (including eye, ear, nose, throat, and mouth)
- Headache
- Bell’s palsy
- Ear and hearing
- Eye
- Contact lenses
- Nose
- Throat
- Mouth and teeth (dental)
- Upper respiratory disorders
- Common cold
- Influenza
- Bronchitis
- Pleuritis
- Hay fever
- Disorders of the gastrointestinal tract
- Diarrhea
- Gluten sensitivity
- Constipation
- Hemorrhoids, anal fissure, and rectal prolapse
- Flatus
- Heartburn
- Nausea and vomiting
- Vomiting blood
- Ulcer disease
- Hepatitis
- Skin disorders
- Sunburn
- Sunscreens
- Melanoma
- Poison ivy, sumac, and oak (genus toxicodendron)
- Other irritating plants
- Rashes incurred in the water
- Hives
- Heat rash
- Intertrigo
- Chafe
- Impetigo
- Cellulitis, including from methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus
- Abscess
- Ingrown toenail
- Fingertip cracks
- Paronychia
- Felon
- Blisters
- Plantar warts
- Athlete’s foot, ringworm, and jock itch
- Tinea versicolor
- Onychomycosis
- Good foot care
- Diaper rash
- Armpit odor
- Lice
- Scabies
- Creeping eruption
- Shingles
- Herpes simplex virus genital infection
- Fever blisters
- Minor bruises and wounds
- Bruises
- Black eye
- Blood under the fingernail
- Torn fingernail
- Puncture wounds
- Impaled object
- Scrapes
- Cuts (lacerations)
- Skin flaps and avulsions
- Taping a wound closed
- Sewing (suturing) a wound closed
- Stapling a wound closed
- Gluing a wound closed
- Dress the wound
- Wound infection
- Seek medical care
- Bandaging techniques
- Abscess (boil)
- Scalp laceration (cut on the head)
- Fishhook removal
- Splinter removal
- Blisters
- Musculoskeletal injuries
- Overuse syndromes
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Cyclist’s palsy
- Saturday night palsy
- Rotator cuff tendinitis
- Turf toe
- Muscle fatigue
- Shin splints
- Plantar fasciitis
- Torn muscle
- Sprains, strains, and tendon rupture
- Muscle cramps
- Arthritis
- Bursitis
- Venous thrombosis and thrombophlebitis
- Back pain
- Mental health (psychiatric) emergencies
- Anxiety
- Panic
- Depression
- Delirium
- Psychosis
- Reaction to an injury or illness (acute stress disorder)
- Posttraumatic stress disorder
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
- Part Four. Disorders Related to Specific Environments
- Injuries and illnesses due to cold
- Hypothermia (lowered body temperature)
- Prevention of hypothermia
- Mild hypothermia
- Moderate hypothermia
- Severe and profound hypothermia
- Rewarming and preparing a hypothermic victim for transport
- Cold water immersion
- What to do if you fall through the ice
- How to assist someone who has fallen through the ice
- Winter storm preparedness
- Safe sledding
- Frostbite
- Treatment of frostbite
- Stages of frostbite
- Wound management after thawing
- Prevention of frostbite
- Frostnip
- Immersion foot (trench foot)
- Chilblain (pernio)
- Raynaud’s phenomenon
- Hives induced by exposure to cold
- Snow blindness
- Injuries and illnesses due to heat
- Burn injuries
- Heat-related illness (hyperthermia)
- Heat exhaustion and heat stroke
- Cooling the victim
- Muscle cramps
- Heat swelling
- Fainting
- Avoiding heat illness
- Wildland fires
- High-risk situations
- Standard fire encounter principles
- What to do when caught in a wildland fire
- High altitude–related problems
- Prevention of high altitude–related disorders
- High-altitude pulmonary edema
- High-altitude cerebral edema
- Acute mountain sickness
- Gamow bag (portable hyperbaric chamber)
- Other disorders of high altitude
- Snakebite
- Venomous snakes
- Signs of envenomation
- Pit vipers
- Coral snakes
- Treatment of snakebite
- Avoidance of venomous snakes
- Nonvenomous snakes
- Gila monster and Mexican beaded lizard
- Insect and arthropod bites
- Bees, wasps, hornets, and ants
- Spiders
- Scorpions
- Mosquitoes
- Mosquito avoidance
- Biting flies
- Fleas
- Chiggers
- Centipedes and millipedes
- Ticks
- Tick avoidance
- Tick removal
- Tick bite and red meat allergy
- Caterpillars
- Beetles
- Sucking bugs
- Skin infestation by fly larvae
- Insect repellents and other protection against insects
- Screens, bed nets, coils, candles, shields, and traps
- Repellents
- Leeches
- Lightning strike, tornado (cyclone), hurricane (typhoon), flood, earthquake, tidal wave (tsunami), landslide (mudslide), volcano, and snow avalanche
