Wildnerness First Aid

Training for the Back Country

First aid training covers a broad range of topics. It's important to know the scope of training your particular situation requires. Wilderness first aid courses teach students to respond to injuries in a way that doesn't rely on emergency responders. Wilderness first aid courses are typically intense affairs lasting more than 24 hours and providing students with the skills necessary to help them get safely out of an environment that can be as dangerous as it is beautiful.

Some of the injuries and conditions covered by wilderness first aid courses include:

• anaphylaxis
• broken arms
• broken legs
• bug bites
• heat exhaustion
• heat stroke
• hypothermia
• frostbite
• removing ticks
• snake bites

That's just a sampling of the types of condtiions covered by wilderness first aid courses. Injuries like broken bones are covered much more in depth by these courses than typicall first aid classes, since emergency medical responders are not readily available in the back country. Rescuers are often the victims as well and may not have help for hours or even days.

Three wilderness first aid training programs have been around for many years and provide consistent training.

• Wilderness Medical Associates
• Wilderness Medicine Institute
• Wilderness Medicine Outfitters

It's important to know what type of first aid training is required based on where in the world you will be. Wilderness first aid is great for the wild, but also has value in countries and parts of the world with very poor emergency medical services. The best bet is to make sure you have the training necessary for the area where you plan to travel. Remember also, the type of travel first aid kit you'll need depends on where you are travelling.

Whether you are trekking to the top of Half-Dome or visiting Guadelajara, wilderness first aid training might be the right way to prepare for your next trip.