Contributors to this thread:
What do I want to look for here? I would take this for possible chain saw injury. So do I want gauze or powder or what. Thanks for any advice
Go to Forestry Suppliers website and get yourself a Loggers First Aid Kit. A quality one will contain a tourniquet and stop the bleed items.
I get them for our guys at work that do our clearing, you wear it like a fanny pack so it's always on you while cutting which is vital IMO.
Make sure you get a quality kit espically the tourniquet. Alot of IFAK (individual first aid kits) will Have everything you need to stop most major bleeding and a quality tourniquet.
Most importantly learn how to use the equipment from a qualified person and make sure it is with you and not in a truck miles away. They are light and easy to carry.
There are tons of videos on YouTube from reputable people, field craft survival, shawn ryan former spec Ops guys that have good information.
We trained every year on the tourniquet use as under stress is not the time to learn how to use it.
Make sure to check your kit every year as quick clot does have an expiration date.
Is this an immediate need or planning ahead?
Fuzzy lmaf. I'm 70 years old and head into my wood lot alone so just precaution.
Best of luck to you Katahdin!
bghunter gave some great advice regarding learning how to use the tourniquet and other items in the kit before you head out.
If you don't already do so, get and wear a good pair of chaps and buckle them. Make sure they don't have any tears as this will compromise them and can make them useless. Chaps, gloves, a good bump cap with a face shield and ear muffs built in can really save you from needing to use any items in the first aid kit.
I was guilty of preaching this safety stuff to our guys at work and then not doing any of it myself at home. I've had to attend a few tree felling seminars for work and have seen some bad accidents that could've been avoided with protective equipment. I wear it at home now for sure. I'm not a tree felling expert but I'd like to think I'm a good safety guy.
Safe and happy cutting!
In my 50 years in forestry I have been exposed to 2 logging fatalities the one that changed me the most was a kick back to the femur artery. At the time chaps were not made to wrap around the thigh and this accident looked like someone had a 5 gallon pail of red paint. It still haunts me to this day.
Do not get any quick clot powder. if it’s windy and it blows into your eyes, good luck. Get the gauze and watch a YouTube video on how to use it. Get a CAT as well, better yet buy a surplus iFak. Prep your CAT so you can employ it one handed. Gauze is more for aid to someone else with an arterial injury that a cat can’t reach. Packing gauze into your own wound would take some serious “grit”
Seen some videos of tourniquets being applied, wow didn't realize how tight they crank them and the way they lock the crank no manual tying off.
I reiterate what others have said, tourniquet will be far more important. In my backcountry hunting kit, I take a tourniquet, wound packing gauze, and some Solo-T wrap. That will cover the vast majority of bleeding related wounds you might experience until more comprehensive medical support can be given.
Unless you have an artery shooting blood 3-6 feet, you do not need a tourniquet. It's crazy how many guys show up in ER with one on, and it is contraindicated because they are simply oozing blood. Placing a tourniquet on a limb when it is not needed, can cause you to lose your limb. I've used direct pressure on 99.5% of injuries presented to me in ER until I could get them sutured. If you are on blood thinners, it would be a good plan to carry Quickclot, but as already stated, most wounds clot normally with direct pressure.
Most quick clot now is non powder with the newer kits.
However if you do ever use it. Save the package and take it with you or provide it to first responders (emt) to take to the hospital with them so they know what you used.
Glad to see your planning ahead and hope you never need to use it.
Sounds like “do I need a tourniquet?” is like “am I in labor?” - maybe if you have to ask, the answer is “no”…
Although maybe a tourniquet would make it easier to get the pressure and clotting agent in place?
I was a a little worried picturing you bleeding out in the woods and posting on Bowsite instead of calling 911. I'm 60 YO and have worked in the woods a lot as a sideline since I was 13. I've had one kickback that nicked an artery in my hand. Scary stuff. Luckily I was able to put pressure on and get to help quickly. I've had a few other close calls. Be safe my friends.
Everyone, do yourself a favor and don't take thorton advice. If you think you need a CAT, slap one on. You can reassess after you know you won't die.
