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Quick clarification tourniquets can only be used for limb bleeding. If the victim is bleeding from the neck do NOT use a torniquet
Instructions unclear. Patient has totally calmed and has stabilized.
Way to go, you have saved a life
That person is so saved that he or she will never need to be saved again! Amazing save!
I mean. All bleeding stops eventually.z
"All Zero's across the board!" Looking visibly pleased "I knew my Mathematics Doctorate would come in handy"
The fact this needs to be stated is wow
It's for the same people who need the "DO NOT USE IN SHOWER" label on their blow dryer
But how would I have my hair already dried as I walked out of the shower?
Some people are terrified of innovation, my friend, live your life out loud
And this years Darwin award goes tooooooooo....
Joke's on you, he was one of those science guys so winning his award must mean I'm a genius
And "don't take this medication if you're allergic to it" labels.
Or the toaster, that was a bad Christmas!
FRONT TOWARD ENEMY is written on the front of a claymore mine.
That's not to explain that you want to explode it at the bad guys instead of yourself. It's clearly labeling which side is the front that points at the enemies, so you can recognize it immediately.
This is indeed something you better make sure is right unless you want to bed shredded meat!
To be fair, combat is really stressful and your cognitive abilities plummet under stress. It's best to explicitly spell these things out in this case.
It was in my military first aid training. Someone still seriously suggested it for a head wound less than 15 minutes later.
Yeah I don’t really think it needs to be stated tbh
At least not to anyone reading this
I took a wilderness first-aid course and they informed us that a tourniquet is not to be applied to the neck.
It needs to be stated. People can be pretty daft.
Just bc they said something doesn’t mean it needs to be said.
Obviously it can’t hurt to say it.
I think the concept/action of someone dying by being choked around their neck is more deeply ingrained in us than just about anything.
I have a hard time picturing someone tying a tourniquet around someone’s throat, pulling it tight, and not having an extremely strong instinctive response of “no this feels wrong”
It would allow the bleeding to not be the immediate issue anymore though.
I wish that were the case.
It does need to be stated.
You think someone is going to come upon a person bleeding from the head, think to themselves “oh wow this is really serious, I better make a tourniquet to stop the bleeding and save this person’s life”, and then tie a tourniquet around their throat, pull it tight and choke them to death?
I bet it has happened somewhere, at some point. The world is crazy and bizarre and has 8 billion people in it. I always assume every insane hypothetical has actually happened somewhere. But I don’t think anybody reading this sub was at risk of making that mistake.
listen, it does sound ridiculous to us now with the benefit of not being in an emergency. But in a crazy situation where someone you love is bleeding out, your brain can do some weird stuff. good to state it just as an added layer of protection
Further clarification - at least in Europe, the guidelines from RCUK and ERC are that touriquets should only be applied by someone trained to do so, as improper use of a tourniquet has an elevated risk of complications. There's various considerations about the positioning of the tourniquet, and if someone loosens or removes it because they haven't been trained to never loosen an applied tourniquet there's the risk of toxic shock from the arm
Okay but isn't it still better than dying of blood loss (in a serious enough situation)
Not dying of blood loss is definitely better than dying of blood loss, but there's a high risk of messing it up and dying of blood loss anyway, or being poisoned by your own blood. If it's a spurting arterial bleed that pressure is doing nothing about, then you've got nothing to lose, but if you're able to put half your bodyweight into the wound to make it ooze gently then you're better staying there until medics arrive than trying to tourniquet. Ultimately everything in first aid is down to risk/benefit, so guidelines are just that.
Makes sense. If I see blood spurting, I can totally see myself breaking a bone while trying to stop the bleeding lol
I remember guidelines in my first aid classes as a Boy Scout saying tourniquets are so dangerous you should likely never use one, but that was 30 years ago. More recent training I’ve had emphasized that damage to the limb takes longer than you think, and bleeding out takes less, so if the bleeding is heavy and not slowing tie something on. I knew you shouldn’t remove it ever but didn’t know about toxic shock. I just figured it was because they’d probably start bleeding all over again
I’m a Boy Scout parent, and nowadays tourniquets are safe and no need to release pressure occasionally while waiting for help. I believe they used to discourage sucking venom, but nowadays the mosquito suction devices work miracles.
