re: Med Kits

There is so much wrong here I don't know where to start. FWIW, I spent 20 years as a Special Operations Medic and have worked in the military and tactical medicine industry since 2008 as well as having run the medical training program for a large Private Military Contractor. I don't think you are trying to mislead people but you probably want to go to a more recent training class. Not going to write a ten page treatise here but I will answer questions.

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In my mind, and all the training I've ever received says a tourniquet is a life for limb situations

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That's 100% wrong but is a common myth. We put tourniquets on in training all the time. No one is losing a limb. Well known medical study in Iraq with over 400 tourniquets applied pre-hospital. ZERO limb loss from tourniquets.

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Where do you get the best bang for your buck with regards to life saving and first aid supplies/resources?

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Tourniquets are the #1 "bang for buck" as they cost around $25 and will absolutely save a life.

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tourniquets should only be applied by trained medical professionals

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So so so wrong. In fact, application is so easy that I wouldn't even put one on during a gunfight. I would tell the patient (if able) or one of the other guys to do it. So I would be available for a real Medic level treatment.

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assessing what is a life threatening wound

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If you look at it and think "shite!" then its life threatening and a TQ is applied. You know what happens once we expose the wound and decide it's not that serious? We take the tourniquet off. No big deal.

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guess it just bugs me that so many people put purpose built ones in their Med kits (never to be used) when you can improvise one out of any number of things that could have a dual or multiple use.

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Another big military study found 100% effectiveness with real tourniquets. Between 7% and 10% of IMPROVISED tourniquets could be tightened sufficiently to arterial occlusion. Improvised isn't even taught anymore. They are shite.

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Haemostatic dressings can be applied everywhere including wounds to the head and torso.

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. Wrong. It's Hemostatic. Hemo means blood. Static means stop. Can be applied EXTERNALLY ONLY to the head. Not for use between the collar bone and belly button. That's a chest seal. Hemostatics are meant for wound packing and were designed for junctional wounds. I worked on the team that did some of the first field testing of QuikClot.

Anyway, there is more but I won't beat a dead horse. The guy who earlier said "get some training" is spot on. Field medicine is an awesome and interesting field but be careful what class you sign up for. Every 68W from a Guard unit with zero deployments is wanting to teach a Tac Med class these days. Ask the instructor his background and experience. If he doesn't start rolling off certs, courses and field experience look elsewhere. Dark Angel Medical does some great classes.

Last thing. DO NOT buy Med supplies like tourniquets off of Amazon or EBay. There are fakes out there from China that won't work. Buy from the manufacturer or a legit distributor.

You don't know anyone that's been shot? What the hell? You must not live in the NOLA or BR area. LoL.

Serious though. I have seen plenty of non-GSW gory stuff. Including a neighbor who lost a wrestling match with a chainsaw after Katrina. Like I tell folks, tourniquets are like your carry pistol. You MOST LIKELY won't ever need it...until you do.

Treestand falls and gun wounds are where the air ambulance comes in.

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treatment before

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Exactly. Here's the biggie. Bleeding kills. Bleeding kills quick and it's permanent. It will kill you before an ambulance can arrive and you ain't coming back once you bleed out. You can come back from a cardiac issue or not breathing but once you run out of blood you are done. So...

For trauma, GSW and tree stand falls included, control the bleeding FIRST and let the pros handle the other stuff once they arrive. If someone breaks a leg or injured their back in a fall, they aren't going to die from that. But you may hurt them by moving them. Keep them warm and let the pros come package and move them. For a GSW, control the bleeding and take them to the hospital in the fastest way possible.

Tourniquets, pressure dressings, QuikClot Combat Gauze, lots and lots of gauze. All important but only and paired with enough training to know how to use them. You don't need EMT school. You can learn this in one 8 hour class.

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You don't need to spend $50 on a couple of tourniquets if you have a belt or $2.00 bandana and a ink pen.

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This is the single worst piece of advice in this thread

Oh I'm well aware, but Gleason has more cred to speak to that than I do.

Tourniquet
Israeli bandage
Chest seal
Ace bandage
Quick clot
gauze
Epi pen


Diarrhea meds
Butterfly band-aid or stapler
A few dif size bandaids
Anti inflammatory meds.

Anything else you can fit.

Benadryl can be a lifesaver if someone has an allergic reaction. If you can get an epipen, that's a good get also.

This turned into the discussion I was seeking. So much good info that I don't think we've ever really delved into.

Meateater and several other podcasts mentioned tourniquets being a really good option, contrary to years past. So I started digging into it and looking at what I do on a weekly basis and decided it was a good idea to put something together.

Keep it coming guys. I imagine a lot of people are paying attention to the good advice.