According to a report from the National Institutes of Health, In 1966, the Army implemented the use of tampons for the treatment of gunshot wounds. The tampons were soaked in antiseptic solutions and inserted into the wound to stop bleeding and protect against infection. The swelling of said gauze applies additional direct pressure to the various capillaries, veins, artery, etc. A few things, though. Photo: author. Do Men Still Wear Button Holes At Weddings? Thanks Photo: author. Of course having a cool guy A-Bag full of Gucci medical gear is preferred but might not always be available. Skin-to-skin contact between adults can increase levels of oxytocin, the love hormone. It was often administered in the form of what doctors referred to as a tampon - a medical device invented in the 18th century primarily as an antiseptic to clog up bullet wounds. Sign up for a membership now! Yes! So, even the most expensive trauma dressings are still cheaper than tampons. Suppose you are putting together a trauma kit, stock it with trauma dressings, compressed gauze, a tourniquet or two, 2 tape, gloves, and some BZK wipes. Because they have many more uses than just shoving them up your cooch. . In some instances, the bullet may not exit the body at all. The are setrile. Think about how pads (and diapers) are designed. They use kotex and tampons because they dont have better on hand. It was a contraceptive device, a way of distributing medicine, a method of healing, and often not thought to have anything to do with menses at all. I was hoping to get a reasonable answer to what should be a simple question. Roman women used wool tampons. They'll come out eventually. If a tampon is the only thing you have use it but do not prepare your EDC trauma pack with them. , Step 4: Apply very firm pressure to the packed wound for 3 minutes. Then of course, they had the tampons. Symptoms and signs of TSS may include a sudden fever (usually 102F or more), vomiting, diarrhea, fainting or feeling like you are going to faint when standing up, dizziness, or a rash that looks like a sunburn. Sometimes it better to say nothing than let everyone that works trauma thi nk your speaking out of turn. The challenge is trying to stabilize until evac is available. Direct pressure doesnt always work, but its usually the first thing you try. I had a double shooting at my Grocery store While it would have taken about 2-3 min response time for help they could have bled out. This product as well as new wound gel dressings would be useful to carry in first aid kit as emergency response times are ridiculous and ambulances are tied up queuing at emergency units waiting to off load patients. OR, like the camp cook that was prepping food in the dining and cooks tent! Cox News Service. Put the fear of total civilizational cowabunga into your friends and family today! In a SHTF situation like some mention, QC would be a slow painful death. They are designed from the ground up to control moderate to severe bleeding, including pressurized arterial bleeding. Infection CONTROL measures are important, but that can be done after the injured HAVE been treated for severe blood loss! started digging and here is a good answer. https://www.crisis-medicine.com/heavy-flow-is-not-massive-hemorrhage-tampons-dont-belong-in-ifaks/. I am extremely relieved to see a thread, not just a post, devoted to this. This material may not be reproduced without permission. The message board post was edited into the form it has now taken, e.g., the original contained details not part of the version that has come to be circulated in e-mail, including the name of "Marine X" plus a bit about the soldiers' throwing "Channel 11" footballs at one another after lights out. Its not like people say hmm, should I carry compression bandages or womens sanitary devices? Wrapping the entire dressing ensures that the bandage is being used to its fullest potential. The Ebers Papyrus, for instance, recommends helping a woman with unusual discharge by crushing up earth from the Nile with honey and galena, putting it inside a wad of linen, and leaving it inside her. 2nd they are not sterile, which maybe true however infections are easier cured then the outcome of uncontrolled bleeding. The idea of inserting a thing that's not a body part into the vaginal canal was actually probably first developed by the Egyptians or at least they're the first ones who wrote it down. There are other methods of packing a wound: all of them are similar in effect. Viewing both bandages opened, its easy to see that these dressings are designed specifically to control moderate to severe bleeding in the field.Photo: author. These sorts of concerns have taken tampons into the home-made sector. But the modern tampon faced a bit of an uphill battle. Ancient Japan: Paper Tampons (Maybe) One of the first civilizations to use tampons for apparent menstrual reasons may have been the Japanese. The Fora platform