Skipper's Medical Emergency Handbook

An essential book about taking care of medical emergencies while at sea that is organized in five chapters; Preparation, Emergencies: How to Save and Preserve Life, Accidents and Trauma, Medical Disorders and Treatments and Emergency Medical Procedures. Each entry within a chapter has a flowchart to follow in helping you diagnose and treat a patient.

It's an extremely comprehensive book that covers just about everything that could happen while at sea. I was reviewing the section on removing a fish hook and it brought back memories of the time Tracy caught her finger rather than a fish. The technique in the book is identical to what the doctor used to extract the hook.

The sight of blood or a bad injury to a crew member can add a lot of difficulty to an emergency situation and this book has an excellent methodology for the medical layperson to follow at a time when clear thinking is hard. I really like the illustrations and charts.

I've carried this book around in the medical kit I have from the MSOS (Medical Support OffShore) team and just recently took the opportunity to sit down and read it. Wish I'd done it before but at least now I have and I'm amazed at how valuable this book is. It should be in every skipper's library.

Written by Spike Briggs & Campbell Mackenzie

The Skipper's Medical Emergency Handbook is designed to assist all who go to sea - whether on a day excursion, a holiday cruise or an even longer trip. It will provide practical advice, boost confidence, solve problems and minimize danger for all on board.

Step-by-step instructions, explanatory illustrations and flow charts provide an at-a-glance reference on how to prevent, treat and care for the sick and injured at sea. And there is advice on pre-voyage preparations, establishing emergency procedures, first response and assessment of illnesses and injury, right through to offshore aftercare and recovery.