When you’re out on remote trails, on expeditions, or on wilderness adventures, having trusted guidance on first aid and emergency medicine is essential. Pocket First Aid and Wilderness Medicine is a compact, practical first aid guide designed specifically for walkers, hikers, trekkers, and anyone who spends time in remote or mountain environments, offering clear, calm advice when you need it most.

Written by experienced doctors with extensive expertise in remote and expedition medicine, this Cicerone guidebook gives clear, practical protocols and treatment guidance for outdoor first aid in environments from high altitude to desert and polar regions. It explains how to assess a situation, treat common outdoor injuries and illnesses, and decide when to continue, turn back or call for help, so you can make better decisions in challenging conditions far from immediate medical care.

• It covers the most common outdoor medical problems – including blisters, sprains and fractures, cuts and bleeding, hypothermia and heat illness, dehydration, altitude sickness, allergic reactions, bites and stings, and more – with step-by-step first aid instructions in plain language.
• Clear guidance on primary assessment, CPR and dealing with serious incidents is provided, helping you stay calm, prioritise care and manage wilderness medical emergencies until professional help is available
• A wide range of different activities, scenarios and environments are covered, including high altitude, desert, polar, tropical and marine
• Pocket-sized, durable and easy to navigate, with logical sections, simple diagrams and quick-reference checklists designed for use in poor weather, low light and stressful situations on the hill or trail
• It includes advice on trip preparation, personal medical kits, hygiene and risk reduction, so you can prevent many problems before they arise and tailor your first aid kit to different activities and environments

Whether you’re a mountaineer, trekker, expedition leader or outdoor enthusiast, this guidebook gives you the confidence to respond to medical emergencies in remote areas until professional help arrives. With trusted protocols and expert insight, Pocket First Aid and Wilderness Medicine is the essential pocket reference for safe wilderness travel.

Pocket First Aid and Wilderness Medicine - Quick Fact

Format: Compact, pocket-sized paperback designed for field use
Coverage: Essential wilderness first aid and remote medicine guidance for outdoor environments
Content includes: Primary assessment, CPR, trauma care, fractures and sprains, bleeding, burns, hypothermia and heat illness, dehydration, altitude sickness, allergic reactions, bites and stings, infections and common expedition health issues
Environments covered: Mountain, high altitude, desert, tropical, polar and marine settings
Preparation advice: Trip planning, risk assessment, hygiene, prevention strategies and assembling personal medical kits
Visual reference tools: Clear diagrams, treatment algorithms, medication guidance and quick-reference checklists
Skill level: Suitable for walkers, hikers, trekkers, expedition leaders and outdoor enthusiasts of all experience levels
Best use: Walking, trekking, mountaineering, expeditions and remote travel worldwide
Author expertise: Written by experienced doctors specialising in wilderness and expedition medicine
Purpose: To build confidence, improve decision-making and enhance safety when medical help is not immediately available

Author Top Tip 

“Disinfecting water is making it safely drinkable, i.e., free enough of germs (viruses, bacteria, protozoa) that cause diarrhoea and other infectious diseases. Select the cleanest/clearest water from the best possible site (e.g., above the village/campsite rather than below it, running rather than still). Disinfection methods include heat, filtration, chemicals, UV (ultraviolet) light, and distillation (solar stills). Combining methods increases the desired effect.”

- Dr Ross Anderson MBChB, MRCS, MRCGP and one of the authors of Pocket First Aid and Wilderness Medicine 

Accident and illness protocol
Acronyms and abbreviations
Conversion tables
Preface
Read this

Part 1:    The fundamentals
1.    Prevention
2.    Positioning and moving a victim
3.    Medications – what you need to know
4.    Pain management

Part 2:    Accident and illness protocol
5.    Accident and illness protocol in a wilderness setting
6.    Primary survey – dealing with life-threatening emergencies
7.    Primary survey for specific situations
8.    Shock prevention and stabilization
9.    Secondary survey – working out what the problem is
10.    Evacuation

Part 3:    Problems and their treatment
11.    Spinal and head injuries
12.    Burns
13.    Broken bones, dislocations, sprains and strains
14.    Wounds
15.    Bites, stings and nasty plants
16.    Cold weather problems
17.    Hot weather problems
18.    Dehydration
19.    Diarrhoea and food poisoning
20.    Abdominal (belly) problems
21.    Respiratory problems
22.    Altitude illness – AMS, HACE and HAPE
23.    Drowning and diving problems
24.    Infectious diseases
25.    Eyes, ears and mouth
26.    Skin problems
27.    Gender-specific problems and STIs
28.    Other problems

Appendix 1    Chart of medications
Appendix 2    Antibiotics
Appendix 3    Rescue request form
Appendix 4    Marine envenomation
Appendix 5    Altitude illness flowchart
Appendix 6    Lake Louise Score (LLS)
Appendix 7    Avalanche rescue flow chart
Appendix 8    The skeleton and internal organs
Appendix 9    First aid kits
Appendix 10    Useful contacts and sources of information

Index of diagrams
Index
Basic life support (BLS) in the wilderness

 

May 2018

Correction

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