FEMA and other groups are pushing for more public access to and training with tourniquets because recent studies show that trained civilians can increase the chance of surviving a major trauma a huge 600%. Austere medicine instructors put together this free one-page class on how to use a tourniquet. I learned a lot from it — feels like the kind of thing that's worth the 15-minute investment. It covers what you'd learn in a local course and busts many of the myths. For example, it is no longer the case that TQs are a last resort, and they very rarely result in amputation or nerve damage.
That is a great article. I will have my sons read it. We were practicing with the tourniquet last week and they had many questions that were addressed in the article.
That's so cool to hear, thanks! Mind sharing what they were asking about? Wondering what parts are resonating etc.
One son specifically asked about if he was snake bit. They both hike a lot and have run into rattlers. I was also talking to them about rope is a no-no. I told them if they make-sift a tourniquet it has to be wide, no wire. We all have tourniquets and I believe in practice so there is one in the living room that someone can pick up and learn how to put on quickly.
Cat is best. Combat Application Tourniquet (C-A-T) Combat Medics now carry 2 inside each leg of their pants. Saw a demo and the deal is the CATs are open and hanging down inside the pant legs. Takes only seconds to grab and deploy.
CAT is the supplier for the local FD/EMS, They do a combo corse of CPR/ADS/LUCAS/Tourniquet, three nights for 3 hours.
Wouldn't it be prudent to have more than one means of making a tourniquet ? I have been in situations that emergency personnel ran out of supplies , so what do you do , another person needs a tourniquet and all you can say is I'm sorry , I can't use a substitute for this life saving tool , your just out of luck .
Yeesh. Tourniquets, how and when to use them, was taught in the Boy Scout program a long time ago. Well before the program became wussified.
What I remember of snake bite kits was that you specifically are NOT trying to cut off BLOOD flow; you are only trying to restrict LYMPH, just under the skin. Apparently the idea is so poorly understood that these guys are recommending against using it at all, because it's always done wrong The Treatment of Snake Bites in a First Aid Setting: A Systematic Review
The theory against using a tourniquet on a snakebite is because they (the alleged experts) thing you should let the venom flow and it will dilute in your body. That is what I have heard and read.