Instructors Wearing Body Armor during CHL and Pistol Courses
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Green Eye Tactical
Active Member
Tampons are over rated anyway.....
More than over-rated, they've gone the way of the pressure dressing and aren't part of modern combat trauma care.
Plenty of professionals in all kinds of industries wear PPE. Newbs to an activity see things odd until they know the risks of the activity and environment. It is the instructor's job, in any environment and profession, to relay the risks and ways to reduce and/or mitigate those risks. If a student is too dense to understand and works off looks alone to form an opinion, perhaps s/he is too dense to undertake the seriousness of the activity.
Tampons are over rated anyway.....
Depends on who you ask and when you ask them.
Green Eye Tactical
Active Member
Any current SF or Spec Ops medic, or anyone who has had current TC3 training will say the same thing.
But people who would shotgun fluids into an uncontrolled bleeder in order to stabilize BP would probably disagree.
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Green Eye Tactical
Active Member
Oh I am referring to the fact that I am a female and well, you can figure out the rest
Haha, ok- I got owned.....
lol
Your answer for wound care should be acknowledged though, so I appreciate you giving it. I think a lot of folks still work off of the older knowledge that tampons are good blood stoppers. But it's important to relay that that info has been superceded for Xreasons that way folks can update their personal procedures and kits. So, thank you for that.
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Without taking up the argument that Monica used (because I'm not equipped to), I still think tampons are a cheap, sanitary way to provide a quick treatment to stop or slow the bleeding by someone who may not have extensive combat medical training. Technology may have come a long way, but for the average Joe, it still boils down to Step 1: Stop the bleeding. (I assume the other 3 steps are still the same as well)
Green Eye Tactical
Active Member
Yeah, Monica won that one.
**Disclaimer** I'm not a medic. I have had a great deal of trauma training that was part of my former job. What I'm putting out here is what is put out to my by SOF medics and is what is taught now.
With tampons, it doesn't work. And you won't find it taught by anyone reputable that is current. What is taught now is to go from direct pressure to tourniquets. So, instead of carrying women's sanitary products- carry CATs or SOF-T's.
Don't mean to hijack the thread, but I'm never opposed to learning, or at least hearing alternative views. Granted it's been a little more than a couple of decades since I've had combat first aid training, but I would think a tampon still makes a great direct pressure bandage. They do seem to do a good job of absorbing fluids. Drop one in a cup of water if you're not sure.
Not sure how you would jump from direct pressure to a tourniquet for say a neck or stomach wound. Care to enlighten me? And what's wrong with direct pressure as a first response by the average Joe at a shooting range? Sure a sucking chest wound might be better treated with a couple of credit cards, unless they've changed that too..., but something to absorb blood and that can be used for direct pressure still seems to fit the bill for me.
Instead of tourniquets, do they still teach the artery pressure points, or are you supposed to carry a stick and rope or something with you now?
txinvestigator
TGT Addict
He is right. I was taught the tampon thing years ago, but in 2012 I took a range trauma course. Tourniquests are the go to item for major bleeding now. Makes sense to me.
Green Eye Tactical
Active Member
I'll keep it brief to not detract from the thread. I'm not going to get into depth here, because for the untrained- A little knowledge is dangerous.
- Absorbing does not equal stopping bleeding.
- For torso injuries, of course tourniquets are not used. People who have the training will search for the bleeder and clamp or glue it. Other than that, the standard chest seal or field expedient method is used.
- Artery pressure points are still taught, but if that is what it takes- you should replace your hand with a tourniquet, as you will probably not be able to maintain constant pressure during transport and a T will do a better job.
- We've progressed past sticks and rope. Thats what the CAT and SOF-T are for. Any blowout bag worth anything will have one, along with some type of hemostatic dressing. If you have a range bag or vest and don't have a CAT or SOF-T on it, you're wrong.
Either a pretty bold or pretty ignorant statement. I don't have enough current training on any new methods to know the difference, so I appreciate your input. I'll have to read up on your acronyms. Thanks for the input.
Green Eye Tactical
Active Member
Bold, maybe. Definitely not ignorant. And sorry, wasn't trying to be an acronym snob.
CAT= Combat Application Tourniquet (all the guys I ran with used this because it was lighter)
SOF-T= Special Operations Forces Tourniquet
Here's a link to the kit I carry on my vest. I also have a couple range bags for courses I run. You'll see they all carry the CAT.
http://www.narescue.com/Eagle_IFAK_wChitoGauze_PRO_-_Multicam-CN1A5A9CE5C6C8.html?BC=!PARENTID!
Green Eye Tactical
Active Member
Also wanted to add- I've seen a few community colleges are offering TC3 (TCCC, Tactical Combat Casualty Care) classes. I highly recommend anyone who uses guns to take one of these. They may take a week and cost around $600 to $900, but they are well worth it.
txinvestigator
TGT Addict
Agsin, he is right. A lot has changed.
I'll double check with friends who are Docs that were stationed in KAF but the research gathered over the years from battlefield wounds found that soldiers were more likely to survive if the bleeding was stopped and then got them to the hospital. Rather than try to do more in the field for wounds. I think the risks of tourniquets took a back seat to the advantage of stopping blood loss. So, that's why there was a switch in thinking for field care to simply stop the bleeding.
Also DH said they always had hemostatic bandages in their kit so those became the go to blood stopper. He said the wound better be bad enough because you will be going to the hospital if one was applied to your skin.
Oh, I found an article about bleeding that backs up when I mentioned there at the top: Use of Hemostatic Dressings in Civilian EMS - Training - @ JEMS.com (.It's from 2008 but had the info, so double check for most recent products)
Also DH said they always had hemostatic bandages in their kit so those became the go to blood stopper. He said the wound better be bad enough because you will be going to the hospital if one was applied to your skin.
Oh, I found an article about bleeding that backs up when I mentioned there at the top: Use of Hemostatic Dressings in Civilian EMS - Training - @ JEMS.com (.It's from 2008 but had the info, so double check for most recent products)
breakingcontact
TGT Addict
Israeli bandages anyone?
txinvestigator
TGT Addict
My preferred one. But they do not take the place of a tourniquet.