The Dude True
Thornton could be a source But unfortunately he is not
If tourniquets were not so important you wouldn't see, law enforcement, EMS and the military carrying them, training with them and people talking about how important they can be.
I can't tell you how many people I have know that have used tourniquet or quick clot to save a life.
Just my two cents.
Yes, tourniquet can be a life saver. Read/watch videos on your basic "what do I treat 1st?" Panic is our biggest problem if your not mentally prepared. I was a Navy Corpsman (Medic ) 5 years in the nam area & 2 with the Marines. If you lose it, you will die.
"Knowing how to downgrade from a tourniquet to hemostatic or pressure dressing also is crucial for treating hemorrhaging trauma patients, and he suggests that tourniquet training for medical providers — as opposed to the general public — should incorporate this skill."
https://www.mayoclinic.org/medical-professionals/trauma/news/the-crucial-role-of-tourniquets-in-trauma-care/mac-20531726#:~:text=A%20tourniquet's%20primary%20purpose%20is,alongside%20other%20bleeding%20control%20methods.
Quickclot is your best bet if you're on blood thinners. Many emergency services do not have reversal agents for Eloquis or Xarelto. If it is traumatic enough you actually need a tourniquet for a severed artery, you're probably going to need someone else to apply it.
My last personal chainsaw mishap last summer. The pocket rode back down after it chewed up my pants and leg. I've been cutting wood since I was 15 and this was the 2nd time it's happened. Still have a few scars I never even put a bandaid on. A testament to the ruggedness of Carhartt work pants.
We use a product similar to this that works really quick until we can get sutures in.
If this is a medical emergency log off and call 911.
What Thornton said is how I was taught. And, I’ve run a lot of gas through a chainsaw.
Thornton Carrharts are great but get some chaps to put over top
fuzzy X2 on the chaps!
Thornton, you should've played the Powerball on that day as it was truly a lucky one!
As a safety guy, that picture you posted of your Carharts makes my head spin. Glad you were OK.
Agree with Thornton. The tourniquet is for when nothing else is available (no way to administer direct pressure and no QuickClot). The best use of a tourniquet is to use it with direct pressure - slow the bleeding with the tourni, finish with direct pressure or QuickClot.
Just go to a store that sells livestock products. Cheaper than “human” quick clot.
I had pants that looked just like Thornton's. Luckily only light scrapes to my skin. Upper left thigh is my weak spot when chainsawing. I always wear chaps now. Little slice same spot in chaps is how I tell my pair from coworkers.
Hey all, lots of medical kits and quick clot stuff on Camofire today. Good luck.
which one do I want? For backpack hunts
I guess I'm asking whats a good pack to get for backpack hunting? I would rather just buy a good kit, rather than piece it all together.
I take warfarin daily and bleed like a stuck hog from any little scratch so I’ve been carrying the gauze in my pack for several years. I have some in the house also and I’ve proven that it works on several occasions. Good decision for anyone to have it handy whether you’re a bleeder or not.
I accidentally dropped one of my arrows out of my treestand a few years ago. without thinking I caught it by grabbing the broadhead. i had 3 cuts that were pretty deep. A quick clot like product that I bought a Walgreens stopped the bleeding in about a minute. I was amazed. I am not sure how effective it would be a on a nasty chain saw wound tho. I always have one in my pack.
I sewed a guy up in an urgent care clinic once that was walking in the weeds and his arrow fell out of his quiver and he jammed his thigh into the broadhead. Luckily no major vessels were severed and bleeding was minimal.
Adventure Medical Kits makes a trauma kit that includes a tourniquet and Quick Clot. I bought a couple after I was put on Eliquis.
When I went to Iraq they had a govt made video to show how effective Quick Clot was. They had a pig strapped down and cut the femoral artery... huge gusher...Quick Clot stopped it in a second Blew my mind...
Look into the emergency bandage or "Israeli bandage". I used one in Iraq to treat a Soldier with a gunshot would high in the leg. The dressing has a lever (pressure applicator) that helps in application, especially when there is a lot of blood.
