NOLS Wilderness Medicine: 5th Edition (NOLS Library)
Tod Schimelpfenig
Used as the textbook for Wilderness First Aid and Wilderness First Responder courses, the author has been a wilderness educator since 1973 and is the curriculum director for the NOLS Wilderness Medicine Institute. This is an excellent book for true backcountry expeditions and trips where help is not going to be easy to get. It is also useful for helping to plan your first aid kit. Clear, concise explanations for all kinds of incidents.
Backcountry First Aid and Extended Care (Falcon Guide)
Buck Tilton
If you are a serious outdoors person, you can’t be too knowledgeable about wilderness first aid. You or someone else’s life may depend on it someday! This book is small but mighty; the perfect book to actually take with you on the trail.
Buck Tilton is director of the Wilderness Medicine Institute, Inc., in Pitkin, Colorado, advisor to Western State College’s Mountain Rescue Team, co-author of Medicine for the Backcountry, author of many magazine articles on wilderness medicine and rescue, member of the Outdoor Writers Association of America and a member of the American Medical Writers Association.
Wilderness 911 (Backpacker Magazine)
Eric Weiss
Written by an expert in the field, and published by Backpacker Magazine, Dr. Weiss gives good information covering the basics of first aid to more advanced wilderness medicine with straightforward, step-by-step instructions. Included are ways to improvise with the items you have at hand; duct tape, dental floss, and plastic wrap are some examples.
The easy-to-follow format walks you through “Signs and Symptoms” and “Treatment,” and notes “When to Worry” signs for a broad spectrum of medical emergencies. “Tricks of the Trade” sidebars offer improvisational techniques, such as closing wounds with dental floss, hair, or duct tape; treating burns, or creating an airtight dressing with honey and plastic wrap; relieving mouth bleeding with a teabag, and much more. The book is also divided into logical sections to help you find the information you need quickly.
Adventure Medical Kits UltraLight & Watertight .7 Kit
Adventure Medical Kits
No, not a book, but this is a good place to remind you that a good first aid kid is a must for any backpack.
Wilderness and Travel Medicine
Eric A. Weiss, M.D.
And an excellent, easy-to-understand book that is small enough (5 oz) to take with you in your backpack, kayak, or glove box. The main thing I appreciate about this book is that it acknowledges that you don’t have all kinds of resources to depend on in the wilderness, so it provides you with great-improvised techniques when your supplies are very limited.
Wilderness Medicine, 5th: Beyond First Aid
William Forgey
Another excellent book to take with you on the trail—where it obviously makes the most sense to be in your possession! This book takes you much further in providing information on what to do if you don’t have medical assistance within any reasonable amount of time and NEED to take care of the problem NOW!
This illustrated text is essential reading for anyone from trip leaders, guides, and search and rescue groups to EMTs, paramedics, and physicians who must provide immediate care when access to a medical facility is difficult or impossible. The author obviously understands what it’s like to literally be out in the wilderness–not somewhere that you can simply call on your cell phone for a helicopter!
Learn how to survey, assess, and stabilize the victim and the medical situation, what questions to ask to gain necessary vital information, how to manage physical symptoms as well as care for wounds and orthopedic injuries, and much more.
Wilderness First Responder: How To Recognize, Treat, And Prevent Emergencies In The Backcountry
Buck Tilton
If you spend a lot of time in the backcountry, especially with groups of people, it might be time to consider your Wilderness First Responder certification. Or maybe you are just interested in upping your skills to be able to take care of emergencies that happen while in remote areas. This is that guide. As the book itself states, “Wilderness First Responder is a comprehensive text for the recognition, treatment, and prevention of backcountry emergencies. It’s essential reading for wilderness educators, trip leaders, guides, search and rescue groups, and anyone who works or plays far from definitive medical care.”