This summer past, we had threads about people killed hunting (Bob Fontana) and others who were gored, but survived.



A common way for soldiers and civilians alike to die after trauma is exsanguination. No blood left means no oxygen to the vital organs. That situation is not survivable. Most of the doctors, medics and infantry soldiers, past and present, on this forum have helplessly watched good people die in front of them. I will vouch that that is a truly horrible event (especially for the person who dies).



Whole blood (or these days, units [450ml] of PRBC's [packed red blood cells] can be real life-savers, BUT. The blood supply in Africa is almost totally tainted (please correct me if I'm wrong on this point). Out in the wilderness refrigerators filled with blood are not found behind every kopje.



The US military helped fund the development of a truly revolutionary product to stop bleeding.



It is manufactured by Z-Medica , www.z-medica.com, and sold under the name "Quick Clot". It is designed for moderate to severe bleeding. It is simple to use. Wipe or blot away as much blood, water, shit, dirt, etc. , as you can. Then tear the bag of Quick Clot open and pour as many granules on the bleeding source as it takes to stop the bleeding. It works faster than it takes to read this. Wrap with gauze, evacuate to medical care.



I cannot tell you how big an advance this is.



Anyway, this is what it looks like:





You don't have to remember the instructions, they are printed on the back of the package:







I am the medical advisor to a company named Tactical Ordnance Manufacturing (TAC-ORD). They have put together a vacum sealed kit:









The kit comes in a handy pouch that can be attached to your pack, your hunting vehicle, or even your belt. It comes in a variety of colors. The latest is a safety orange color with a medical (EMT) symbol on the front:







I asked TAC-ORD to print a new label that says Individual Sportsman Trauma Bleeding Kit. That is being done this week.



The kit will come with a CD that contains detailed instructions in a Power Point format, as well as printed instructions.



I am advising on the development of this kit for free because I believe that it has the potential to save many lives.



The cost is $79.95 USD for one kit, with a decent discount for quantity purchases. As the start up costs are retired the per unit price will drop somewhat, so all the cheap shits in the audience can wait to purchase a kit until it is too late.



This kit is presently in use by US Naval Special Warfare personnel, the US Coast Guard, and the Idaho State Police. Two weeks ago a Coastie sliced the shit out of herself while preparing food in a boat's galley in rough seas. The kit prevented the need for a helicopter evac.



I don't get a nickel of the profits (nor a dollar). I do carry a kit in my pickup and hunting back pack.



www.tac-ord.com



Be safe,

JCN

PS The lime flavored diet coke tastes pretty good (50 cents extra).

Thats a great idea and should be carried into the bush by the scout(should do something useful) or a tracker as standard equipment, if left in the truck it would probably be too far behind to fetch fast enough.

Can I get a price on a case of the lime diet Coke?



Oh, come on, my doctor's office is full of young, good-looking chicks hustling drugs, with big mounds, mounds of free drug samples.



Surely there is just one more free sample laying around you could send me for free.



Sincerely,



I. R. Cheapshit







(Actually looks like a great thing to have in a Cruiser. A PH I had one year thought he was a skinner and damn near cut two fingers off. It would have been handy as the fool used up most of my first aid kit. )

You go JohnCharlie! I read about QuickClot in the Times when the Iraq war was still going our way and thought that it was an absolute godsend. However, I haven't found a source for them (though I haven't looked very hard) down here. I definitely will have one in the kit when we head up to Canada for bear in August. In fact, if we get enough rain to increas the piggies, I'll have one the week after Easter.

If anyone uses one of these kits to treat a big bleed in the next year, we will replace the used components for free in exchange for some gory photographs and a glowing testimonial.

Old Sarge,
At a kill ration of 109:1 in Samarra last week, well, I hope the war contiues to not go our way .

JCN

What kind of "shelf-life" does it have? I'd like to get at least one for my first-aid kit that I keep in my car...is it affected by heat (as it a trunk when it's 100 degrees ourtside)?

Folks,

I have no commercial connection with this product at all, but it is probably the biggest advance in battlefield first aid since the issue of the personal field dressing. There are one or two other products aimed at dealing with the same problem, but they are far, far more expensive than QuickClot.

As I understand it, QuickClot is basically inert in its dry state and is un effected by heat or cold and I don't think shelf life is in any way an issue.

Again as I understand it, it works by removing moisture extremely fast and effectively concentrating the bodies own clotting agents.

I have friends in the British Army who have seen these in action in SE Iraq and Afganhistan and they have been amazed at how effective it is. I am not sure whether the British MOD intend officially issuing this, but I believe it is in fairly wide spread issue to certain American troops.

Regards,

Peter

You don't want to store it in direct sunlight.
The shelf life runs about 3 years. It will likely be viable for many years beyond that, but it is very easy to rotate the quick clot component as needed. TAC-ORD has all the individual components available at a fair price.

Having all the components vacuum sealed increases shelf life, and decreases total volume of the kit.

If anyone has an extra 2 feet of table space at the SCI convention I will bring a pile down to Reno. Again, I won't make any money off this, but at least I could write off my entrance fees.

JCN

Plavix is a platelet aggregation inhibitor.A blood clot is formed basically from aggregating platelets.Its a very complicated process where dozens of factors both pro and con play a role.I venture to propose that exact results from any new interaction cannot be predicted without an actual experiment/trial.

Yes,
What Plavix does (any cardiologist out there please jump in and correct me if I'm wrong) is alter the internal "skeleton" of the red blood cells (RBC's) to make them more flexible, and thus better able to slither through tight spots in the smaller blood vessels.
The quick clot will work fine for somebody on plavix. I'll confirm that on Monday, and post a correction if I find out anything different.
JCN

Do you know if that would still work if one is taking blood thinners such as Plavix?

