QuikClot

[ak70g2]

Someone have some experience with this products? Is worth to be included in a outdoor first aid kit?

[kman]

I've read good things about the QuickClot products. But I don't have any experience with them personally.

[ak70g2]

I heard good things too, but I want some advices from someone like a paramedic or first responder. And I know we have this kind of men, KMan, you're collectind all sorts of freaks, isn't?

[jfko6]

I too have heard favorable things about the product.

Either way you'll still need training in it.

If you have a local Red Cross/Red Crescent nearby I would seek training through them.

[BigMark]

http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.p ... Post127903

That's a whole thread about it, some good points.

[housil]

I heard good things too, but I want some advices from someone like a paramedic or first responder. And I know we have this kind of men, KMan, you're collectind all sorts of freaks, isn't?

We, the professional (civilian) EMS, don´t use it.

It will be good under war/combat circumstances to prevent somebody from bleeding to death. But thats all.
Quickclot is generating heat and may cause (seriously) burnings.

A seriously bleeding will need surgical intervetion e.g. ruptured blood vessels need to anastomose for recirculation etc.
Quickclot may stop the bleeding, but will disturb necessary the circulation.
You may loos the limb at worst case!

Just use regular dressings. Every bleeding will stop py pressing on it!
I doesn´t want to post pictures here from work (e.g. 4th° open fracture of the femur), but you would be "surprised" about how less it will bleed!

Get trained in first aid + CPR (!) Join your (volunteer) EMS. Thats will help you (and others) most.



Read this:

"... The safety problem in the way of QuikClot's wider use arises because of the large amount of heat the material releases when it absorbs water, sometimes enough to cause second-degree burns. In the face of a life-threatening injury, this may be a price worth paying. "The general feeling around the department is that if I get shot, I don't care if it burns," Johnson says. Despite this, the navy and marines advise soldiers to apply QuikClot only after all other methods have failed, and it is not standard issue for the US army's troops...."

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg1 ... ounds.html

[MCIera]

To add to Housil's more detailed and professional response, the simple answer would be No

You should never have anything in a first aid kit that you are not trained to use proficiently. That seems to be the first rule of thumb for first aid kits, whether they be in a home, emergency vehicle, or an EMS/Paramedic kit.

Someone have some experience with this products? Is worth to be included in a outdoor first aid kit?

[Baldy]

All I know about QuikClot is that it's a pretty extreme measure that's inappropriate for 99% of peacetime injuries. I have this horrifying vision of an over-zealous boy scout or paintballer pouring it on their buddy who's cut their finger on a tin can.

Housil, are you willing to offer a professional opinion about HemCon bandages, which are often suggested as an alternative to QuikClot? http://www.hemcon.com

And now's as good a time as any to thank Housil and his fellow EMS/paramedics, who work long hours under difficult circumstances to protect us.

[ak70g2]

Thank you very much, guys. In my military youth ( ) I was trained as sniper and sapper/demo man. So, I had a little training in EMT, but I can put a bandage . I wanted to have a proffesional opinion before I wasted my money.

[jfko6]

What was once touted as a miracle product is no longer the case as this ArmyTimes article
mentions the serious side effects of these types of wound coagulating products.

WoundStat found to be potentially hazardous
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/04/a ... t_042009w/
By Gina Cavallaro - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Apr 22, 2009 5:44:42 EDT

The Army has permanently suspended the use of WoundStat, a new product it had begun sending to war zones to help stop bleeding in wounds where bandages or tourniquets could not be applied.

Safety and clotting effectiveness studies conducted by the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research determined that WoundStat’s clotting granules, which are poured directly into a wound, could injure the lining and wall of a blood vessel and potentially lead to surgical replacement of the vessel, according to an April 17 All Army Activity message.

The granules could also cause damage if they travel to other parts of the body, as occurred in two test animals that were found to have the granules in their lungs, the message said.

The studies also revealed that WoundStat was “no more effective than plain gauze for treating coagulopathic bleeding.”

The risk of using WoundStat was found to outweigh any benefit as a backup hemostatic agent to Combat Gauze, which is being used by medics now and will continue to be the preferred blood clotting bandage.

The message instructed commanders to replace the two WoundStat packages issued to combat medics with Combat Gauze in addition to the three Combat Gauze packages medics now receive.

Units were instructed to continue turning in the WoundStat to their medical supply support activity whose responsibility it is to ensure 100 percent return of the product.

Guidance for disposition of WoundStat products currently in stock will be issued by the Army surgeon general at a future date.

More than 17,000 packages of WoundStat purchased in October were being distributed as a replacement for QuikClot, which sometimes caused second degree burns around the wound.

Medical professionals in the combat zones were told in December to stop using WoundStat until the testing could be done.

The product had been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.