most common injuries/ailments backpacking ?

[Chip]

re. the First Aid thread - does anyone have a list or info on the most common injuries/ailments that occur while backpacking ?
As an example, I carry a plastic/velcro ankle splint, but if wrist injuries are more common, maybe I should carry something for wrists, instead.

I'd imagine the list and remedies to be something like;
1) sunburn - lotion
2) blisters - moleskin
3) cuts - band aids
4) dehydration - water
5) hypothermia - space blanket
etc.

This would be helpful in prioritizing items to include in a first aid and emergency kit. Thanks in advance

 

[David Metsky]

If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend a Wilderness First Aid course, specifically the one taught by SOLO. I think this is the first thing needed in a first aid kit, knowledge for the rescuer.

Many of the injuries you need to deal with, particular musculo-skeletal ones (sprains, strains, broken bones) can all be treated with the same few items and a lot of improvising. A SAM splint is a good option, but you can use just about anything to make a split. Straps with fastex buckles are probably more important, just through a few in the top of the pack for them.

A space blanket (those tinfoil ones) are fairly useless for treating hypothermia, it's not worth the tiny weight to even carry. Ensolite pads are much more important to insulate people from the ground.

Where you are hiking, what type of hike, who you are with, all factor into what you carry. But the SOLO course is very good at focusing you on what you should carry and what you can improvise from your gear.

-dave-

 

[Camper58]

Chip - All of the above, plus one item I always have in my pack, an ACE bandage. It's good for sprains (ankles or wrists), and can be used to hold splints in place in an emergency. I go for the 2 or 3 inch width, the 4" wide seems like overkill. I carry it whether it's a day hike or a b'pack. Hope this helps....

 

[David Metsky]

I realize that I didn't come close to answering the question that you asked. Without going into exact order, I suspect that following injuries are near the top:

- Sprains, strains (ankles, knees, wrists)
- cuts and scrapes
- sunburn
- insect bites
- blisters, hot spots
- dehydration, heat problems
- hypothermia, cold problems

-dave-

 

[Chip]

If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend a Wilderness First Aid course, specifically the one taught by SOLO. I think this is the first thing needed in a first aid kit, knowledge for the rescuer.
-dave-

3 years ago I took the Wilderness First Responder course, I probably should have taken the First Aid course.
The "list" would be useful to point out more common ailments, like sunburn or chafing, as opposed to - as an example - allergic reactions.

 

[Tramper Al]

The "list" would be useful to point out more common ailments, like sunburn or chafing, as opposed to - as an example - allergic reactions.

Yeah, I think that those two are very common, particularly in the right conditions.
As for common, it kind of depends what you consider an ailment / injury, and what might be considered normal wear and tear. You are probably most interested in ailments about which you can do something. Shortness of breath, fatigue, and sore feet are very common on hikes I have been on, as are insect bites and mild dehydration in the right season (right now). On a good bushwhack, scrathes and small lacerations aren't common, they are ubiquitous.

 

[Stan]

If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend a Wilderness First Aid course, specifically the one taught by SOLO. I think this is the first thing needed in a first aid kit, knowledge for the rescuer.

Many of the injuries you need to deal with, particular musculo-skeletal ones (sprains, strains, broken bones) can all be treated with the same few items and a lot of improvising. A SAM splint is a good option, but you can use just about anything to make a split. Straps with fastex buckles are probably more important, just through a few in the top of the pack for them.

A space blanket (those tinfoil ones) are fairly useless for treating hypothermia, it's not worth the tiny weight to even carry. Ensolite pads are much more important to insulate people from the ground.

Where you are hiking, what type of hike, who you are with, all factor into what you carry. But the SOLO course is very good at focusing you on what you should carry and what you can improvise from your gear.

-dave-

I agree with everything Dave said except one thing ... carrying the space blanket. It is useless for treating hypothermia, at least directly but I think it can help serve as a windbreak and have used one on an unplanned bivuoac. Here's how it helped me.

To cushion and insulate the ground I spread out balsam fir boughs and topped that with a space blanket. Had the weather been much cooler or damper, I would have folded it over and added more boughs to the top. To me, that experience alone is worth a lifetime of hauling that little almost weightless item around ... and preferable to hauling a sleeping bag and whatever else solely for the same eventuality and probability.

Bill Kane of SOLO pointed out that ankle injuries are the most common hiking injury with cuts and abrasions right up there on the list. Knowledge of dehydration, hypothermia and heat exhaustion/stroke is important, not that they occur that often but because they can be far more serious if they do and that knowledge is valuable in identifying it, treating it and hopefully, preventing it in the first place.

 

[NH_Mtn_Hiker]

Based on my own experience with group hikes and chats with Park Rangers, the most common injuries in the WMNF appear to be injuries to the feet, ankles, lower legs, and knees, including: sprains, blisters, lacerations, tendonitis, and an occasional torn miniscus or fracture.

Dehydration is another problem that can lead to the above injuries. Carry plenty of water!

To reduce the chance of hypothermia, I always bring raingear, extra socks, and an insulating layer, as well as fire starting materials. Recovering from hypothermia in cold, rainy, windy conditions is very difficult. (the conditions when hypothermia is most likely to occur) This makes prevention more important.

but if wrist injuries are more common, maybe I should carry something for wrists, instead.

Even if wrist injuries were more common, and I doubt that they are, I can probably get off a mountain with a sprained wrist alot easier than I can with a sprained ankle.

