Great Articles in the latest WMS Journal

The Wilderness Medical Society puts out a Journal called Wilderness and Environmental Medicine. Most times it is hard to read unless you have a medical background. All the time it is full of great information for those of us running around in the outdoors. The latest issue Volume 20 Number 1, 2009 is unbelievable good for practitioners. Samples of the articles in this issue are:

Grand Canyon Water Analysis: An Article Titled An Analysis of Water Quality in the Colorado River, 2003-04; An Investigation Into Recurring Outbreaks of Nororvirus Among Rafters. Norovirus is a major problem in the grand. No one has any real idea of what or how, but this article gives some good ideas on both. More importantly the article points out some ways to deal with the virus if a member of your party gets it.

Chemical Hand Warmers: Comparison of Commercially Available Disposable Chemical Hand and Foot Warmers. I love it when science meets hype.

Ankle Fractures: Field Management of Displaced Ankle Fractures: Techniques for Successful Reduction.****

Avalanche Burial: The Snow Snorkel: A Proof of Concept Study. Sort of a cheap Avalung® meets reality issue.

Altitude Illness: Ginkgo biloba Does – and Does Not – Prevent Acute Mountain Sickness. Ginkgo biloba has been touted as the natural alternative to Diamox®. This study does a good job of setting the facts straight.

Altitude Illness II: Ankle
Brachial Index on Kilimanjaro: Lessons from High Altitude. Interesting study of checking the brachial arteries in your foot for problems.

The information is only available if you are a member of the WMS, however this volume alone would pay for itself if you are running an outdoor program near poisonous snakes (study on this too), at altitude, avalanche areas or …well you get the idea.

However this does bring up an interesting issue. The article on reducing ankle fractures could lead to problems. If you are a commercial guide the liability is one thing. If you are a Good Samaritan this is above and beyond your training, unless you are a physician and therefore not covered.