Mountain Man Medical

Posted on July 23, 2021July 23, 2021 by Brian McLaughlin — 1 Comment

The Incredible Story of the World’s 1st Illegal Underwater Surgery

Doc Lipes Performs an appendectomy on a Submarine by Artist John Falter

I don’t know how other branches instill passion in their medics, but in the US Navy it’s done by telling the legends of our craft. The heroes who’ve gone before us to set the example and show us what being a combat medic means.

One of these who inspired me early in my career was the story of Pharmacist’s Mate 1st Class Wheeler Lipes, who, while at sea and underwater in enemy territory, preformed an illegal surgery that saved the life of his shipmate.

Posted on July 16, 2021July 16, 2021 by Brian McLaughlin — Leave a comment

4 Ways to Carry and Stage Your Tourniquet

The quick and timely application of a tourniquet has saved many lives and all good medics ensure their gear is ready to go. Cutting down on steps and thinking ahead helps a bad situation go a little more smoothly. And every little bit counts.

Maybe you learned this lesson the hard way, or maybe you prefer to just listen to those of us who did.

Either way, setting up your TQ is a great idea and here are some things that will make your life easier:

Posted on July 8, 2021 by Brian McLaughlin — 16 Comments

Should YOU Tourniquet a Snake Bite?

With summer comes outdoor activities like hiking and camping, and yard work. With the warmer weather comes more interaction with wildlife like snakes.

Knowing what to do with snake bites could help you to come out on top in a bad situation. In this article I will be discussing some first aid, dos and don’ts so you can save the day.

Posted on July 2, 2021July 2, 2021 by Brian McLaughlin — Leave a comment

How to Spot Head Trauma

There isn’t a lot a medic can do for head trauma to make the situation better for the casualty.

There are still things to be done, such as preventing further harm to the casualty and managing the airway but knowing what massive brain damage looks like can help you make the right decisions.

One of those decisions is whether or not to spend time helping the casualty at all. A good medic realizes some injuries are too severe to recover from, and while the casualty is still alive and breathing, the medic’s time is better spent on casualties who have a better chance for survival.

This is called “Triage.”

It may seem cold and heartless, but these are the realities that must sometimes be realized in trauma medicine. Doing the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people means someone might get left in the lurch.

Posted on June 25, 2021 by Brian McLaughlin — Leave a comment

Battle Dressing Showdown: Israeli Style Vs. OLAES

Seems like I’ve been on a bit of a pressure bandage kick. Which is fine with me cause I can only write about tourniquets for so long before my eyes start to bleed.

If you didn’t already know, a pressure bandage is a stretchy material wrapped around the victim to provide constant firm pressure to the wound and wound packing gauze for bleeding control.

This is important to know because not all life-threatening injuries occur on the arms and legs where TQs do their best and only work.

There are plenty of different pressure dressings on the market and they vary widely in size, function, and style, but the two that are leading the pack are the Israeli style and the OLAES Modular Pressure Dressing.

Posted on June 17, 2021June 24, 2021 by Brian McLaughlin — Leave a comment

What is a Nasal Pharyngeal Airway?

Taking care of someone who is unconscious can be daunting, especially if you don’t know what you are doing. Trauma to the head, or even a massive loss of blood can cause your casualty to lose consciousness.

When unconscious, the casualty loses their ability to protect their airway and their tongue may fall to the back of their throat and close (occlude) the airway.

If not managed properly, this can cause your casualty to expire, or at the very least, cause complications. Since this isn’t our goal, we need to have a plan for helping the casualty keep their airway clear.

Posted on June 11, 2021June 24, 2021 by Brian McLaughlin — 2 Comments

4 Styles of Pressure Dressings Explained

Tourniquets enjoy too much of the spotlight. With all the glorious combat saves a good TQ has, the hardworking pressure dressing gets forgotten in civilian emergency preparedness.

Yes, of course TQs are important, but they only count for approximately ¼ of your body. There are other places where a wound would be life-threatening, but untreatable with most tourniquets.

That’s where a good pressure dressing and wound packing comes in. It handles the bleeding that TQs miss.

Posted on June 3, 2021June 24, 2021 by Brian McLaughlin — Leave a comment

If You Don’t Already Know, Here’s the Theory on Pressure Dressings:

If you have a good understanding on how to use your gear, it frees you up to think outside the box and come up with solutions to problems you might face in an emergency.

Everyone wants to be that person who saves the day, calm, cool, and collected while the world goes to hell around them. It’s an admirable trait and one anyone can cultivate with a little practice.

Part of that journey includes having a good understanding of your gear. If you know how to use what you’ve got, your effectiveness and efficiency (both essential for saving lives) skyrocket.

Here’s a brief run-down of what a pressure dressing is and why you need one (or a dozen) in your trauma kit:

Posted on May 28, 2021 by Brian McLaughlin — 2 Comments

New and Improved CAT Clone? The Recon Medical TQ Review

I’ve never thought more about tourniquets then I have in this job. Bleeding control being such an important topic of discussion means devoting a good amount of time to all the various ways people have developed to save lives.

It takes some time to run through all the various options out there, and this week we’re looking at the Gen 4 Recon Medical Tourniquet.

But first, before we get into all the little details, we have to address something important.

Posted on May 14, 2021May 14, 2021 by Brian McLaughlin — Leave a comment

The BEST Way Stop Bleeding W/o a Tourniquet

We can’t be prepared all the time. Even if you’re the kind of person who has every pocket full of life saving materials, you still need to shower at some point and when that day comes you may very well find yourself having to save a life without any gear at all.

Tourniquets are normally your best bet for controlling severe bleeding from an arm or a leg, but that leaves a large portion of the human body where a TQ won’t work.