Despite common belief, death caused from the bite of a venomous snake in the United States is exceedingly rare. The Wilderness Medical Society reports that, of the roughly 45,000 snakebites that are reported each year, about 8,000 are confirmed venomous, and of this number only around 10 actually result in death (typically because the victim was very young, very old, or suffered already from an underlying medical condition, like an allergy). In point of fact, more people die each year from bee stings and from taking “selfies” — by literally walking off cliffs or into traffic to get the perfect angle — than they do from snakebites. Still, a venomous snakebite, in particular that of the most common one, a pit viper, is still nothing to belittle, as the injury, even if it means the low probability of death, may still be intensely life altering. In particular, the high potential […]
Read more →If you are ever unlucky enough to be bitten by a venomous snake, don’t panic and assume that you are going to die, because the chances are, despite common belief, you won’t. In the United States, there are roughly 45,000 snakebites reported each year, of which 8,000 are confirmed venomous. Of this, only about 8 people die, usually due to some complicating factor — the victim was likely very old, very young, or suffered from an underlying medical condition. What, instead, is the greater likelihood, which most don’t seem to appreciate, is that the snakebite will cause you a major life altering change. In particular, amputation of the bitten limb. And a catastrophic medical bill. Just ask 11-year old, Benjamin Smith, who, as the Gainesville Sun reported, was bitten last month by an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake. Thankfully, Ben will be just fine thanks to the excellent medical care that he received […]
Read more →On a sunny, very hot and humid day in early August, you are hiking along the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail when, at about 3:30, you spot up ahead two hikers who look to be resting in the shade. As you approach them, one of them asks if you have any medical training. Hesitantly, you acknowledge that you are Wilderness First Aid certified (and you suddenly begin to perspire a bit more heavily than you did a minute before). She then explains that her companion, Robert, has grown increasingly ill over the last hour and she isn’t sure if he should be evacuated or if he can continue to their planned shelter site. You introduce yourself to Robert and with his consent you begin your assessment of him after putting on your blue nitrile gloves. Robert, who is 42 years old, complains that he is feeling nauseous and even vomited 30 […]
Read more →Now that the warm season of Spring and Summer is upon us, so is the season for thunder and lightning. The Wilderness Medical Society (WMS) reports that an estimated 400 lightning injuries occur annually. Still, the chance of death is quite low as the WMS reports, at roughly 40 deaths per year (as compared to approximately 70 flood-related deaths and 30 avalanche-related deaths which occur yearly). Still, who really wants to be struck by lightning?! Whether it is a Wilderness First Aid (WFA) or wilderness survival course, True North likes to believe that prevention is the best form of medicine. So, since many of us will be spending much time outdoors, especially hiking and camping along the Alleghenies or paddling the Three Rivers and surrounding waterways, and even quite a few of you will be leading groups outdoors and so will be responsible for their safety, I thought that I would share […]
Read more →The key to being best able to get through any emergency is being prepared before it even happens. Learning new skills, and practicing them, then, will help you better and more safely respond when the moment counts. That’s why Pittsburgh firefighters, police, and EMS volunteered yesterday to train along Slippery Rock Creek in McConnell’s Mill State Park yesterday. Why? In the wake of the flash flood in August 2011 along Washington Boulevard in the Highland Park section of Pittsburgh that killed four people and stranded many dozens of others, they wanted to be better equipped to handle urban flooding should the same situation ever arise. To learn more about what they did, check out the article in the Tribune Review and their additional photographs: http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/4192672-74/rescue-creek-park#axzz2WK7CvgAP Would you, too, like to be better prepared the next time that you had out on your next outdoor adventure with friends and family — […]
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I just finished a very busy, but very wonderful, week working with the four leaders of the Ranger Program at YMCA Camp Ockanickon & Matollionequay located in Medford, New Jersey. Monika and Jessica, and Matt and Zach, will be spending this summer leading trips that hike up a portion of the Appalachian Trail through Northeastern Pennsylvania, then paddle down the Delaware River. So we worked together to get them certified in Wilderness First Aid (WFA), learn the fundamentals of land navigation, and develop their backcountry skills as they get ready to soon head out on their own with their groups. With only three days to train, our schedule and work was compressed and intense, not to mention the rain, heat, and ticks. But these four worked extremely hard, and they did so with smiles on their faces, sprinkled with much laughter, the entire time. Trust me, they may have had […]
Read more →Yesterday marked the end of a rescue story in Southern California that gripped much of the nation this week. In Cleveland National Forest, which boasts 720 miles of rugged mountain wilderness, two young adults parked their vehicle on Sunday at a trailhead not more than a handful of miles from suburban housing tracts, shopping malls, and a Starbucks. While the details have yet to fully emerge, it looks like the pair set off for a day hike without proper equipment or clothing, including water, and then, at some point soon after their start, ventured off the well blazed trails to try to get a better view of the area’s waterfalls. They soon, though, became lost and then, somehow, became separated. As a Sheriff’s spokesman stated to the Associated Press, “I have no doubt that they came out here with the best of intentions … but this is a complicated environment and […]
Read more →On Saturday, my postwoman handed me the latest version of Accidents in North American Mountaineering (ANAM) that I had ordered earlier in the week. When I get home tonight from a meeting with my friend, J.C., I fully intend to crack open a beer, plop down on my couch with my fresh copy, and, soon after I start to read, begin heavily marking the pages with my highlighter and pencil. Since it is the sixth year in a row that I’ve been reading this journal, I know that it will probably take me about a week to finish — And I will appreciate every minute of it. Whoa, wait a minute, Erik, isn’t it a little weird to “appreciate” page after page of death, injury, and mortality statistics? I wrote “appreciate,” not “enjoy.” Besides, I read it … and often recommend it to my students … for very good reasons. After […]
Read more →Last week, search and rescue (SAR) teams were dispatched on multiple occasions to find or assist hikers who had gotten lost in the Superstition Mountains of Arizona. The fact that the hikers needed help wasn’t unusual (since it happens fairly often), but that so many did, in so short a period of time, raised eyebrows in the local outdoors community. After all, for one female hiker rescued on Wednesday, this wasn’t her first time requiring the service of SAR — It was her second time in three months. The recent events there, then, has helped to fuel a continuing debate that has grown across the country over the last ten years: Who should pay the cost of a wilderness rescue? The use of a helicopter, for example, for even a few hours can cost a local government thousands of dollars. Still, it doesn’t seem that the general public generally minds […]
Read more →Whether it is preparing for an unexpected survival or medical emergency, a common misconception exists. That is, that one can effectively deal with the emergency with only the barest minimum of equipment. For example, some people believe that they should be able to survive if they were suddenly blindfolded and dropped into the wilderness, in winter, dressed only in their underwear and equipped simply with a knife (Don’t laugh, I have actually heard this). Perhaps this might work on a television reality show, but I doubt that it would work in actual reality. This misconception can potentially be deadly. Consider the heroic rescue reported by The Salem News this weekend in Peabody, Massachusetts: A snowplow driver, who was parked in the break-down lane of Interstate 95 on Friday, watched a Jeep Wrangler slam, at roughly 60 miles per hour, into the back of a front-end loader being operated by a co-worker. […]
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