As a veteran of greater than 20 music festivals, Los Angeles legislation pupil Christian Langston has seen slightly little bit of every thing.
Musically, he’s seen indie rock bands and digital dance music extravaganzas. He’s witnessed unbelievable spectacles similar to a large flame-spouting steel octopus in Las Vegas – and that point EDM act Ookay introduced out smooth-jazz saxman Kenny G for a solo.
He’s additionally been round a variety of well being crises. He’s had buddies who wanted medical assist for cuts, scrapes or as a result of they didn’t drink sufficient water and wanted an IV. And he’s seen medical staff weave their approach via crowds to assist folks coping with dehydration or drug points.
Docs who work such occasions have seen all of it, too. “Every event is unique in and of itself,” stated Dr. Matt Friedman, emergency medical companies fellowship program director at Maimonides Medical Middle and an assistant professor of emergency drugs at SUNY Downstate Well being Sciences College, each in Brooklyn.
He’s labored at venues starting from New York Metropolis’s Yankee Stadium, the place he’s lead home doctor, to the Gorge Amphitheater in distant central Washington.
With heavy steel or nation crowds, he’s seen “a fair amount of blunt trauma, either from the mosh pit or from fights.” For EDM crowds, the most typical emergency has been drug toxicity. And when he’s labored the large Burning Man competition, which attracts tens of hundreds of individuals to the Nevada desert, he’s handled eye issues from blowing mud, in addition to accidents from accidents.
“People are frequently intoxicated, and people frequently are engaged in high-risk activities like climbing,” which is “not a great combination,” stated Friedman, who is also nationwide medical director of CrowdRx, which supplies medical companies at giant occasions.
No matter your individual thought of an thrilling competition – whether or not it’s Woman Gaga and Missy Elliott at Coachella in California in April or Luke Combs and Olivia Rodrigo at Bonnaroo in Tennessee this June – listed here are a number of the well being points medical doctors say they generally see – and recommendation on avoiding them.
Keep hydrated
“Not drinking enough water may be the most likely reason someone will end up in a medical tent,” stated Dr. Katie FitzGibbon, an emergency drugs doctor at UPMC in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
The mix of outside warmth and extreme alcohol leaves lots of people feeling depressing, stated FitzGibbon, lead writer of a 2017 research on medical care at EDM festivals. “If you could make sure you’re hydrating for a couple of days before you go, and not just chugging water the day that you’re there, that probably would be a good idea.”
Dr. Alison Leung, a medical assistant professor of emergency drugs on the College of Florida in Gainesville, additionally stated that the majority of circumstances she’s seen at festivals are “heat-related or related to not eating enough or not drinking enough water.”
Langston has seen how this occurs. One in every of his favourite festivals, the Electrical Daisy Carnival, takes place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the place he’s skilled triple-digit temperatures effectively into the evening. “You could be completely sober, and people were still passing out from dehydration, because you’re not thinking about water – you’re thinking about, ‘I have to get across the speedway to the next stage because my favorite artist is playing.’”
Leung, who has labored or attended festivals from Moonrise in Baltimore to Coachella in Indio, is also the affiliate medical director for Sumter County EMS. She stated many main music festivals “are very good at providing cooling areas and hydration stations for participants.” In case you’re allowed to usher in a refillable water bottle or hydration pack, “I always highly recommend that,” she stated, and for those who drink alcohol, drink a bottle of water between each one or two alcoholic drinks.
Know the climate
Warmth isn’t the one temperature concern, Leung stated. At desert venues or at a spot just like the Gorge Amphitheater or Burning Man, the place she was one of many medical administrators for the sphere hospital final yr, it may be scalding through the day however freezing at evening, she stated.
“Many people wear very little clothing at these festivals,” stated Leung. “They don’t realize it gets cold,” and medical staff hand out foil-like emergency blankets to heat them up. A buddy, she stated, jokingly likens the folks in such gear to “baked potatoes.”
Whereas Leung recommends bringing a small fan that will help you keep cool through the day – and don’t neglect the sunscreen, in fact – “bring a jacket” to keep away from changing into a baked potato after sunset, she stated. “Bring layers.”
Maintain the footwear wise
“Your choice of attire and footwear is really important,” Langston has discovered. Apparel could be part of the enjoyable at a competition, he stated, however folks could be extra involved about trying good than being sensible. He’s had buddies in “crazy” strap outfits who’ve fallen on a Friday, then suffered for the remainder of the competition weekend.
