Questions tagged [health]
Questions related to staying healthy or dealing with health issues during outdoor activities. Answers given here are not intended as a replacement for professional medical advice. Please do not use this tag to ask for specific medical advice. A Dr should always be consulted to confirm any advice given
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Is there simple guidance on sunburn risk associated with altitude?
When skiing, if the weather is good, I often come back with a better tan than if I have been at the beach. Obviously with altitude, there is less blocking of UV rays by the atmosphere.
But how much ...
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Knee pain when descending a mountain
It's been said by a specialist doctor that any form of mountain descent would affect your knee caps.
Do old mountaineers have knee problems? Is it related to the way you descend?
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Can one acclimatize to cold -- and remain healthy -- by enduring some chilliness at the beginning of the cold season?
Where I live in Canada, winter can be pretty cold. Sometimes -35 C. I work outside for a living and among my work peers there's an age old debate about when is the best time to start wearing long ...
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Does low blood pressure have an effect on Acute Mountain Sickness?
This question in some ways is related to this question asked by JollySin.
When I did my first Himalayan trek, my guide there had told me that those with a low blood pressure (BP) are more susceptible ...
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Hiking and climbing in smoky areas
This Fall, there are a lot of large fires burning in the pacific northwest of the US and the air quality on many trails and mountains is poor as a result. This makes hiking and climbing unpleasant, ...
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Where should a band be tied to stop bleeding from wound?
Suppose a leg is wounded (either from a gunshot or a knife) and there is significant bleeding. We see in movies that a fabric is tied around the place of bleeding to decrease/stop bleeding.
My ...
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What are the vitamin considerations for extended backpacking
For short hikes you can generally ignore nutritional concerns, because you don't generally become malnourished in two days. However, for a long trip like the Appalachian Trail or other long hikes (at ...
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How can I prevent plantar fasciitis?
Every year or so I'll end up with plantar fasciitis after periods of time where I've walked a lot. In general my walking shoes are fine and have arch support but occasionally I'll need to use sturdier ...
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Prevent mosquito bites: insect repellent patch or just eat vitamin B1?
I'd like to use natural malaria prevention. Insect repellent patch seems to be very promising. One patch contains 75 mg of B1 and covers 36 hours. However, it's not very cheap. Many other travellers ...
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Is it safe to drink snow?
If it snows, is it safe to drink the water when it melts? What sickness can I get from snow? I am in Europe and would like to know for here, but other places would be interesting too.
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How do you avoid Norovirus on the AT?
Every year on the AT (Appalachian trail) Norovirus sweeps through like wildfire and the problem only increases as trail density increases.
What are the best methods for minimizing risk of contracting ...
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Why did people rub snow on frozen feet?
If you read old books from cold areas, it's not infrequent to run across the idea of rubbing snow on one's feet when they got frozen or frostbitten. However, subjectively, it seems to me that this ...
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How can I recuperate between two long walks
I am planning to walk the 87 mile length of the Ridgeway National Trail (South England) in two days at the end of April. I shall be walking about 47 miles one day, from approx 6am to 9pm. I'll be ...
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How can I cover the upper part of my nose to avoid UV radiations?
I use hat + hood + sunglasses + neck gaiter + UV umbrella to fully covered my face when going outside if too much sun. The problem is the upper part of my nose is not fully covered, e.g.:
Larger pics:...
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Preventing "heat rash" around ankles and shins?
I'm currently hitchhiking in South East Asia where it's of course always hot. I'm getting a rash around my ankles that I've had in the past but never looked into.
(The same rash, but on a different ...
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