Desert Medicine training course Namibia

Desert Medicine training course Namibia

This has got to be one of the most superbly located medical training courses in the world. With a base camp in the shadow of the countries highest mountain – Burnt Mountain or Brandberg in a river valley frequented by desert elephants the training syllabus with explore this region as well as the plains in the foreground.

As well as the obvious training benefits we also hope to see the elusive desert adapted rhino and elephants, giraffes, oryx (gemsbok) as well as more common plains animals such as Thompson’s Gazelles, Ostriches and Hartman’s Mountain Zebras

The course is filling fast so to make sure you get a place email Catherine Harding or download a Desert Medicine course application form here.

Accredited Wilderness Medicine Remote Medicine CME programs

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Expedition Medicine Course – Lake District

The Wilderness and Exped Medicine course in Lake District works on skills neccesary for providing remote medical care.

Find out more about the Expedition Medicine training course is Keswick here

Flick| Expeditions & Expedition Medicine Photo group

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Dr Andy McClea | doc behind the camera

Andy McAlea was the man behind the camera for this piece showing the Air Ambulance assisting on the Expedition and Wilderness Medicine training course in the Lake District.

Expedition & Wilderness Medicine | Flickr Group

Expedition Medicine
Originally uploaded by Mark Hannaford

We have set up a flickr group for Expeditions and Expedition Medicine- for those of you that don’t know what this is its an on-line photo gallery where you can upload your images to share with friends and stuff like that.

What we have done is invite upload our own images and invite other people to contribute theirs to make on on-line resource for those of you wanting to put together training lectures and presentations on EM.

Here’s the link, but why not join as well and add you images to the pool?

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Hi, I’m an admin for a group called Expedition and Wilderness Medicine, and we’d love to have your photo added to the group.

Why not become a member of the Expedition and Wilderness Medicine Group and help others to teach others – we’d love to meet you!

Expedition Medicine course

Luanne Freer joins the Expedition Medicine team.

We where privileged at EML to have the Everest Base Camp MD Luanne Freer join our lecture team for the Lake District Expedition Medicine courses during her recent visit to the UK

She has a great website for those of you interested in altitude medicine and the video below illustrates the difficulties of operating at this height

Visit her Everest MD website here

The BBC trailor for the documentary about her.

Mountain Medicine course in Nepal.

Diabetes on Expedition

Expedition & Wilderness Medicine 

As the medical management of diabetes improves, diabetics are increasingly becoming involved in adventurous persuits in the wilderness and on expeditions. The aim of this article is to attempt to demistify the subject of insulin dependent diabetes. Diabetics on expeditions may increase their risk of a number of medical problems: hypo and hyperglycaemia, dehydration, frostbite, infections, poor wound healing. There can also be diagnostic dilemmas of differentiating diabetes related disease with a number of tropical diseases and altitude related conditions. None of these are insurmountable but require more vigilance and proactive monitoring by the individual and the expedition medic.

A letter from the client’s own GP outlining the condition, including the need to carry syringes, is necessary for air-travel and useful for border crossings. Young active diabetics may be well in tune with their disease and used to altering doses, but do not assume this. Often they are managed with background 24 hour insulin e.g. glargine with easily alterable short-acting e.g. lispro. (basal-bolus regime). Of course an insulin pump would be even better. For some people it may be useful to convert to this regime before the trip; if so, allow plenty of time to get used to it. Typically a basal-bolus regime is the recommended for the potentially unstable and unpredictable environment on an expedition.

Diabetics need to be thorough in their preparation prior to an expedition. Testing their devices, trialing new regimes with increased levels of activity. Basically ensuring maximal stability of their disease before going on an expedition. Physicians should ensure the diabetic patient has pre-expedition HbA1c, tests to establish any end organ damage and a thorough understanding of how to manage their diabetes on expedition.