In Canada during first aid courses I've heard to assume the limb will be lost if you tourniquet because it often has to be amputated due to lack of blood flow. So only apply one if the bleeding is severe enough that amputation is the better alternative- ie. if the person is bleeding badly enough that it's a "life over limb" situation.
In the US government the guidance is up to 1.5-2 hours, and if there’s heavy bleeding on a limb then just do the tourniquet. The assumption is you’ll be seen by medical professionals very shortly after, and better safe than sorry on heavy bleeding.
This is not true. The wonderful thing about keeping current on your first aid training is you keep learning new information and what is outdated. The idea that a TQ is a guaranteed case for amputation is one of those outdated bits of information
It's not guaranteed if done properly, but they gave a statistic about how often an amputation is required when applied by an amateur, it's quite high.
What’s that? Still not a guarantee? I’ll take it.
But you just highlighted one more reason people should seek out this sort of training and keep current on it. Thank you
The u.s. military is told to put it "high and tight" as opposed to 2-3 inches above the wound. As far as I am aware, there has been no real issue with that type of placing, but that's not to say it can't. I really wish more people got stop the bleed and CPR training.
High and tight is for CUF (Care Under Fire) specifically, outside of direct fire, the TQ goes 2” above the wound, not on an extremity. EMS is largely going to follow the same protocol.
For civilians however, high and tight is going to be perfectly fine in a vast majority of scenarios.
High and tight is rock simple because you’re instruction is, “put it in the same place every time unless you can’t get it above the wound”. Unless you’re training all the time or otherwise really good at mitigating the stress of the situation, simple saves your ass
I've done first aid courses in Australia over many years; for a long time, we were taught not to apply a tourniquet full stop (and technique was not taught at all). That's changed in the last couple of years, and the recommendation is now to apply if the patient is bleeding out i.e. risk the limb to save the person.
Also, your tourniquet needs to be REALLY tight, like tighter than you think. If your ‘patient’ isn’t screaming about his right it is, it’s most likely not tight enough.
And again, not around the neck.
Place pressure on the leak area of the neck
Tell person they should have Protec they neck
Also, tourniquets are good till you don’t tie them too tight. It’s a thin line between saving the blood loss and not letting the blood reach the distal limb. Before you were dying of hemorrhage, now you are dying of ischemia.
I've been told to apply it as if the limb is a faucet. Twist until it stops flowing, then no further.
That’s not really how that works.
If a wound is bad enough that it needs a TQ to stop the bleed or the patient dies, you’re going to tighten that fucker down until the bleed stops and you cannot feel a distal pulse in that limb. A proper TQ will completely stop blood flow below the application site.
Now if the TQ is tight enough to stop the bleed but there’s still a pulse, you run into compartment syndrome, which is another issue.
Make that TQ TIGHT. If your patient isn’t complaining about it, it’s not tight enough.
Instructions unclear, my injured buddy now looks like the guy from Beetlejuice.
Also good to note that tourniquets are not nearly as dangerous as many people think. A tourniquet can be applied for 6-8 hours with very low chance of any issues with the limb. After 2 hours (max) you do need medical professionals to remove the tourniquet though
I mean it’ll stop the bleeding technically
Instructions unclear, victim died
What about abdomen?
Abdominal wounds are tricky because if you have too much pressure on them the intestines can rupture and the wound goes septic. What I learned way back when in the Army was to pack as much clean material into the wound to try and stem the bleeding and wait for/get the patient to the actual medics for further treatment.
We don’t pack abdominal wounds, at least not anymore. Moist sterile followed by an occlusive dressing. Unfortunately while there are some experimental treatments for severe abdominal bleeds, none are approved for use yet, particularly at the responder level.
If there is something embedded in the body (knife, projectile, whatever) DO NOT remove it. Leave it in place and let medical personnel deal with it.
Also,
Stabilize it with gauze or towels, as well, so that it doesny move more.
