Posts Tagged ‘wma’

WMA instructor Carl Blondell just sent us the photos below, taken in the St. Lucia, an island nation in the eastern Carribbean Sea.  Check back to see where the man is travelling to next!

Don’t forget… At the end of the year, we will select the 3 best submissions. The winners will receive $100 cash prize.  Send in a picture of yourself wearing your WMA course t-shirt to webmaster@wildmed.com in order to be eligible for the prizes.

Click here for the dates of the upcoming MedWAR races! MedWAR (Medical Wilderness Adventure Race) tests your wilderness survival skills through unique events combined with adventure racing.

WMA Canada instructors Dugg Steary and Mike Webster have been responsible for writing, developing, and coordinating all medical scenarios for MedWAR North for the past 5 years. Recently, WMA Canada instructors Aaron Orkin MD and Dave Vanderburgh MD have joined the simulation writing team. Other WMA Canada instructors including Lisa Barrett, James Innes, and Marty Pomerleau have been proctors and race officials at previous MedWAR North events.

Q: Someone I know was having difficulty sleeping on a trip. A friend suggested trying the diphenhydramine (e.g., Benadryl) from our first aid kit. Shortly after, this person developed hives, chest tightness and shortness of breath. We administered epinephrine from the kit for a presumed anaphylactic reaction and evacuated him. In the end, after a brief visit to a hospital emergency department, everything turned out well. Is this common with diphenhydramine or any other antihistamine?

A: Interesting story. One can develop an allergic reaction to any medication or any of its ingredients. Antihistamine is a class of medications and there are a number of different ones that fall under that rubric. Diphenhydramine (e.g., Benadryl) is one. They can be used to treat allergic symptoms like hives and dampen or prevent them. Because drowsiness is a frequent diphenhydramine side effect, it is a commonly added ingredient in over-the-counter sleep aides in North America. It is not a naturally occurring hormone in our bodies so if this was indeed an immediate allergic/anaphylactic reaction, it or a chemical used during manufacture could have been the precipitant. Using the assumption that this was indeed an allergic reaction, the person could be allergic to any medication within the class. This could also have been an anticholinergic reaction to the diphenhydramine (e.g., flushed skin, dry mouth, anxiety, urine retention, constipation) or an anaphylactic reaction to something else the person was exposed to. True allergic reactions to antihistamines are unusual. Fortunately we have other better options for serious reactions (e.g., epinephrine, corticosteroids).

What about allergic reactions to epinephrine? Epinephrine is produced by the body endogenously. Most supposed allergic reactions are in fact caused by adrenergic side effects (e.g., rapid heart rate, shakes, vasoconstriction). Other reactions attributed to epinephrine may be caused by the xylocaine (anaesthetic) it is mixed with for local dental anaesthesia. Conceivably, a true allergic reaction during epinephrine administration could be caused by one of the preservatives (e.g., bisulfites, antioxidants) added during manufacture. These have to be exceedingly rare

Next time if you are are trying to sleep, try warm milk.

The man is currently at Tsubaki Shrine in Mie Prefecture of Japan. WMA Lead Instructor Dave Ramsey sports our classic tee.

Send in your pictures and stories for our ‘Where’s the Man?’ section to webmaster@wildmed.com.

This week the man was on top of Mt. Marcy, as sported by our very own instructors, Josh Martin and Paul Cunningham from Northern Cairn!

WMA has these new t-shirts that are given out to everybody on a WMA course (with the exception of a WFA course), featuring a da Vinci-inspired design of the Vitruvian Man. We are asking students, instructors, and like-minded individuals to send in their pictures to webmaster@wildmed.com. We’d like to know where the picture was shot, and we will feature your post right here on our blog! Don’t forget to send us a story to attach to your submission!

Check back to see where the man has been traveling to!