Wound Packing

Tourniquets (TQ) have an especially big flaw: They only work on your arms and legs. What if you’re cut somewhere else? What’s your plan for that?

Carrying a CAT for emergencies is great until you trip into a pine tree branch and punch a hole in your neck.

People seem to gravitate to the tourniquet as the only thing they need for bleeding control, but while the TQ is important and effective, you can’t use it to treat other injuries. (Unless we’re talking about the SWAT-T. But I’m staying off that soapbox, for now.)

Here are two good reasons why learning to wound pack is just as important as tourniquet application:

This article will focus on what other steps can be taken to reduce blood loss when you are caught in a bad situation without gear. Now that we understand how to apply direct pressure and why it’s probably better then trying to make a tourniquet, we can look at methods for increasing our effectiveness.

This week will continue along with the theme of how to save a life without medical gear.

Wound Packing

If you have our Yellowstone Trauma Kit you’ll feel comforted to know it contains a roll of QuikClot, a hemostatic agent (makes blood clot quicker).

This is a handy item to have in a pinch, but if you don’t have any, what else can be done?

Research shows packing wounds with gauze, any gauze, is an effective way to control bleeding. All you need to do is make some.

Tag: Wound Packing

Tourniquets Can’t Fix Everything. Why You MUST Learn Wound Packing

What If You Don’t Have a Tourniquet or Trauma Kit? Bleeding: Part 2