Maybe I'm being a wuss, but it sounds like you chose not to cut your trip short to go and seek medical help. Is this correct? If so, did you consider going back to find a doctor?
If it's Algonquin Park in Ontario, Canada that you are referring to (that's the only one I'm aware of), you were about 2 days by canoe, and probably several hours after that by car, from the nearest medical clinic. So if you continued on for another 2 days, that could put you 4 days from help if the infection turned really bad (e.g. necrotizing fasciitis, or the superbug that killed Jim Henson, or something like that).
Maybe I misunderstood, or maybe I'm just being a wuss.
I'm not criticizing, since I wasn't there and I don't know how bad the injury was. But I'm curious whether you thought about going back for help, and if so, how and why did you make the decision not to? (If, in fact, that's what you did.)
Those sorts of infections are quite rare. I wouldn't necessarily head home unless a skin or extremity infection was getting worse despite my best efforts (and I usually carry some heavy duty antibiotics with me). In 14 years, I have only seen a single case of necrotizing fasciitis but (obviously) thousands of cases of minor infections that could easily be treated on an outpatient basis.
Jim Henson had group A streptoccocal pneumonia that resulted in Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome. Again, extremely rare. However, on a general medical basis, someone with an obvious pneumonia should be be strongly considered for evacuation.
Previous Topic
Index
