Travellers’ diarrhoea is arguably the most common and important health problem affecting travellers. The syndrome occurs in 20-70% of travellers to less developed regions, resulting in significant impairment of the victim’s activities, with nearly 40% forced to change their itinerary. Although contaminated food may be...
In early August, the UIAA published an article promoting a paper produced by its Medical Commission offering climbers pertinent advice related to avoiding the perils of climbing Africa’s highest, and most famous, mountain. The following article, produced by a member of the Mountain Club of South...
The highest mountain on the Africa continent, Kilimanjaro, is one of the world’s most popular climbing destinations. As recent reports of fatalities sadly testify it also remains, often to people’s surprise, one of the world’s most dangerous. It is reported that approximately 1,000 people are...
The latest in our Series of extracts promoting the UIAA MedCom’s comprehensive library of mountain medicine recommendations focuses on pre-existing cardiovascular conditions. The paper was first produced in 2012 and is available in English, Czech, Italian and Japanese. It is intended for physicians, interested non-medical persons...
The second in our series exploring advice from the UIAA Medical Commission’s internationally recognised Advice and Recommendations papers focuses on children. The paper ‘Children At Altitude’ provides the conservative recommendations that should be helpful for mountaineers and physicians who are required to offer advice about ascent...
The UIAA Medical Commission held its annual Commission Meeting on 27 March in Kathmandu, Nepal, supported by UIAA member federation, the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA). The meeting attendees comprised: George Rodway [USA, Commission president], David Hillebrandt [UK, vice-president], Buddha Basnyat [Nepal, host], Alireza Behpour [Iran], Andrew...
“The importance of adequate caloric and fluid intake must be rated as least as highly as that of oxygen” Dr Griffith Pugh Over the past two decades, the UIAA MedCom has published a vast library of Medical Advice papers on a variety of mountain-based subjects. These papers are...
The 1st Canadian Climbing Medicine Symposium will be held in downtown Toronto at the historic Steam Whistle Brewery, 31 July - 1 August, 2017. The event is endorsed by the UIAA Medical Commission and the Alpine Club of Canada, a UIAA member federation. In response to the...
The UIAA Medical Commission is delighted to report the overwhelming response to its paper ‘Drug Use and Misuse in the Mountains: A UIAA MedCom Consensus Guide for Medical Professionals’ which was published in 2016. The paper has been downloaded over 10,000 times and has proved a...
The UIAA is saddened by the news that former UIAA Medical Commission President and longstanding UIAA Medical Commission member Bruno Durrer passed away at the age of 62 earlier this month. “Bruno was very much an internationally respected figure in mountain medicine and mountain rescue, and more than...