Wilderness 911 - A Step-By-Step Guide For Medical Emergencies and Improvised Care in the Backcountry

"Wilderness 911: A Step-By-Step Guide For Medical Emergencies And Improvised Care In The Backcountry" by Eric A. Weiss, M.D. is a great resource for medical emergencies when you are out in the backcountry and need to address an injury. The author, Eric Weiss, is Associate Director of Trauma and Emergency Medicine at Stanford University Medical Center, medical editor for Backpacker Magazine, and author of "A Comprehensive Guide to Wilderness and Travel Medicine." With those credentials, you have a credible source, and I found this book to be full of practical advice that just might save your life when needed.The first chapter starts out with the Three ABC's. Many people know airway, breathing, and circulation. However, in this book, Weiss gives Three ABC's. The A's are: Assess the scene, Airway (ensure an open airway), and Alert others. The B's are: Barriers (gloves, mask), Breathing (check for breathing and perform rescue breathing if necessary), Bleeding (stop bleeding). The
C's are: Circulation (start CPR if the victim has no pulse), Cervical spine (prevent unnecessary movement of the head and neck), Cover and protect the victim from the environment. Excellent short chapter on what to do in an emergency.After this first chapter, comes part two where Weiss focuses on treatment of specific illnesses and injuries. There are thirty-one chapters covering general topics such as: shock, head injuries, nosebleeds, chest injuries, back pain, fractures, dislocations, sprains and strains, wounds, burns, various bites, poisonous plants, altitude sickness, hypothermia, heat injuries, and plenty more.The definitions, signs and symptoms, and treatments are written in clear easy to understand language. Reading this book is not going to make you a medical professional, but rather give you the basics to handle an emergency. With a book like this, you have to weigh how much to put in and what to leave out and still make it a book that people can keep with them.
I have huge medical references on my shelves, but I'm not going to pack them into the woods with me. The paperback is a little over 200 pages and can be taken with you, or kept in a car or camper. I think Weiss did a good job of selecting what to put in and what to leave out. This book will help with many of the most common situations a person might find themselves in when an emergency happens on the trail or in camp while in the woods.I think this book is a good reference for the bookshelf at home too. It's a good guide for diagnosing and treating problems on your own. My advice would be to read the book, just to have the general information in the back of your mind. I'm a firm believer in taking first aid classes periodically and reading books like this every so often. Then keep the book handy for when you might need it if an unfortunate emergency arises. Hopefully, you'll never need the information in this book. But if you do, you'll be glad you have it.

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