You could pack an entire pharmacy in your first-aid kit, but if you don't know how to use it, it's useless. Everyone should have some basic first-aid knowledge. The SOLO course mentioned above is a great idea for those who don't have: parents who are both nurses, a sister who's an EMT, several aunts who are nurses, two MD's that are close family friends, etc, etc.

 

[woodstrider]

Most common injuries

For me that would be foot injuries.

Sprained ankles- I tighten up the boot and I have athletic tape
Blisters and hot spots- Althetic tape
Scratches and bug bites- New Skin (the liquid stuff in a bottle)

Here a great trick- to take the sting and itch out of those bug bites- use urine (or those little ampules that you can buy in a drug store, but if you don't have one- try pee, I swear it works)_

 

[NH_Mtn_Hiker]

try pee, I swear it works

I'll take your word on it....just stay down wind of me.

 

[rocksnrolls]

Here a great trick- to take the sting and itch out of those bug bites- use urine (or those little ampules that you can buy in a drug store, but if you don't have one- try pee, I swear it works)_

Is that because there's maybe ammonia in urine? My after-bite says it has ammonia as the active ingredient. In my previous apartment I used to get alot of mosquitos (I think they were breeding on the flat roof and getting through gaps in my poorly-fitted top-floor windows) and kept a bottle of ammonia-based window cleaner on my nightstand. A few drops seemed to kill the itch when applied soon after being bitten. I'm guessing the ammonia breaks down the bug spit that causes the itchiness..

 

[Whiteman]

I am surprised that space blankets are considered so worthless. They can't have any insulating value because they are so thin, but still they should be great at reflecting body heat back in. And what about their use as emergency lightning rods? (I was thinking about this on Saturday as thunder was rattling around the Pemis.)

And as for most common injury, judging the the intensity of the thread on chafing, that has to be right up there. (Neil started this thread a few months back; I don't know how to link to it.)

 

[GeorgeFitch]

I have read and heard first hand that pee helps ease the pain if you step on a sea urchin (while swimming, not hiking), so there must be something to this.

I have never carried a space blanket but was very glad my brother-in-law produced one when we had to bivouac for a night on the side of Mt. Whitney. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.

We could look down from the ledge and see our tents in the meadow below, so close, yet so far away...

 

[David Metsky]

I am surprised that space blankets are considered so worthless. They can't have any insulating value because they are so thin, but still they should be great at reflecting body heat back in.

The problem is, that they don't. And even if they did, a wind break to keep the person from losing heat through convection, is much more important than heat loss through radiation. And as a wind break, those really thin space blankets rip and become useless rather quickly. While they aren't doing any harm, there are IMO more important things to put in a F/A kit.

-dave-

 

[DougPaul]

Here a great trick- to take the sting and itch out of those bug bites- use urine (or those little ampules that you can buy in a drug store, but if you don't have one- try pee, I swear it works)_

Is that because there's maybe ammonia in urine?

Never tried urine, but my family has used aromatic spirits of ammonia for the purpose. Just rub a bit on the bite. The ammonia neutralizes the formic acid (an irritant) in the bite (sting)--or so I was told. In any case, it does reduce or eliminate the itch.

Doug

 

[Neil]

I bet "ailments" are way more common than injuries. My guess is that sore knees and feet top that list and are followed closely by headaches. This winter I found myself getting sore shoulders (self diagnosis=transient tendinitis) from using my poles a lot. Does anybody else get sore shoulders?

As mentioned, lower limb injuries must be the most common in that category with ankle sprains being right up there.

Another form of "injury" is the gradual development of a musculoskeletal condition brought on by the combination of avid hiking and a predisposition to that condition. Ie. flat feet and lots of hiking may bring on plantar fascitis, shin splints or a patello-femoral syndrome (pain behind the kneecap). These won't prevent you from getting out of the woods but they sure might make you think twice about going hiking again soon.

 

[Jaytrek57]

I've been told by two different WFR instructors that those "space blankets" are worthless. Better to carry an extra "bomb" proof fleece and an extra snickers bar.

3 years ago I took the Wilderness First Responder course, I probably should have taken the First Aid course.

Little confused by this. Everything in a WFA is covered in a WFR...and then some. Perhaps, just my reading of the post.

IMHO, dehydration is the biggest cause of all backcountry ailments, injuries and whatnot. Leads to the "stumbles and mumbles", impaired decision making and overall fatigue. Dehydration, is often the most, "overlooked" symptom when personally evaluating a situation. Again, just mho.

Oh yeah, and bruised egos. They get more people into to trouble then everything else combined.

 

[forestgnome]

Great thread, Chip!

I'm not surprised that sprained ankles are common on these trails. I'm amazed at the popularity of trail shoes instead of over-the-ankle boots. I wonder about the percentage ratio of trail shoes to boots for ankle spains. It seems to me that my leather boots save me from ankle sprain about once per hike!

 

[Warren]

Injury Trail shoes vs. Boots

It's been put forth here before and my experience seems to jive with it. A trail shoe is lower to the ground, you don't roll off the foot bed as readily as you do with a boot. Also, a high boot supports your ankle, not giving your ankle a chance to strengthen on it's own.

 

[David Metsky]

I was a bit confused by the WFR vs WFA thing as well. WFR is a much more serious course, it takes 9-10 days, compared to the 2 day WFA. I'm sure you got much more hands on training with a WFR.

SOLO - Highly recommended.

-dave-