CFA

JCN,

Ooh, that goof that was quickly corrected.



There are squabblings going on by the patent owner (both Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Synthelabo are listed as manufacturers in the PDR) to block the generic Plavix. I think Plavix has been around long enough to go generic about now, the usual 14 years, or getting close, but I am not sure.



Plavix is great, untarnished record. Super-aspirin as a platelet inhibitor, but not an NSAID. Plavix can be added on to aspirin if a TIA/CVA/ACS/MI occurs when on aspirin alone, rather than go straight to the rat-poison anticoagulant Coumadin.



Some folks are on aspirin+Plavix+Coumadin for a while after their angioplasty and stent procedures.



Those allergic to aspirin can take Plavix as cardiac and brain protection.



Those with gout, who might trigger a gout attack by taking an aspirin, can take Plavix for heart attack and stroke prevention.



Y'all stop that Vioxx now, ya heah? Two fold heart attack rate increase after 18 months on Vioxx, what a pisser!



And please, a little more about the ingredients/mechanism of the QuickClot? Is it just some sort of pharmaceutically pure osmotic agent, or are there some enzymatic or clot activating substances or precursors involved?



And, what happens if I eat it? Maybe I should go look at their website, eh? Sounds like we all ought to keep some of that stuff handy, and an AED to go too.



Edit: the website says it is a "granulated mineral" substance, a proprietary secret. I won't eat any of it.

.

JCN and Sheephunter

Thanks for the info and if you are able to confirm the products effectivness with Plavix please post or e-mail me direct. I am having to take it because of a stint and have had problems with blood rushing to any area that was bruised, such as slamming my leg into a river bank when hunting buff this June. Later I was hunting leopard and thought I might have a severe problem if I got tangled up with a leopard. I thought I would take one of these products with me when I go back.

CFA

ALF, Sheephunter,

Thanks. Duh. Don't worry folks, I always look shit up before I actually write a script.

Does anybody know if Plavix is generic in the US yet? There are a lot of medicines I used to write for back in Illinois, but don't use much out here because not many people have the money to buy the stuff.

In any case, I'll call Z-Medica on Monday and post an update.

JCN

PS The two most popular "blood thinners" in Owyhee county are aspirin and Coors Lite.

Hey, hey, hey,

That is what I love about AR. I am constantly reminded how fallible my memory is at the end of a long day.

Also, every time I'm too lazy to get up and get a reference book, be it a PDR, or Understanding Ballistics I get nailed by someone who wasn't as lazy.



This stuff is "a proprietary mineral product". Basically it is super kitty litter, with an attitude. As a poster above noted, it removes the fluids from the scene, thus concentrating all the clotting agents.



It does its magic in an exothermic fashion, ie things can get pretty hot, pretty quickly. That is why the instructions say to get as much blood and water blotted up before you pour the granules onto the bleeding source. I'll take a few blisters and minimal blood loss over having a smooth, pale corpse on my hands any day.



Funny you should bring up VIOXX. The Pharm D from a major insurer sent me a nasty gram a few months ago because Vioxx was their preferred Cox-2 inhibitor, and why wasn't I using it. I sent him a nice note saying that I had been reading articles for the last two years that indicated that it increased cardiac risk. He sent me a blistering note saying that wasn't so at all. I sent a copy of his note back to him yesterday.



Unless they provide a tangible, immediate benefit (eg Bextra, Levitra, Imitrex, etc.), expensive meds don't play well around here. Whenever something good goes off patent and the price drops, I end up calling about a dozen patients up and saying "It's cheap now, so get your self on over to the pharmacy and get going on it!".



JCN

JCN,

I carry QuickClot with me here in Iraq, but I have heard some unconfirmed reports of it causing severe third degree burns due to the high heat produced by the chemical reaction. Can you shed any light on this?. I guess if I had to choose between burns and bleeding out, I would take the burns.

Erik

Erik,
It will cause blistering if it gets into contact with a lot of water, or a lot of blood. Blot or wipe the area as well as you can. Any of the granules that aren't right on the bleeding site can be scraped away.
Your Doc's can take care of a small burn pretty easily. Like you said, if you bleed out, you are dead.
If you apply it according to the directions there should be minimal to no burns. The problems usually happen when someone panics at the sight of all that blood, and pours the whole pouch of Quick Clot on the patient.
Send me your APO # (in a PM) and I'll send you a power point on a CD.
Thank you so much for being over there. Keep your head down, and pop a bad guy for my grandma, ok?
JCN

Thank you for posting this. I'd been trying to find out more about it since I first saw an article on it last year while I was out of town. I'll be getting at least one bag, which will go in with my hunting stuff.

Old Sarge: The war is still going our way. You won't get honesty off the tube. I was a serious, serious news junky before I left. I haven't watched hardly any news since after a week of the crap I saw when I came home.

Godspeed, all.

Russ

Probably would want to avoid wrestling with a leopard until you are off the plavix.

The Quick Clot is compatible with the Plavix.

It would increase your ability to form clots, but not as much as for someone who is not taking a "blood thinner".

Before your next overseas hunt you might want to talk with your doctor about something called a "compartment syndrome". I treated some of those over the years I worked in emergency medicine. Alf deals with that much more often than I do. I'll let him expound on that.

JCN
PS I'm posting this rather than sending you a PM as a shameless and transparent ploy to move this thread back to the top of the stack in time for all our Sunday evening prime time viewers.

I'm on Coumadin, due to some clotting factor disorders. My last clot nearly did me in. I had a Mesenteric Vein Thrombosis. Would it be a problem using this while on Comadin?

It shouldn't. This promotes coagulation at the bleeding site. The clot that forms there shouldn't migrate anywhere inside of the body. This stuff would be used in a situation where you were in danger of bleeding out (exsanguinating) from a wound.
JCN