bigrenna wrote:danpass wrote:I'm surprised that people keep talking about Quikclot and how it burned tissue (all true) but then don't consider the current, revised version. It now uses kaolin instead of zeolite to address the burn issue.
Brad is spot on with respect to Quickclot (zeolite) and HemCon (chitosan.) I have been fortunate to have sat in on the lectures and the Navy has done some cool studies in this area. There is solid data on the newer Hemostatic agents like CELOX ( also chitosan.) If I remember correctly, the best was the impregnated dressing and NOT the granules.
In a nutshell, CELOX was shown to be "a viable alternative for the treatment of severe hemorrhage" with key here being "viable alternative." The fact is that "well aimed direct pressure" is still just as good with the most important words being "well aimed."
Here is a link to the abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18211317
KISS (keep it simple stupid.) Dont stuff a med kit with items you simply dont need. I remember being at a wilderness medical conference where there was a vendor who was all proud of his portable back country ultrasound. I was listening to him bestow the virtues of the device and after his speech, I asked him how my findings were going to change my field treatment. He looked a bit dumfounded.... What he was failing to realize is that the treatment for a hot belly is evac. It doesnt matter what is causing the pain. An ER doc who is used fancy gizmos, bright lights and cold steel is sometimes a worse backcountry medical provider than the 16 year old WFR who has been taught to look at these issues in a binary manner. Severe pain in the abdomen = trip over. Get em out. If your stuck and really cant get out, definitively knowing your buddy has appendicitis is just merely interesting.
What to stuff in an emergency med kit is an age old point of contention. I have sat in a room for over an hour listening to MD's and PHDs debate what drugs are most important. It usually comes down to what their specialty is, but there are a few that are agreed on... A broad spectrum antibiotic for your region, altitude Rx if you are high, and a loading dose of Tyl / NSAIDS for minor pain mgmt so you can suck it up and hike the F out of there.
An important but often overlooked bit of kit for the survival kit is something for the spirit. In our ambulance service we have a tab in the notes called "psychological first aid." I laugh every call, but always give a solid dose. For this reason, I keep a small harmonica, a deck of cards, and two tiny vodka bottles. Nothing will help more when all the chips are down than a game of solitaire, a laugh, and a riotous tune.
I wouldn't get to nutty in the kit. A handful of 4x4s, some bandaids, 4 or 5 rolls of cling, some vet wrap, an ace wrap, two cravats, two or three large safetypins, some 2" medical tape, a trauma dressing, an Israel Bandage (or similar,) your personal Rx if applicable, and a CAT tourniquet (although if your alone and you actually need your tourniquet, its prob not going to do you any good being in your med bag.) Im not sure i would waste my time on eye antibiotic, but if it floats your boat...
Excellent advice.
Years ago, a few pilots on Kodiak Island decided to sign up for the EMT I course being offered at the local Community College. Our thinking was, if someone was hurt out on the island a pilot might well be the first on the scene. Great course, and we learned a LOT. We were lucky to have a doctor presenting some of the classes who had a lot of experience with no joke trauma, some of it in places with no infrastructure.
His advice was keep it simple, stop bleeds and get them out of there. He also gave us lots of good advice on what to carry in the plane.
This is a good discussion, folks.
That spruce needle was an eye opener for me.....pun intended. Try flying home with one of those.....
MTV
