For the CO to be prepared to survive in the battlefield we call everyday life, he must be ready to administer life saving first aid quickly and at any time, either to himself or others.
To meet that need, the CO needs to have one or more “Blowout” Kits prepared. Simply put, a “Blowout” kit is a bare bones trauma pack. It primarily addresses the “B” of the “A-B-C’s” of Trauma First Aid: Airway, BLEEDING and Circulation.
One of the first fundamentals of “life saving” is to STOP or SLOW Bleeding. The first and best choice(s) are applying pressure or applying a tourniquet (especially if it is an arterial bleed). If this does not work or the wound is in a awkward location or position (pelvis, groin, armpit, neck etc.) the only other option for the CO is to apply a coagulant agent such as Quick-Clot or Celox. A word about each of these “formulations”. If you browse through Amazon, you will find that Quick-Clot can be bought in 2 forms: Granule and Sponge. The granule form is simply the kind you pour directly in the wound while the sponge form is a clotting sponge impregnated with the solution and an X-Ray strip you stuff directly in the wound. Keep in mind however, that medical attention needs to be sought ASAP after applying QC as the clot and damage will have to be repaired poste haste by medical pro’s. Celox is a granule forumlation only and is made of chitosan, a natural polysaccharide (polymer made of sugars) and has been shown to be broken down to basic sugars (glucosamine & n-acetyl glucosamine) by lysozyme, one of the body’s normal enzymes. Celox™ (unlike QC) does NOT use non degrading procoagulant minerals or nano particles such as kaolin, smectite or zeolite, which will remain in the body indefinitely unless completely removed.
For the CO to be adequately prepared for medical emergencies, it is not enough just to have the knowledge, you must also have the forward thinking to STAGE the Blowout kit(s) in the MOST LIKELY places you might need them, BEFORE you need them!
Some examples are:
GO-Bag
Range Bag or Training Bag
Vehicle(s) (or VBOB)
Work
Hunting Bag
Deer Stand/Duck Blind
Above are pictures of a homemade PTK Blowout kit I put together that will fit in a cargo pants pocket easily. Total investment $30.
OK, so now we have our Blowout kit built and adequately deployed, now what? Well, the only thing remaining is to actually get some REALISTIC MEDICAL TRAUMA TRAINING.
For the CO to be adequately prepared for REAL-WORLD, REALISTIC scenarios (gunshot and knife wounds, traumatic injuries from a car crash, etc.) You cant expect to be prepared by Reading the Survivalist Boards (forums) or watching that series of You-Tube Vids by some so called “medical expert”. Even that $20 First Aid class at your local YMCA just will not cut it. As in buying quality trash bags, this is one item in your toolbox it PAYS not to skimp on!
For those of you in Texas, check out Caleb Causey and his team of pro’s at Lone Star Medics. Caleb and his team bring over a century of experience to the table dealing with real-world medical emergencies in the field. They are a great bunch of guys and the real deal.
For stocking up on quality med supplies and trauma gear, check out Chinook Medical Gear. If you want to build a complete GO-BAG or MED-KIT on the cheap (Plus find some other really cool stuff) check out County-Comm.