Careful planned adjustment of doses is needed over time zones for any flights. Most diabetics find it useful to change to the destination time zone on the flight. As a rule of thumb, if flying west, the day will lengthen and insulin doses may need to increase, whilst eastern journeys result in shorter days and hence less insulin may be required. Importantly the diabetic patient needs to monitor their blood glucose closely.

Once on expedition, diabetics ideally need regular meals, but this may not be possible. Regular monitoring is vital and they should always carry snacks. The medic should consider an antiemetic early if vomiting occurs. Be aware that there may be alterations in insulin requirements:

UP – illness / exertion

DOWN – after regular prolonged exercise

Some monitoring devices do not function well at altitude or in the cold. Those which use reagent strips with glucose dehydrogenase are more stable, but still do not read accurately above 2500m (though the error is probably not significant). The monitors and insulin must be kept at a relatively stable temperature and not agitated too much. Insulin is surprisingly resistant to denaturing but always check that it is clear and colourless before use. There are a number of storage devices, the easiest to use and most efficient is currently the Frio Bag.

Interestingly there have been several cases of ketoacidosis in IDDM patients at altitude using acetazolamide, and until a clear connection is established its use in diabetics is not recommended. The alternative treatment is dexamethasone, however this should not be used as a prophylactic treatment as it can induce hyperglycaemia. 

Source: Dr Sean Hudson, Expedition Medicine, http://www.expeditionmedicine.co.uk/resource.php?id=105

Expedition & Wilderness Medicine

Relevant website; http://www.mountain-mad.org/

New Expedition Medicine training course dates

New September dates for UK Expedition Medicine Course in the Lakes

We are happy to announce the dates for our autumn Expedition Medicine course in the Lake District for the 9-12 September 2008 to be held at our training centre at the Barrow House Youth Hostel, Borrowdale, Keswick, Cumbria.

Find out more about the course at the UK expedition medicine training page here

Visit our Expedition Medicine photo gallery here to see more or download an course application form here, but hurry the places are strictly limited.

Expedition Medicine medics study the effects of altitude

Eight members of the extreme Everest team, which includes Across the Divide and Expedition Medicine medic Dr Denny Levett, summited last week. As if this wasnt hard enough, they also had the energy to take arterial samples from each other at 8450m and carried out some further scientific studies at the south col. We are always in awe of people who are driven and brave enough to climb to these altitudes but am completely humbled by the fortitude of the extreme Everest team. Good luck and well done to them all, their support team and sherpa guides.

CNN Report

Desert Medicine Training Course | Namibia

Dr Sean Hudson explains why we’ve chosen Namibia to run our new Desert Medicine Course.

There truly aren’t enough superlatives to describe how beautiful Namibia is. Hence when we came to choose a destination for our new desert medicine course, there was only one possible choice. 

As a group, Expedition Medicine have been working, travelling, holidaying and honeymooning in Namibia for over 10 years. It has a quality which is becoming increasingly rare and difficult to find in Africa. It still remains exotic and predominantly unspoilt, tourism is increasing but slowly. 

The diversity of the country is its strength, whether you yearn for endless deserts, exotic mountains, huge dunes, canyons, rivers, a myriad of game parks or the most remarkable coastline in the whole of Africa, it is all here. All set to the backdrop of German efficiency, which has created a medical infrastructure which can support any expedition. 

Caroline and I first worked in the Namib as guides and medics in 1998 and fell in love with the country. We have returned many times and are very excited about the desert medicine course. It’s a beautiful location, with Brandberg as a backdrop, and the opportunity to encounter the remarkably adapted desert elephants which often can be found in the Uhab River. 

The team are quite exceptional, and I can’t wait to learn from them and their vast experience, in this and other desert environments around the world. If you want to camp in one of the oldest deserts in the world, in the shadow of a mountain which has been a refuge for desert nomads in hard times for over 6000 years, track elephant, learn how to survive and treat medical conditions common in this environment, then there is no question you would enjoy our trip to Namibia. 

Dr Sean Hudson

Find out more about the Expedition Medicine Desert Medicine training course in Namibia.