There's should be a First Aid Kit in every home, car, and workplace. They're pretty common, but did you know the majority of popular first aid kits lack the most important life-saving first aid items? Let's review.
Go ahead and take an inventory of all the items currently in your first aid kit(s). More likely than not, you have Band-Aids, a little gauze, some Neosporin, maybe some ibuprofen, etc. Don't get me wrong, these items are great, but not a single thing in this kit will save a life threatened by major bleeding.
Introducing trauma kits. These kits are not designed to hold comfort items, rather, they're purely for saving lives after a traumatic injury. (Gunshot wounds, slashes, stabs, etc) You won't find items like bug bite ointment or band-aids, but what you will find are items such as Tourniquets, Hemostatic Gauze, Pressure Bandages, Chest Seals, and more.
In scenarios where, for example, there's a vicious dog attack resulting in arterial bleeding, a gunshot wound, or knife attack, an individual could bleed out in as little as just two to five minutes. Even if you do everything right and call 911/Emergency Medical Services, there just may not be enough time without a trauma kit in the car/home. What's the number one cause of preventable pre-hospital deaths you may ask? Uncontrolled bleeding.
So, what are these items in the best trauma kits? There are some essentials you absolutely cannot skip:
Tourniquets - arguably the most famous trauma response items, can be applied on the limbs, up to a few inches above the wound, and tightened until circulation/blood loss completely stops. There are different types of tourniquets, some that have been tested/proven by the military and some that haven't. I generally recommend the CAT-7 Tourniquet.
Hemostatic Gauze - a type of gauze that promotes blood clotting immediately on contact with blood. Pricey, but worth every penny. (Z-folded is ideal, for more ideal wound-packing)
Pressure Bandage - a bandage that can be wrapped around the injury while creating and holding pressure against the injury, which helps keep the bleeding down.
Vented Chest Seals - occlusive seals to be applied over any torso punctures. Without applying these seals, air can fill the space where the lungs would normally expand into, harming the ability to breathe and worse.
Shears - none of these items will matter if you can't access the wound under layers of clothing. Trauma sheers have also been known as "penny cutters" because they can cut through jeans, boots, and even coins such as pennies.
Grab your own amazing value trauma kit from our shop and stay tuned for more.