Wound Care Part 1
Last week was our last live show on The Survival Circle Radio Network. It was a great 3 and a half years. But times change and the 4 to 8 hours a week we spent on prep can be better spent on videos and more live instruction. Stay tuned! The Medic Shack isn’t going any where. We have some great things planned for our email news letter. It is odd tho, writing the newsletter and not having the show to fill it in.
This week I am going to dive in to our new world and open up with wound treatment. It doesn’t matter what type of wound, the basics are the same.
- Stop the bleeding. If you leave out this step the following are redundant
- Assess the wound. How deep, how are long, how wide. Is anything major missing? Is there an exit or more than one entrance and exit?
- Clean the wound. This should be the longest part of wound treatment. If it isnt cleaned properly then the following is not really needed.
- Close the wound. Here choose the method of closing. Steri Strips Glue, Suture or staples. Or a simple bandaid.
- Dress the wound. Whether it’s a simple bandaid to a wet to dry drainage dressing to a pressure dressing. Are you going to do antibiotic salves or leave it dry?
- Manage the wound. This is where we deviate from the “Tactical ” medicine to a sustainable medicine mind set. In the tactical enviroment one dresses the wound and over to the next. In a long term situation you have to manage the healing of then patient. Schedule dressing changes, debriedment (Trimming excess or dead tissue) therapy to prevent scar tissue from making it difficult to move after it heals.
Seems like a lot to deal with over a cut. Yes? It should be. A life is at stake here.
Stopping the bleeding. Do what you need to do. Pressure Points Elevation, Direct Pressure, Clot activators. Tourniquet. This must be done first.
Types of Bleeding.
Arterial Venous and Capillary
Direct Pressure
Applying direct pressure means placing a dressing over the wound and pressing on it, hard. Direct pressure hurts and a conscious victim will complain (yell) when pressure is applied to a serious wound. Direct pressure is the best way to stop bleeding,
Elevation
To elevate a wound means to raise it above the level of the heart. By elevating a wound, gravity helps to stop the blood flow. If possible, have the victim lay down and raise the wound as high as possible. If the wound is in the victim’s torso or abdomen, try to have the victim roll on his side or place padding beneath the victim.
Pressure Points
Pressure points are places within the body where an artery passes close to a bone. In those places, applied pressure can pinch off the artery and stop the blood flow to a limb. Each arm and leg has one main artery that supplies most of the blood to that limb.
The arm’s pressure points are located halfway along the upper arm, on the inside. Press between the bicep (the top muscle) and the tricep (the bottom muscle) until you can feel the bone. The artery is there (the pulse can be felt there, too). Push hard to stop the blood flow.
The leg’s pressure points are located in the hips. They are in the bowl of the hip on either side of the groin, where the leg joins the torso. Press hard on that point with the heel of the hand to stop the blood flow.
As this image shows there are multiple pressure points that are very easy to access
Clot Accelerators.
These are products that accelerate clot formation by either mechanical means or by activating certain factors of the clotting cascade. Quick Clot ™ is the standard that all are measured by. The active ingredient of Quick Clot is Kaolin clay. It contains a polymer to keep the dust down. You can make your owner preppers quick clot by taking Kaolin and adding water to it to make a thin pancake batter. Line a cookie sheet with foil and pour the batter on it. Bake at 300 degrees til completely dry and a cracked appearance shows. While this is done sterilize some vacuum seal bags. Any method works. I am partial to using boil proof vacuum bags. I boil them for 10 minutes and let them dry completely. Put about 2 tablespoons in each bag and seal. This is NOT 100% sterile. But I have never been able to grow a culture from any of mine.
Pressure Dressing.
A pressure dressing is a bandage that when applied, applies pressure to the wound to control the bleeding. It can range from the old GI battle dressing to an ACE Bandage and a Maxipad. The Israeli and the H are the modern incarnation of that.
H Bandage Israeli Battle Dressing
The Tourniquet.
The Tourniquet is the gold standard of stopping the bleeding. It has changed over the years but the basics are the same. There are multiple types from making your own to the top of the line SOF-T Tourniquet
SOF-T Tourniquet CAT Tourniquet
RAT Tourniquet TK4 Tourniquet
Historically the Tourniquet has had a bad reputation. From the 80s where it was put on and released every 30 minutes to the teachings of life or limb. Today the thought is moving to If you THINK you need it USE it. It can ALWAYS be removed. But don’t get the habit of putting one on for every cut. If Direct pressure and pressure dressings are not working then do it.
This is part one of a 4 part series that will be the basics for a You Tube Video. Wound care is a serious subject and the details are often left out and that can end badly for your victum.
Current Training Schedule
These are the classes for The Medic Shack. For local central NM classes they will be held at Lovelace Medical Center. (LMC)
601 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave NE Albuquerque, NM 87102
July 8th-10th Personal Defense Handgun II and III (TMS is just helping sponsor. I’m taking the class also!!) Sign up here!!! http://www.southwestshootingauthority.com/#!pdh-iii—nm/cqd2
Herbal First Aid Course July 23rd and 24th Albuquerque NM
Early Bird Special! Type in EARLYBIRD in the coupon code area for a 20% discount!
https://themedicshack.net/herbal-first-aid-course/
Wilderness/Disaster Medic Class.
August 12th to Monday August 15 At the Eagles Lodge in Bethany Missouri
https://themedicshack.net/wilderness-medic-bethany-mo/
2 more weeks and then the drawing for the Tactical Hot pack.
And get entered into the drawing!
Also remember If anyone one would like to get 5 of their friends together for a class then yours is free!
********* DISCLAIMER **********
Use of the information on this newletter is AT YOUR OWN RISK, intended solely for self-help, in times of emergency, when medical help is not available, or expected to BE available The information on this site is meant to be used only during times when improvisational, last-ditch efforts are all that is possible. The hosts of The Medic Shack assume that if you are using this information that TSHTF and no help other than what YOU have is forth coming. DO NOT USE THIS INFORMATION WHEN YOU CAN GET MORE TRADITIONAL OR PROFESSIONAL CARE.