includes forum software by XenForo. These tampons back then were made from softened papyrus. The only reason I would stuff a tampon in someone is if I shot them and was trying to extract intel out of them. Probably stung like hell, though. But, please be real.I personally carry the largest tampons I found here in Europe, and I would stick those inside my wounds Im sure thatd be the maximum I would be capable of . Gunshots do create large wound tracks so it might not be the best answer but put a few together and that might work fine, all dependent on the wound. Why Do Cross Country Runners Have Skinny Legs? Even ER doctors misdiagnose tension pneumothorax about 30% of the time, so if your medical training consists of a few basic certifications like first aid, WFR, WEMT, and maybe a couple of tactical trauma classes, you could end up doing more harm than good with a chest dart or performing a cricothyrotomy. We teach the science, the anatomy and the what, when and how to treat not only GSW, but bleeds from any mechanism of action. Tampons do not stop bleeding. He lost me when you said they werent sterile. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Other techniques must be used, I.e. A simple through and through that nicks an artery will find it nearly impossible to have a tampon inserted into it and if it is inserted it will cause more damage because the permanent wound channel is a fraction of the size of the tampon. BUT! In regard to choosing a product that controls major bleeding, plenty of bandages have evolved from the old few rolls of Kurlex gauze and a six-inch ACE wrap, to what is now considered an actual pressure bandage/dressing. Companies like Tactical Medical Solutions, QuikClot, Celox, H&H, SAM Medical and others have produced some of the most advanced, effective, and efficient bandages and dressings for the treatment of penetrating traumatic injuries in the field and tactical medical industry. We are interested in fact, not supposition. At $0.25 each, thats up to $18 of tampons to do the job of one trauma dressing. sigmund freud is probably having a siezure in his grave over this tread! Cutting up potatoes for a pot of stew. Popping a tampon in a hole just doesnt cut it. Home and travel first aid kit should carry these types of wound care products. NOTHING BUT nothing is as good as the ER Department to save a life from a potential Sepsis infection from a knife or bullet wound! can be used as a clean dressing for a wound. Modern-day pressure dressings are in fact designed to treat penetrating traumatic injuries related to austere or combat environments. At this point I asked him, "Well what did you do with the rest of the tampons?" Click Registration to join us and share your expertise with our readers.). Where can these items be purchased in the New Orleans area? Once inserted correctly, a tampon is held in place by the vagina and expands as it soaks up menstrual blood. WHY didnt they buy candles. Bullet wounds tend to be non linear and larger than a tampon. Cache Valley Prepper is the CEO of Survival Sensei, LLC, a freelance author, writer, survival instructor, consultant and the director of the Survival Brain Trust. Menstrual tampons are feminine hygiene devices, usually made of absorbent cotton, that are temporarily inserted into the vagina for absorbing a womans blood during menstruation. The corpsmen spread it over burns and wounds equally. Hanker: To have a strong, often restless desire, in this case foryou guessed ithistory! In order to stop arterial bleeding and copious capillary bleeding along the woundTrack, you have to pack agressively. In a no S*** real world situtaion, who cares if you have a few pieces of sterile cotton in your arm. Just using a tampon alone may not work and may require pressure and additional gauze, however this can be said about almost any piece of medical kit. If cost is a concern, it shouldnt be. Have there been cases where a tampon, feminine hygiene pad, or diaper may have served as a dressing in a pinch? While its generally safe to sleep with a tampon in if youre sleeping for less than eight hours, its important that you change tampons every eight hours to avoid getting toxic shock syndrome. Step 5: Secure a snug pressure dressing and transport. Matter of fact I see many post not only spreading this myth but promoting it by showing tampons for bullet wounds. 5. Makes sense. I am a regular person with only the shirt on my back. Very thin paper or plastic offers little protection to the actual tampon. All tampons do is give you another thing that needs removed. