First Aid Kit Readiness

[NugginFutz]

Today, while I was at the shooting range, I witnessed the following:

Dad, with his three boys, ranging from between 10 and 14 years of age, two tables over.

Dad: "Boys, you see this hand gun on the table?"

Boys: (In unison) "Yes."

Dad: "It is a semi-automatic pistol with a slide. You have to be very careful to keep your hands below the slide, or it can hurt you. Do you understand?"

Boys: (Again, in unison) "Yes."

Dad now picks up the pistol, points it downrange. "Let me show you how to hold it properly to avoid >BANG< ... SONOFA ... "

At this point, Dad lays down the hand gun which has just had a misfeed. This was due to the slide not traveling fully to the rear, having been prevented by the fleshy part of dad's right hand, just between the thumb and forefinger. Dad now looks puzzled at the copious amounts of blood oozing from the 1" long, 1/4" deep gash (revealing fatty tissue). (Apparently this was a new pistol, which still had all the nice sharp edges on the slide.)

The nearest first aid kit is in my vehicle, 50 feet away. (The range's first aid kit is 150 yards away in the office.) I calmly walked dad over to my vehicle, where I retrieved my first aid kit. It was then that I realized virtually every roll of adhesive tape had dried hard, and all of the bandages, wrappings and various supplies were from the previous millennia. Fortunately, I was able to successfully sterilize the wound with beta-dine, followed by some antibiotic ointment, steri-strips and a sterile gauze pad, secured with some rather stiff medical tape. After a short discussion, Dad agreed that some stitches were in his future and terminated the family range visit.

Now that I have returned home, I've ordered a completely new first aid kit to go with the trauma kit which I keep in my range bag. Some of the items, it turns out, have been in that first aid kit since the early 80's (emergency scalpels, smelling salts, burn wraps, and the like). Some of these items don't generally expire, but it doesn't hurt to have a modern kit from the present century, just the same.

I'm feeling lucky in that I didn't need anything more substantial than a couple of gauze pads, today, and I don't intend to be caught with a kit in such sad shape again.

[Sticks]

I have a first aid kit, and a "Boo Boo" kit.

The first aid is more of an expanded IFAK/trauma (dubbed the "You're F***ed" kit), and the "Boo Boo" kit is band-aids, tape, and gauze pads. Have one of each in my range bags, plate carrier, and vehicle. Range bag being the more critical since it is always right there.

[Crusty]

I put together and keep a good blow out bag in my pickup after an incident at my local range. A despicable POS gave his girlfriend a .500 S&W Magnum to shoot in a tactical bay since she'd never fired a gun before and he thought it would be funny. She shot the first round, the muzzle blew back and she unintentionally pulled off another one through her shoulder, blowing out a huge hole.

There happened to be an ex Spec Ops guy at the range who kept a blow out bag in his car, he ran and got it and saved her life with it. The EMT's wouldn't even have gotten there before she was gone.

[lrgrendel]

Excellent post.

Trauma kit is on the way!

[Crusty]

I'd say get both - they each have their purpose and tending general first aid with one kit will keep the trauma kit pristine and ready to go when it's the only thing that will do.

[lrgrendel]

May be obvious but anytime I’m letting a novice fire from either a semi auto hand gun or semi auto rifle for the first time, ONLY put one round in the magazine.

After that first round is down range, well even if they panic or drop it, it has just become a club.
Evaluate how they coped and continue....

[biodsl]

I put together and keep a good blow out bag in my pickup after an incident at my local range. A despicable POS gave his girlfriend a .500 S&W Magnum to shoot in a tactical bay since she'd never fired a gun before and he thought it would be funny. She shot the first round, the muzzle blew back and she unintentionally pulled off another one through her shoulder, blowing out a huge hole.

There happened to be an ex Spec Ops guy at the range who kept a blow out bag in his car, he ran and got it and saved her life with it. The EMT's wouldn't even have gotten there before she was gone.

I hope she sued him for everything he was worth.

Great thread. Thanks for the reminder for me to get my stuff together. More importantly; is there a good source of training for civilians specifically for gunshots/combat wounds? I live in the PNW. Anything in this region?

[Crusty]

Even putting a heavy magnum in the hands of someone who's never fired a weapon before is criminal negligence to me.

That whole incident still makes my blood boil. The part I didn't mention is that the group of people she was with all stood around recording video with their iPhones as she lay there bleeding out. If I'd been there I'd have gone to jail for assault and battery on those soulless ghouls.

The guy that saved her life just got in his car and left after the ambulance did and I don't think it's known who he is.

[stanc]

I hope she sued him for everything he was worth.

To be fair, how could he have reasonably foreseen such an event? Shoot, when I read Crusty's initial post, my immediate reaction was to dismiss the story as total BS, because it didn't seem plausible that the woman could've inadvertently pulled through a double-action trigger while pointing the revolver at herself. I still can't conceive how it can happen, even after watching videos of unintentional "double taps" with .500 S&W revolvers.

[video=youtube;C4OE78spknk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4OE78spknk[/video]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4OE78spknk

Great thread. Thanks for the reminder for me to get my stuff together. More importantly; is there a good source of training for civilians specifically for gunshots/combat wounds?

