Customer Reviews

Ditch Medicine: Advanced Field Procedures For Emergencies

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If one normally carries adrenaline doses, I.V. needles, bags, tubes, and other medical paraphinalia including a wide rage of antibotics into the field with one's self, then this is the book for him or her.

Frankly I was disappointed with the content of this book. I was looking for a book that would educate me on the do's and don't's of treating a wounded person in the wild, away from any hospital or civilization, and with just the bear neccessitites. Instead, what I got was a book that assumes it's readers carry drugs and anti-biotics around with them. This book would be a great field guide for an EMT.

I was a disappointed with this book mainly because I had such high expectations. As a wilderness first responder on third-world country trips, I wanted a simple but definitive guide for use in locations here NO doctor or hospital was available. There is definitely a real need for such a book, but this isn't it.

Books and manuals of this type assume one of two things, either 1) there really IS definitive care available to the responder, OR 2) the responder has all the drugs, gear, and education they need on their own.

Of the two, this book is #2 - it just point-blank assumes you have ready access to injectables and emergency prescription drugs and gear. If you don't, be advised that this book will not help you very much.

The second problem I had with this book was that the descriptions and photos are of very poor quality. Having done some of these procedures I can tell you that in general the descriptions and photos are just not clear or complete enough to be able to do these procedures correctly and appropriately. Maybe the author's [costly] videos would be a much better investment.

Finally, the book is small and just leaves out a WHOLE BUNCH of even more commonly needed procedures. It is also not very current.

What is included is ok, its just that this book falls short of the need. I would really have liked to see the author tell us where to access the medications and gear he assumes you have. Oh, and I mean LEGALLY.

It doesn't matter where you are, or what the situation is, if you, a team member, family member or friend is injured, you do what you have to do to save their life or treat the condition! Period! As survivalists we know that we may not always have access to a sanitary emergency room and a half-asleep doctor in the middle of the night. If that time comes, this is the book to have! This book teaches advanced field procedures for small wound repair, pain control, care of infected wounds, IV therapy, amputations, treatment of burns, airway procedures and much much more.

This book is writen in straightforward language for those who don't know an artery from a anuerism, and step-by-step proceedures are discussed in great detail. Pictures of suturing, debriding wounds and many other items show you what a thousand words cannot describe. So many techniques and how-to's are discussed that there is not room here to elaborate on all of them. Let's just say this book is pretty complete. Pair it with a few other reference manuals and you greatly increase your chances of saving a loved one's life in a disaster situation!

The Down Side: None, well thought out with lots of diagrams and procedure pictures

Would WE Buy It?: Oh Yes! Our Alpha team medic has already made this book part of his personal library and is recommending it to others for their reference library. I consider this to be a companion to the US Army's Special Forces Medical handbook.

Technical Specs: Book size is 5 1/2 x 8 1/2, softcover, w/photos and illustrations., 224 pages. ISBN 0873647173

This is the required textbook for the "Remote Medical Technician" program that I teach in Roatan, Honduras. It is written for individuals who routinely operate in remote isolated areas without the benefit of a doctor or hospital nearby. It is clear and concise in its presentation of advanced procedures without the usual "clutter".

Hugh Coffee did a top notch job researching and writing this book. We were so impressed with the accuracy of the contents that we both highly recommend as well as use his book for teaching in our Field Medicine classes. Well done! Well done, indeed! Chuck Fenwick, Director, Medical Corps

Ditch Medicine succinctly provides practical emergency medical knowledge that will allow the reader to render effective patient care from the veldt to the rain forest.

Written in a professional manner the writer departs from extensive use of technical terms therefore making topics understandable and more importantly palatable.

Extensive footnotes allow the reader an invaluable resource for additional study.

The book has been out for some time but the fundamental soundness of the narrative (particularly the chapter on small wound repair) prevents the book from being considered dated.

The writer waste no energy on abstract improvised emergency medical devices or quasi legal means of obtaining medication. Preparedness is the underlying theme recognizing that it is incumbent on the reader to provide advanced life support with task specific equipment.

I highly recommend this book to the layman who foresees himself rendering emergency medical care in a remote location.

That is what Ditch Medicine is about. If you are just going to
stablise the person and shout into your cel phone for the ER
to get ready while you drive the SUV back to town this isnt
your book. If you are stuck somewhere and there is no medical
help coming soon and the situation is bad THIS IS YOUR BOOK.

If you are looking for a book that will give you introductory medical information, then this book is not for you. This book is full of advanced medical information and procedures that are designed to help those that need to brush up on their advanced wilderness or remote austere location medicine. Those soldiers that are practicing this level of medicine such as Navy SEALs Medic, Ranger Medic, Special Forces Medical Sgt, Air Force ParaRescue and Advanced Navy Fleet Medic's will enjoy this book as it helps to supplement what they were taught in school. If you are a civilian that has gone through all of this advanced remote austere location medicine, then this book is for you.

Hugh "Doc" Coffee's book is in use by many SF medics and other folks who often go in harms way. Coffee gets right to the bottom line in dealing with the subject of field trauma first aid and "meatball surgery." He learned it the hard way during the guerrilla war in Guatemala -- patching up troops on hilltops where no doctor would go. I may be biased as he's a good friend and I was on a medical team in Kenya and the southern Sudan (Sudanese guerrilla war) with him, but anyone who is a combat medic or who may need to perform first aid in the third world needs to read this book. Coffee is a fount of knowledg on the subject and imparts it clearly and concisely to the reader. Amongst his legion of fans there's hundreds of us anxiously awaiting Ditch 2.
-- Rob Krott, former Chief Foreign Correspondent, Soldier of Fortune magazine
author, Save the Last Bullet for Yourself
SAVE THE LAST BULLET FOR YOURSELF: A Soldier of Fortune in the Balkans and Somalia

For the cost this is a good reference. It is written in plain english and is easy to understand. It is of particular use to the health care professional that has never operated or has limited experience in austere environments. It has some deficiencies (pictures/drawings are not the greatest, some of the material is dated, no real discussion of permissive hypotension etc...) but these are forgivable in a volume of this size, cost and ease of reading.

It is an essential part of any operational medical library.