Medicine for the Outdoors

CLIMBING: Training for Peak Performance

2009-11-21T05:00:00.000-08:00

The Mountaineers Books has just published CLIMBING: Training for Peak Performance, 2nd edition, by Clyde Soles. This is a classic fitness manual for climbers. The book is written for climbers of all ages, abilities and interests, and covers the latest advances in the sciences of nutrition and fitness, includes tips for preparing mentally and physically, preventing injury, and rehabilitation, and...

Essential Oil Candles as Mosquito Repellents

2009-11-18T05:00:00.000-08:00

From the Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association comes an interesting article by BC Muller and colleagues (J Am Mosquito Control Assoc 2008;24:154-160) entitled “Ability of Essential Oil Candles to Repel Biting Insects in High and Low Biting Pressure Environments.” Anyone who has spent much time outdoors, whether on a camping trip or enjoying a backyard picnic, has encountered the...

Thanks to the Exhibitors at the WMS Annual Meeting

2009-11-14T05:00:00.000-08:00

At the Wilderness Medical Society Annual Meeting held in Snowmass, Colorado from July 24-29, 2009, there were a number of exhibitors. In thanks for their support of the WMS and because they had interesting products and services that I believe might be of interest to you, I'm going to mention a few of them here. The first is Katabatic Consulting and Technical Services. Katabatic offers special...

Thank You to CRZEGRL, FLIGHT NURSE for Grand Rounds

2009-11-11T14:32:00.000-08:00

Thank you to CRSEGRL, FLIGHT NURSE for mentioning my post about using recombinant factor VIIa for rattlesnake envenomation in this week's Grand Rounds. Grand Rounds is a weekly compilation of health care posts from around the web compiled by a host, who goes to great lengths to make the collection informative and entertaining.

Evidence-Based Management of Wilderness Injuries

2009-11-11T05:00:00.000-08:00

This is the next post based upon a presentation given at the Wilderness Medical Society Annual Meeting held in Snowmass, Colorado from July 24-29, 2009. The presentation was entitled “Evidence-based Management of Wilderness Trauma with Case Studies from Vermont Search & Rescue.” It was delivered by Tim Burdick, MD, who is a Fellow of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine, Assistant Professor of...

Tales of A Shaman's Apprentice

2009-11-10T20:08:00.000-08:00

I just received notification from my good friend Mark Plotkin, one of the world's most accomplished ethnobotanists, about a great interview with physician Christopher Herndon about how Amazon shamans diagnose and treat disease. It is a fascinating read, so check it out.

The Environment and Your Health Podcast

2009-11-08T22:02:00.000-08:00

Monte Ladner, MD has a very interesting website, Fitness Rocks, via which he presents podcasts on topics of medical interest. I had the good fortune to be interviewed recently on the topic "The Environment and Your Health: an Interview with Paul Auerbach, M.D." Here's the description: Listen to Fitness Rocks Podcast 146 Environmental issues like global warming, air pollution, water pollution,...

Recombinant Factor VIIa for Rattlesnake Envenomation

2009-11-07T05:00:00.000-08:00

In a recent issue of Wilderness & Environmental Medicine (Volume 20, Number 2, 2009), Anne-Michelle Ruha and Steven Curry have written an article entitled “Recombinant Factor VIIa for Treatment of Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage Following Rattlesnake Envenomation.” This is a “case report,” meaning that this is a description of a particular medical event, rather than a study. To open the piece, the...

Wilderness Management

2009-11-04T05:00:00.000-08:00

The fourth edition of Wilderness Management, authored by Chad P. Dawson and John C. Hendee and published by Fulcrum Publishing of Golden, Colorado, is a gem. Subtitled Stewardship and Protection of Resources and Values, this book is must-read for anyone involved in natural resources management. Given that the entire concept of wilderness medicine is predicated upon there being wilderness, this...

Thank You to Non-Clinical Medical Jobs, Careers, and Opportunities for Grand Rounds

2009-11-03T11:01:00.000-08:00

Thank you to Non-Clinical Medical Jobs, Careers, and Opportunities for mentioning my post about sea urchin spine puncture management in this week's Grand Rounds. Grand Rounds is a weekly compilation of health care posts from around the web compiled by a host, who goes to great lengths to make the collection informative and entertaining.

Jellyfish and Such

2009-10-31T05:00:00.000-07:00

This is the fourth post based upon my presentation given at the Wilderness Medical Society Annual Meeting held in Snowmass, Colorado from July 24-29, 2009. The presentation was entitled “Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Go Back in the Water.”” The topic was an overview of hazardous marine animals and it was delivered by me. In the previous posts, there was information about sharks, stingrays...

Sea Urchins and Such

2009-10-28T05:00:00.000-07:00

This is the third post based upon my presentation given at the Wilderness Medical Society Annual Meeting held in Snowmass, Colorado from July 24-29, 2009. The presentation was entitled “Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Go Back in the Water.”” The topic was an overview of hazardous marine animals and it was delivered by me. In the previous post, there was information about stingrays and...

