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Basic Wilderness Survival Kit
The following list is a mere basic wilderness survival kit that will require your imagination and will require your ability to improvise.
Brass wire
Brown sugar
Candle or lantern
Canteen
Compass
Emergency blanket
Extra pair of prescription glasses
Fire starter
First aid kit
Fishing kit
Flashlight & extra batteries
20 minute road flares
GI can opener
Heavy Knife
Axe
Swedish brush axe
High energy food
Poncho
Mess kit
Razor blades (sealed)
Braided rope (12'-24')
Sewing kit
Signal mirror (USFS type)
Cooking pot
Braided string
Swiss Army type knife
SOG tool
Tea bags or broth cubes
Tent (four seasons)
Two water bottles
Waterproof (lifeboat) matches
Waterproof match container
Water purifying tablets or filtration unit
Whistle
Basic Wilderness First Aid Kit
***consult your physican for specifics***
The following is a basic list of recommended wilderness first aid supplies. I carry an expanded amount of first aid supplies mirrored for my own personal requirements.
First aid kit
Insect repellant
Salt tablets
Tooth ache medication
Table salt
Rubbing alcohol
Assorted bandages
Aspirin
Tweezers
Feminine napkins
Medical thermometer
Sterile gauze dressing (2x2 & 4x4)
Triangular bandage
Assorted rolls of adhesive waterproof tape
Oral antibotics for infections
Nausea or vomiting tablets
Motion sickness tables
Burn gel
Diarrhea medication
Aromatic spirits of ammonia
Mild antiseptic
Steristrips for cuts
Suturing kit (see your physician)
Snakebite anti-venom kit (see physican)
Snakebite kit
Moleskin for soar feet
Baking soda
Distilled water
Cotton applicators
Petroleum jelly
Thick blunt needle
This is a partial and most basic list of recommended wilderness first aid supplies. It can not and does not, give all details of first aid treatment. Only a physican can give correct application techniques and/or assessment of injuries, the variables of the victim's condition, past medical history, etc.
As a matter of legality, the owner of this www-site disclaims liability for the use of this information.
The first aid section is placed within this www-site to let the reader appreciate the potential hazards that might occur if not vigilant in the wilderness. First aid treatment in an emergency can occur under many different conditions and circumstances.
On the spot treatment for an injury depends upon the injury itself, the knowledge and training of the people present, the medical materials available, the environment, the correct diagnosis of the problem, the ability to work under possible panic conditions, etc.
I personally would hope that this brief and basic section on wilderness first aid would motivate the reader to enlist in a first aid training course.
Hypothermia
Production of Heat By The Body
One should have no problem with hypothermia if your body can continue to produce sufficient heat to complement the heat loss to the cold. If the heat loss exceeds heat production you will become a candidate for hypothermia.
Body Heat Production
The body combines fuel (food that you have eaten) with oxygen to produce heat. There are three types of body heating:
Basal Heat Production
This is the basic production of heat for a sedentary person. This heat production is partially controlled by the thyroid gland and cannot respond very fast to an emergency, ie. heat loss, thus leading to hypothermia.
Thermoregulatory (Shivering)
This form of heat, (which is involuntary), responds to a drop in body temperature. This response is in the form of shivering, which can increase the heat production by up to tree times the basal rate. Heat production by shivering is not very productive. It can be stopped by a simple measure of putting on more clothing and/or just getting out of the cold.
Exercise
Note: A well planned activity in a survival situation can prove to be very productive.
Hiking uphill with a load can increase heat production up to six times the basal rate. Hiking is very productive in producing body heat. This activity, performed by a healthy adult, might be sustained for an hour or two and is recommended if one knows where he or she is and how far away the shelter is located.
If by chance you are not sure of your location or destination, it is recommended to use your energy to develope heat by building a shelter and fire which will last the night.
Heavy exertion, where you can produce heat up to ten times the basal rate can be maintained for approximatley ten minutes by a healthy adult. This should only be done if you are 100% sure of your destination and a proper shelter can be reached in time. Make sure that your clothing is well ventilated to release humidity. At the end of this heavy exertion, if you are not in a warm dry shelter, fatigue and human clothing can lead to hypothermia.
Vital Core
Hypothermia is the drop of the vital core temperature of the body. This condition is a major threat to life. 85% of wilderness deaths are caused by hypothermia.
Causes Of Hypothermia
A person who is weakened by the lack of food, has a low energy level, is not well dressed, or does not have a strong will to live is a prospect for hypothermia.
The major conditions are:
a.) Cold (even temperatures between 32 degrees F to 50 degrees F, or from zero degrees C to 10 Degrees C).
b.) Wind
c.) Being wet or in very high humidity
Optimum Body Temperature
Human body temperature is nearly 98 degrees F (37 degrees C) and any major deviation up or down can cuase problems.
The uncovered human body will start to shiver at approximately 95 degrees F (35 degrees C). Shivering is an automatic reaction to cold that is intended to move the muscles to produce more heat.