- Lightning strike
- Lightning avoidance and how to seek safety
- Tornado avoidance and how to seek safety
- Hurricane: How to seek safety
- Flood: How to seek safety
- Earthquake: What to do and how to seek safety
- Tidal wave: How to seek safety
- Landslide: How to seek safety
- Volcano
- What to do if working or traveling near an active volcano
- Snow avalanche
- Hazardous aquatic life and aquatic infections
- Sharks
- Shark avoidance
- Barracudas
- Moray eels
- Sponges
- Jellyfish
- Coral and barnacle cuts
- Sea urchins
- Starfish
- Cucumbers
- Bristleworms
- Cone snails (shells)
- Stingrays
- Avoidance of stingray injuries
- Catfish
- Scorpionfish
- Surgeonfish
- Octopuses
- Sea snakes
- Skin rashes caused by aquatic plants (seaweed dermatitis) or creatures (sea bather’s eruption, swimmer’s itch)
- Poisonings from seafood
- Scombroid fish poisoning
- Pufferfish poisoning
- Ciguatera fish poisoning
- Paralytic shellfish poisoning
- Hallucinatory fish poisoning
- Anisakidosis
- Underwater diving accidents
- Air embolism
- Decompression sickness (the “bends”)
- Nitrogen narcosis
- Ear squeeze
- Sinus squeeze
- Tooth squeeze
- Drowning
- Recognizing a victim of drowning
- Prevention of drowning
- Animal attacks
- Animal attacks
- General treatment
- Special considerations
- Avoidance of hazardous animals
- Wild plant and mushroom poisoning
- Medical history
- Treatment for poisonings
- Commonly ingested toxic plants and mushrooms
- Toxicity of common plants
- Part Five. Miscellaneous Information
- Oxygen administration
- Precautions
- Water disinfection
- Motion sickness
- Jet lag
- In flight
- Personal safety in an age of conflict, kidnapping, and terrorism
- Safe travel
- Kidnapping and hostage behavior
- Piracy
- Blast injuries
- First aid kits
- Basic supplies
- General supplies to consider
- Wound care: Preparations and dressings
- Splinting and sling material
- Eye medications and dressings
- Dental supplies
- Topical skin preparations
- Nonprescription medications
- Prescription medications (select what you feel you might need; the drugs listed are “for example”)
- Allergy kit
- Forest and mountain environments
- Aquatic environments
- Physicians abroad
- Immunizations
- Transport of the injured victim
- Lifting and moving techniques
- Carries and litters
- Helicopters
- Ground-to-air distress signals
- Lost people
- Procedures
- Intramuscular injection
- Fishhook removal
- Splinter removal
- Ring removal
- Zipper removal
- Knots and hitches
- Dealing with death
- Handling a dead body
- Emotional considerations
- Obtaining assistance
- Appendices
- Appendix One: Commonly used drugs (medications) and doses
- Appendix Two: Conversion tables
- Appendix Three: Guidelines for prevention of diseases transmitted via human blood and other bodily fluids
- Appendix Four: Commonly used applications of the SAM splint
- Appendix Five: Emergency canine medicine
- Glossary (Including Acronyms and Abbreviations)
- Index
- No. of pages: 576
- Language: English
- Edition: 7
- Published: October 13, 2022
- Imprint: Elsevier
- Paperback ISBN: 9780323680561
- eBook ISBN: 9780323680578
- eBook ISBN: 9780323680585
PA
Paul S. Auerbach
Dr. Paul S. Auerbach, FACEP, FAWM, is the Redlich Family Professor of Surgery in the Division of Emergency Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. He is the world's leading expert on wilderness medicine and a prolific author. He is the Editor of Wilderness Medicine, and author of Medicine for the Outdoors and Field Guide to Wilderness Medicine.
Dr. Auerbach holds his MD from Duke and completed his internship at Dartmouth and residency at UCLA. He is certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine. He has been recognized as a Hero of Emergency Medicine by the American College of Emergency Physicians and received the New Orleans Grand Isle Award for Science from the Academy of Underwater Arts and Sciences, the Founders Award from the Wilderness Medical Society, and the Outstanding Contribution in Education Award from the American College of Emergency Physicians, among others. Dr. Auerbach has served as a volunteer physician in Haiti, Nepal, and Guatemala.
Affiliations and expertise
Redlich Family Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California