Fortunately -- or unfortunately, depending upon how you look at it -- it's highly unlikely that I'll ever need to be concerned about such matters...

[NugginFutz]

To be fair, how could he have reasonably foreseen such an event? Shoot, when I read Crusty's initial post, my immediate reaction was to dismiss the story as total BS, because it didn't seem plausible that the woman could've inadvertently pulled through a double-action trigger while pointing the revolver at herself. I still can't conceive how it can happen, even after watching videos of unintentional "double taps" with .500 S&W revolvers.

[video=youtube;C4OE78spknk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4OE78spknk[/video]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4OE78spknk


Fortunately -- or unfortunately, depending upon how you look at it -- it's highly unlikely that I'll ever need to be concerned about such matters...

Truly sad, however unlikely. Last year, I read where an unfortunate woman fatally shot herself in the head due to such an incident. Crusty's subject was lucky enough to survive the encounter.

[Drift]

My first aid kit for the coming year will include SSKI, Levaquin (replaces the Cipro ) and a PharD friend of mine is looking into some homebrewed ST 246.

[Dcommoncents]

I have a layered first aid/ trauma approach. I keep a cat tourniquet and cpr shield in my brief case, which is virtually always with me for work. I keep a much more thorough kit in my go bag in my truck, which includes another tourniquet, various forms of quick clot, gauzes, medical tape, sutures, trauma shears, chest seals, sterilized hemostats and the like. I figure i will have or bee able to give someone else a fighting chance in the event of all but the worst circumstances. Fortunately I've never needed it for anything serious, but the peace of mind is priceless. I of course have a separate ifak pouch that i have on my load bearing equipment when i go shooting (I only shoot I private land so I'm not going to a public range kitted out like delta team or something).

[Crusty]

I started with this kit and I added a better tourniquet, a 6" Israeli Compression bandage, a two pack of chest seals and a small LED flashlight (which I have to remember to keep charged but 18650 batteries hold a charge for a long time). I still intend to add some small hemostats for quickly closing arteries.

I think I'm reasonably well equipped for range accidents but I'd like to have better training in its use than watching several Youtube videos on the subject.

[Forrest]

Is there any good online training or other sources specific to bullet wounds. This thread just gets me to thinking we are all pretty negligent in this department.

[VASCAR2]

First Responder Training required for volunteer fire fighters, and LEO. EMT training but you have to do continuing education and work so many hours in an ER to keep your certifications.

I took a first aid class in college in the mid 70’s which was actually pretty good. Most gun shot wounds, call 911, apply dressing to wound, apply pressure, raise extremity if shot and treat for shock.

If massive blood loss because of artery being hit apply pressure to artery between wound and heart to slow bleeding. Apply tourniquet to save a life but could loose a limb depending on time to hospital or Trama Center.

[Dinny]

My first aid kit for the coming year will include SSKI, Levaquin (replaces the Cipro ) and a PharD friend of mine is looking into some homebrewed ST 246.

This seems like a good way to get sued. Outside of a clinical setting no one should be using any prescription meds without a script from a doctor. How would you know if someone is allergic to any of those meds and how would you treat them if they had a severe reaction? Remember that even paramedics have a scope of practice and a medical director who determines what they can give and when to give it. If something were to happen I bet your PharmD friend would quickly become your ex-PharmD friend. I sure wouldn't want my license on the line because I supplied you.

I can provide current Army Combat Lifesaver course slides to anyone who sends me a PM containing their email address.

Thanks, Dinny

[Dinny]

This thread just gets me to thinking we are all pretty negligent in this department.

I agree. Nowadays it's all about hasty and deliberate tourniquets, hemostatic bandages, chests seals, needle decompressions (delayed evacs) and basic airways.

I'll try to find a decent online slideshow or training that all can easily access.

Try this: https://www.deployedmedicine.com/market/11

http://thesurvivaldoctor.com/2012/07/24/...treatment/

https://youtu.be/po2iLU4Ur9w


Thanks, Dinny

[Sticks]

Here in Colorado, we have someone who does 5 or 6 Casualty Care classes during the year that was derived from North American Rescue. I thought they had a national training program, but am unable to locate.

[Forrest]

I agree. Nowadays it's all about hasty and deliberate tourniquets, hemostatic bandages, chests seals, needle decompressions (delayed evacs) and basic airways.

I'll try to find a decent online slideshow or training that all can easily access.

Try this: https://www.deployedmedicine.com/market/11

http://thesurvivaldoctor.com/2012/07/24/...treatment/

https://youtu.be/po2iLU4Ur9w


Thanks, Dinny

Thanks Dinny.

I found a couple of them searching yesterday.

I just want to find the right gear to have packed and know how to use it. Maybe an affordable set up so I can have a couple sets in different places.

I also found a very interesting article in the Guardian about using gun wound training as a way to rally against terrorism. Wouldn't it be cool if the NRA sponsored this kind of training and maybe help bring some non gun oriented peoples opinions around to our way of thinking about.

[FRB6.5]

I know this is an older thread, but still an important topic. DHS actually funds stop the bleed classes all over the U.S., some have a nominal fee many are free.
About the program: https://www.dhs.gov/stopthebleed

To find a class near you: https://cms.bleedingcontrol.org/class/search