I have read alot lately about powders that claim to "stop bleeding instantly." Some even being so bold as to claim "it can control high-volume venous and arterial bleeding" such as a gun shot wound. If so this may very well replace serval items in my kit... or at least augment them.

Has anyone had any experience with this? Is this a viable tool for a 1st aid kit? Beachdoc? Medics?

They also claim it is being issued to soldiers... I haven't recieved any yet. <img src="images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

http://www.z-medica.com/

I think its a great idea if it really works.

It could change the effectivness of 1st line medical care forever if this is the case.

Mike

I have never heard of this product and, after reviewing the informatio presented on their website, am not impressed with the utility of the product. There is a surgical truism that no bleeding cannot be stopped with direct pressure. The advantage that a surgeon has is the ability to access internal organs.

That said, you and I cannot apply this powder to a ruptured spleen, we're not surgeons in the OR. If you can access a bleeding wound to apply the powder, you should be able to control the bleeding by other, simpler, means.

I suspect it is quite expensive, requires temperature and humidity conditions be met for stability, has an expiration date, and is potentially allergenic.

Granted, we are all kind of gadget freaks, but why spend your money on it?

As a Vet is ee no great adavntage over this product, except MAYBE for public to use on pets say at a car accident where dog has been ran over BUT ONLY if it does what it says on the website!!!

Mark

I can se uses for this under battle like conditions where a soldier is down with no medic in sight. After a minute or 2 of arterial bleeding he can't provide that pressure to stop it.

The Doc is right tho, would be kinda useless for internal bleeders. It does sound ideal for amputation like trauma tho.

Mike

Initial bleeding often serves to flush foriegn objects introduced by the initial trauma. People see blood and want to apply hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, betadine or any number of petroleum based salves in gross amounts ( more is better.) Then the poor professional has to deal with the mess, inflicting further pain and trauma to the wound site just to see whats going on. On non lfe threatening wounds I let it flow briefly, apply pressure when appropriate until coagulation and then loosely bandage.This stuff is like an old cutters snakebite kit. I see well meaning people overwhelming paper cuts while unobserved internal injuries or even shock go unnoticed.

Our first-aid society at school bought 2 small cans of a simlar aresol spray claiming to stop bleeding. after somebody a pupil stuck his arm through a window, he cut himself fairly badly, but it was easily controlled. i then sprayed his arm with the powder to see if it was effective. it was not. it just sort of made a barrior through which the blood seeped through sfter s few seconds.

If new products have come out (we bought this stuff about a year ago), it may work better. but for now, I think direct pressure and elevation do a much better job. still, i dont think that future products should be written off - a simply spray on an arm full of glass might be better than direct pressure...