In a recent article I wrote about the 4 must have items in a medical kit. One of those items was the tourniquet. I’ve always had a tourniquet in my medical kits, but until I had some formal training I really understood the application of them. The medical training I recently had was part of a two day pistol course with Kyle Defoor. Not only did he discuss the importance of tourniquets, but he also demonstrated how to properly ‘pre-load’ the CAT tourniquet, where to apply it, and how to apply it. He also discussed the importance of being able to improvise a tourniquet and stop gaps you can implement to reduce bleeding until you get the tourniquet on.
What do I mean about a stop gap? A stop gap that Kyle showed us was to put your knee as high up on the leg in the pelvic area and put your weight into it. That will either slow or stop the bleeding long enough for you to cut the pant leg with your trauma shears (if they are wearing pants) and apply a tourniquet.
Kyle has a-lot of respect for 18 Delta’s (Army SF Medics) and Air Force PJ’s because of their medical expertise. He also recommended Dark Angel Medical for quality medical kits and training. Kerry from Dark Angel Medical is a former Flight Medic himself and has a vast amount of medical expertise and experience to learn from. Take a look at the following two videos as Kerry explains and demonstrates the proper use of a tourniquet.
(featured image courtesy of afcent.af.mil)
