In my travel packing list post I mention that I carry a small trauma kit with me. Here’s more info about that kit. The purpose of the kit is to address moderate to severe bleeding. I have another small kit for really minor stuff. Odds are I will never use the trauma kit but should I need to use it I might save my life or someone else’s.
Severe bleeding can kill someone in 3-10 minutes. Even a very short response time by professional rescuers may not be fast enough. The bleeding may be caused by a variety of things ranging bad luck to acts of malice but regardless of the cause the treatment is the same. Bleeding gets controlled through pressure. The more severe the bleeding the greater the pressure is needed.
The package in the upper left is vacuum sealed gauze that can be unrolled and packed in to a deep would to apply pressure to the site of the bleeding or wrapped around a larger but more superficial wound. The item to the right of the cause is a commercial tourniquet which can also serve as a pressure dressing. The consensus within military and civilian emergency medicine circles is that a tourniquet can save someones life and carries very low risk of harm. Beneath the gauze and the tourniquet are plastic card wrapped with electrical tape and a pair of nitrile gloves. Beneath those items are a small rescue hook (for cutting fabric, TSA friendly) and a small but bright flashlight.
List:
Compressed Gauze
SWAT Tourniquet
Small Rescue Hook
Flashlight
Video showing how the SWAT Tourniquet works
Here’s the contents of the kit again plus how they get packed up in their case. The final kit is the size of a thick wallet.
