I frequently get asked about which books I advise people to read, to better prepare for travels and staying health. There are two books that I feel are fundamental for healthcare while traveling, exploring, hiking/camping.
First, I cannot say enough good things about Field Guide to Wilderness Medicine by Drs. P. Auerbach, H. Donner and E. Weis. ISBN: 0-323-01894-7.
The book is a companion to a much larger and more detailed text, Wilderness Medicine. This book does not sacrifice information for portability. Although it is small and easy to drop into a backpack, the text is filled with a range of good information.
Basic first-aid is discussed for a variety of issues ranging from altitude sickness to fish hook removal. The book also discusses travel related illnesses such as diarrhea/vomiting, infectious disease and vaccines/prevention for malaria, dengue, yellow fever and meningitis, to name a few.
Field Guide to Wilderness Medicine is written in easy to understand terms and contains many useful charts, making it suitable for those without a medical background. There are even a few sections on survival, knots, search and rescue and advice for making your own health kit.
Another excellent text on Travel Medicine can be found at Stuart Rose’s site: www.TravMed.com. In addition to having a lot of good products that travelers use, such as DEET sprays, travel health kits, etc. there is a wonderful resource there, as well. For free!
Under the tab “Travel Health Guide” is the free web-book that should be read by anybody who travels internationally. Discussing a range of travel medicine specific areas such as jet lag, vaccines, insect bite prevention, repatriation insurance and country specific information, this book is a gold mine of information.
These two books should provide most people with a thorough understanding of what to do and how to take care of yourself, traveling or in the wilderness.
If you have any other books to advise, let me know!