Medical Kits And Training

In this comment, Steve White asks about my trauma kit. Along with a couple of comments over at Instapundit where Sarah A. Hoyt kindly linked me, it reminded me that I haven’t talked much about medical kits and training, or at least not in a long while. It’s important, so let’s take a look at the topic.

We’ll start with the basic trauma kit I carry. It actually is the current version of the medical kit that I wore on my embeds in Iraq. Everyone carried a pouch with clotting pressure bandages, tourniquets, and other delights so that if you were hit the medics could pull from your pouch and not waste time rummaging through other bags, etc. A lot of the troops carried the pouch in the same place on their webbing, to make things faster and easier at need.

Inside my current pouch are a couple of clotting pressure bandages, some standard clotting bandages, kerlix, gloves, a tourniquet (I need to get a couple more to replace one lost to time, when you need them you often need more than one), epi-pen (allergies including to some of the clotting products), some hemostats, paramedic shears, and a CPR mask round out the major items. I also usually have a specific antihistamine in case of allergic reaction short of needing the epi pen.

Frankly, looking at dates, I need to start buying some new items to replace those headed out of date. Nice thing is, clotting bandages have come a long way. I’m glad a lot of them are now based on things other than shellfish shells, as I’m highly allergic to the shellfish. As I noted to a medic at the time, anaphylaxis is negotiable, bleeding out is not. Use the bandage, get the antihistamine into me, and hope for the best. There are a lot more options out there now, and also prices have come down.

Keep in mind that you do need one or two pressure bandages. The cause of major trauma doesn’t matter, what matters is you or others have taken major damage and getting bleeding under control is essential. You really need to be focused on that before almost anything else. Use tourniquets as needed, and pressure bandages along with clotting agents can keep things under control until proper medical care is available.

This kit is a decent sized pouch, but it is not so big that it is unwieldy to carry. You want something you can carry easily, and in fact it is not a bad idea to have a much smaller kit that can slip in a pocket or such as well as something larger like this. Having an even larger trauma kit at your Church, social hall, or home is also not a bad idea. Keep in mind that many places already have what I call an “ouch” kit, that is a basic everyday first aid kit with bandages, ointment, etc. Those are needed as well, as life is full of ouches.

You really need training for both. There are a lot of opportunities for training for cheap or free. Some places do Red Cross or other training at no- or low-cost, and that is a good way to start. The last time I took such, however, I was disappointed to see that the basic class was more on not-doing than doing, which seemed to be a reflection of both liability issues and ‘waiting for the experts to arrive.’

Fact is, experts are going to take minutes (or hours if they even show up at all) and in the event of trauma you have seconds in which to act. When I was in the Boy Scouts an eon or two back (and my thoughts on current Boy Scouts are best left unsaid), our training was focused around the fact that we may be the experts. This reflected the reality that Scouts were, at the time, intended to augment law enforcement and governments on several fronts, including emergency medical back in the days before paramedics. It also reflected that Scouts were often out in the back-of-beyond in the days before cell phones and the like, and it could be days before someone could be packed out to a place where ‘professional’ help could be contacted.

Side note: the late, great Jerry Pournelle wrote a series of short stories about Scouts (and especially Eagle Scouts) stepping up and doing things post disaster and post-apocalypse. Well worth the read as they are fun and full of practical advice and even planning advice.

So, short version is to get as much training as you can. Not saying everyone should do some version of combat lifesaver, but the closer you get to that the better off you and yours will be. You need to know how to handle the ouches in life for a start. From there, you need to know how to apply a tourniquet, control bleeding (one reason I have a couple of hemostats is that if needed I can use them on an artery or vein as opposed to trying to clamp such with my fingers), clear an airway, etc.

Again, back in the day most of us in my Boy Scout troop knew the theoretical process for performing an emergency tracheotomy with a knife and ball point pen. We also knew how to splint broken bones, reduce and control a compound fracture (where the bone has broken the skin), and a host of other things that would have our current credentialed non-elites screaming in horror and the liability lawyers salivating. My personal opinion is that you need to get as close to that today as you can. There are too many situations where the professionals are either going to be late, or not able to get there at all. That’s when it drops on you. Be prepared.

I will note that it is good to know CPR, and to understand that it is an emergency procedure rather than a medical procedure. I’m a little biased here as I actually got to work with the late Les (Leslie A.) Geddes, who helped revolutionize several parts of the (bio) medical field. In fact, I worked with him on a project to improve CPR. For years, no one had done research on the process, including how much force was needed to achieve the compression called for in the CPR standards. In the field, it was oft said that if the ribs weren’t cracking, you weren’t doing it hard enough. Broken ribs were and are a standard injury with CPR. Also, the success rate with CPR is so low that were it a medical procedure it would have been tossed long ago.

Les did that missing research, and built off the idea a former graduate student had of a system of CPR that used abdominal-only compressions. Much improved blood flow, no broken ribs, much less force needed, and it even caused the patient to breathe on their own without the need for mouth-to-mouth. Sadly, the person who took over the effort when Les passed then tragically passed themselves before much else was done. No idea where the process is, or if it is still even in development. It should be, but that is no guarantee. For me, if we have a rotary impeller moment I would use it even though it is at best experimental. Yes, I was trained on it and even performed it on Les in a demonstration (one of the scariest moments of my life TBH).

All that said, learn CPR as some chance is better than none. If you can, try to lay your hands on an AED unit. There are some organizations that give them out to Churches, schools, etc. for free. A much better alternative if you can get it.

One thing that you also need to keep in mind is liability. Not all states are equal, and I’ve been fortunate enough to mostly live in states that had some form of Good Samaritan law. These are laws that give you at least some protection from lawsuits for rendering first aid. These vary and rarely are true blanket laws. Learn what applies in your state and factor that into your planning. For some people out there have and will sue the person who saves their life. Read just recently about someone who sued the person who gave them CPR because their certificate was out of date. Again (and again) be prepared.

Now, sing it with me: get as much training as you can — even on things you don’t think you will ever need. It could be from how to suture a wound to inserting a urinary catheter. Knowing how to do basic medical care as well as emergency medical treatment is likely to come in handy in life. Find free courses and take them all. Find reduced-rate courses and take as many as you can. Training, and some basic gear, will always pay off.

Be prepared. Keep your family and friends close. Keep your things where you can find them in the dark.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. If you want to know some of what it is going for, read here. There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.