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How To Stop Bleeding: The Combat Application Tourniquet And QuikClot

The Combat Application Tourniquet
The Combat Application Tourniquet Dr. Brad Bennett provided an excellent workshop at the 2010 Wilderness Medical Society annual meeting in Snowmass, Colorado on how to manage severe bleeding, based on his work with the Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care. From time to time,
wilderness medicine practitioners encounter situations of severe bleeding, so this information is essential for anyone responsible for the health and safety of outdoor explorers and adventurers.

In a simple algorithm, we learned that the first attempt to control bleeding is almost always direct hand pressure. This is followed by application of a pressure bandage. If that is successful, the victim then is evacuated. If the pressure bandage does not adequately control bleeding on the torso of the victim, then a hemostatic (stops bleeding) substance is applied prior to evacuation. If bleeding from an arm or leg threatens the victim’s life, a tourniquet may be required. A hemostatic agent that is being used with increasing frequency is QuikClot Combat Gauze. Tourniquets include the Combat
Application Tourniquet (“C-A-T”). Using any of these modalities requires instruction and preparation. Read more »

This post, How To Stop Bleeding: The Combat Application Tourniquet And QuikClot, was originally published on Healthine.com by Paul Auerbach, M.D..

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