I would like to get more medical supplies than some rolls of regular gauze and a Israeli bandage since I am upgrading other things, but I would like to be realistic about my situation.
I either won't be with anyone at all, or if someone is near me they won't be trained, so if for some reason I get shot in the lug and somehow disable the person who shot me in the lug while suffering a major gunshot wound, I somehow doubt chest seals and airway stuff would be particularly useful for me.
What sort of medical supplies would be useful for home defense or in the woods and be realistically self applied? Tourniquet, pressure bandage, combat gauze, what else would useful?

To head it off now, yes yes having the ability and training to take advantage of the functions of a normal ifak would be beneficial to learn in the future to be able to help others, but I would just like to be realistic to my current situation and have some moderate capabilities to help myself or someone else within reason of course with the necessary knowledge of how to use the equipment.

The " standard's" are such for a reason.  TQ, gauze( quick clot or not), Chest seals and maybe Israeli bandages are pretty much the norm in most basic ifaks.
    Those are solid starting points to all tccc.  After that is advanced trauma and then follow on care.        
    I carry standard tccc items always. ( At work, in car, at home and outdoors/ range.  Then depending on where I'm at I'll have things for that specific situation.    Hiking I'll bring splints, Neosporin, bandaids, burn gels, things for the kids.

Realistically, you hopefully won't have to use anything more than bandaids.  But better to have and not need.

First thing up front: an IFAK is used for treatment on yourself. Whether that's administering self-aid or a squad medic/CLS treating you. It's not for use on someone else. If the supplies within are not sufficient to work on the casualty, the squad medic/CLS will use what's in their aid bag to fill it out.

At a minimum, an IFAK should have:

• Tourniquet, such as a CAT, SOFTT-W, SAM-XT, RMT, TMT, or TX2/3


• Compressed gauze, preferably with hemostatic such as combat gauze or chitosan


• Pressure bandage, such as OLAES


• Chest seal pair, ideally one of the pair vented

That's at a minimum. From there you can add additional supplies, such as multiples of them, devices like a NPA, etc.

Do you have training? If not, get some….and practice self aid. Stop the bleed class is a good start. That will give you a better idea of self aid items and how to actually apply them correctly if you need to.

The short answer is it depends. It sounds like you have a particular idea of what realistic means.
If you're adopting any TC3 treatment protocols it's worth remembering that the effectiveness of several prehospital interventions bank on in-theater surgical interventions/higher care in that casualty's very near future.
In this situation are you planning on not seeking external treatment at all? Because in that case this preparation puts most of your eggs in the basket of whatever ambulance crew picks you up, and the ER that receives you.

I'll cede that for academic debate, yeah maybe not realistic to plan on self-application of an NPA if you're definitely gonna be alone. If you get shot in the chest then you'll need likely need a chest seal to buy you enough time to:
- drive/get transported to an ER
- get prepped and onto a table
- surgical intervention to stop your thorax from gaining positive pressure and collapsing your lung(s).

Without occlusion/drainage for a hole in the chest, you've probably got between 15-40 minutes to get to surgery before the screen fades to black.


Anyway to answer your question I guess just a bleeder kit:

- tape of some kind
- 1-2 TQs
- 4-6 inch pressure dressing
- hemostatic gauze
- sterile compressed gauze

That'll at least cover extremity hemorrhage on 1-2 extremities and 1 junctional hemorrhage. It'll buy you a few minutes to hobble to another spot and consider your next move.

On my belts:

- 2x TQ, CAT or SOFTT, one on the belt, one in the IFAK
- 2x Z fold gauze
- 1x pressure dressing
- 1x pair of gloves
- 1x hemostatic gauze
- 1x small light, in IFAK for only IFAK
- 2x chest seals
- 1x flat fold, totally medical duct tape
- eta, shears

All that stuff is surprisingly compact.



In my cars' glove boxes, not gunshot centric:

- 1x TQ, SOFTT
- 1x rolled gauze
- 1x pressure dressing
- 1x pair of gloves
- 1x hemostatic gauze
- 1x small light
- eta, shears

I have a Condor Admin pouch I repurposed into a belt pouch that I carry every single day every where I go. Inside is Combat Gauze, QuikClot, a CAT, Kerlix, MilSpec bandage, HiFin double seal, knife and multi tool, and the outside zipper pouch I leave unzipped to become a cell phone holder - most people see the cell phone and don't think anything about it. I also find 99.9% of people who have high speed/low drag IFAKs never carry them wher they might be needed, like in an accident, mass shooter event, etc. I have a really nice IFAK from North American Rescue on my range bag, and another I carry at work, with CATs, but off duty I have what I described above. I think a lot of people might be well served with at the very least shoving a CAT and Combat Gauze in their back pocket - better than trying to use your belt and t-shirt. .

