Reddit mentions of Wilderness Medicine, 6th: Beyond First Aid

I work as an EMT and in SAR. I have a background in ski patrol and a lot of time outside so I'll chime in.

It depends to where, what, and when you're going to me. Depending on those I will build my first aid kit on injury patterns of what to expect. The first aid kit I carry for a day hike in the summer is different than the one I'll carry on a day of ice climbing in the winter. The best thing about wilderness medicine is the improvisation of gear and skills. There is a lot of medical gear that is completely useless in the back country and a lot of wasted weight. I'll list the basics I build my kit off of and talk about some of bulky gear that could be left at home. Again this list will depend on the day.

Always have-
Bandaids, steri strips, alcohol swabs, gloves, gorilla tap, high quality medical tape, cling (a roll of gauze), triangle bandage, medium sized tensor bandage, tweezers, space blanket, soap, clean ziplock bag, empty irrigation 10ml syringe, water purification tablets, Ibuprofen (advil), acetaminophen (tylenol), Epinephrine, Diphenhydramine (benadryl), Dimenhydrinate (gravol), potassium, and unpasteurized honey (in my cooking kit, for tea and low blood sugar). I also always have my Spot Beacon if I need help.

Sometimes have -
Tourniquet/compression bandage (for shooting/hunting), extra tensor bandages/triangles (biking), or stronger pain control (long backpacking trips).

Not to be rude to the other commenters- but I think SAM splits, trauma shears, excessive bleeding control, and CPR masks are a waste of space. Splits can be improved with branches, bags, and clothing. Shears are replaced by knives, clothing can be used for bleeding control, and CPR in the back country unfortunately doesn't have a great outcome. EDIT - CPR should still be attempted in the backcountry. If you don't have a mask or barrier device, then compression only CPR is still effective. CPR doesn't save lives, defibrillators do. 2nd EDIT - CPR may save you, your partner, or a strangers life. If you need to give CPR chances are that its a member in your party and mouth to mouth is a viable option; if not than you can use a glove with a hole as a basic barrier device.

The biggest thing is that you research and take a course on some sort of first aid. For books I highly recommend these two-

https://www.amazon.ca/Wilderness-Medicine-Beyond-First-Aid/dp/0762780703/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1458836008&sr=1-1&keywords=9780762780709

https://www.amazon.ca/Medicine-Mountaineering-Other-Wilderness-Activities-ebook/dp/B004GNGCWC/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1458836014&sr=1-1&keywords=9781594853937

There's a lot you should know while out there. But the big things I would recommend that you know are know to assess someone, treat basic wounds, split, head injury recognition, what the drugs you are carrying do, and when you know you need help.

"Where There Is No Doctor" has some useful information in it, but keep in mind that it was written to introduce very basic information about health and hygiene to people who were clueless about the subjects. For this reason do not buy this book and call it a day for your medical library. Also add a much more thorough book like Medicine For The Outdoors by Paul S. Aurbach M.D., Wilderness Medicine by Wm. Forgey, M.D., or Wilderness & Travel Medicine: A Comprehensive Guide by Eric A. Weiss, M.D.

Whereas most medical and first aid books for laypersons are written with a "do your best to stabilize and then get the patient to a real doctor" perspective, these books are intended for people isolated in the wilderness, and therefore the instructions are much more likely to be of service in a true survival situation.

What is your level of medical training? If you don't have any, the best bet is to go get some, which will help guide what you need to prep. In my opinion, it;s important to stock what you will be able to use; unless you have already have an MD as a group member or have a plan to recruit one.

Everyone should have at least the Red Cross First Aid Kit supplies on hand, even if they have no training at all. Augmenting this with some basic First Aid/CPR training is the minimum I would consider "prepared".

As you advance in skill level, you can expand to an different kit [page 53, PDF warning]. On page 60, the kit gets even more advanced, which you would need only with an MD on hand. There is also the Ship Captain's Medical Guide, with advice for non-doctors, in conjunction with MSN 1768 which contains a whole list of supplies, non-prescription, and prescription drugs.

Trauma medicine is a whole different discussion. You might look in to Tactical Combat Casualty Care from the US Army, but this will not help with long-term management of trauma victims. Trauma victims need an actual hospital.

I suggest having at least one good medical reference on hand. If I could have one book, it would be Wilderness Medicine by William Forgey, MD. It contains a list of procedures (with instructions) and medicines you'd likely to be able to use in an austere environment. Much is said of books like Ditch Medicine and Where There Is No Doctor, but I don't feel they are as good of a reference as Wilderness Medicine. There are more books worth having if you have an MD on hand, but we can get in to those later.

If you have the ability, take a wilderness medicine class; whether that be first responder or wilderness EMT. Barring that, try to get a first responder or EMT certification from a standard agency. The wilderness classes can teach a bit more than the standard classes with regard to managing things in a remote/austere situation. Training is really going to make all the difference.

I am somewhat a member of the "antibiotic police" and I suggest knowing what you are doing if you decide to stockpile them. The Sanford Guide to Antimicrobial Therapy is a guide which can tell you which antibiotics are useful for a particular infection. The "different kit" link from earlier in the post has information on how to determine what it is you are dealing with; but you will need some basic lab equipment to make those decisions. Really, using regular antibiotic ointments will cover most of the issues you would run across. Broad-spectrum antibiotics are the best investment if you must get something, but make sure you have enough for a full course.

Questions please ask and I will help if I can.

It is pretty jargony and mostly useful in a resource-rich first-world hospital. There are some excellent texts on wilderness medicine, however.

This is one such text that is pretty affordable: http://www.amazon.com/Wilderness-Medicine-Beyond-First-Aid/dp/0762780703/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413287643&sr=8-1&keywords=wilderness+medicine