Issue link: https://imageup.uberflip.com/i/1005983
FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | AUGUST 2018 23 Emergency Preparedness Committee I attended "STOP THE BLEED" training in April. Stopping bleeding saves lives. The tragic Las Vegas shooting prompted this FEMA training. Emergency personnel did not reach the victims for two hours; a person can bleed to death from an untreated arterial wound in three minutes. Bleeding can be stopped by direct pressue, packing the wound or with a tourniquet. Direct pressure is properly applied using two hands. You must keep your hands straight and keep your body weight directly over the wound. If this does not work you must pack the wound with gauze or a hemastatic dressing. The dressing must reach the bottom of the wound. If these techniques fail you must apply a tourniquet. Tourniquets must be placed above an arm wound towards the armpit or groin if on the leg. All of these techniques are painful. If a tourniquet becomes necessary it must remain in place until it is removed by an emergency room physician. Stop the bleed kits: These kits should be placed next to the AEDs. You can get these kits from Amazon. The shelf life of the kits are five years if they are stored inside. They may be used indefinitely if the gauze is untreated. The kits contain gauze that is treated with a substance called quick clots. The gloves in the kit will usually go bad before the gauze. Hospital grade gauze has a rating, but over the counter gauze has no standards. The treated gauze is also known as treated hemostatic gauze. The three most popular packings are combat gauze, a clotting sponge or Celox. If no commercial packing is available use what you have, whether it be towels, gauze, shirts or socks. Pack them deep into the wound. Four principles: 1. Ensure your safety. 2. Identify the injury. 3. Wear gloves. 4. Stop the bleeding. The rallying cry of this program is "Life over Limb." You stop the bleeding at any cost to save a life. This means even if the application of a tourniquet results in the loss of limb you still would be alive. Remember also to keep the body warm, not cold. Warm bodies clot better. Next meeting: Tuesday, July 17 at 10 am in the RCN Conference Room. ~ Michael A. Mendoza