About 2 weeks I saw a wreck happen in front of me and went to the nearest car to see what was going on. I helped the mom and kid get out of the car and had to cut the airbags out of the way. Another person came behind me and went to check on the other car and they had some bad broken arm bones and were bleeding a lot. She told me to stay put with the car I was at and keep an eye on her kid in the car.

I've lately been going balls to the wall with my EDC stuff, maybe it's a midlife crisis with the desire to be prepared, but I haven't even thought about bleeding stuff. My wife who is a teachers said they have "stop the bleed" programs in school, which I think is awesome.

It seems the tourniquet world is very diverse, anybody here carry some either on them or with them?

Are the RATS as bad as some say? It seems the best option to use for little kids.

Thanks for the help



ETA. If anybody has a solid suggestion I can keep in a cargo pocket it love to see it

Cat tourniquets are better if you don't have adequate experience applying it.

A RAT tourniquet is pretty thin and can cause tissue damage if you don't put it on the right way. Cats are wide enough to stop bleeding and not cut into soft tissue. Just my 2 cents

I've taken the Stop the Bleed course - it's a very good resource for those with little training to address wounds to the arms and legs. I carry a small kit in the car with a tourniquet (SOF-T), gauze, shears, and two chest seals.

I have another tourniquet in my bag as well for work. I carry both in a TourniQuick from ITS Tactical.

Not a lot of gear but at least I have some basic knowledge on how to help someone else (or myself) before more well trained help arrived.

I took a Stop the bleed course as wel, and carry these as often as I remember.

Carry a Tactical Medical Kit in my truck.

One of the youtube channels I watch regularly has a video describing his medical kit he carries around his ankle everyday.

https://www.narescue.com/tccc


http://www.naemt.org/education/tecc

KEEP SAFETY OF YOU AND OTHERS IN MIND PRIOR TO PROVIDING CARE.

Glad to see people wanting to learn about bleeding control and treatment of penetrating trauma. There are lots of opinions on tourniquets and the best advice I have is to train often with the one you have.

Tourniquets: are well suited for massive bleeding from extremities. If one tourniquet is not sufficient, 2nd may be applied but do it on opposite direction of 1st.

Israeli type bandages:are useful for minor to moderate bleeding that can be controlled by direct pressure to wound.

Chest seals: Make sure to expose any area to check for wounds in both the front and back of patient.

Shock: keep patient warm(blanket, turn up heat in room) and apply oxygen with a non rebreather mask.

Links posted above with more info.

Good advice posted above.

OP: RATS are for dogs, maybe kids, and they're still not great for kids. Don't use them on adult humans.

RATS is garbage. Use something that is TCCC approved (and I don't mean that it shows up on tccc.com which is the site that the RATS creator made when the actual TCCC told him his TQ was hot garbage).

And yes, I have a TQ and some other stuff as part of my EDC, with bigger kits in each of my vehicles with multiple TQs, pressure dressings, etc.

Yes I have a small First aid kit that I keep in my backpack to handle bleeds and anaphylaxis emergencies. I also have an inhaler and some bandaids in there too. My backpack is never too far away so I don't feel the need to carry it on my person.

Stop the Bleed is a fantastic program.

I learned my first aid from movies. So I just carry a bottle of whiskey, a single .45-70 or 30-30 round and some flint .

BenderRodriguez said:

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Stop the Bleed is a fantastic program.

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100% agreed, and it's usually free.

Its great that you carry one, but that one doesn't look like its set up how I was taught to stage them. Should be a little info sheet that was included in the packaging that should help you out.

Better than not having one, but easier to use if its staged.

Duncan Idaho said:

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I learned my first aid from movies. So I just carry a bottle of whiskey, a single .45-70 or 30-30 round and some flint .

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lol amateur.

I start a car fire as a diversion, bust up in a pharmacy and take what I want.

Try doing that at the i-10/i-20 split at 2AM driving across west texas.

