As temperatures begin to cool, we hope your fall outdoor season heats up with courses to keep you and your patients safe this fall!

As always, be safe in the outdoors,

With the great season we've been having, outdoor enthusiasts aren't the only ones out in full force in the backcountry. There is a horde of annoying, and often dangerous disease-carrying insects awaiting our arrival. Take this quiz to make sure you and your patients are well-prepared to share the wilderness with them.

1. True or False: DEET is the only good protection against mosquitos.
2. True or False: Sunscreens with DEET are not a good protection in the backcountry.
3. True or False: Tick bites are hard to notice and should be checked for often
4. True or False: Petroleum jelly, fingernail polish, rubbing alcohol, matches, and gasoline are all great ways to remove a tick (especially all together).

Answers:

1. False. While DEET repellents are the longest-lasting, techniques such as covering up, picking a campsite away from standing water, and staying inside at dusk are often more effective in avoiding mosquito contact.
2. True: While sunscreen needs to be applied frequently, DEET should be used less often. When using both, apply sunscreen and wait about 30 minutes, then apply 30- 35% DEET for adults or 10% or less on children.
3. True: The greatest danger is not the tick bite, but the diseases that ticks carry. If a tick is removed in less than 48 hours, a victim rarely contracts Lyme disease or other diseases, so check clothing and skin twice daily.
4. False: Use thin-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible and pull straight up with steady pressure. Then wash the bite and hands with soap and water.

Remember, even hikers who have little or no reaction to tick and mosquito bites should take every precaution against them. The greatest danger is disease transmission. Enjoy the rest of your autumn in the wilderness!

Chico Hot Springs, Montana - October 3 - 5, 2008

Moab, Utah - October 15 - 18, 2008

Henry Horton State Park, Lewisburg, Tennessee November 14 - 16, 2008

Zion National Park, Utah - November 19 - 22, 2008

Ouray, Colorado - January 12 - 14, 2008

Rancho Mastatal, Costa Rica - January 19 - 24, 2009

The Advanced Wilderness Life Support certification course was originally developed at the University of Utah School of Medicine and has grown significantly since its creation in 1997. The increasing demand for certification resulted in the creation of a new organization, AdventureMed, to promote the responsible growth of the AWLS program. AWLS certification is available to anyone with a medical degree or certification including: MD, DO, RN, DDS, DPM, PA, EMT and Paramedic.

The Wilderness Life Support Institute, a nonprofit organization, was founded by Paul S. Auerbach, MD and Richard Ingebretsen, MD to oversee the content and quality of the AWLS certification program.

The mission of AWLS is to create competence in medical professionals, enabling them to effectively manage emergency medical situations outside traditional medical facilities.