To guide, inspire and prepare Wyomingites and their fellow Americans to act against existential threats to their liberties and to Western Civilization from radical revolutionaries and Emperors who have no clothes.
Emerging Threats
Preparedness
Survival Basics – Part 11: First Aid
"Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it" - Lou Holtz
Bleeding
Whether during the initial incident or the journey to safety, there are numerous abrasive or pointed ways to end up losing blood. The average adult has five – six liters of blood in their body. If we lose one – two liters there is a good chance we will end up in shock (covered in another article). If we lose more than two liters we are in serious trouble. To put those amounts into perspective, when we donate blood they take half a liter which the body can handle without issue.
Irrespective of how we acquired the wound the first thing we need to do is stop the bleeding.
Most bleeding can be stopped by a combination of direct pressure and elevation. Wear surgical gloves where possible to minimize the risk of infection. We can apply pressure directly onto the wound site using a gauze pad from our medical kit. If the gauze (or other material) get saturated, do not pull it off. Add another piece on top and continue to apply pressure. If the blood loss is more than can be stopped using simple pressure, we can use our hemostatic bandage (Quik clot).
Once we have the bleeding stopped we need to irrigate the wound to flush out and dirt, debris and germs from the site. Use the alcohol wipes to clean around the wound but not the wound itself as they can damage good tissue. Once the wound is clean we can place a clean gauze on it and wrap securely to hold it in place.
If the bleeding is heavy, we may need to use our Israeli bandage to provide pressure to the wound or our tourniquet. These should only be applied if necessary.
Considerations for tourniquet use:
- We need to apply the tourniquet as close to the wound as possible.
- It should be a minimum of an inch wide to reduce tissue damage.
- Pad the underside if using an improvised one.
- Remove once bleeding has stopped – do not leave it on.
- Release the pressure slowly every twenty minutes, if bleeding resumes, reapply.
- Do not cover the tourniquet as they can easily be forgotten
Check the wound periodically. It is normal to see swelling, warmth, redness and puss. If the symptoms become more extreme, then reopen the wound and clean thoroughly with the warmest water tolerable. Any infection will likely show itself within twenty four to forty eight hours.
Anytime we treat a wound, cleanliness is a concern, Keeping the wound clean will help prevent infection adding further complications to a deteriorating situation. While improvised medical equipment works, a properly stocked medical kit is the better option.
"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." - Roman philosopher Seneca