Also, if it is a penetrating eye injury, cover both eyes, not just the injured one. It will prevent the urge to look around with the good eye which will move the injured eye.
Good point about both eyes.
Also this will sound weird but if you don't have much on you in terms of medical supplies. Pour coke/ Pepsi on the wound. It stops the bleeding quickly.
Tell us more
Ik I didn't believe it either until I did it. Shit works very fast.
Does it hurt?
It’s something about how sugar acts on the blood vessels, and additionally it draws lymph fluid to the wound which helps with healing. My mom had an ostomy bag attached to her intestine a few years ago after surgery, and (super gross and graphic) The doctor that looked at it poured sugar all over it, so that it would shrink and I’m not squeamish much so it was fascinating to watch, but I would have hated to be in her position.
btw - if someone DOES remove the object, DONT PUT IT BACK.
Can we use another object to pry it out? Maybe perhaps another knife?
So I have always wondered about this situation: if you arrive and see someone has just removed a knife, should you re-insert it into the wound?
No don’t reinsert. There’s no way you’ll get it in the exact same tract and so you’d be doing more damage. In that case just call for help and apply firm pressure.
LOL come on
I’m sat laughing at the word ‘insert’ as if that’s what it would be and not simply stabbing someone again 😂
Bonus to the bonuses: if you can't stay calm, STAY OUT OF THE WAY.
There is nothing worse in an emergency than someone panicking in between an injured person and someone who can help.
Some years ago I was in a position to provide first aid to a bleeding person while a drunk friend kept belligerently interrupting to "help". I'm there stopping the bleeding and trying to calm this panicking, crying person while the friend is trying to put a belt on their limb and saying, "We need to tie a tourniquet so they don't die before the medics have a chance to amputate!" Meanwhile, I'm considering whether it would be easier and faster to just throw the friend down the stairs and deal with whatever injuries I cause once I finish with patient 1.
Sometimes the best help you can give is to just stay the hell out of the way.
I've heard (probably apocryphal) tell of rescuers occasionally deciding that in the triage scheme of things, one knocked out bystander + one treated person is better than one ridiculously interfering bystander + one untreated person.
Yep, had to take over CPR from a very drunk man who was screaming and crying over the count of the emergency operator trying to count for him to keep pace with. He would pump too fast then stop and go too slow. I jumped in and started doing the chest compressions in line with the 5 lots of CPR training I’ve done in recent history.
He spent the entire time I was performing effective CPR trying to ask me if the man was going to live, what to do, asking if I wanted him to take over and eventually INSISTING he should take over and practically pushing me off the patient to he could resume his frantic, entirely ineffective CPR. The patient died.
I have had this happened. Witnessed a very gruesome car accident involving two cars and like 8 people, mostly kids. I pulled over and grabbed by medical bag to help. A woman who was in a nearby car also stopped and was basically running around shrieking and getting in my fucking way while I’m trying to triage a half dozen injured kids and adults.
Icing on the cake is that when the fucking cops finally showed up, they almost arrested me for interfering. As I’m literally wearing nitrile gloves, covered in blood, holding a notebook with notes on the injured.
when the fucking cops finally showed up, they almost arrested me for interfering. As I’m literally wearing nitrile gloves, covered in blood, holding a notebook with notes on the injured.
It's no surprise that those so totally foreign to competence may be suspicious of its intent.
I stopped at an accident- motorcycle was speeding and rear ended a car. I got shoved over the guy on the ground by an off duty cop who had just taken a first responder course. Two other guys had pulled him up into the rescue position before I got there and were getting ready to pull his helmet off. Then they wanted to lay him back down once I got them to stop. We stuffed my pack under his head instead and just as I let go of the bag, the cop came up behind me and shoved. I asked him what his fucking problem was and he told me he was a cop and he had taken a first responder class. One of the two other dudes pulled him back out of the way and told him his dumb ass what he had just done. Honestly there wasn’t a whole lot that I knew how to do so I just talked to the guy and let him know he wasn’t alone and help was on the way. Once the pros showed up, I got out of the way and the cop decided he wanted to charge me. I got lucky the troopers on the scene knew the other two dudes and they vouched for me and told them what happened.
