/med/

>>28103397
Carry more CATs.
Also medical tape.
And nitrile gloves. Several pairs. Don't want AIDS, or worse... HEP B.

>>28103600
Ah. Yes. Gloves. Thank you.


"I got thay yelleer jaundice stuff"

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Personally I'm a fan of the SWAT-T tourniquet. It's the same application but you can also use it as a pressure bandage or a wet bandage in field expedient situations. I've had both the SWAT-T and CAT used on me before and they both work well, though the SWAT-T was a little faster to put on.

>>28103912
I was talking to a guy about these. I wonder how easy they are to apply when you have blood on your hands.

>>28103397
>tourniquet

I hope you know how to use it.

>>28103397
What is your level of knowledge? Training and skills dictate how much and what kind of gear is practical.

I'm far from an expert, and sure EMTs here will outknowledge me, but at my level of training and experience I'm going to give what advice I find practical:

>First and foremost your priority should always be to hand this off to a real medical professional, so keep that in mind. If an emergency happens make sure EMS is being called near simultaneously as first aid treatment.
>Get trained hands on, and get refreshed as best you can. You can read online all you want, but it really isn't the same thing as a hands on instructor and live training with real materials.
>Separate the contents of your medical pack into immediate life or limb saving first aid and into things which are not time sensitive. A package of spilled bullshit everywhere while you're in the heat of an emergency makes things worse.
>Following up on that, pack your aspirin and Tylenol in the non-first aid bag. It takes up valuable space in a space sensitive kit.
>Full occlusive seals (NARP Hy-fins are good) should have as much priority for packing as TQs. These seals are good anywhere on the torso and neck.
>A flashlight or headlamp is invaluable. I'm also a believer is wrapping glow in the dark tape on things; a strip of tape on a flashlight and a little cross or similar on the aid bag.
>While /k/ jerks itself off at the idea of treating a gunshot wound, the far more likely medical emergency you'll face more often is dehydration. In the non-immediate aid bag, but somewhere with you, carry extra sealed water and some packets of salt and sugar, or something like CeraSport. Seriously, I know it's a cliché innamilitary, but "drink water!" is super important and it's shocking how many people survive their lives without much water, and then go down like stones innawoods.

>>28104069
The material is pretty grippy so I imagine it wouldn't be too bad. It stuck well on my BDUs even after it was being taken off so I imagine it'd perform well under bad situations like that.

>>28104087
Not Oapie, it isn't rocket surgery. You pull it tight and twist the windlas until the bright red arterial bleeding stops or you stop feeling a distal pulse.

Its pretty hard to fuck up. In the past people were ascared of using tourniquets because if left on for too long (a couple hours or so) and you remove it without medical observation, there's a chance of toxic shock.

But if you need to use a tourniquet, chances are they need to go to the hospital anyway.

>>28103397
Motrin, socks and water should heal 99% of medical issues

>>28104483
creamed corn

>>28103397
are you going to bring some needle and thread for suture or does someone else have that covered?

>>28104588
Good idea.

Recently went to a anaesthesia conference, met a combat doctor who served Iraq/Afghanistan - told me he used to kneel in a patient's femoral /brachial pulse area to stop a bleed while still shouldering his rifle. Anyone else heard of that?

Some good advice here, mainly to get some hands on training. Start with a basic CPR class, its a good foundation to build on and will teach you what you need to know about maintaining an airway outside of advanced interventions.

That goes along with one of my favorite memory aids: "Start the breathing, stop the bleeding".
1. Make sure the scene is safe/secure
2. Treat life threats (see above quote)
3. Get all the help you can and hand off to the pros. You need all the hands you can get and anyone within ear shot can be tasked to call 911 or go find help.

BLS goes a long way and the IFAK items above are never bad to have. They are most valuable with some very basic hands on training. TQs are not rocket science like someone said, but make sure you pull the strap as tight as possible, high up on the limb above the knee or elbow. There you have only a single long bone to compress all the tissue against and hopefully the "guilty" vessel. THEN start twisting. Im not a fan of obliterating pulses but thats one way to see how much pressure it takes for a TQ to be effective (In fact dont try this at home). But what you can see, with the help of a buddy, is just how little pressure it takes to stop pulses using pressure points. All it takes is putting your finger in the right spot with a little finesse to stop a major artery and sometimes thats the stop gap you need.

Nerves, arteries, and veins usually run in pretty close proximity, so again dont go jamming fingers or TQs without a little instruction. "Do no harm" and do your best, even if its only to call 911.

>>28105104
NO! NONONONONO!

Do Fucking Not include that as even a thought. If you think stitching up woulds is part of an IFAK you're gonna get yourself/someone else killed.

Go take an actual EMT/ETT class.

>>28103397
I'd recommend stainless steel medical tweezers with different tips on each one. You should also be able to perform suiters- and the tweezers will help with that as well- especially if the wound has material in it that needs to be picked out.

>>28105616
Yeah, that's fairly common. It actually works a hell of a lot better than using your fingers for digital pressure too.

>>28105659
>You should also be able to perform suiters
You mean stitch open wounds closed?

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>>28104588
>>28105659
Umm... no.

That shit is for hospitals. Pack some gauze in there and throw a bandage on top. If its really bad tourniquet.

