Don't Get Sick: The Hidden Dangers of Camping and Hiking

Very good and informative book a must for any long distance hiker. The "Medicine Man" comes through as usual.

Tilton & Bennett have produced a very good text for Mountaineers Books. Every out-door lover, wilderness hiker and mountain back packer should read "Don't Get Sick". Through nine absorbing chapters they inform about all the various diseases (from staph to lyme disease to bubonic plague) one may contract from living out doors. The book is small and will fit into a pocket (take it with you for reference on your next trek). T & B's comfortable, and non technical, writing style allowed me to read all 108 pages in just one week of the National Scout Jamboree. T & B identify many diseases, suggests cures, define periods for illness, and discuss how to shield one from sickness. They offers explanation about the four microbes that make us sick: viruses, bacteria, fungi and yeast, and protozoa. They also highlight their prevention and cures. More than a dozen graphs and tables illustrate healthy ways to avoid wilderness illness and how to set up a germ free living space. T & B also provide a helpful reference section, for each chapter, at the end of the book (demonstrating their state of the art research). With 20+ years of wilderness hiking and pack backing experience I was delighted to learn more from T & B. For example, tetanus lives in the soil (just another reason not to go bare footed in unfamiliar environments), on page 23. And sixty-six percent of all raw poultry contains salmonella (cook it thoroughly), page 62. This book is recommended to all who spend time hiking, eating, and sleeping in the wilderness. If you enjoy the outdoors, T & B will help you love it more with good health.