So, I have no experience in wound treatments or medical care other than bandaids and triple antibiotic ointments....

However, I do make sure I have a first aid kit with me for minor things.

I was wondering if anyone here had any experience with Celox? (It's a blood-clotting cloth/powder that apparently can help with bleeding until first responders can arrive)..

Is this a good product to have in your car emergency first aid kit?

Also, I saw some good books on first-aid in this post, so I will be checking those out as well.

Once again, thanks to everyone here who contributes to these discussions, I am picking up a lot of great info!

Don't get Celox, especially in powdered or granulated form, until you've been trained in its use. Find a class in basic first aid, another class for CPR, and then take a class on treating trauma, such as a "Trauma for CCW Operators" class.

Having been through quite a bit of training for a non-practitioner, I do carry Combat Gauze, and my primary trauma kit has Celox-A.

Quality training, and even practical experience, is far more significant than any gadget carried in the kit. Knowing how to effectively improvise is one of the important skills.

I would agree with others - direct pressure has always worked, including one in which we had to deal with an amputated arm.

Agreed, wholeheartedly. Get trained. Then get trained again and again.

I'm just an amateur here - but try to stay up with what's happening because I might really need to use it overseas (at least on myself).

1. Get the best training you can. In the USA - this is unlikely to be a standard wilderness med course. They just don't teach enough stuff. You can enroll in the tactical med courses, which are often taught because US military people are going overseas. That's a lot better. Keep in mind that you cannot go out and do that stuff on US citizens within our own borders ... but you can do it on yourself. Otherwise, go to some country like Israel and take training there.

2. The subject of what to do about open wounds seems to keep going thru cycles. Yep, for a long time the advice was to avoid strong iodine and just use soapy water. That's probably OK if the contaminating environment is somewhat user-friendly. Probably not OK of you are in a very unhygienic situation. Your idea of dilute iodine is interesting. I often put Neosporin on minor cuts and scrapes. I knew a nurse who insisted that Neosporin was too aggressive and that silver medications were the best - but they cost a fortune. I've never had a problem with Neosporin.

3. Do not throw away tourniquets and pressure points. There are definitely ways that you can have blood vessels penetrated and "direct pressure" wont' work. It's uncommon - but could happen. I think it's best to keep all options open.

4. The military has made some major advances in stopping blood flow. Look into the products QuickClot and Celox. This stuff is amazing! QuickClot will develop heat - so be careful applying a lot of it. Celox is based on organics made from shrimp - so might be a problem for people with seafood allergies. But these new inventions can be true lifesavers in a case where you have critical arterial bleeding. I will be adding some syringes filled with Celox to my personal med kit this month (but that's because I am travelling out of the US).

good luck.
and I am interested in what everyone has to offer.

Pete2

I was taught to use it for a life-threatening bleed that isn't on an extremity, such as a gunshot wound to the torso, if wound packing and direct pressure doesn't work.

The granular forms are phased out (if not entirely, then mostly). The military SOLELY uses combat gauze at this time.

Has everything to do with embolisms and little to do with heat.

makes sense. after thinking about it - the gauze is the most practical and least risky application.

Pete2

I don't know if this has been covered but....25 years in the field as a paramedic (NYC and Florida). I have never used or seen a torniquet used. Personal opinion.....not needed. Direct pressure (pressure dressing-ie. ace bandage) has been enough for everything I encountered including traumatic amputations. Never needed more.....that includes arterial bleeds. Doesn't mean I forget it....I've just never needed them. FWIW.

You probably don't also have transport times measured in hours, with relatively limited supplies (ie, your jump bag). And I bet you rarely have multiple traumatic patients while under fire.

I agree that I've never used them (started in EMS in '96), but they do have a role.

The big reason they're being re-consider is that their main use is in battlefields. There's not the resources or time to apply pressure for 10 minutes to every traumatic injury. A TQ works and frees up the medic to move on to the next casualty.