Wilderness Medicine

Whitney Alexander; Steven Bright; Patrick Burns; David Townes

doi:10.1016/j.mcna.2015.09.003

Wilderness Medicine

Med Clin North Am. 2016 Mar;100(2):345-56. doi: 10.1016/j.mcna.2015.09.003. Epub 2016 Jan 14.

Authors

Whitney Alexander¹, Steven Bright¹, Patrick Burns¹, David Townes²

Affiliations

¹ Division of Emergency Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, 1959 North East Pacific Street, PO Box 356123, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
² Division of Emergency Medicine, Department of Global Health, University of Washington School of Medicine, 1959 North East Pacific Street, PO Box 356123, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. Electronic address: townesd@u.washington.edu.

PMID: 26900118
DOI: 10.1016/j.mcna.2015.09.003

Abstract

Wilderness medicine encompasses prevention and treatment of illness and injury, education and training, emergency medical services, and search and rescue in the wilderness. Although traumatic injuries, including minor injuries, outnumber medical illness as the cause of morbidity in the wilderness, basic understanding of the prevention and management of injury and illness, including recognition, identification, treatment, initial management, and stabilization, is essential, in addition to the ability to facilitate evacuation of affected patients. An important theme throughout wilderness medicine is planning and preparation for the best- and worst-case scenarios, and being ready for the unexpected.

Keywords: Evacuation; Injury and illness; Preparation; Prevention and planning; Wilderness medicine.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Animals
First Aid
Heat Stress Disorders / prevention & control
Humans
Hypersensitivity / prevention & control
Hypothermia / prevention & control
Insect Bites and Stings / prevention & control
Protective Clothing
Sunscreening Agents / therapeutic use
Waterborne Diseases / prevention & control
Wilderness Medicine* / education
Wounds and Injuries / prevention & control

Substances

Sunscreening Agents