Yeah majority of cops are not medically trained. At best level 1 first aid at best. I say you did the right thing, work until the paramedics are on scene and take over. Hats off to you!
https://www.stopthebleed.org/training/ free online training.
Very cool to have, takes 25 minutes. Thanks for this.
If it’s artery bleed (it’s spurting) on an extremity, do 1 and maybe 2, but immediately thereafter tourniquet. Don’t bother with pressure, get a tourniquet on ASAP (Don’t worry about injuries from applying. It takes a long time to cause any damage and you can bleed out from an artery bleed in 5 minutes)
Applying a tourniquet at the inner joint i.e. inner thigh/armpit will also help the tourniquet be more effective since there is less muscle/fat tissue covering it.
The rule Ive been taught is “high and tight”.
Also CAT tourniquets do work on children as young as 2. So they are incredibly universal.
It also helps to compensate for the elasticity of the artery pulling the damaged part further towards the torso than the external bleed site
User deleted comment
15d
You can keep TQs on for upwards of 6 hours. In most US locations you will be at the ER way before that. And any complications from a TQ are better that bleeding out.
It's definitely a lot longer than 15 mins for permanent damage to the limb
Not only that but if the choice is “permanent limb damage” or “dying in a puddle of my own blood”, I’ll pick the former every time.
3 limbs is better than none
Your instructor was wrong, the time starts after a few hours.
That's outdated information. Of all the terrible things to come out of US imperialism, one of the positive side effects is how much data we have on properly applied tourniquets. You can keep them on for hours without long term damage. That said, very few people know how to properly apply a tourniquet and they can be worse than useless if done wrong or when used for an injury that doesn't require it. Everyone should go take a stop the bleed class. They can often be found for little or no cost and the skills you learn might save someone's life.
I don't know where you are, but thankfully they've disproven this. You've got at least 6 hours before you start getting into any kind of danger.
I'm not qualified to give an actual answer, but your instructor could have been saying that after 15 minutes there's enough of a buildup of toxins in the isolated blood in the arm to cause shock if allowed back into the system, which is why you leave a tourniquet on with a timestamp until they're in the hospital.
You absolutely should be starting with direct pressure even if you’re going to apply a tourniquet. Most bleeds, even arterial bleeds, will stop with direct pressure; even if it doesn’t, direct pressure will at least slow the blood loss a person is experiencing.
If it's a deep cut then pack it with dressing , use your fingers to push it in, it hurts like a bitch but can save lives.
This needs to be higher up. Direct pressure works if the would isn’t deep or wide. Needs to be packed otherwise. Tourniquet if it is an artery.
Packing isn’t a skill that is taught to a layperson. It can be done improperly, and can make it more difficult for the trained professionals to properly care for the wound.
The average person should stick to direct pressure, or a tourniquet if a proper one is available.
Would love yo know how to pack a wound. Was in the military so I know a tourniquet and pressure, but was not taught anything special about wound packing.
Technically speaking, it isn’t hard. But you do need to pack towards the source of the bleed, and apply constant pressure to form a clot on the bleed site, which if you’re packing a major wound will likely be a cut artery or vein.
Common mistakes include: just filling a cavity with gauze (eventually it’ll work, but it’s less effective), taking pressure off the bleed, using incorrect materials (tampons are not for GSW), or not applying direct pressure afterwords.
What’s the reason to not use tampons? Idk what GSW is.
It doesn't, it's a terrible advise that's not taught even in many first aid classes because you need the right conditions and material for it.
It's pressure for venous bleeding and tourniquet for arterial bleeding.
Take CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) training in the USA. It's free and you've probably already paid for it with taxes.
I second this! I'm a member of our local CERT team. We did all the trainings and regularly get refreshers from local fire departments, Red Cross staff and others. CERT is why I put NARCAN in our office first aid kit, and insisted upon having an AED in the building. I also carry NARCAN in my glove box and am building a well-stacked first aid kit for the car. Better to be prepared...
