Medical Information

PREVENTING SUNBURNS:

• Wear long sleeves/pants, sunbonnets/hats.
• Apply sunscreen 15-30 minutes before exposure.
• Reapply sunscreen every 60-90 minutes (remember the bak of your neck and the backs of your hands.

BEE STINGS:

• Scrape away the stinger with a fingernail, pocketknife or a piece of bark.
• Watch for allergic reaction.
• Get immediate help if breathing difficulties occur.

REPELLANTS:

• Read the directions.  Some are for application to skin and some only on clothing.
• DEET is most common kind (cheapest and safest) and does not cause allergic reaction.
• May cause temporary irritation.
• Repels mosquitoes and ticks.

DEHYDRATION:

• By the time symptoms appear, the condition can deteriorate fast!
• The first symptom is heat cramps in the abdomen and legs, also watch for bright red faces or pallor.
• Treat with WATER and rest.
• If ignored, it leads to heat exhaustion, then heat stroke, which can be fatal.

PREVENTION:

• You may not feel thirsty, but drink drink drink!!!
• Each time we stop our carts you need to drink almost half of your water bottle.
• Repeat every hour.
• Take plenty of water.  You may also want to keep a wet neck cooler or bring a spray bottle to mist yourself with.
• Water is located at strategic points.  Refill your coolers when they are half full, don't wait until they are empty.
• No water is found in Martin's Cove.

SPRAINS AND STRAINS:

• Treat both the same way:
• Apply cold to reduce swelling and pain, elevate site if possible.
• 72 hours later, apply heat to increase metabolism and healing.
• Rest the injured part.

BLEEDING:

• Elevate injured limb above body level.
• Apply direct pressure.
• Cover with a pad (bandanna, scarf, shirt, or any other clean cloth).
• If cloth becomes soaked, DO NOT remove it -- put another pad on top of it and get medical help.

BLISTERS:

• Prevention:
• A pair of thin inner socks under thicker hiking socks will reduce the friction.
• Wear shoes that are broken in!
• If you feel a hot spot forming on your foot, stop right away and treat it before it becomes a blister.
• Wash it with soap and water
• Cut a piece of moleskin in the shape of a doughnut and place it with the hold over the blister.
• If you don't have moleskin, cut a corner off a foam sleeping pad and trim it to fit over blister.
• Treatment:
• If you think a blister will break, sterilize a pin in the flame of a match.
• Prick the blister near its edge and press out the liquid. Try to preserve the skin covering.
• Protect the wound from pressure with a doughnut bandage and keep it clean with a sterile bandage.

HEAT EXHAUSTION:

• Symptoms:
• Pale face, cold sweat on the forehead, the whole body may feel cold and clammy
• Shallow breathing
• Nausea and vomiting
• Dilated pupils, headache and dizziness
• Weak pulse
• Heavy perspiration
• Unconsciousness
• Treatment:
• Move to a cool, shady spot.
• Place the person on their back and raise their feet.
• Loosen clothing or remove some of the person's clothes, shoes and socks.
• Give person water and if you have Gatorade, dilute it with water and encourage person to drink.
• Fan and apply cool, wet cloths to back of neck, face, armpits, and lower legs.
• Give sips of water.
• Transport to First Aid Station.

HEAT STROKE:

• Symptoms:
• Red, very hot face. Skin is often dry but if a person has been exercising hard, he may be sweating.
• Very small pupils
• Slow, noisy breathing
• Rapid, strong pulse
• Possible unconsciousness
• Treatment:
• Get the person to a cool, shady spot.
• Place person on his back with head and shoulders raised.
• Undress the person down to the underwear.
• Cover the person - especially the head - with dripping wet towels, shirts, or cloths.

