Why do you need medical skills and tools?

[dan512]

Talk to cmailliard, his classes are great for learning the basics and super affordable. Mick thanks for dumbing stuff down for us.

[cmailliard]

For those of you reading along and not familiar with TCCC/NREMT stuff I'll expand briefly: In the field, we cannot TREAT traumatic injuries (EMT-Ps excluded), only try to prevent further harm and package them up for transport to a Doc. This applies CONUS as well as OCONUS. If bullets are flying it doesn't matter if you are here or there: it is combat and combat proven protocols should be used. Stopping the bleeding, however you can, should be the main priority. If you think that pressure and elevation will work, then go at it. However, if it doesn't work then you just wasted all that time for nothing. Properly placing a TQ takes 10 seconds and works almost every time. Now you can take all the time you need to make a nice pretty pressure dressing and have the patient remain calm, etc... Taking off a TQ is not part of preventing further injury; it is treatment. A licensed Doc (CONUS) is needed to legally treat traumatic injuries. Whether a bystander on the range or an EMT-B, we cannot treat traumatic injuries. Basically, we can only stop bleeding, use basic methods to maintain an open airway, control hypothermia/shock, check and record vitals, and keep the patient calm. Get proficient at those basic skills and you can do a lot of good after an incident. Think of those as medical fundamentals: if your pre-hospital care or fundamentals are good, then the outcome should be better. Shitty fundamentals= shitty results.

This is about as good as can be said - Especially the last four words

Sorry been away most the day teaching - again Mick and coloccw, nice job on breaking things down. As Coloccw said EMS can fix very few things, trauma is not one of them, so it is stabilize and get to a trauma center. The more time that is lost immediately after the injury the less likely chance of survival, we need to keep that blood in the body moving oxygen. Which brings us back to the video to graphically demonstrate this process. With tourniquets it is The Golden Two Minutes, get that thing on, leave it on, get EMS on the way, get to a trauma center.

Stay Safe

[cmailliard]

There is a thread over at AR-15.com in the survival forum where some have gone full retard on this subject. One dude even said paracord and a stick is better than a CAT because the CAT is wider and will not stop the bleeding.

[jerrymrc]

There is a thread over at AR-15.com in the survival forum where some have gone full retard on this subject. One dude even said paracord and a stick is better than a CAT because the CAT is wider and will not stop the bleeding.

Sounds like he was trying for an amputation over a TQ.

[Wulf202]

Saw it, some are just not worth reasoning with.

[rbeau30]

Saw it, some are just not worth reasoning with.

Yeah, that is why I carry the real stuff with me and hope that if I ever need help that the only person around is not that guy.

[Mick-Boy]

Talk to cmailliard, his classes are great for learning the basics and super affordable. Mick thanks for dumbing stuff down for us.

I can (have) plug holes if I have to. But no one ever hired me for my wealth of medical knowledge. I like to keep things simple so that I can spend my time worrying about the important stuff, like looking cool and making sure I have the right mix playing on my Ipod.


While we're geeking out on the medical stuff, this just popped up on a website I was browsing. A real bleed in a descending aorta is pretty much game over unless you've got a crazy switched on Doc who's not afraid to go invasive. Looks like someone is trying to simplify all that. Could be very cool.

http://www.popsci.com/technology/art...aves-two-lives

[rbeau30]

Bittersweet that war spawns such technology that will eventually save so many lives. Another thing to be thankful for our men and women in uniform for being human guinea pigs so-to-speak.

[cmailliard]

Mick that Abd. TQ is not to shabby. I saw it a while back, I have not got hands on one yet nor done much research into it, but if it works it is awesome. I had 60 y/o Male who was about to completely dissect a AAA, emergent to T10 at St. Anthony's, BP of 80/40 when we got him on the table, died about 10 minutes later as they were opening him up.

rbeau - That is one of the core reasons why we have TCCC. Soldiers have been dying the same way since the Civil War and why did we never put much effort into trying to stop it. Ft. Sam Houston and the United States Army Institute of Surgical Research are outstanding and doing true lifesaving work. Boston is a prime example of how it is paying off off of the battlefield. Time and Tourniquets are huge reasons why only 3 were killed in the bombings. This is a direct result of the research done at USAISR and on the battlefield.

[Batteriesnare]

I need to spend some money and get some real training. The Red Cross First Aid is not enough.

If you have the time, I recently took South Metro's EMT-B class and got the national registry. I have no intent of making EMS my career (though volunteering with a local FD is on my short list) but the skills I learned were awesome, especially as a shooter and CCW holder. Definitely worth the $690 for the class, and it was fun!

If you can't dedicate to that, definitely go to Cmalliard's CC&R class. Great stuff!