For bonus tip two, don’t you need a specific type of fire extinguisher to put out car fires? IMO I’m not getting near a car crash nevermind one on fire, if their neck is injured moving them is the worst thing you could do
An ABC extinguisher is going to cover just about every type of fire you’ll come across for a car, excluding the magnesium. I personally keep one in my car purely because I’ve seen too many accidents where the patient burned alive before we got on scene.
As for a neck injury, absolutely do not move them until we get on scene… unless they’re in more danger like fire. Life over limb every time. If everything else is stable, I’d say it’s more important to put the car in park and take the keys out than it is getting the patient out of the car. Just don’t give them food/water. For some reason, that’s the first thing everyone wants to do; “give them water!!!!” Well if they have to go in to surgery, that’s now a much higher increase of them aspirating during the operation.
I've kept one in my truck for years, had to use it a couple of years ago. I was a 2 pounder, that's way too small. Replaced it with a 5 pounder and if I know I'm going somewhere more dicey for accidents I add a bigger one.
Regarding moving if there is a neck injury. Like you said if there is a fire, move them. Same for if they aren’t breathing. You observe an accident. Run to the scene. Vehicle passenger or driver isn’t breathing. Regardless if you suspect an neck injury or no, pull them out so that you can perform CPR.
Everything stops bleeding eventually
Man that is so deep
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This is very, very smart. Thank you. My husband had to watch someone burn to death about a month ago. There was nothing he could do. One of the most horrific things for all involved. We now have extinguishers in the car. It literally happened exactly how you described. It got too hot and then basically exploded. I’m sorry if you have personal experience with it .
Step 0: pass out (I have blood phobia)
Grey's Anatomy eh?
Just what I was thinking
I watched that episode and was like "wait they're claiming to invent something that already exists right?" STB has been around about a decade now.
On week 6 of my period, none of these tips helped…
Did you try the tourniquet?
Unsure where to put it. Tried my mid section, nothing. Tried my hips, nothing. Maybe a leg next?
The GWOT changed the perspective on tourniquets. You can apply them as an initial bleed stop as it takes multiple hours for any long term damage to occur. Just make sure you note when they were applied.
One thing to know if you have a first aid kit. Bandages and dressings expire… one day they’re fine and then when you need it and open it… poof it’s disintegrated.
This is really good to know, I assumed manufacturers just added the date to force us to buy more.
I did too! I think it’s still a way out from the expiration date, but most dressings don’t last forever, and it’s better to replace it before it’s needed than need it and not be able to use it any longer.
Bonus Advice: Spend money on a tourniquet. Don't go with the cheapest option. Those either break or don't allow sufficient pressure to be applied. A good tourniquet can run £30, and when buying only do so from a certified seller - as there are fake ones out there.
Might be extra effort, especially for something which is disposable, but when you need a tourniquet you want one which will actually work.
Ill extend this by saying; start thinking "what ifs" - what if the car in front of me all of a sudden swirls of the road, what will I do then? What if my kid actually gets hit by a motorbike, how will I proceed and in what order should I do it?
So when it happens, and it will, you have spent those 30 seconds coming up with a bit of a plan, and then you hopefully are able to go on instinct - dont politely suggest that someone should call 911, point to the first person you can and say "CALL 911, NOW!" that will snap that person out of it and give him/her a point.
Avoid flip-flops and stupid clothes like that, in that moment you need to run 500 meters down the street to knock on the doctors door, you want proper shoes, and you want to know where he lives - before it happens.
I think it’s good to have a general awareness of what’s going on around you, but a lot of “what if” thoughts can border on anxiety and obsessive compulsive tendencies.
Instead of looking at everything with a “what if” x bad thing happens, look at it with a sense of awareness and a knowledge of emergency preparedness.
“My child has a piece of candy, I will be watchful as she eats so she doesn’t choke. I know how to help my child if she does.” vs. “What if my baby gets candy and chokes? What if she can’t breathe? What if my cell phone doesn’t have service to call 911?”
See the difference? In the first, you’re already calm, cool, collected… in the second you are panicking before anything happens.
