12-02-2017, 06:53 PM
Voyager - I don't think anyone has criticized your contributions to the thread, in fact, I think they have been a very useful input into the discussion. I've certainly not tried to criticize your posts and am sorry if you think otherwise. You brought up things others might not know about.
Durian Fiend - Our observatory certainly doesn't stock dexamethasone but I can't speak for other observatories. However, I would be surprised if they did. I had to look up that medication and my reasoning is this:
1) Dexamethasone appears to be a prescription medicine. Even if it helps someone suffering acute altitude sickness, I believe it would be against the law for us to administer such a drug to someone as we don't have medical training beyond first-aid/CPR/AED. To give someone a prescription drug they haven't been prescribed would mean whoever was trying to help would make themselves liable to prosecution, even if they were doing all they could to help.
2) We stopped having a supply of medical oxygen at the summit for the same reason. It needs suitably qualified medical personnel to administer. We only have the regular oxygen bottles any workplace might have that doesn't require you to adjust settings. IIRC, it delivers two liters of O2 per minute and you can't stop that until the bottle is empty. Then you get another bottle if you have to. We have several.
3) We already have a plan with Big Island emergency services in the event of a medical emergency. The main idea is that we can get them down to a lower altitude very quickly (we even have an emergency evacuation vehicle with a siren and lights if it becomes necessary). The turn-off from the Saddle Road onto the summit access road is an agreed meeting place where the medics can take over.
4) This is why observatory staff are ultra-cautious when there is bad weather. Any sign of icing or snow on the summit roads that might trap people at the summit means we evacuate ASAP. In that case, we may not be able to help rescue someone although obviously, we'll do what we can.
Durian Fiend - Our observatory certainly doesn't stock dexamethasone but I can't speak for other observatories. However, I would be surprised if they did. I had to look up that medication and my reasoning is this:
1) Dexamethasone appears to be a prescription medicine. Even if it helps someone suffering acute altitude sickness, I believe it would be against the law for us to administer such a drug to someone as we don't have medical training beyond first-aid/CPR/AED. To give someone a prescription drug they haven't been prescribed would mean whoever was trying to help would make themselves liable to prosecution, even if they were doing all they could to help.
2) We stopped having a supply of medical oxygen at the summit for the same reason. It needs suitably qualified medical personnel to administer. We only have the regular oxygen bottles any workplace might have that doesn't require you to adjust settings. IIRC, it delivers two liters of O2 per minute and you can't stop that until the bottle is empty. Then you get another bottle if you have to. We have several.
3) We already have a plan with Big Island emergency services in the event of a medical emergency. The main idea is that we can get them down to a lower altitude very quickly (we even have an emergency evacuation vehicle with a siren and lights if it becomes necessary). The turn-off from the Saddle Road onto the summit access road is an agreed meeting place where the medics can take over.
4) This is why observatory staff are ultra-cautious when there is bad weather. Any sign of icing or snow on the summit roads that might trap people at the summit means we evacuate ASAP. In that case, we may not be able to help rescue someone although obviously, we'll do what we can.