I’m not quite sure what I expected from Medicine for Mountaineering when I read the synopsis online. Perhaps a field guide to basic first aid in the mountains that you could stuff in your pack. When the book arrived in the mail, I was surprised to see more of a textbook than a field guide. Medicine for Mountaineering is quite a bit more than a first aid reference. To quote the introduction “it is a handbook of medicine — not first aid.”
With this in mind, Medicine for Mountaineering is not a book I would recommend for the novice outdoors-person. Instead, it is an extremely comprehensive manual for nearly every illness or medical problem one could run into on an expedition. While much of the subject matter is applicable to day hikers, it is primarily aimed at those traveling to the wilderness far away from medical care.
The section in dislocated joints strikes particularly close to home for me. In 2006, I was mountaineering in Peru and happened to see just such an injury occur. Another climber slipped from a rock during an approach and slid roughly 100 feet down the side of the mountain. The result was a very badly dislocated shoulder. At this point we were a 3 day hike from the nearest road and then another 1.5 hour drive in to Huaraz.
Fortunately another climber that happened to be a doctor showed up about an hour later that could help the injured person. While this was extremely fortunate, chances are you’re not going to have such luck in the wilderness. Medicine for Mountaineering shows you everything that needs to occur to minimize long term damage.
If you are planning an extended trip in the wilderness, I would highly recommend you pick up a copy of Medicine for Mountaineering before you go. This isn’t exactly light reading, but the authors go out of their way to make the procedures as accessible as possible. Diagrams are provided anywhere that they may help comprehension of a subject, and the descriptions are extremely thorough.
Medicine for Mountaineering has an MSRP of $29.95.
Product sample provided by the manufacturer for review purposes.
is the type of text book you would see in a WFR or potentially a WEMT Course. There are a few good wilderness medicine/first aid available that are small enough to pack with your first aid kit.
Medicine for Mountaineering is the type of text book you would see in a WFR or potentially a WEMT Course. There are a few good wilderness medicine/first aid field guides available that are small enough to pack with your first aid kit.
A few good books by Adventure Medical Kit to look at.
“A Comprehensive Guide to Wilderness & Travel Medicine.” and “A Comprehensive Guide to Marine Medicine.” Small enough to put in any med kit and very easy to understand.