mastertangler wrote on Jul 9^th, 2012 at 1:58am:

If I'm not mistaken burns from cooking are the #1 injury in the backcountry.

I took a wilderness first aid responder (WMI) course a few years ago. Our instructor started the class by asking everyone what they thought the #1 first aid issue was in the backcountry.  No one got it right.  People guessed: burns, abrasions, hypothermia, dehydration, sprains, bug bites....etc, etc.

Answer: upset stomachs!! -- caused in most cases from lack of personal hygiene!  Like not washing hands before eating and after bathroom breaks, sharing water bottles, and community grab-bag eating of gorp, etc. 

The instructors (they were also wilderness guides) said they are continually amazed at how once in the bush, folks forget about basic hygiene rules, and then they pay the price! 

prouboy