What Would A Wilderness Medicine Expert Do? #notsponsored

Essential wilderness survival tips from Dr. Grant Lipman, co-founder of the GOES Health app, who reveals life-saving advice for handling backcountry emergencies.
*Use the code GUIDEWITHGOES for one month of free access to GOES*
#notsponsored

The video kicks off with a deep dive into the GOES Health app, which is a game-changer for anyone heading into the backcountry. It’s designed to give you expert medical advice even when you're offline, making it a key tool for handling emergencies when help is far away. Dr. Grant Lipman, co-founder of the app, shares his background in wilderness medicine, highlighting how preparation and quick thinking can make all the difference when you're dealing with injuries in remote areas.

Dr. Lipman walks us through some critical survival skills, including how to handle serious bleeding and when to use a tourniquet. He explains when it’s a life-saving tool and when it might actually cause more harm. Snake bites are another major concern, and he clears up common myths while giving practical steps on what to do if you or someone else gets bitten. Having a satellite communicator on hand is another essential he discusses—it’s not just about your safety but being prepared to help others who might be in trouble.

Heat stroke and heat exhaustion are covered in detail, with a focus on recognizing the signs early and acting fast. Dr. Lipman explains how something as simple as cold water immersion can be a life-saver, especially in extreme conditions like the Grand Canyon or Death Valley. He also breaks down the confusion around symptoms like sweating or stopping sweating and how to properly respond to heat-related emergencies.

We also tackle the subject of tick bites and preventing Lyme disease, with practical advice on what to wear, how to check for ticks, and what to do if you find one on your body. Dr. Lipman offers straightforward tips for staying safe from ticks, especially in areas where Lyme disease is common. Water safety is another big topic—he discusses the best ways to purify water in the backcountry, from using filters to boiling, and even touches on dealing with blue-green algae.

Lastly, Dr. Lipman talks about cold water immersion and hypothermia, explaining how your body reacts to cold water and the steps you can take to survive if you fall in. He wraps up with tips on how to handle wildfires and what to include in your emergency kit, emphasizing that being prepared and having the right tools can make all the difference in keeping yourself and others safe on the trail.

00:00 Why the GOES Health App
01:05 Dr. Grant Lipman's Background in Wilderness Medicine
05:38 Handling Bleeding and Tourniquet Use
06:05 Using Satellite Communicators for Safety
12:11 Dealing with Snake Bites
17:25 Heat Stroke vs Heat Exhaustion
31:02 Tick Bites and Lyme Disease Prevention
32:23 Water Purification in the Backcountry
47:42 Cold Water Immersion and Hypothermia
54:57 Wildfire Safety Tips
59:00 Head Injuries and Emergency Response
1:11:24 Emergency Kit Essentials

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[RAkers-tuey]

I am going to have to watch it several times to get it all. 😁😁

[RAkers-tuey]

This was really great. Quite a bit of "new" information to me. I love the format, and the fact that is based on real, clinical diagnostic trees.
Thank you both for presenting this forum. I am extremely surprised at the low turnout for the live stream, but maybe it is the hour of the day.
I expect the video to do much better. I would love to hear Dr. Grant's comments on some of the questions which are sure to turn up on this video later.

I was an EMT in the 1980's. I had hoped to learn advanced backcountry medicine from this program. I didn't.
I learned situational awareness, how to stabilize for transport, and how to deal calmly with medical emergencies.
Good stuff for sure, but not enough if "transport" is several hours or days away.

The military programs are much better for this kind of treatment based training. Working in Hospitals taught me a lot more.
I am trying to decide if the NOLS program would be worth the cost for me. Comments?

[mike.weinberg]

Tip to add to the GOES app: Use duct tape to remove "seed" ticks.

Two years ago, I was on a 4-day solo backpack of the Buffalo River Trail in hot, humid September with overgrown trails and tall grasses. I avoid bug repellents but wear long-sleeved shirts, pants, sun gloves, and a head net (for flying insects).

Despite tucking my pants into my socks, the first night I found (and safely removed) a medium-sized tick from my left ankle. Some local hikers, who decided to leave the trail due to the ticks, warned me about Alpha-gal syndrome, a tick-borne disease that makes people allergic to meat and dairy products. I'm 27-years vegan, so I wasn't worried about that. 🙂

But I also saw what looked like dozens of tiny blackheads around my ankle and lower leg. The locals told me they were "seed" ticks, essentially baby ticks that you can see with a magnifying glass wandering around until they latch to your skin. I had no idea what to do about them until the next day when I encountered a ranger who gave me 2 words of advice: "Duct tape." I always carry some for odd repairs and spent considerable time that evening in my tent finding and removing seed ticks under the light of my headlamp.