“What if the car in front of me swirls” What if my kid gets hit by a motorbike, what how will I proceed and in what order”
No. I don’t advise anyone to live their life in this constant state of hyper anxiety. “When it happens, and it will?” There are one million traumatic things that could happen and maybe one or two that actually will happen to someone, you advise that everyone spend their life thinking through their reactions to all one million to better prepare them for the infinitesimal chance of one of them happening? That’s just no way to live a life.
Blanket too. Blood loss will make the victim cold.
Here is the stop thebleed organization website:
https://www.stopthebleed.org/training/
I took a free training from them and received a nice tourniquet as well.
Great post. In regard to the Fire extinguisher helping in a car fire - you can only try. I've been up close and personal with a fatal car fire and theres NO way even about 10 peoples extinguishers even got near to helping unfortunately. Cars burn really bady as theres lots of flammables in there. In the situation I was in the people were killed on impact anyway which was probably a blessing I guess. But, yeah, try everything.
Excellent advice!
I’m taking a fire extinguisher (with half a dozen tourniquets wrapped around it) with me everywhere.
Make sure you have a specialized neck tourniquet with you, just in case
this is so obvious AI it hurts my brain
Save one more life. YouTube. Look it up. So worth it!!!
What’s a tourniequet
A device that goes around the arm or leg that can stop the blood flow, so someone won't bleed out from a wound there.
First aid courses are often given for free. CPR course is also very good idea. If neither teach you the Heimlich maneuver, find out how to do so. If you have no idea where or who to ask, and you can’t find it online, ask a fire station where you can learn these.
Tourniquet must be at least 2 inches wide. If one Tourniquet doesn't work, use another.
Edit: as in, it's okay to use multiple tourniquet on the same limb
5 isn't considered practical anymore, blood pressure tends to keep blood movement fairly consistent. Best to just maintain pressure and not stress about elevating the injury.
Edit: fixed an autocorrect that I didn't see the first time, changed "be" to "keep."
Quick question: was this post inspired by this week’s Grey’s Anatomy episode?
I think just taking a first aid course should be the tip. Unless you physically can't help in those situations, there's no good reason not to get first aid training.
When I was learning how to become a first aid instructor, we saw an interview with an ER doctor from Chicago. He basically said if the wound can fit your thumb, shove your thumb into wound.
This obviously creates a situation when blood borne pathogens can run amok, but the general idea is that when someone is bleeding, just clog the hole somehow.
They can deal with infections later. The danger of bleeding out is much more immediate.
Regarding #4, applying pressure: too many bandages will reduce applied pressure on the wound. Keep the first layer of bandages on always, but replace any secondary layers of bandages if the secondary layers soak through.
I’d also add that FIRE DEPARTMENTS IN MANY CITIES REGULARLY GIVE FREE BLEED CONTROL CLASSES!
I learned more about treating people until help arrives far more than CPR classes
Unfortunately the military has had a lot of experience in the last 15 years with combat medicine. Fortunately that’s taught us lessons like tourniquets should be your first resort with bleeding wounds on limbs. The benefits of stopped bleeding almost always outweigh the risks.
Bonus tip 3: sanitary pads are made for dealing with blood loss. It’s very likely someone around has them when no other first aid supplies are available.
This has actually been proven to not help as it’s made to absorb blood, and we don’t want that . We want bleeding to stop not be collected and the best way is to keep it in the wound and pressurize to form a clot. A pad or a tampon essentially wicks it out.
Do not do CPR if there’s a puncture to the chest or upper back. Push your finger or cloth or both inside hole until help arrives. You could inadvertently fill their lungs with blood. This happened to my cousin when he was 19 years old. He was stabbed in the back and his friends did CPR and he died in seconds.
If someone has no pulse and a possible/confirmed penetrating chest injury, the lack of pulse will kill them faster than a tension hemothorax will.
DO CPR ANYWAY IF INDICATED
This should be taught to American students. Sad but true.
I'm confused. When do I start drinking the blood?
When you've burned their village.
