AWE Survival Guide

SLEEP
Rest regularly. You will recover your strength, calm down and relieve your pain. Do not wait until you fall asleep. Go and lie down before visual disturbance sets in. If you cannot sleep you can take a sleeping pill, an aspirin if you are in great pain, a tranquiliser if you are upset.

EAT
Eat regularly. Try to vary your meals. Eat more if you have lost a lot of blood. Drink plenty of water, especially if the weather is hot. On average one loses a little under 3 litres of water a day. In exceptional cases (intense heat, vigorous activity), one can lose up to 12 liters ! You can chew salt pills. They help you retain water and limit dehydration. Pay attention to the quality of your food. Use disinfection tablets methodically for your water, or boil it. See that your food is fresh (especially meat and fish). Stomach upsets can be treated with MV44 antispasmodics. If food poisoning is severe, spots may appear on your body. Don't eat too much, either, or you will put on weight and risk suffering from indigestion.

GIDDINESS
Exhaustion, a drop in blood-pressure or dehydration can easily be avoided. For this, consult your «Sesame» micro-computer regularly. It will show you your energy levels, water requirements and how much blood you have. It will also tell you your weight, pulse rate and blood pressure which drops when you are short of water. If you are very tired, you may suffer a drop in blood pressure and faint. This is alarming but rarely dangerous. If you are knackered, you can always take some vitamins (MY44). If your blood-pressure really falls too low, you can use the atropine syringe. It can only be used once. Be careful ! It induces a marked rise in blood-pressure and heart-rate, and if used when your condition does not justify it, induces a heart attack.

DRUGS
Most are stimulants which enable you to keep up the pace. They also raise blood-pressure, reduce pain and lessen states of anxiety. But be careful of their effects on your mental state and of overdosing.

ALCOHOL
It has its virtues. It helps you withstand the cold and calms anxieties. However, alcohol tires the body. Know how to enjoy it and consume it in moderation !

CLIMATE
Depending on the climate, don't hesitate to change your clothes to keep your body at as constant a temperature as possible. Beware of sudden changes in temperature (caves, deserts, etc...). You can catch flu easily and it can have serious consequences if it is not treated in time. As soon as you feel the first symptoms (cough, fever), take ML44 antibiotics or, if you have none, light a fire. If it rains heavily, cover yourself with a waterproof outfit. Do the same if you stay in the water. Beware! Immersion in icy water can be fatal. Beware of the sun and intense heat. If you get sun-stroke, drink plenty of water and take an aspirin (MU44). A few leaves used as a hat enable you to avoid this kind of unpleasantness !


MEDICINES
Take antibiotics (ML44) to fight infections. Analgesics reduce fever and relieve pain. Don't overdo taking medicines. They can cause stomach upsets. Pay attention to your temperature (normal average : 37°C), your pulse-rate (normal at rest: 13- - one degree of fever raises the heartrate by 18 beats. These are the most revealing indicators of your state of health.

SIMPLE WOUND
Disinfect the wound and put a bandage on it until is completely healed. If you have run out of disinfectant, you can always use alcohol.

INFECTED WOUND
Take antibiotics to fight the infection.

VERY LARGE WOUND
A few surgical stitches are required. If you have lost more than 1 litre of blood, you are in danger of dying. The first signs of disturbed vision will indicate that you are loosing too much blood. To close the wound, place a tourniquet downstream of it, inject anaesthetic into the limbconcerned, disinfect it and stitch it up. Don't forget to remove the tourniquet !

FRACTURE
Avoid using the affected limb. Put a strong splint on it. If the pain is too great, inject yourself with morphine.

POISONING
The preventive solution is to inject yourself with a serum before entering risky areas. Bites will still cause infections but they will remain benign. Otherwise, you can use the venom aspirator and pump out the contaminated blood. But be careful ! This action must be performed immediately after a bite. In fact you have only a few seconds to react. Otherwise, place a tourniquet downstream of the bite, and inject serum into the affected area. If you have not reacted in time, you will have to amputate the limb (see further on). In all cases, remain calm and do not run, or the poison will circulate through your blood-stream faster.

GANGRENE
This can set in if you do not treat your wounds. The only solution is to amputate the gangrenous limb.

AMPUTATION
You have to be really tough-minded to perform this operation... But is there any choice? Put on a tourniquet. Inject anaesthetic into the place where you are going to cut. Cut off the limb cleanly : to do this, use your survival knife which has a saw. Disinfect the wound.Stitch it. Remove the tourniquet.

MALARIA (and its derivatives)
This is the disease most often caught during exploration. It is rife mainly in marshy areas, and the symptoms are intermittent bouts of fever causing violent trembling. This disease is treated with quinine. The best thing is to take it regularly before, during and after your trip.