That's a waste of space/weight and best left to the professionals.

>>28105710
>>28105655
This, so fucking hard it hurts.

>>28105616
Heh funny we should post at the same time, yeah thats sound practice, but again know what you are aiming for... a knee to the groin sucks in the right spot, but is basically a kick in the junk if placed poorly. Its basically pressure point techniques to find and occlude arteries. But again, dont play with fire. Its not something that you can get instruction on widely, but start by being able to find your pulse on all the major areas from head to toe and those are generally areas where you can apply pressure to stop bleeding below the point.

I dont want to take this thread too off topic or spit out bad advice so Ill leave it at that, remember "do no harm".

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>>28105725
I cringe so hard when I see people advocate for having NCD needles. You can straight up kill someone if you get it wrong. I've been trained to do it and I'm not all that comfortable with it.

>>28105784
You're probably adverse to it specifically because you're trained. Dunning Kruger effect and all.

It just throws up the 'I don't know shit' flag for me. But my scope of training is only ETT so I shouldn't be talking.

Going to MEPS next week, can't wait.

I know the politics in this country can be divisive, and we don't always get along with each other, but I honestly love this country. I want to serve.

>>28105784
Yeah so much of e. med. is knowing your limits, professionally its spelled out by scope of practice. It gets a little muddled when its someone you really care about, and youve seen it done, and it seems so easy...

But dont ever carry something because thats "what you carry". 14g, Cric kit, IV kit, Rx Meds...
Dont assume risk because of lack of training or preparation. Start carrying that stuff after you get some credentials/experience and you feel negligent for not having it in your kit. Because you know your own capabilities, and that of your equipment.

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>>28105836
I'm only Lifeguard/FirstAid and CLS certified. That and I'm in an army medevac unit. I'm just a crewchief, so I leave all that crazy medical stuff to my medic on board. I'm not giving anyone a Cric or even an IV.

But I'm a dirty rotten slick sleeve (Though I've been here for 3 years) and I've never needed to test my mettle. Maybe in January when my platoon takes over the MAST mission again.

I know the IFAK is meant for the person wearing it, but realistically most people who have them are going to be using them on others if at all. So with that in mind, I wouldn't recommend putting anything in your IFAK that you're not trained to use.

>>28105970
You do more than me man, I'm a mall cop. Always regret not going mil.
>Guess I still could, I'm only 26

I agree, if you're carrying an ifak you're more likely to use it on someone not carrying their own as a civilian

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>>28106095
I'd do it. It may suck some times but its worth it. There are people who join at 30+, so age isn't an issue. Just make sure you do research and do what you want, don't let a recruiter pressure you into anything.

>>28106116
In four days I have a psychological evaluation for a correctional officer position. If that falls through I'll probably go military.

>>28106209
Good luck.

>>28106234
Thanks, I really want this job.

>>28105836
I am not a doctor or trained, but I have received stitches/sutures several times, and no one less qualified than an actual doctor (not a nurse, PA, or paramedic, a fucking MD) has ever done them. I don't know if that's because of the need for a high level of training or I just happened to get lucky and go to ER's where the doctors due bitch-work, but I think that says something about the level of skill and knowledge required to properly stitch someone.

>>28105970
>3 years
>no rank
You're either guard/reserve or you've been in a lot of trouble, considering E-1 through E-3 and O-1 through O-3 are all auto-ups that only require TiS.

>>28105970
>>28106260
Fuck, nevermind, you're talking about you combat patch. Disregard, I suck cocks.

>>28103397
A pen is always useful to have on hand, and you might want an aluminium heat blanket. They take up basically no space, and it's nice not to freeze.

>>28106260
Traditionally, sutures need to be done in a timely manner if they are to be done at all. Otherwise the wound will be cleaned and dressed and left to heal on its own (secondary intention). Throwing in some ligature is not a difficult skill in and of itself, but like anything, its the ramifications and the whole picture that require MD/PA levels of training. To do it by the book requires sterile technique, local anesthesia, and knowledge of approximating wounds based on location and the types of ligature you have on hand. Additionally there is some prep involved so that you dont seal up a "dirty" wound and consideration needs to be given to antibiotics. You dont truly need any of the above but if your not going to go all out, then you might as well clean and dress the wound and follow good procedures to monitor and change dressings. This would be an extreme case without access to a health system. But considering all that; the resources, expertise, and time constraints, just get to a hospital or urgent care. If we are talking austere environments, at the very least you need to be able to numb up the area for them to tolerate the procedure. If you cant do that you are better off using a stapler or steri strips. But bottom line, stick to the basics: TQ, pressure dressing, recheck often and evacuate to a higher level of care.

>>28106319
Not a bad idea, people will go into hypothermia in the Iraq heat because of blood loss.

>>28106340
Sorry, holy paragraph...

>>28103397
Probably too wacky for /k/, but me and some buddies were about 3 days out backpacking, and due to cold and lack of sleep, he lopped off a knuckle with some bone while chopping firewood. Luckily we had some heavy emergency meds squirreled away from various surgeries (Norcos,Vicoden) to get him sleep and stay comfy while we hiked out. I think at one point someone gave him some street heroin to smoke and it worked in a pinch. But a well stocked medicine chest is a godsend when some bad shit goes down.