When a body gets cold there is an automatic defense mechanism that reduces the flow of blood to the extremities (toes, fingers, etc.) and tries to heat the vital life sustaining body organs (heart, lungs and brain).
Hypothermia is the drop of the vital core temperature of the body. This condition is a major threat to life. 85% of wilderness deaths are caused by hypothermia.
Body Nutrition
Food is our source of fuel to keep our bodies warm.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates- i.e. sugars, are the instant sources of energy as they are quickly burned by the body. Consuming small amounts at regular intervals will provide energy for the outdoors.
Proteins and Fat
These burn more slowly but are required by the body. Protein is important for its staying power.
Treating Hypothermia
When a body temperature falls into the subnormal area (low temperature). Hypothermia occurs when a person is not able to produce enough energy to keep the internal (core) body temperature at a satisfactory level.
Hypothermia is not only a winter problem, for it can occur in temperatures as high as 50 degrees F. Persons who become cold because of inadequate or wet clothing are suseptible to hypothermia, especially if they are weakened by illness.
The general signs of hypothermia include feelings of being cold, shivering, and sleepiness. Shivering again is the body's way of trying to produce more heat. Hypothermia progresses, shivering stops. A person who cannot even shiver cools down even faster than before.
Signs of increasing hypothermia include a lack of coordination, mental confusion, and slowed reactions. If the patient is not treated and rewarmed, unconsciousness will result.
Unconsciousness occurs when a person's body temperature goes below 90 degrees F (32 degrees C). If not reversed by rewarming, the downward spiral continues until death occurs.
It is recommended that should we suspect a fellow wilderness traveler is suffering from hypothermia that we attempt to move that person to a warm or warmer location. Remove the wet clothing and place warm blankets under and over the person. Seriously consider getting naked in a sleeping bag with this person. At this stage this has literally become a life and death situation.
Doing this helps to restore and retain body heat and begins the warmig process. If the person is conscious, give warm fluids to drink.
If we cannot move the person for one reason or another to a warmer environment, again use your own body heat to warm the person. Consider wrapping blankets around yourself and the person, anything to start the rewarming process, even during transporting the person if necessary.
If an individuals temperature falls even lower (to about 83 degrees F) the heart may stop and you will need to start CPR.
Note:
Any person suffering from hypothermia must be examined by a physican.
Cardiac Arrest and Hypothermia
In some cases, hypothermia may protect some victims from death. Therefore, always start CPR on hypothermic victims even if you believe they may have been "dead" for several hours.
Hypothermic victims should never be considered dead until they have been rewarmed in an appropriate medical facility.
Keeping the Body Warm
The major form of heat loss which is the direct transfer of heat from our body by heat waves to the air. To reduce this tranfer we wear clothing and protect ourselves in shelters and tents, etc.....
In particular, the head has many blood vessels to heat and feed the brain. If uncovered, at 40 degrees F (4 degrees C), up to 50% of the body's heat loss is through the head.
At 5 degrees F (-15 degrees C) the loss is 75%. If there is a high windchill factor the heat loss is higher and much more rapid.
For the reasons mentioned above, proper headgear is an essential part of proper winter survival gear.
Wet clothing loses heat by conduction and evaporation. If your clothing is totally waterproof (rubber or dense nylon) water, humidity or water vapor from body heat cannot escape and you will soon become humid and cold.
One last note and that is about respiration. Warm air is exhaled with your breath. Limit heat loss by breathing through your nose. This is especially true at higher altitudes where, to obtain more oxygen, there is more frequent and labored breathing.
Frostbite
Frostbite can result when exposed parts of the body are in a cold environment. Exposed body parts actually freeze. I have been with victims who have been froze and have subsequently expired due all body parts being frozen with exception of the upper torso
The body parts most suseptible to frostbite are the face, ears,fingers and toes. Depending on the temperature and wind velocity, frostbite can occur in a very short period of time.
Increases in wind speed have the same effect as decreases in temperature. The combination of wind and low temperatures producesa "wind chill".
As an example, a relatively mild temperature of 35 degrees, an accompanying wind blowing at only 20 mph will produce a wind chill that has the same effect on the body as an actual temperature of 12 degees F.
Travelers weakened by old age, exhaustion, or hunger are the mos suscetible to frostbite. The frostbitten part first becomes numb and then aquires a brifgt red color. Eventually, the area loses its color and changes pale white.
The frostbitten part must be quickly rewarmed. This can often be easily accomplished by placing the fingers, toes, and ears next to a warm body part or parcel of animal fur.
For Example: Place the frostbitten fingers under the arm pits. I have done this on numerous occasions with no lasting physical effects.
DO NOT
rub the frostbitten area in an attempt to rewarm it and never rub snow or ice onto a frostbitten area. Doing this will only make the problem worse.A severely frostbitten person who has been outside in the elements for an extended period of time ( hours ) should be transported to a medical facility for rewarming under controlled conditions.
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