Risk of medical emergency

[Wandering Daisy]

I just had a scare, thinking I had appendicitis. My husband wanted me to go to the ER, I decided to wait it out a bit longer. In the end, all is well, it just was a gas. What I was wondering is how bad would it be if one really did have appendicitis while in the wilderness? It seems you may have a 24-hour wait at best even if you sent a help message on your PLB. From what I read, what could kill you is the infection after rupture, not the rupture itself. And the question, if this happened, out in the wilderness, should you make the help call earlier and not wait to see if it is gas?

From everything I have read it seems unlikely to happen, so maybe I am just worrying too much.

[rlown]

Lets see. Appendicitis, UTI, Heart attack, stroke, artery nick. At least with InReach you can text them your thoughts on the illness, unless you are already unconscious.

For possible infections on a longer remote trip, you could tell your doctor your concerns and they could put a pro pac together with "in case" meds.

Or, have elective surgery to remove parts that you really don't need.

[TurboHike]

WD, I agree that there is a certain risk we all take when we enter the backcountry.

For appendicitis, rupture can occur in as little as 24 hours after the first symptoms appear, but sometimes this is delayed up to 72 hours. Each person is different. For a heart attack, getting help within 3 to 4 hours is usually recommended to prevent permanent damage to heart muscle. A person can bleed to death in 3 or 4 minutes. Rattlesnake bites can lead to death within 6 hours, but sometimes not until 48 hours if left untreated. It depends on how much venom was injected by the snake. So, for some things, a PLB or Inreach might not be good enough for getting a timely rescue.

I carry a PLB, by the way.

[CAMERONM]

The big advantages of the text-communicating PLBs are that you can warn them about what is going on, but also exchange info for your own uncertainty about what you face. I don't remember discussing appendicitis in the Wilderness First Aid course I took, so most first-responder types may not know a lot more than you. A text communication with professionals might help you to better assess the degree of risk in waiting it out. My assumption is that if I hit the rescue button anytime later than two hours before dusk, it will be a long night of waiting.

[Shawn]

It's a good question WD.

Many years back I had worked with two people (happened to be women) that had separate incidents of having appendicitis while onboard commercial airline flights. Both were overseas routes and hours away from any airport. Neither of the flights declared any sort of emergency and flew into their intended destination. Thankfully both of my co-workers survived the situation but told horror stories of the pain endured.

It was early in my hiking days when I heard their accounts, so it got me thinking about these types of things in the backcountry. I don't know if PLB's were available then and I was too cheap to buy a sat phone, so at the end of the day I just considered medical maladies as part of the potential consequences of venturing into the wilderness.

[Wandering Daisy]

Of course we accept the risk when backpacking. My question was more targeted to WHEN you should make the PLB call in medical situations that are not all that clear. I have a canned message on my In-Reach that says, "problem but am requesting rescue, stand by". But then, if it gets bad and I actually call for a rescue, could it be too late? I just wonder what SAR viewpoint is on "false calls", not the ones that are frivolous but those who simply make diagnostic mistakes. I guess this also applies to all situations-not just illness. Just what are your thoughts on this?

[rlown]

If the weather is bad, you are already too late on your plb call. If the weather is good and if you feel worse in an hour, make the call before you go unconscious. If you can hike out, do so. If you can't hike, make the call. If you broke something, make the call. The canned message is nice but if you can interact with the response, your chances are better.

Just my approach.

[TurboHike]

Concerning WHEN, I found this helpful.

https://hikingguy.com/how-to-hike/when- ... b-or-spot/

[rlown]

good article! I've hiked out on a broken ankle for 8 miles out of Virginia lake in Yose. Thought it was a sprain and that was before we had inReach.
I had friends to offload some weight. Advil is my friend in those cases.

I'd press the SOS for anyone in trouble on the trail and stay with them.

[TurboHike]

8 miles is a long way on a broken ankle!