Thank You to codeblog for Grand Rounds

2009-10-27T21:47:00.000-07:00

Thank you to codeblog for mentioning my post about shark attacks in this week's Grand Rounds. Grand Rounds is a weekly compilation of health care posts from around the web compiled by a host, who goes to great lengths to make the collection informative and entertaining.

Stingrays and Such

2009-10-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

This is the next post based upon my presentation given at the Wilderness Medical Society Annual Meeting held in Snowmass, Colorado from July 24-29, 2009. The presentation was entitled “Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Go Back in the Water.”” The topic was an overview of hazardous marine animals and it was delivered by me. In the previous post, there was information about shark attacks. In...

Shark Attack Review

2009-10-21T05:00:00.001-07:00

This is the next post based upon a presentation given at the Wilderness Medical Society Annual Meeting held in Snowmass, Colorado from July 24-29, 2009. The presentation was entitled “Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Go Back in the Water.”” The topic was an overview of hazardous marine animals and it was delivered by me. Because of the length of the presentation, I am going to divide it into...

Thank You to SHARPBRAINS for Grand Rounds

2009-10-20T07:57:00.000-07:00

Thank you to SHARPBRAINS for mentioning my post about the Slishman Femur Traction Splint in this week's Grand Rounds. Grand Rounds is a weekly compilation of health care posts from around the web compiled by a host, who goes to great lengths to make the collection informative and entertaining.

Slishman Femur Traction Splint

2009-10-17T05:00:00.000-07:00

Every one in a while, an inventor comes up with something remarkable, not only in its ingenuity, but in its simplicity and applicability. Whenever I see something like that, I usually mutter or marvel, "I wish I had thought of that." Such is the case with the original ski pole Slishman Splint, invented by my friend Dr. Sam Slishman. Wilderness medical types are familiar with the difficulties...

Conservation Biology: Evolution in Action

2009-10-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

Scott Carroll and Charles Fox have edited an excellent book entitled Conservation Biology: Evolution in Action. The publisher is Oxford University Press (2008). As stated in the Preface, the thesis is that "at no time in the nearly four billion years since the origin of life on earth has our planet seen such tremendous environmental change." Even taking into account the major mass extinctions in...

Wilderness Water

2009-10-10T05:00:00.000-07:00

This is the next post based upon a presentation given at the Wilderness Medical Society Annual Meeting held in Snowmass, Colorado from July 24-29, 2009. The presentation was entitled “Wilderness Water: From Lowland Jungles to High Elevation Mountains.” It was delivered by one of the gurus of wilderness water – Robert W. Derlet, MD, who is a Professor in the School of Medicine at the University of...

NOLS CME Expeditions for Medical Professionals

2009-10-07T05:00:00.001-07:00

At the Wilderness Medical Society summer annual meeting, I chatted with Shana Tarter, who is affiliated with the Wilderness Medicine Institute (WMI) of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), headquartered in Lander, Wyoming. She informed me of an exciting program of WMI: Continuing Medical Education (CME) Expeditions for Medical Professionals. WMI has recently finished its first...

Thank You to Pallimed for Grand Rounds

2009-10-06T21:43:00.000-07:00

Thank you to Pallimed for mentioning my brief post about mycobacterial contamination of tattoos in this week's Grand Rounds. Grand Rounds is a weekly compilation of health care posts from around the web compiled by a host, who goes to great lengths to make the collection informative and entertaining.

Charles Houston Remembered

2009-10-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

In the field of wilderness medicine, I have had many mentors. One of the first, and in many ways the most important to me, was Dr. Charles Houston, who died on Sunday, September 27, 2009 in Burlington, Vermont at the age of 96. Many of us are indebted to this icon of mountain medicine, for he was a true friend, inspirational leader, and like other remarkable physician adventurers of his era,...

Heat-Related Illnesses

2009-10-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

This is the next post based upon a presentation given at the Wilderness Medical Society Annual Meeting held in Snowmass, Colorado from July 24-29, 2009. The presentation was entitled “Heat Related Illnesses.” It was delivered by Flavio Gaudio, M.D. from Weill Medical College of Cornell University. Dr. Gaudio is a very enthusiastic and articulate physician with great expertise in wilderness...

Thank You to Laika's MedLibLog for Grand Rounds

2009-09-30T13:24:00.000-07:00

Thank you to Laika's MedLibLog for mentioning my post about nutrition needs for rescuers and the rescued in this week's Grand Rounds. Grand Rounds is a weekly compilation of health care posts from around the web compiled by a host, who goes to great lengths to make the collection informative and entertaining.

Wilderness Medicine Tattoo

2009-09-30T05:00:00.000-07:00

Many years back, Dr. Kenneth Kizer and I performed original research and published on the bacteriology of the aquatic environment, both marine and freshwater, to help guide antibiotic selection for persons who developed infections related to seawater or natural freshwater. Among other microorganisms we cultured from seawater was Mycobacterium marinum, which sometimes causes a distinct clinical...