OP- some basic training will help you decide what you need.  I always recommend the Red Cross Stop The Bleed class.  Often times it can be free, or as inexpensive as $50.  Well worth it for the layman with no actual trauma training.

Minimum equipment though is a TQ, compressed gauze, Israeli or similar bandage, chest seals, and tape.

Mini Hyfin Vents are tiny, I'd carry two if I were you. While a hole in your middle back (singular or Through and Through) would be difficult, chest, upper, or lower back is doable if your not really f'd up. Also, untrained people should still be able to patch a hole - maybe school them up beforehand.

Everything spot on

I’ve had to use a makeshift splint once already (kids) so I’m going to get some of the roll up ones.

I’ve got bandages, TQs, Quick Clot, etc, but falls, car wrecks, heart attacks, choking, or drug overdoses are what 99.9% of us will most likely need to respond to.

At my age, in my area, gunshot wounds are the least likely thing I’ll need to treat.

Individual first aid kit needs to address the following

Tq the limbs
Pack the junctions
Seal the box
Address personal medical issues (allergic reactions for example)

Anything else is just follow on care.

If it wasn't already said, the goal of the IFAK is to stabilize a person long enough to get them to that higher echelon of care.

Falls and car accidents also cause traumatic injuries that TQs, wound packing, and chest seals are useful for. Not just GSWs.

Heart attacks and drug overdoses there isn't much you can do unless you're an EMT who's able to operate outside of normal hours and who has the appropriate drugs with them. About the only thing you can do is administer CPR. Same with choking, just heimlich and possibly CPR depending upon circumstances.

My IFAK:
North American CAT tourniquet
Hyfin Vent Chest Seal twin pack.
2x 6-inch Israeli Bandages
QuickClot Gauze
Several Pairs of Nitrile Gloves
Bandage Shears
Small 1-inch roll of Gorilla Tape
2x Liquid Skin Bandage vials
A variety of Curad Performance Series self-adhesive bandages (best sticking bandages I have found)
-Regular (1x3.25)
-Fingertip
-Knuckle
-Extra long (.75x4.75)
-Extra large (2.0x4.0)
Several 0.5 gr packets of Triple Antibiotic Ointment
Aspirin in single dose packs
Advil in single dose pack

Thankfully only the bottom half of the kit gets used with any regularity.  I keep one of these in my Truck and one in my range/hunting tool kit.


In my EDC backpack I have a stripped down version
1x 6-inch Israeli bandage (can be used as a Tourniquet in a pinch)
Nitrile Gloves
Liquid Skin Bandage
Curad Performance bandages (variety)
Several 0.5 gr packets of Triple Antibiotic Ointment
Advil and Excedrin

There are multiple philosophies around IFAK use and it really is situational dependent. For the military the IFAK is for you and possibly for someone to treat you. That relies on other people with knowledge and training to use it. Domestically it could go either way, using it on yourself or someone else is highly circumstantial. I would opine you're more likely to use it on someone else than yourself especially if the other person has not been trained. Realize that the primary goal is to stabilize an injured person until they can get to a hospital. The nice thing is chest seals, tourniquets, combat gauze, and Israeli bandages are super easy to train on. You can often keep chest seals sticky enough to train with for a long time. I would also recommend a blue tourniquet just for training. If you take someone to the range, show them how that stuff works. The more people with knowledge, the more someone's life may be saved in the future.

My work plate carrier has two tourniquets, Combat Gauze, Israeli bandage, NPA, frog tape, and chest seals. I have a separate IFAK I keep in a cargo pocket on patrol with Combat Gauze, NAR mini trauma dressing, compact HYFIN chest seals, and another tourniquet. For domestic law enforcement it's very likely an officer would use an IFAK on someone who is injured and needs immediate care rather than themselves. Great example of why every police officer needs to be carrying a basic IFAK on their person on patrol.

