Shrimp to the rescue

BlackfiveBlog reports that since 2005,the Army has been issueing their new first aid kit since the Korean War...LINK2

It includes an automatic tourniquit (in civilian practice, tourniquites are no no, but if your leg is blown off it comes in handy)

And it included a new clotting compression bandage.

I wrote about this in my old blog, since I first learned about it in Sept 2004 Field and Stream, not in my medical journals.

It has long been known that fine particles will cause blood to coagulate (American Indians used puffball powder or dirt to stop bleeding)...but now these dressings include coagulants to stop bleeding.

There are three main types. One is the old fibrin impregnated dressing...expensive...then there is Quickclot, from zeolite volcanic mineral granules...then there is HemCon, from lobster and prawn shells...


LINK is to a Baltimore sun article about it (RegReq) and the pros and cons of two different dressings: the more efficient one (quickclot) can cause burns..the Marines, Navy and Airforce prefer this one...but the Army wasn't as impressed, so prefered HemCon which is in a dressing rather than a powder and is safer...PDF ARTICLE ON USE HERE
Abstract HERE
HERE is an Aussie article on all this...discusses all types of field dressings...


Since I haven't done emergency room work for five years, and no work in a major trauma center for 20 years, I really don't have any experience in this...

Comments, anyone?

HemCon is made from chitosan, i.e. shrimp shells...and if the word Chitosan sounds familiar, it is also the ingredient in fat absorbing diet pills....