I keep a kit in my duck hunting bag in case something happens in a blind. Need to throw one in the truck as well.

I was a bit lazy and bought a kit from Mymedic.com that I travel with. Loaded it up with some other stuff I had and I am really happy with it. They also have a good military/LE discount.

I carry a wilderness first aid kit including tourniquet in my vehicle most of the time and always when hiking.

If you haven't had Stop the Bleed or CPR find them and take them.

Do not buy or use RATS TQs.

They're not Trauma Daddy approved. Go CAT or SOFTW.

Thanks guys for all the input

If you know someone on the railroad they have quality emergency kits. Just a thought.

Just pointing out that most (if not all) first aid kits and supplies are FSA eligible.

CATs are end all, be all in my eyes. Get them, watch a short 2-3 minute video of how to use them properly, practice, and you are set to go for pretty much forever.

Yes, I keep them in my personal and work trucks, and in my first aid kits.

CAT tourniquets are the gold standard. Carry one more than you think you will ever need. No one ever complained about being able to stop too much bleeding. TQs are like ammo, you can never have enough.

In my range IFAK, I carry TQs, Israeli bandages and quickclot gauze. All of this is useful for car wrecks too. Get some Leatherman Raptors while you are at it.

I've taken multiple on the job safety trainings and tourniquets are always described as a last resource to stop the bleeding/save a life. When applying a tourniquet you should go into it knowing there's a risk that the appendage may be lost. Stopping blood loss by traditional compress should be used firstly. I'd appreciate a medical professional response to this one.

jetescamilla said:

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I've taken multiple on the job safety trainings and tourniquets are always described as a last resource to stop the bleeding/save a life. When applying a tourniquet you should go into it knowing there's a risk that the appendage may be lost. Stopping blood loss by traditional compress should be used firstly. I'd appreciate a medical professional response to this one.

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If you're within a few hours from a trauma center, risk of limb loss from a *properly* applied tourniquet isn't really a factor.

If someone has an arterial bleed on a limb, a tourniquet is absolutely the best course of treatment vs an Israeli bandage or traditional compress.

As a few others have mentioned, there are tons of training videos available online. During most TQ training, you have the opportunity to apply a TQ to yourself and others to ensure you know how tight you have to get the steak and windlass to know you've stopped the blood flow.

TQs are cheap insurance. I keep multiple in my vehicle, around the house, and also in a pocket on my chainsaw chaps.

Thought about getting a Rat....you can wear it as a belt and then use it when necessary...

https://www.amazon.com/RATS-Application-Tourniquet-Hemorrhage-Emergency/dp/B07CNBCJK2/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=rat+tourniquet&qid=1617413168&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzT0tMOEZQWkVUU00mZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTAwNjMwMDYxU005R1NONUMwRlI1JmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA3MDMzNjYxU1g3NE1EWDNTU1ZZJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

Just be careful using an item like this on someone unless you know how to use it and the full ramifications of doing so.

Loss of limb is possible but it's way better than loss of life.... and a tourniquet can be applied up to 12+ hours w/o loss of
Limb... even longer in some cases

Woods Ag said:

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Loss of limb is possible but it's way better than loss of life.... and a tourniquet can be applied up to 12+ hours w/o loss of
Limb... even longer in some cases

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This is correct. One good thing about being at war for 20 years is we have came a long way in understanding trauma and treatment of injuries.

Anything not controlled by pressure on the wound should have a tourniquet applied ASAP. Hell, the most blood I've ever seen was from a dialysis port that didn't seal properly. 2 tourniquets and pressure on the port were needed to control the bleed. So it's not always a traumatic injury that you're preparing for.

I carry a Cigna insurance card in my wallet....

I'll take pressure and a hemostat over a tourniquet any day

Carry 4 Quick Clots in my truck with some field dressing kits.

Carry a few in my hunting pack I carry to the deer stand.