For my personal use I keep a tourniquet, Israeli bandage, chest seals, combat gauze, and a z-pak bandage in an ITS zipper pouch in a pocket on my daily backpack. That bag goes with me everywhere and the pouch can be easily moved to a cargo pocket. On my war belt I keep the same items in an LBT 9022. I also have an IFAK on my chest rig and working on one for my personal plate carrier. Does it get expensive? Yes it does. Is it worth it? Up to you. I can tell you that while Combat Gauze has an expiration date I would not throw it away as long as it was still sealed as it has been proven to work even after it is expired.

There are so many brands of Israeli bandages out there, many are Chinese knock-offs.  What are the good brands?  It seems PerSys is the go to brand, is that right?  Are there other brands you trust?

Several good brands. Just stick with reputable sellers. It’ll likely come down to the IFAK pouch you’ll use. NAR, OLAES, H&H, CMS and tons more make good stuff. While they’ll all work fine, the size when compressed and sealed are all different sizes.

Some of them, just the compression bandage is as big as some entire micro IFAKs.

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Thanks,

My first IFAK had a Recon Medical Tourniquet and as I learned more I upgraded and replaced it with North American CAT and use the Recon for practice.  As I learn more I am trying to make sure my kits get upgraded when I know enough to pick better.

PerSys is good to go. North American Rescue has a similar bandage called the Emergency Trauma Dressing. The mini version is very small and still very good. TacMed Solutions has the OLAES bandage which is similar but slightly different as you can use it for wound backing. The Israeli bandage from PerSys is probably the most prolific and familiar to people.

Thanks, I watched a review on the OLAES and that looks like a pretty flexible bandage due to the way its made.  I might add one or two of those to my range box.

Get the different pressure bandages and try them out. Find what you like. Since it sounds like you may be doing self-aid, it should work for you. It's why I carry OLAES -- I enjoy them, and if I'm with people chances are high I'm going to be the squad medic. The plastic cup they have in is great for holding wound packing material in and providing stiffness and additional pressure, plus the gauze within is almost like carrying a free set of kerlix.

Where you put what, is important for self aid.
Keep a tourniquet and compressed gauze (CG is good because it's small and tight, but any bandage will do) up front along your gig line (an imaginary line between your chin and dick).  Keep the rest of your kit wherever.  

Legit Israeli's are double sealed - you can toss the external foil wrap (if you also have Chest Seals), if you need some room. I do not take responsibility if yours, aren't

I'm not an EMT, Corpsman, Medic, or first responder.

I carry a standard IFAK for me, because I don't plan to be operating completely alone and even if you're not in a group that doesn't mean a stranger couldn't help you.  Never know, could be a medical profession or someone with general skill near by that just doesn't happen to have an IFAK on them to use on you, but would know how to use one.  

If your plan is to be some lone wolf if something goes down, good luck to you, because you'll need a lot of luck.  My advice is to start building a tribe my friend or find one you can join.   In the wild a lion is successful about 33% of the time at taking down prey, but a pack of wolves are successful over 90% of the time.  There is strength in the pack that you need to get through heavy things.

TQ
Combat Gauze
Compression bandage
Chest seals (vented)
De-comp needle
NPA
Flat fold tape
Sharpie

NO. Holy shit no that's such a bad idea. You should never carry a decomp needle unless you're with people you would explicitly trust with your life and they have seriously good training. You can fuck a needle thoracostomy up so badly that it can readily kill you.

The rest is fine but this is one thing you should pass on for your kit unless you're with a trained medical professional, and if so, they'll tell you exactly what to pack in your kit.

I'd be interested in hearing about a case where an individual had a sucking chest wound and it was the decomp needle that caused death.

Me too.  I remember the trauma doc who was one of my instructors saying basically, they already got a hole in there chest, one more isn’t gonna kill them.

Heard the same'ish stuff, plus, isn't the Intercostal method fairly heart-puncture safe? I carry one, and YouTube Trained myself I definitely am going to go to an expert though. Anything needing decomp, will kill you in the wilds of Alaska, or any societal collapse scenario.

Me and my friends are trained in decomp.

Also, if you're shot in the lung, and already have a chest seal on, I'd rather my boy stick me with the decomp and risk killing me, than me definitely dying from the lung wound.

Also, I've literally never heard of a decomp needle killing somebody.

The 5th intercostal space is safe and you're not gonna puncture the heart.

Also, I wear my IFAK on any range I'm at.

Yup
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