Doesnt coldness make the blood flow slower? Ive learnt that putting ice or really cold water on wounds make the bleeding slow down
Not really. Don't waste the time/energy worrying about that - do the other things, like pressure, dressings, wound packing, tourniquet if needed.
Follow up question, I heard before that if you think an artery is severed you could theoretically attempt to reach in with your fingers and pinch it until help arrives.
Would this be ridiculous or worth a try if the person was going to likely die.
Edit: also I understand a severed artery is almost guaranteed to be a death sentence either way.
Edit 2: that actually gave me another shower thought... how come if you lost your leg in an accident it is obviously very serious but you have some chance of living, yet if you got stabbed in your thigh and your artery is cut it is almost guaranteed death?
This was a terrible thread to read while stoned. Currently freaking out in my basement now thinking I’m gunna start bleeding out any minute
For a lower limb wound, put the tourniquet above the joint. For upper min of 3 in above. And DO NOT be gentile.
Remember to look for signs of shock.
That fire anecdote reminds me of watching a motorcyclist become red paint because he decided he was too cool for a helmet. That was a decade or more and I can still tell you the texture of fresh brain.
Protect yourself, folks.
Regarding the fire extinguisher in the car, is that safe in high heat environments? It gets 90-100+ in the summer months here and much much hotter in a parked car. Wouldn’t it either depressurize and not work anymore, or explode in your car?
are fire extinguishers okay in high Temps in a parked car...? also, isn't that quite the mean projectile in an accident?
If you have a nose bleed take a piece of tissue/toilet paper and wad/roll it up to the size of a large pill and stuff it up under your upper lip. I guess it hits a pressure point or something, but I’ve never had a nose bleed that this didn’t stop quickly
Can a fire extinguisher stay in your car? Or will it get too hot?
There is a website that has kits you can purchase. Www.stopthebleed.org
Too bad this doesn’t work with periods
i once heard about a car accadent where a fire extinguisher came in handy to help rescue someone trapped. thats a good point about keeping one in your vehicle - you never know when it might be needed.
I teach this class (for free) to various schools, community groups, churches, etc...all the time. It's a great class and you never know when you're gonna need it
Everyone should take a Stop the Bleed course (you can take them for free online and you may be able to find an in-person one near you for cheap or free), and keep an IFAK in their vehicle.
So basically, just like they do in the movies? :)
Gonna add to this. DONT BUY MEDICAL SUPPLIES OFF OF AMAZON.
Medical supplies are fucking expensive, and a legit tourniquet can run you about $25-$30 dollars. CAT (combat application tourniquet) is a solid brand and recommended by the DOD.
A decent IFAK with stop the bleed supplies can run you $70 plus.
I have a smaller IFAK with a swat tourniquet (not as effective as CAT, but fits in a smaller package) I carry with me at work, and a more extensive IFAK in my car and office.
Oh yeah. Fire extinguisher for sure. Have used mine once on a car fire, it definitely made a bad day not get worse.
While most of the advice is good it's also leaving out important details concerning tourniquets and the proper process when you encounter a situation like this. If you really want to know what to do and how to do it you can take a first aid course through the Red Cross as well as the American Heart Association and get first aid certified. Taking the course and passing it has the added benefit of teaching you the correct way to help with various types of injuries and sudden illnesses as well as how to perform CPR and doing it the right way is better than the wrong way which can cause more serious injuries or worse and land you in court. Be smart and take the class and get recertified every other year, I take the class yearly and it's helped me save a life four times.
The rule I was told with a tourniquet is if you apply one, assume they're going to lose everything below it.
You're basically sacrificing the limb to save the person. Obviously not a 100% rule, but it becomes more and more likely with each minute that passes
That has never been true. Experience has shown that TQs can stay on a limb for several hours without any permanent damage.
I have welders’ gloves in my car. My husband thinks I’m crazy. Perhaps I’ve watched too many burning car videos. I don’t care, someday they may help to save a life.
Definitely look up Stop the Bleed classes. The instruction can vary, but I worked with an ex special forces guy who put one on with realistic bleeding limbs and even showed you how to tourniquet a child (he passionately believes that all schoolteachers should know how) and a even a dog. Also, learning how to properly pack a wound with quick clot gauze when you can't get a tourniquet on.
