Category Archives: News

Excerpt from A Comprehensive Guide to Wilderness & Travel Medicine, 3rd Edition, by Dr. Eric A. Weiss.

If a person who has diabetes becomes confused, weak, or unconscious for no apparent reason, he may be suffering from insulin shock (low blood sugar) or diabetic ketoacidosis (high blood sugar).

INSULIN SHOCK (LOW BLOOD SUGAR)

If a person with diabetes takes too much insulin or fails to eat enough food to match his insulin level or his level of exercise, a rapid drop in blood sugar can occur. Symptoms may come on very rapidly and include an altered level of consciousness, ranging from slurred speech, bizarre behaviour, and loss of coordination, to seizures and unconsciousness.

Treatment
If still conscious, the victim should be given something containing sugar to drink or eat as rapidly as possible. This can be fruit juice, candy, or a non-diet soft drink. If the victim is unconscious, place sugar granules, cake icing, or Glutose® paste from your first aid kit under his tongue, where it will be rapidly absorbed.

DIABETIC KETOACIDOSIS (HIGH BLOOD SUGAR)

Diabetic ketoacidosis (formerly called diabetic coma) comes on gradually and is the result of insufficient insulin. This eventually leads to a very high sugar level in the victim’s blood. Early symptoms include frequent urination and thirst. Later, the victim will become dehydrated, confused, or comatose, and will develop nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and a rapid breathing rate with a fruity odor to his breath.

Treatment
The victim needs immediate evacuation to a medical facility. If vomiting is not present and the victim is awake and alert, have him drink small, frequent sips of water. If you are unsure whether the victim is suffering from insulin shock (low blood sugar) or ketoacidosis (high blood sugar), it is always safer to assume it is low blood sugar and administer sugar.

Read More from Dr. Weiss the Adventure Discussions Blog

Vern Schrum, Product Regulatory Manager for Adventure Medical Kits and our parent company Tender Corp., has begun the process of crossing off a major item on his Bucket List. The 49-year-old, who we all turn to whenever questions pertaining to the FDA, EPA and other important sounding acronyms come up, recently set out to ride his bike solo across the country.

Ostensibly following the Adventure Cycling Association’s (ACA) Southern Tier Route, but with some minor tweaks, Vern’s journey will take him from St. Augustine, FL, to San Diego, CA. He’ll then head north, connecting with the ACA’s Pacific Coast route, before finishing up in Arroyo Grande, CA. The once-in-a-lifetime trip will see him cross through seven states and cover more than 3200 miles. He expects to finish the ride in 75 days, which will include 10 off days. We spoke to him prior to leaving for Florida.

Read More: Adventure Medical Kits Employee Embarks on Ride of a Lifetime

By Buck Tilton

When bullets and arrows start filling the autumn air, we know a few of them will strike a hunter and fewer still non-hunters. Everyone knows the danger of a loaded gun, but gunshot wounds during hunting season—at least gunshot wounds to and from hunters—are on the decline, says the US Forest Service, probably due to mandatory hunter safety courses. While this is not a time to be less than perfectly careful with a firearm — with new hunters hitting the field each year — statistically, depending on where and how you hunt, there may be dangers greater than a rifle or a bow.

1. FALLS FROM TREESTANDS

If you hunt from a treestand, the chance of serious injury from a fall ranks at the top of the risk list. Hunters zeroed in on an animal often slip from treestands. They also fall climbing up and down from the stand, when they snooze in a stand, and when an old or improperly mounted stand collapses. These hunters frequently break something when they land, and injuries to the head and spine sometimes result in death. Remember: always raise and lower your unloaded gun with a rope so you can focus on the climb. Always check the stand carefully before putting your weight fully on it. Old, permanent, wooden stands deteriorate rapidly with age, making them the most dangerous. Once in the stand, strap yourself into a safety harness before hauling up your firearm–and if you have no harness, you may have made a fatal error.

Read More Beyond the Gun: The Other Big Three Hunting Accidents

Big congrats to AMK’s own Kyle Peter and the other members of Team Tecnu Extreme Staphaseptic, who won the Gold Rush Mother Lode Expedition Race this past weekend.

AMK’s Kyle Peter (pictured second from left) & Team Tecnu at Finish Line of Gold Rush Mother Lode

The team, which AMK also sponsors and supplies various survival and first aid items to, finished the race more than four hours ahead of second place Dart-Nuun and Team Gearjunkie.com/YogaSlackers, which took third place. The four-day long event saw four-person co-ed teams attempt to cross a 275 mile (442.5km) course of rocky, challenging terrain in the Sierra Mountains of California.

Said Team Tecnu’s Kyle Peter, “Thank goodness for AMK’s Blister Medic, Ultralight/Watertight .7 and SOL Survival Blankets. Believe it or not you get hurt, develop lots of blisters and are really cold while traversing the Sierra Mountains in 3 days on 1.5 hours of sleep!”

Taking top spot in the race means Team Tecnu automatically qualifies as the only U.S. team that will participate in the upcoming World AR Championships, which kick off on Oct. 31st in Tasmania. Way to go Kyle!… Now back to work.

Excerpt from A Comprehensive Guide to Wilderness and Travel Medicine, by Eric A. Weiss, M.D.

Lightning kills more people every year in the United States than all other natural disasters combined. Carrying or wearing metal objects, such as an ice axe, umbrella, backpack frame, or even a hairpin, increases the chances of being hit.

To calculate the approximate distance in miles from a flash of lightning, count in seconds from the time you see the flash to when you hear the thunder, then divide by five.

Prevention

• When a thunderstorm threatens, seek shelter in a building or inside a vehicle (not a convertible).
• Occupants of tents should stay as far away from the poles and wet cloths as possible.
• Do not stand underneath a tall tree in an open area or on a hill top.
• Get out and away from open water.
• Get away from tractors and other metal farm equipment.
• Get off bicycles and golf carts.
• Stay away from wire fences, clotheslines, metal pipes, and other metallic paths which could carry lightning to you from some distance.
• Avoid standing in small, isolated sheds or other small structures in open areas.
• In a forest, seek shelter in a low area under a thick growth of saplings or small trees. In an open area, go to a low place such as a ravine or valley.
• If you are totally in the open, stay far away from single trees to avoid lightning splashes. Drop to your knees and bend forward, putting your hands on your knees. If available, place insulating material (e.g. sleeping pad, life jacket, rope) between you and the ground. Do not lie flat on the ground.