Entries filed under 'Wilderness Medicine Institute'

A Good Head for Heights: Recognizing and Preventing Altitude Illness

Lurking behind every mandatory summit photo can be a heap of pain and adversity. The higher you climb, the thinner the air gets, leaving you vulnerable to altitude illness. Our NOLS Wilderness Medicine Institute classes about high-altitude medicine are often the students' favorites, as every class contains at least a few aspiring mountaineers. ...

Posted by Hovey WMI on January 29, 2013 12:45 PM & Tagged AMS, HACE, HAPE, WMI of NOLS, Wilderness Medicine Institute, altitude sickness and mountaineering | permalink | Comments



Beware of the 'Silent Cold-Weather Killer': Carbon Monoxide

My fellow NOLS WMI instructors and I regularly provide wilderness medicine training to people interested in outdoor careers and outdoor recreation. But, recently, some related urban news--carbon monoxide poisoning--caught my eye. ...

Posted by Hovey WMI on December 26, 2012 8:15 AM & Tagged NOLS WMI, Wilderness Medicine Institute, carbon monoxide, wilderness first aid and winter camping | permalink | Comments



Smash Your Finger? Get WMI's Tips on Healing Painful Blood Blisters

Poor Angela. The 2 of us were putting up our tents after a long and difficult day of hiking. Grumpily, she picked up a large rock, placed a tent stake against the hard dirt--and smashed her thumb. Bad news for her, but another chance for me to teach wilderness medicine! ...

Posted by Hovey WMI on October 18, 2012 11:00 AM & Tagged NOLS, Wilderness Medicine Institute, blood blister, subungual hematoma and wilderness medicine | permalink | Comments



My Backpacking Story: How a Small Cut Became a Raging Infection

My problems started with just a little cut near the knuckle of my left index finger. I'd been backpacking for 10 days in arctic Norway and seen nothing but fog and rain the entire time. It's true, even busy instructors like me must sometimes take a break from teaching classes at the Wilderness Medicine Institute of NOLS to go into the wilderness ourselves. ...

Posted by Hovey WMI on October 3, 2012 10:00 AM & Tagged WMI of NOLS, Wilderness Medicine Institute, soft tissue infection and wilderness medicine | permalink | Comments



Human Vs. Rattlesnake: What to Do If You Are Bitten

Each year in America some 6,000 to 8,000 people report venomous snakebite injuries, most by rattlesnakes. Amazing myths persist about what one should do in such an emergency, everything from sucking out the venom (which doesn't work) to electrocuting the bite victim (which hurts and just might kill you). We at the Wilderness Medicine Institute of NOLS have been teaching people how to handle medical emergencies for over 20 years. While we love a good, improvised traction splint as much as the ...

Posted by Hovey WMI on July 24, 2012 12:31 PM & Tagged WMI of NOLS, Wilderness Medicine Institute, rattlesnake and snake bites | permalink | Comments