By Christopher Van Tilburg, MD

When I was a boy, I watched Mount St. Helens explode from the front yard of the family home. It was both thrilling and terrifying. The Toutle River overflowed Interstate 5, and school was canceled due to ash fallout. Hurricane Katrina, the Spring floods that devastated Northeastern states, and now Hurricane Earl — which at the time of this post was threatening to hammer much of the Eastern Seaboard — prove that natural disasters can hit close to home. So, everyone should prepare a 72-hour emergency kit for Mother Nature’s worst.

Labor Day Weekend, just before the kids go back to school, is typically the last gasp of camping in many parts of the country. But the unofficial end of summer doesn’t mean the potential hazards that exist in the outdoors at the start of the season are any less of a threat. In the second of his two-part piece on camping safety, AMK’s wilderness safety blogger, Buck Tilton, tackles bears and the basics – starting with how to choose the right campsite.

Timing is Everything

Look for AMK gear at the BSA's National Jamboree

Adventure® Medical Kits is proud to announce that it has donated gear to the Boy Scouts of America’s 100th Anniversary National Jamboree, which is taking place this week at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia.

Working in concert with Scout Troops 364 and 361, of Madison, AL, AMK is supporting the Jamboree with the donation thousands of samples of DEET-free Natrapel® 8 hour insect repellent wipes, which will distributed along with “Be Safe” outdoor first aid pamphlets in goodie bags to scout leaders. In addition, AMK is also providing a variety of its medical kits, survival packs and hygiene products, including the alcohol-free Adventure® Hand Sanitizer and Fresh Bath Travel Wipes.

AMK will be providing educational support materials at community screenings of the award winning documentary Under Our Skin — a film which examines Lyme disease, a highly debilitating disease spread by ticks that has become one of the most controversial and fastest growing health problems of our time.

At select screenings this Spring, Adventure® Medical Kits and its parentco Tender Corp. will distribute copies of special Tick Reference Cards, which include tips for identifying and safely removing ticks as well recognizing symptoms of Lyme disease. AMK and Tender will also provide free samples of its DEET-free insect repellent Natrapel® 8 hour to attendees.

Adventure Medical Kits’  co-founder Frank Meyer spoke recently with outdoor radio show Backcountry Utah about the benefits of using powerful DEET-free insect repellent Natrapel 8 hour. Click here to listen to the interview.

Natrapel 8 hour contains CDC-recommended active ingredient Picaridin

Along with providing protection from insect bites and stings that is equal to or greater than that of DEET, Natrapel 8 hour’s formula — containing 20% of the active ingredient Picaridin — is also gear safe, meaning it won’t melt your fishing line, sunglasses, camera lens or other pricey plastic or synthetic materials like DEET can.

AfterBite was featured on Good Morning America.  Watch the full segment here and download a $.50 coupon here.

Don’t forget to stock up on insect repellent to stop the bites!

Want Deet?  Try Ben’s 30 or Ben’s 100 - the ultimate in long lasting mosquito and tick protection!

No Deet?  Try new Natrapel 8hour. CDC Recommended deet-free repellent that provides up to 8 hours of protection against mosquitoes, ticks and other biting insects.  Download a $1.00 off coupon!  Added bonus – Natrapel 8hour won’t harm your gear – safe for fishing line and other synthetic materials.

Ugh, it is tick season. As we all know, they are nasty little buggers that carry Lyme Disease and other viruses. Do you know how to protect yourself against ticks?

Download our Tick Field Reference Guide to learn more about:

• How to protect yourself.
• How to identify a tick.
• How to properly remove a tick.
• What to do if you have been bitten.

Tick Reference Card

(Click image to download)

You can also read our blog about Lyme Disease to learn more.

By Christopher Van Tilburg, MD

I’ve been chomped by a tick multiple times, as have most people who regularly tramp in the outdoors. It’s creepy — the tick drops onto your skin, burrows in painlessly, and sucks. Its anticoagulant can cause tick paralysis, and these arthropods carry all sorts of infections: Colorado Tick Fever (a virus), Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (parasite), Tularemia (a bacteria), and the more commonly known Lyme Disease.

Adventure Medical Kits’ marketing director Frank Meyer appeared on San Francisco’s KGO AM 810′s “On The Go” Travel Show on Saturday April 18th.

In the first segment Frank discusses with host John Hamiltion the Ultralight Series, the Adventurer, the S.O.L. Pak and other essential gear for camping in Northern California.

In the second segment on KGO AM 810,  Frank talks about the World Travel kit, Ben’s & Natrapel 8 hour insect repellents, AfterBite and other must-pack items relevant for adventure travelers.