You’re Sick or Hurt in Black Rock City. What Are Your Options?

The first thing you should do is determine whether you can treat yourself using a personal or camp first aid kit. We’ve got a list of essential items here.

Pro tip: Playa foot is a common complaint. This is your skin’s response to the alkali conditions, and it’s not fun. A soak in a 4:1 water-to-vinegar mix for 20 minutes each day will help this. Then lotion up and put some socks on for a soothing treat.

If your illness or injury is more severe than you can manage yourself, ask your campmates for assistance. Alternatively, get yourself to one of our medical stations at 3:00&C and 9:00&C. Look for the large red crosses. The main Emergency Services Department (ESD) station and the Rampart Emergency Care Center are co-located at the 5:15 and Esplanade site. 

Any Black Rock Ranger (look for the khaki shirts) or ESD (look for the yellow shirts) staff, or really anyone you see with a radio can help you in finding the right care. Remember that all care (medical and otherwise) at BRC is non-judgmental — we are not the morality patrol.

If on-site medical providers feel you have a medical emergency that requires a higher level of care, you may need to visit a hospital in Reno. This may require transport by an ambulance, plane, or helicopter. You’ll want to have your ID, insurance card, cell phone, Black Rock City entry ticket, and wallet when you go. You’ll need to arrange for a friend to pick you up after your hospital visit; there are no shuttles back to the playa.

If you need medical help while driving to or from the playa, the nearest clinics from the east are in Fernley. Westbound, there are several hospitals in Reno.

Pro tip: Bring an adequate supply of your medications (even the ones you rarely use when at home), plus a little extra in case your departure is delayed. The closest pharmacies are in Fernley or Reno. Keep all medications in their original prescription containers in order to avoid BLM citations. Don’t come to Black Rock City if you’ve just had major surgery and make sure your shots — particularly tetanus — are up to date!

H.A.L.T. — the Warning Signs of Buzzkill

H.A.L.T. stands for Hungry. Angry. Lonely. Tired. If not recognized and dealt with, you risk making yourself and those around you miserable. H.A.L.T. is an invitation to check yourself before you wreck yourself. Watch this video for more info.

Emergency Medical Transport

Chances are good you’ll never need to be transported off the playa for a medical emergency, but if you have a pre-existing condition or want to be prepared for the possibility, you may want to evaluate your insurance policy to understand your coverage, adjust your coverage if needed, and consider getting insurance if you don’t have it.

New for 2025:

  • Burning Man Project’s contracted air medical provider for 2025 does not offer membership plans. They cite the No Surprises Act of 2022 as the reasoning for this decision, which is a federal law designed to protect patients from unexpected bills from emergency transport. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services summarizes some key points from this legislation: 
    • Patients can no longer be billed for the difference between what their insurer pays and the total cost of the flight.
    • Air ambulance providers must bill the patient’s insurance, not the patient directly.
    • Patients may still owe out-of-pocket costs such as deductibles and copays.
    • If an insurance company denies the claim outright (e.g., deems the flight medically unnecessary), the air medical provider may still bill the patient.

While no membership is required, we recommend reviewing your insurance policy in advance to understand your coverage for emergency medical transport.

Get Showered with… WHAT?!? Ewwww, Gross.

Sharing a shower with someone you love is awesome, but doing it behind one of our road watering trucks is the opposite of awesome because the non-potable water they use might contain icky things that can make you sick.

While we’re on the subject of community bathing, it’s cool to set up a shower for your camp (so long as you have a system for containing / evaporating the water), but public showers, pools and slip ’n slides are prohibited; there’s no legal way to make them safe. Stick to the solar showers.

Your Mom Was Right — Wash Your Hands!

The Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health strongly recommends each camp have hand washing stations set up for regular hand-washing use. Remember, “Handwashing is like a ‘do-it-yourself’ vaccine,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Carrying (and using) hand sanitizer is a good start, but there’s no substitute for washing with soap and running water for at least 20 seconds as the most effective way to reduce norovirus contamination on the hands.