A few days later I was home and broke out into what looked like measles over the lower half of my body. I visited my doctor who tested me for tick-borne diseases and prescribed a precautionary course of antibiotics. The tests fortunately turned out negative, so I likely had a reaction to tick saliva.

Next time, I'll consider using some type of (non-DEET) repellent, at least around my ankles!

[kevinfridman]

Thank you for this Cris. Really enjoyed it. Next week I'll be going on my first backpacking trip in a while and this helps. Going to sign up for the GOES app and rewatch it to take a few notes on the medical kit items that were suggested.

[CarmichaelRodeo]

Thanks, really appreciated and make it through the whole presentation. Taking Wilderness Medicine courses or even basic first aid courses is a necessity for all of us spending time in outdoor environments. Wish all commenters followed your gudelines and don’t inject needless offensive items.

[rufusmacck]

Great presentation. I have taken “stop the bleed” a few times and included in the course was using clotting bandages (combat bandages). We were taught to use one if a tourniquet was not available or if the injury was not where one could be used. I would like to have heard his opinion on such bandages. A 3in x 4 ft bandage is very light, only about 25g. A CAT tourniquet is 79g. I carry both.

[SJSCHOCH]

Just added the app (with promo code) and watched your app review. Super helpful discussion, and also helped get my mindset back into awareness mode. Well played and big-BIG RESPECT.

Maybe I am the only dork who scalded his leg pouring boiling water into a ziplock bag (reconstituting food) in the backcountry, but burns and scalds would be an interesting topic to cover. I walked through the burn topics, to get an idea how the scenarios work in the app works and that was helpful.

[andrzejtaramina]

Under pressure, you don’t rise to the occasion, you sink to your level of training.

Humans revert back to what they are familiar with, when under extreme stress, rather than trying out new things or things that we are not fully confident with or that we are currently learning.

For life-critical, time-sensitive emergencies (think arterial bleed, where you have 2-3 minutes tops to stop the bleed), you're not going to have time to consult an app on your phone. You or whomever is injured will likely be dead or permanently injured in the time it takes you to find your phone, bring up the app and search for relevant info. For non-critical emergencies, sure....you might have the luxury of learning what you should do next using an app, book, or contacting someone.

So I see the app more as a useful learning/training tool in advance of an time-critical emergency scenario. Better still, take a wilderness First Aid course and practice! Remember...you will sink to the level of your training.

I also must question the advice on tourniquets presented early on in this podcast. Trying to craft and use a makeshift TQ is difficult, at best, for trained professionals. If that is all you have, better than nothing I suppose, but unlikely to be very effective. For "normal" hiking, maybe you don't need a TQ as much. For me, as a backcountry hunter, I carry razor sharp knives, broadheads and guns, so packing an easily accessible tourniquet is standard procedure. Contrary to the narrative in the vid, they are only a few ounces and aren't very big (A CAT TQ, one of the most common ones, is only L 6.5 in. x W 2.4 in. x D 1.5 in and 2.7 oz), with more compact ones available as well, and will easily tuck away in your pack. But don't buy Chinese knock-offs on Amazon, please....they are garbage. Get a certified CAT or SOF-T Wide TQ, and learn/practice how to use it (remember the practice adage? lol).

You never know when you'll be the first responder on scene, not just in the wild, so I have IFAKs (Individual First Aid Kits, which are more trauma kits...band aids may help with comfort but not with serious trauma), with TQs in ever kit, with me in my truck, hunting/hiking backpack, commuter pack and at home. The life you save may be your own or someone's you care about.

[enudretheinsult]

27:00 "doesn't do anything at all" I am calling BS on this. Placing cold on the neck does rapidly cool off the body and help those who are overheating. I had a Girls Softball team play in the Ca State Championships in Lancaster Ca, Late August 110 deg f by 9am - no wind. Many teams had players dropping in the outfield from the heat and grandparents in the stands. They had misters in the dugouts and the ground was bone dry, because the mist would never make it there, because it was so hot. Anyway we kept neck wraps made with absorbent gel beads that expanded in ice water in the coolers and the girls would put those around their necks and they were 100% ready to go when called upon to play! BTW we also had them put their feet in coolers (ice water) and rub ice on the bottom of their wrists - they liked that too. Make sure you water down the Gatorade and NO SODA! Too much sugar will make you sick. Also have an umbrella for shade available and lots of cold water to drink. Experience talking here.

[DPM-dpon]

A brilliant, competent medical professional before DEI prevented the best and the brightest from getting into medical school.