currently the first aid kit in my day pack covers most common outdoor injuries
- bandaids (various sizes)
- butterflies/3m steristrips
- antiseptic
- antibiotic ointment
- guaze pad / bandage
- tweezers
- scissors
- tape
- nitrile gloves
- tylenol ibuprofen
- benadryl
- immodium
- ace bandage

i'd like to add some type of gun shot wound first aid to it
- quikclot ACS+ or hemcon
- high volume gauze
- compression bandage

i thought maybe a couple quikclot sport (25gr) sponges for other severe cuts, but i feel pretty comfortable that i can handle most other things with the steri-strips and gauze, so this might be overkill.

i was also considering some of that pet-clot since most of our outings involve our GSD who is about as injury prone as I am. (the week we rescued him he cut his leg open on a shelf at petsmart and needed 4 stitched from the "just opened that day" banfield").

any opinions on quikclot vs hemcon? any experience with petclot?
any comments/suggestions/critiques of my current setup would be greatly appreciated!

thanks!

A mirror.  It sucks to get something stuck in your eye and not have a way to see it.

Gauze - at least 2 sizes >>> 4x4 & 2x2.

Something largish, clean, and absorbant might be useful (think cloth diaper)

Ace wraps in several sizes (2 each)  2 inch, 3 inch, 4 inch, 6 inch

A comfortable tourniquet large enough to fit easily around the upper thigh and that can be worn (comfortably) for 20 minutes at a time.  Something like a web belt might fit the task but experiment with ways to apply/secure it in place that are both effective and comfortable (always nice to do this before you actually need it...

Veterinary remedy (maybe useful tool in the field - "quick and dirty") - household "all purpose" flour can be used effectively to stop bleeding in superficial (non penetrating) wounds - wounds that you won't be tempted to stitch side to side...  1) clean the wound.  2) apply direct pressure with dressing material for a while to see if you can get the bleeding to stop using just "direct pressure".  3) IF this fails, and there is no other reasonable choice, you can apply direct pressure, remove the dressing for a second and throw on a bunch of flour and then immediately re-apply direct pressure again and hold for a few minutes.  The flour acts as a matrix on which the clotting process starts and proceeds rapidly.  Some time after the bleeding has stopped you can go back and gently clean the wound and apply antiseptic as necessary...  If the bleeding restarts, you can go back to the flour.

Penetrating wounds that are bleeding are difficult to control in the field  it's either direct pressure or DP + tourniquet (on an extremity).  For penetrating wounds to the trunk >>> pray and move quickly to the hospital while applying direct pressure as well as possible...

hasta...

I have some pads(yup, the ones females use)for gunshot wounds.

For gauze, I highly recommend Kerlix or any other type of rolled gauze.  Fuck 4x4s and 2x2s, rolled gauze is the way to go.  If the 4.5" tall roll is too tall, they have 2" and 3" rolls.  Also, stick with one ace wrap, and go with Coban wraps for the additional wraps.  If you have Coban and Kerlix, you can handle almost any normal bleeding problem.  Cuts, scrapes, avulsions, GSWs, ect.  That combination (stuff Kerlix on the wound, wrap with Coban to stop the bleeding, wrap tightly if it is BLEEDING!) is how I treated most everything I came across for a long time.  

Israeli Bandages are good too, especially when you need to bandage something fast.  Don't count on them acting as a tourniquet though (maybe on the arm, maybe).  One hell of a pressure dressing though, but again, you can do the same thing with Kerlix and Coban.

I carried petite, unscented tampons for GSW's and for nose bleeds.  Used to have a Joe that got nose bleeds after flying, every damned time.  I probably put thirty tampons up that guys nose over a three year period...  (Be careful using a tampon in the nose, make sure it is the petite kind (for virgins and teenagers), or it will overexpand.)  Buy a pack, take a few out and dip them in water to see how they expand, throw a few in your BOK or FAK.  Oh yeah, no applicators.  

If you can;t find the end, just start a tear on the outside like you would on a roll of toilet paper

Tampons,
Carried them in my bag during deployments  fast and easy to use..the medics at the cash at first gave me a WTFat first till the first tiem they saw what they can do. then started issueing them to other medics..( I did not claim to have had the idea first or anything)
for big holes that is.
not pads although they have their place as well
peroxide, never alcohol its flamible

LOL we're going to have to start a "What kind of Tampon works best for a GSW?" thread...



I was actually thinking of using disposable diapers since we have a ton in varying sizes, and they soak up a LOT of fluid. But I think I'll toss some pads in the pack...





 

Diapers aren't sterile, tampons are.
Plus they expand to plug bloody holes, yours or hers.

this is the key part sterile  and a hell of alot cheaper than anything that is sold as "medical" as they can be used on cuts and stuff also as they are very absobant, and they dont stick or fall apart etc
just saying.

SAM splint
Quick clot is ok but direct pressure is the best.
4X4 gauze

I wasnt aware that tampons were sterile, but I guess that makes sense considering what they are used for.





 

I don't think they are "medically sterile".  About a year ago there was a long thread on here where their use was debated by professionals.  Lots of good points on both sides of the argument.  Haven't seen him around in a while, but TommyTrauma had some good inputs on why NOT to use them.

Sterility is overated in imediate trama kits, if you or someone you love gets shot, badly cut etc would you rather let them bleed out because you don't have something sterile, or get the bleeding stoped and worry about cleaning the wound out later. Even dirt works as a last resort wound pack in an emergency.

So does a bullet, that doesn't mean its a good option.  Why not plan ahead and have the RIGHT tools for the job?  I would personally rather use something clean/sterile for bleeding control than... Dirt?  really?  You wouldn't say a shirt, instead you choose dirt?  This thread is about a FAK, which means this person is planning ahead.  And oh yeah, sterility isn't overrated.  Most of what we talk about as sterile is merely clean, but the difference between medically clean and, well... dirt is HUGE.

ETA: Ha! managed to quote you before your peeping animation was edited in!

Consider them "Clean", like a bandaid is "clean".  Not surgical instrument sterile, but fairly close.

You need a tourniquet if you are thinking of a GSW kit.

As for the tampon debate, if its the only thing you've got, why not; but if you are making a kit buy the good stuff; get a roll of kerlix (To stuff in the hole if needed) and a couple Israeli bandages or similiar compression bandage to slow/stop the bleeding.

never ment you shouldn't prep with the best, but I'd hate to see someone bleed out because some newb didn't have a tampon and didn't know their options. I'd rather have a chance to battle a nasty infection than bleed out in the field while people worried over if they have the right supplies.

thanks for the advice guys

Tourniquet is next on the buy/make list.