Advanced Wilderness Life Support (AWLS)

It is estimated that more than 280 million human infections each year are found just in Africa, Asia, and America. In Mexico, the seroprevalence is 53%. Half of all people don't show symptoms. When they do, they stink! Listen and learn about this parasite that is found everywhere.

We have longed talked about wilderness medicine, that is treating people in the outdoors. But what about using the wilderness AS medicine to treat people by using the outdoors as therapy. We start an important concept with this podcast.

One year before recording this podcast, Matt was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Instead of canceling his goals, he elevated them with the plan to summit a 4000 m (13,000 foot) mountain. The obstacles are real. Listen to how he's overcoming them.

Most people know that ticks can cause disease. And most people have heard of Lyme disease. But there are many more and some are deadly. Listen and learn about the many diseases that ticks put in us.

You notice a red circular rash on your skin where a tick had bitten you. It must be Lyme disease - right? Think again! While the causative agent is not known, the STARI rash is being seen more and more. So, is it STARI or Lyme? Listen and find out.

Its fantastic to take your dog outdoors into the wild. But you watch as they swallow water you would not drink. They sniff and eat things you would not touch. And then you wonder if they will get sick? Giardia is everywhere. Do dogs get it?. How do you know if your pet has it? What do you do to treat it? Can you get a Giardia infection from them? Listen and learn about doggie Giardia.

People know to where a personal flotation device (PFD) when in and around water. But how can a tiny thing support me? What types of PFD's are there and which ones are the best? Listen to his important podcast about the essentials of the PFD and me.

Broken legs are common skiing injuries. But this one was a race against the cold and pain. Life lessons learned come from hindsight. Let's listen and learn how to be better prepared when a great day turns bad.

So many things can cause pain in the knee when we are outside recreating. Trail runners and backpackers frequently feel the strain on their knees for sure. Surpirsingly, some of the problems can be corrected by a simple change to our shoes. Listen and find out about the Gooses's Foot and other knee problems caused by our feet.

These worms go back and forth from humans to pigs and back to humans again. They live in human intestines as tape worms, but can find themselves in our muscles, eyes and even our brains. Listen and learn about the crazy life of the pork tapeworm.

Few people do this beautiful sport but most people know about it. When done safely it is not as extreme a sport as once thought. Listen and learn about the medicine and safety of ice climbing.

Ice fishing is one of the most beautiful outdoor sports possible. It has its own unique medical issues that most people don't think about. Listen and learn about fishing on ice - just not on thin ice.

A common name for this disease implies it causes illness in the winter time. It actually is called Norovirus and happens all year round. It poses a special risk to backcountry travelers because, it can be spread in the air by vomit and is resistant to hand sanitizers. Listen and learn about the most common cause of vomiting and diarrhea in the world.

While not recognized as a true medical diagnosis, its effects are very real. Many people are not going outside and experiencing nature, and this is causing problems, particularly in children. Listen and learn about the growing school of thought that describes nature deficit disorder.

So they've earned the nickname “the murder hornet,” but really they're known as the Asian giant hornet. Raiding parties of several dozen of these can kill whole hives containing thousands of bees in a few hours! In the last of this series, here is the untold and dramatic story of this new insects that stings us by Dr. Matt Gunderson .

In July of 2021 a family suffered the ultimate tragedy when their dad, Wil Lundberg died while riding his electric skate board. For the first time ever, he did not wear a helmet. Turning sadness into hope, his wife created a foundation to encourage people to wear helmets. Listen to this amazing story and help her in her mission to save lives. The foundation she started is named after him, WILS FOUNDATION. Their website is: www.wilsfoundation.org

We all know the feeling of being colder when the wind blows across our skin, and we have heard of the charts that measure that effect. Listen and learn about the wind chill factor.

In what is an incredible survival and recovery story, listen as climber Ben Eder recounts his horrific fall in Grand Teton National Park in the United States. Through telling his story, we learn lessons in traumatic brain injury recovery and a new perspective on life.

Their demeanor has earned them the terrifying nickname of 'killer bees.' Africanized honey bees are dangerous stinging insects that have been known to chase people for more than a quarter of a mile once they get excited and aggressive. Listen to Dr. Matt Gunderson teach us about another thing that stings us.

The University of Utah School of Medicine provides free resources for students of wilderness medicine. We are developing a program to help keep children safe in the backcountry. Will you help us make all this possible? Everyone who works for this program does so free of charge. Give by clicking on the link below. Bless you. https://ugive.app.utah.edu/designation/2787specialInstructions=Appeal:%06234%20Wilderness%20Medicine%20Expenditure%20Fund%20