So you don't think the best thing to do is take out your phone, start filming someone as you drive up to them, while they are hopping along the road as they are bleeding from a stump asking to be taken to a hospital, and then driving away after shouting "dude are you okay".
That this isn’t common knowledge makes me forget that a lot of stuff I learned in the military isn’t common knowledge lol
I read “stop the bleeding” and my first thought were the four combat casualty steps.
Start the breathing, stop the bleeding, call the corpsman, treat for shock.
SCAQCHPYAPEWUTSP, if someone needs an easy mnemonic device
If you don't have a tourniquet or the wound is not on an extremity, my sister always tells me:
Finger -> Artery -> Bone
If there is arterial bleed for anything other than a torso wound, just do that and hold it there until medics arrive. Tell the medics this is what you are doing and then have them take over the pressure.
I love this! I took a Stop the bleed! class after I moved to my new city - free from my fire department. Got my tools to turn off gas at homes in emergencies, basic triage skills, a giant first aid kit in my house and a better one in my car, CPR protective masks everywhere.
What I DONT have is a fire extinguisher in my car, thank you!
I'll add some more tips from people that saved lives and taught classes on first aid:
- If it's an arterial bleeding you have about 30 seconds - 1 minute to apply tourniquet, after that the chances to save person start falling off drastically.
- If you don't have a tourniquet then anything that can be tightened like a belt or piece of cloth can be used. Makeshift tourniquet by tying a knot with your shirt and sticking in a sturdy pencil to tighten.
- WRITE TIME NEXT TO TOURNIQUET. It's crucial to label the exact time it was applied after it was applied.
- It is very tricky and hopefully no one reading will need this info, but carotid (neck) artery bleeding can be stopped with a tourniquet. To do that you need to place a large solid object to the side of the neck over the unscathed/undamaged/not bleeding artery, the chin and the shoulder and loop the tourniquet over this object and the damaged artery. A mobile phone is a great object for this. The chin, the shoulder and the mobile phone act as a bridge and allow one artery to function while you close the other. Of course only perform this procedure only if you are sure than the person has arterial bleeding.
- Arterial bleeding can be distinguished from venous bleeding by a much brighter red color, more vigorous bleeding even in a form of pulsing fountain.
Its much better to use dirty cloths than letting someone bleed to death because you didnt have anything clean. Save lives and let people at the hospital worry about infections.
Check first if the person is violent or not. Im a nurse. Sometimes the person is a criminal or wordt violent imdividual and wants to die, never approach without assessment
I'm a first responder and first-aid teacher. There may be a different protocol in your country, but I find it hard to believe that they would advise you to call for help before stopping the bleeding.
- Apply pressure
- Lay the victim down
- If compression is impossible or ineffective, apply a tourniquet
- Call for help
- Keep victim warm and watch over him/her until help arrives
Raising the wound does not help.
Don't know if this was said at all but if someone is impaled with an object and bleeding DO NOT REMOVE THE OBJECT. Apply pressure around the opening and tourniquet if needed. Wait until medical professionals arrive and they will remove the object when it is safe to do so in a more sterile environment with access to blood transfusion if needed. If you remove the object, the person could bleed out depending on where or what it hit. You won't know if it's slowing an arterial bleed or not.
As a first aid instructor, DO NOT APPLY A TOURNIQUET IF YOU AREN'T QUALIFIED TO. Most other first aid is simple enough that good Samaritan laws cover you if something goes wrong. If you don't know what to do, calling for help is enough. A tourniquet is high enough medical intervention that you need to be qualified and apply it properly to avoid getting sued, even if it works. Even if it was absolute certain death vs losing a finger due to loss of circulation, you're not protected. The same goes for head, neck and spine injuries. If you move someone and paralyze them, you're fucked. Get the course. Keep it current. Heart and stroke or St John's ambulance or wherever you take your course has insurance to cover you as long as you apply your training appropriately. Dont go to any of those pop-up "tactical" companies. Just fucking don't.
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