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By Margarita Birnbaum, SA国际传媒 BrandFocus Staff
When someone is severely injured, chances are that bystanders without emergency training are going to get to them before first responders do. Some may know how to perform CPR, but what are they odds they know how to stop blood gushing from a wound?
In those situations, people with no medical training may play a critical role, because people who suffer life-threatening gunshot wounds, knife lacerations and other traumatic injuries can bleed to death within minutes, says Phil Carey, founder of , a company that sells EMS equipment, first aid supplies and other emergency medical treatment products.
Packing bleeding wounds with fabric or similar absorbent materials may be one of the life-saving measures bystanders need to apply to help keep someone alive as they wait for medical personnel, he adds.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not necessarily a gunshot that we need to pack,鈥� said Carey, a former EMT who has taught first responders and laypersons alike how to stop bleeding wounds. 鈥淭here are penetrating injuries that come from different things, like someone who fell on a piece of rebar in the parking lot.鈥�
Why wound packing technique matters
Learning to pack a bleeding wound isn鈥檛 for the faint of heart, Carey says. Packing a wound takes skill 鈥� and learning to do that correctly is as critical as learning how to perform CPR or use an AED.
A new product from Rescue Essentials can help make learning those techniques more accessible for people with no medical background 鈥� especially people who may get queasy around blood. The includes hemostatic gauze and a piece of silicone 鈥渢issue鈥� with a simulated gunshot wound a little over an inch deep. (It does have simulated 鈥渂lood鈥� on it for added realism.)
To properly pack a wound, Carey says, you fill the void with gauze or another absorbent material by pressing it around the cavity wall in a circular motion, keeping one finger inside the injury as you apply the gauze to keep pressure on the wound. After filling the cavity, put pressure on the injury site for three minutes, and then, if available, put a pressure dressing on it. It鈥檚 imperative to make sure there is no leakage.
鈥淟eakage is bad,鈥� Carey said. 鈥淚f you see that the bleeding has not stopped, you have no choice but to remove 100% of the packing and start over.鈥�
Practicing with the basic trainer, Carey says, helps people retain the repetitive motions used in packing wounds. Even experienced first responders can benefit from using it to keep their packing skills sharp.
Trauma experts advocate for bleeding control education
Federal statistics show that among American adults and children. And by one estimate, hemorrhaging represents 35 percent of traumatic injury deaths before victims get to a hospital. But results from a recent survey suggest that to stop wounds from bleeding.
In the wake of the violent attacks at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut, the Boston Marathon and a demonstration in Charlottesville, Va., U.S. emergency medical technicians and other trauma experts have increased their calls for bleeding-control education among laypersons to reduce the number of preventable deaths from uncontrolled bleeding.
The American College of Surgeons鈥� Stop the Bleed program and FEMA鈥檚 鈥�鈥� initiative are among the public health campaigns to encourage Americans to help curb the number of hemorrhage-related deaths. Courses for bystanders with no medical training are offered nationwide, including one rolled out by NAEMT and the American College of Surgeons. To participate in a class or book one, you can search the by location.
There are signs that many Americans without medical training want to learn bleeding prevention techniques to help save lives.
More than half a million laypersons have participated in the Stop the Bleed program. User-friendly products like the make it easier for people to get comfortable with techniques for serious wounds that require packing, dressings and tourniquets, Carey says.
Make bleeding prevention kits available in public spaces
Trauma experts have also pushed for bleeding prevention kits to be placed in schools, airports, stadiums and other public spaces where people gather. In Massachusetts, for example, were placed in remote beaches to help treat people attacked by sharks.
But most serious injuries are caused by much more mundane events.
鈥淎ccidents with kitchen knives or chainsaws are more common than terrorist activities, and these kits help then, too,鈥� retired trauma surgeon Lenworth M. Jacobs told last year. 鈥淏leeding control is a life skill that everyone should have.鈥�
As trauma and public health experts continue to push for bleeding control education and demand for courses for the general public increases, Carey says he hopes that corporations, nonprofits, school districts and other employers consider offering courses to their staff.
鈥淪eatbelts took years. 鈥楧on鈥檛 throw litter out of the car鈥� took years,鈥� said Carey. 鈥淲e鈥檙e hopeful that large companies would want to recognize that they do want to get all their employees trained.鈥�
How can your EMS service help spread the word about bleeding control?
For more information, visit .
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