For many, the thought of going “to altitude” brings images of Mt. Everest or similar mountaineering peaks. Physiologically, however, nothing could be further from the truth. Depending upon susceptibility, humans can begin to experience symptoms of altitude illness as low as 1500 meters above sea level. The chances increase after 6,500 feet and further still…
Tag: medicine
Hydration and Rehydration
Hydration aka water…essential for life. We take for granted this vital substance which we cannot live without. In much of the world, however, clean drinking water is a luxury. In a previous post, I have discussed how to make this water safe to drink. In this post, I want to examine what you might be…
The Cost of Healthcare
As of January 2019, all hospitals and healthcare systems were required to post their pricing on their websites or in some public, machine readable format. The goal of this mandate was to give patients the information needed to make informed decisions about their healthcare, from a financial standpoint. Unfortunately, what patients are being able to…
Medical Preparedness
The news is full of stories that are forever reminding us that we have to be prepared for just about anything these days. Some may choose to take this to the level many think of as being a “prepper” while others have done little to nothing expecting all needs to be met by local or…
Dengue Outbreak in Nepal
It is being reported that dengue is stretching Hospital resources in Kathmandu with 1170 cases since May 2019. Nepal has seen 5095 cases with numbers expected to be underreported. This disease has not traditionally been an issue in Kathmandu and the public has not been prepared to take the illness or precautions seriously. It is…
Angelica archangelica
Also known as wild celery, this medicinal herb was a favorite for Colonists to the Americas from Britain. Used for thousands of years by medical practitioners on both sides of the pond, this herb has been advertised as, essentially, a cure all. Current scientific studies have not supported such wide ranging uses. However, there are…
Pre-Hospital Care in Mass Casualty Shootings
You will likely recognize the above picture as a CAT tourniquet. As programs such as Stop The Bleed and others have focused on the use of tourniquets in the field, these have become a popular item for most to carry in our kits. This is for good reason too. Studies and data coming from military…
Zika—Don’t forget about this viral illness
As with most stories that make a splash into the headlines, Zika virus had its 15 minutes of fame, but has since seemed to fade into the arena of “old news”. So, as the intrepid traveler, is this an infection you should be worrying about or was this just a story for a news starved…
Be prepared for travel
I have updated and am republishing the following blog post as it remains pertinent and should stay top of mind. Please send any questions to me in the comments and feel free to share your own tips there as well. Planning your trip of a lifetime? Or just a short getaway in a far away…
Wilderness Texting
On a recent adventure into the Colorado wilderness, we came along the note above. One hiker was communicating to the group that they were taking an alternate route and would meet them at base camp in a few days. While this may seem unusual in today’s world of text messages and wide cell phone coverage,…