So, put on sturdy footwear that may stand as much as all of the strolling and dancing you’ll be doing, Leung stated. “You want to make sure that you’re not going to be wearing something that you can easily trip in or sprain your ankle in, like a pair of high heels or platforms.”
And carry a change of socks, Langston suggested, “because if you get blisters at one o’clock in the morning, and then you keep going, and you have three more days of that, it can become miserable.”
FitzGibbon can vouch for that. At one giant EDM occasion, she noticed a gentle stream of individuals needing bandages for his or her toes due to ill-fitting footwear.
Convey important drugs
Individuals generally neglect vital drugs, stated Friedman, who with Leung was a co-author of a 2021 Nationwide Affiliation of Emergency Drugs Companies Physicians place assertion on mass gathering medical care.
“If you, for example, have a history of anaphylaxis, bring your EpiPen,” he stated. “If you have a history of diabetes, make sure you have your insulin with you. If you have a history of asthma, make sure you have an extra asthma pump with you, just in case.”
Don’t overindulge
Ever since a number of the grandparents of immediately’s competition followers had been warned concerning the “brown acid” at Woodstock, leisure medicine have been a part of the live performance scene. Leung stated that “whether or not we want to acknowledge that as a constant presence at festivals, it’s going to be available.”
Sadly, FitzGibbon stated, many individuals at these festivals are youthful, “and common sense is not always as readily present as we wish it would be.”
So, whereas “it obviously goes without saying, ‘Don’t use drugs that you find in the bathroom,’” FitzGibbon stated, some folks do. And generally, that kind of conduct will get them in deadly bother.
Euphoria-inducing medicine similar to MDMA (also referred to as molly or ecstasy) predominate at EDM festivals. In excessive doses, MDMA can result in a deadly enhance in physique temperature. It can also disrupt the center rhythm and trigger spikes in blood strain.
Friedman describes the issue at festivals as “a lack of moderation” for attendees who attempt a number of stimulants directly. He’s additionally had sufferers who thought they had been taking a stimulant that turned out to be a potent opioid, which depressed their respiration to the purpose that they wanted to be placed on a ventilator.
For individuals who plan to make use of medicine regardless of the dangers, many festivals have stations the place tablets could be examined to ensure they’re what the consumer is anticipating, Leung stated.
She inspired those that can to hold naloxone, the over-the-counter nasal spray that quickly reverses the consequences of opioids. If somebody is unresponsive and never respiration usually, American Coronary heart Affiliation pointers say to name 911 and begin CPR whereas another person retrieves an automatic exterior defibrillator, if one is accessible. If opioids are regarded as concerned, give naloxone, use the AED and proceed CPR till EMS arrives.
“You just never know when you might be able to save a life,” Leung stated.
Have a plan and stick collectively
Whenever you arrive at a competition, scout out the medical tent and know the place the exits are, FitzGibbon instructed.
It’s an important thought to go along with buddies who can control each other, she stated.
And keep in a bunch, Friedman stated. Be sure to have further batteries to your telephone, and organize for a spot to satisfy in case of an issue.
Ask for assist
Don’t be afraid to utilize the medical tent, Leung stated. That features for psychological well being.
“Festivals are very unique in that it’s unlike any other environment that you’ll ever be in, with the crowds and the music and the lights,” she stated. Medical staffers see “a fair number” of individuals coping with anxiousness who “just need a place to relax for a few minutes to a few hours before they can collect themselves and go back out.”
Some festivals reserve areas for that goal, however no matter you want, Leung stated, the medical employees desires to assist.
Have enjoyable
Festivals could be wholesome in a number of methods. Researchers who recorded the bodily exercise of twenty-two attendees on the large Glastonbury Pageant in England discovered that they coated, on common, 7 miles a day over six days.
Festivals can also construct wholesome social connections, Friedman stated. “You see the best of humanity at these events. The amount of people willing to help out strangers is really overwhelming.”
For Langston, music festivals “are ultimately about joy.” However tempo your self, he stated.
“Multiday festivals are a marathon. They’re not a sprint.” In case you go too arduous on Friday, by Sunday you’ll be out of vitality. “And I think that’s where sometimes people can get hurt.” You don’t notice the pressure from all of the dancing and strolling “until you go to bed and wake up the next day and your legs are on fire.”
Langston, 27, has been hitting large EDM festivals since he was 19, however he expects to sluggish the tempo sooner or later. There’s an occasion in his residence state of Montana referred to as Beneath the Large Sky. “That’s just country, bluegrass, folk music, and it’s over at 10 o’clock at night. You know, when I was younger, I couldn’t imagine going to bed at 10. And now I think it’s almost preferable.”
