The Börm Bruckmeier publishing house, which specializes in medical literature in a "compact format", presents a detailed guidebook to take with you into the mountains, subtitled: From day trip to Himalayan expedition.
The idea for this book came to the two authors Berend Feddersen and Harald Ausserer during an expedition in the Himalayas, where they accompanied 33 mountaineers together with other scientists and expedition doctors. Over time, they all experienced different symptoms and it quickly became clear that it is not always easy for doctors to diagnose the exact problem without additional aids. When local porters or Sherpas were affected, communication problems made things even more difficult. The claim of Mountain Medicine Expedition Medicine Pocket is that it should "fit in every jacket pocket". In addition, and this is where it becomes more ambitious, the book is intended to serve as a reference work for both laypeople and doctors. The aim is: "to present the medical knowledge that can be necessary on the mountain in a condensed and comprehensive way".
Presentation
The small book is roughly the size of a Ritter sports tablet and weighs 280 grams. The outdoor suitability is expressed in the form of a ring binding, slightly firmer paper and a robust book cover. As soon as you open it, you realize that this is a serious reference book. The layout is clear and straightforward in the style of a textbook. Not an inch is wasted on anything that is not purely for the purpose of conveying information.
Contents
A large part of the book is dedicated to the general topic of altitude problems. Chapter 1 begins with a general discussion of how the human body adapts to altitude. It continues with a chapter on acute altitude sickness (prevention, recognition, treatment of AMS, HAPE, HACE). Chapter 3 deals with possible pre-existing conditions that must be taken into account when going to high altitudes.
Chapter 4 is particularly comprehensive: Diseases / symptoms at altitude. In addition to typical altitude problems, such as those that occur with AMS, it also deals with things like diarrhea, heat or cold damage, broken bones and lightning accidents. So you don't have to be traveling at 5,000 meters to find useful information here. A final chapter on altitude is dedicated to problems that occur specifically in children. Here, too, it is not only helpful for Himalayan expeditions.
A chapter on pain therapy is followed by a richly illustrated and very successful chapter on bandages - I find the descriptions of stabilizing tape bandages, for example for fingers, wrists and knees, particularly interesting.
Somewhat surprisingly, there is a short chapter on avalanche awareness between the bandages and resuscitation (chapter on emergency situations, includes immediate life-saving measures, emergency call, helicopter briefing). Among other things, the basics of the reduction method and the snowcard are explained here. This is followed by a chapter on knots and rescue techniques, where basic knots and rope techniques are also described quite briefly. In just a few pages, you can go from a figure-of-eight knot to changing your stance with an injured person. Also explained are basic techniques for crevasse rescue and makeshift transport options for injured persons (rope stretcher seat, bivouac sled,...).
This is followed by a chapter on medication suitable for the emergency first-aid kit. A distinction is made here between a "basic module for alpinists" and extended variants (doctors, mountain guides). Finally, there are some anatomical diagrams and a small dictionary containing relevant terms in German, English, Spanish, Chinese, Nepali and Tibetan.
Conclusion
According to the foreword, the book aims to do two things:
1.It should be easy to pocket and take with you. This has been achieved, it is small, compact and, thanks to the slightly thicker paper and ring binding, certainly also relatively robust.
2.The content should be comprehensive on the one hand and condensed on the other, as well as useful for laypersons on the one hand, but also for doctors on the other. According to the foreword, the authors are aware that this is a relatively challenging balancing act. Content that is intended more for doctors is marked with red crosses, so that a layperson can easily skip over it and immediately realize that information such as: "How much lidocaine do I inject into which mandibular nerve when my colleague has a toothache" is intended more for the doctor. As a layperson, I find the content intended for me easy to understand. I cannot judge whether the additional information intended for doctors (especially details on and dosage of special medications) is useful. In any case, they don't interfere with my reading experience as a layperson, as I can easily ignore them thanks to the very useful markings.
The chapters on avalanche awareness and rope technique are kept very short compared to the rest of the content and are at most helpful for briefly looking up something basic that you actually know but want to remind yourself of. That's more or less how it's written in the corresponding chapters.
I imagine that when you read it, you realize where the idea for this book came from. The situation that the authors describe in the foreword (large team including Sherpas and porters, remote area, problems ranging from a cold to a cut finger to somewhat critical altitude symptoms) is exactly the same as I have experienced several times and in this setting, "Mountain Medicine Expedition Medicine Pocket" is undoubtedly extremely helpful. We didn't have anything to look up and were often overwhelmed by the selection of medicines in the expedition leader's first aid kit. The dictionary would also have been extremely useful here.
Reinhold Messner has decorated the book cover with his signature and the words "belongs in every backpack". Whether you really need to take it with you on every morning ski tour next to the lift remains to be seen. It is definitely very useful for larger activities and even if you don't have any plans and just browse through the book at home, every mountaineer will probably find a lot of useful information in it.
ISBN: 978-3-89862-743-6
Available for €18.99 in shops, for example here or in the bookshop around the corner. An app to accompany the book is planned.
Of course, the same applies to first aid as to everything else: Books are no substitute for courses.
The publisher provided PG with a free review copy.