HYPOTHERMIA:

• Can happen to anyone who is not dressed warmly enough in cold weather.
• Wind, rain and exhaustion increase the risk.
• The temperature does not have to be freezing.
• Symptoms:
• Feels chilly, tired and irritable.
• Begins to shiver and then shivering becomes violent.
• Cannot think clearly, stumbles and falls.
• Treament:
• Prevention, go prepared, eat plenty of food and drink lots of fluids.
• Take off wet clothes.
• Get into a sleeping bag.
• If in an advanced stage, the rescuer must also strip down to underwear and get into the sleeping bag so that body contact can warm the victim slowly.

INSECT BITES OR STINGS:

• We have "no-see-um's" early in the summer, then mosquitoes appear followed by deer flies, all of which bite.
• Use at least 40% DEET or higher if possible.

• Non-poisonous Bites and Stings:
• Relieve pain by applying ice water or a cold towel.
• If the stinger of a bee/wasp is still in the skin, flick it away with your fingernail or edge of a knife.
• Ticks are small hard-shelled insects that bury their tiny heads in the skin.
• If a tick has fastened itself to you, grasp it with tweezers and gently pull it away from the skin or use a hot sterilized pin to burn it out.
• Twisting or jerking the tick may cause its head to break off in your skin in which case seek medical care.
• Once the tick is gone, wash the area of the bite with soap and water.
• Calamine lotion may ease itching.
• Poisonous Bites and Stings:
• If you are allergic to insect stings or bites you should carry medication with you to treat the allergic reaction (such as an Epi pen).
• Send someone to get medical help.
• Be sure the victim keeps breathing, give rescue breathing if needed.
• If the bite is on an arm or leg, immediately tie a constricting bank above the bite.  Tighten it only enough to stop the blood in the skin.  You must be able to slide your finger under the band.  If the limb swells from the bite, loosen the band.
• Keep the arm or leg lower than the body.
• Put a cold compress or ice pack on the bite.
• Treat for shock.
• Get the person to medical care very quickly.
• Skin Poisoning from Plants:    (know how to identify poison ivy and poison oak)
• Touching the plants may cause the skin to become red and itch. Blisters may form later.
• Takes about twenty minutes to bind to the skin.
• Rinse your skin immediately with soap and water.
• Calamine lotion may relieve itching.
• Try not to scratch the area.

PROPER FIELD TREATMENT OF RATTLESNAKE BITE:

• Important facts to keep in mind:
• Don't get bit! Stay on the trails, stay off the rocks, look before placing hands, feet or bottom anywhere.  Wear over the ankle boots and long pants/skirts.
• The best treatment is rapid, safe transport to a hospital where anti-venom can be given.
• Out of 8000 reported venomous snakebites each year in this country only 8-10 are fatal.
• About 3000 of these are "illegitimate" meaning the victim was molesting the snake.
• 35% of legitimate snake bites are "fry bites" with no venom injected.
• Rattlesnakes strike humans defensively, not offensively.
• For bites to any part of the body:
• Move victim to safe location to avoid risk of another bite
• Have victim lie down with snake bite slightly lower than the heart:
• Remove any rings, watches, bracelets, footwear, etc. to avoid constriction when swelling occurs.
• Remove clothing to expose the entire bite area.
• Reassure the victim that they will be transported directly to a hospital for care.
• Try to keep the victim calm.
• For members of the church, ask about and/or offer to administer a priesthood blessing.
• Immediately transport victim to nearest hospital that has anti-venom availble.  This is the optimal treatment.
• While waiting for or during transport the following steps will aid the hospital team:
• Make note of exact time of bite
• If red or swollen area is visible at bite site, outline it with an ink pen.
• Check area of redness/swelling every 15 minutes and remark it if it is growing larger.
• Obtain from victim a list of any current medications, allergies, medical condition and date of last tetanus booster.
• The use of ice, alcohol, elastic wrap, constriction bands, extractors, small cuts, etc, is no longer considered of value in the treatment of bites and can, in many instances, increase damage to the tissue.  No snake bit kit can be recommended at this time.