Healthcare at the Pole

I find it appropriate to make a post regarding healthcare at the South Pole as I am currently a pharmacy student, taking a leave of absence for the year to complete my winter season.  As one would assume, a large majority of the resources that we have in the "real world" are nonexistent down here.  We have a small clinic on station that is run by the station physician and physician assistant, but their abilities can only go so far with what they have on hand.  There is an array of prescription medications available to them if the event arrises as well as some equipment (ultrasound, x-ray, etc.).  A majority of their work here is to encourage preventative medicine and treat the minor injuries that we acquire due to the harsh working environment.

While most of us tend to remain healthy, some health-related issues do arise.  Such is the nature of working in a cold isolated environment with no sun exposure for close to nine months (the sun is gone from March until about September).  Many of us struggle with bouts of insomnia or other sleeping issues.  Fatigue is common as we have little outside stimulation and poor sleep.  Cold injuries do occur, usually caught in time before a full blown case of frostbite appears.  Skin issues seem to be going around too as the South Pole has an incredibly low amount of moisture in the air.  Cold air is simply incapable of holding much water so many of us end up with dry itchy skin and dandruff.

So what do we do to combat all of this?  Sarah Baddorf, our station doctor and the wife of my coworker Brett, gave a presentation recently on aiding sleep.  Some of the tips that she gave may seem obvious to most, but they serve as a nice reminder to those of us who are sleep deprived and not thinking the most clearly.  Avoiding coffee late in the day;  turning off blue/white lights a few hours before bed;  meditating;  and taking melatonin were all suggestions that she gave.  While prescription sleep medications are available in the clinic, the clinic staff are hesitant to prescribe them to us all.  With good reason too - the side effects can be more detrimental than what it's really worth or we could become reliant upon their help.

As for the cold injuries, obviously the best medicine is prevention.  If we start to feel too cold, go inside.  Nobody is going to balk at you for warming up your fingers and toes when you get to the point that you can no longer feel them.  I myself work outside in the cold a lot due to the nature of my job, so I would like to think that I am capable of advertising some help for those of us who tend to get cold easily.

I have a number of tips that work for me.  For one, I use two hand warmers in each mitten.  The mitten is important as your fingers will freeze within minutes down here with just gloves.  I also always wear a glove liner under the mittens if I am to work outside for an extended period of time.  The thumb hole in the mitten is useless to me;  using that thing is a great way to ensure a very cold thumb very quickly.  Instead, I tend to hold one of the hand warmers in my mitten in a fist as I walk to and from outside buildings.  I also know my threshold for the cold.  Yes, I get cold easily, but there comes a certain point where I know the cold feeling is starting to get dangerous.  Go inside when you are getting too cold.  If you get a cold injury, you will be useless until everything heals.

In regards to our dry skin, I make it a point to always apply lotion immediately after my shower.  It helps to build up and maintain the skin's moisture barrier, and I have noticed that I get extremely itchy if I fail to do this step.  My face has been a little tricker to take care of down here though.  I cannot factually explain why facial skin seems to get drier, but my best guess is that the skin on our faces is thinner and more exposed to the air so it has a higher likelihood of becoming dehydrated.  I am always good about applying lotion after washing my face, but down here I have been having to apply Vaseline on top of the lotion to serve as an occlusive layer.  Of course, we should all be drinking enough water too.  This would help combat some of the issues of the dry environment, but, for me, I already have that bit covered - I drink anywhere from six to eight liters of water a day, whether at the South Pole or home in Colorado/Massachusetts.

I could go on and on about the physical issues we experience here and how the medical staff treat us all.  A few studies have been done on the psychological changes that a South Pole winter can cause.  Most of those issues seem to derive from fatigue/insomnia and the general fact of being isolated.  It seems that those studies have documented that we Polies become more irritable as we continue into winter, and that our conflict resolution abilities decline.  So far this season I haven't noticed anybody truly falling off the deep end.  I suppose we're lucky in that sense this year!  As for my mental state...I am still the same ol' me.  I actually prefer the isolation and darkness, but I can do without the cold.  It's becoming a pain to spend ten minutes getting dressed whenever I want to walk outside.  Until next time - I'm off to admire our night sky.