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/tampons-to-the-rescue/ When youre on your period you are just expelling the blood and junk that has built up in your uterus all monthnot bleeding from your bloodstream. Stitches should be removed from the face within 5 days. Tightly! What we can know is that he wanted to make sure nothing was internally applied without absorbent material involved. But even if they have, that doesnt mean they are what you should reach for in an emergency. This was the whole point of the article. Any girl who has her period can use a tampon. Carry the correct stuff purchased from a medical supply store. In any situation involving an arterial bleed you need a different treatment to ensure that the artery is repaired as quickly as possible (hemostat, etc.). The sad truth: if you're trying to stop a femoral arterial bleed with your wife's extra heavy Tampax, you're going to . People have experienced reduced menstrual cramping and tend to feel less discomfort. Never used a tampon but there is a reason I have Kotex in my first aid kit. As long as there is human history, the innovation is not likely to stop. However, in addition to menstrual blood, the tampon also absorbs the vagina's natural . Your best bet is to choose a lightweight bra without underwire. From a medical standpoint, I can talk about tampons and the many uses of said tampons much better than you ever could. how much blood do you want be adsorb rather than stopped. Because thats a different situation where tampons are useful for me . I was in an armor/tank unit and in the 68th Medical combat support hospital. The oldest printed medical document, Papyrus Ebers, refers to the use of soft papyrus tampons by Egyptian women in the 15th century BCE. It seems we've been putting folds of various stuff up our genitals for thousands of years, though you'll likely be surprised at the reasons why. With the wound now wiped out, prepare the hemostatic gauze for packing by opening one side of the package and putting the entire package into a pocket, or tucking it into a shirt so it can be pulled out easily section by section. At most, a woman loses 60-80ml of blood during a period (about 1/3 of a cup). The initial discovery of the telescoping cardboard "applicator tampon" was developed and patented by the Colorado doctor Earl Haas in 1931, but it was a woman, Gertrude Tendrich, who bought the patent and started to produce it, expanding from sewing tampons at home to distributing them under the now-famous brand name Tampax. One was a close quarters ak47 to the side from maybe 10 away. As luck would have it he grabbed the tampons, and my son said everyone was teasing him about "not forgetting his feminine hygiene products". (Ouch.) She believes that female care package was sent to Marine X to save our Marine. Our verdict Several first aid experts told us not to do this, as it may not work and could risk further harm. You wrote, Im not going to get into the anatomy of a wound cavity. Why not?! If you switch from tampons to free bleeding, theres also a reduced risk of toxic shock syndrome (TSS). Reasd every word, I went with the Israeli bandage. Sleeping naked together might improve your rest by reducing your stress and anxiety levels. I ONCE did my time as a triage medic in a field hospital unit during the Vietnam Era! The Origin of Tampons Being Used to Treat Gunshot Wounds The Napoleonic Wars saw many medical innovations, including: Triage - Military physicians treated wounded according to rank or station instead of the severity of wounds. From hair trends to relationship advice, our daily newsletter has everything you need to sound like a person whos on TikTok, even if you arent. Tampon use for traumatic haemorrhage control is dangerous and irresponsible when there are so many well research and proven options that are continually being assessed and improved. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Youd have to use between 36 and 72 tampons to achieve the same result. 9g of blood, stop an arterial bleed, capable of pumping out 1000 mLs in just over 3 minutes, https://www.crisis-medicine.com/heavy-flow-is-not-massive-hemorrhage-tampons-dont-belong-in-ifaks/. Pressure dressings like the Olaes from Tactical Medical Solutions are packaged for field-like environments. Tampons soak up a lot of blood, they are also made of cotton which sticks to material and tissue. tampons": o.b. The use of tampons in treating gunshot wounds has had a positive impact on the medical community, resulting in improved outcomes and decreased mortality rates among injured soldiers. You cover the tub tampons but NOT the Pads. And I USE too provide EMT service in my brothers hunting camps in the high mountain country of New Mexico and Colorado. Exploring the World of Knowledge and Understanding. There are plenty of internet experts and sadly, First Aid instructors in NZ who still tell people to carry a tampon in their pack in case of an accidental gun-shot wound. The permanent wound cavity that resulted when a man was shot with a Charleville was vastly different from the wound cavities left by modern rifled firearms firing high-velocity ammunition. Men seem to think that if they can stick a dick in it, it doesnt need anything to be sterile during the time when women are most vulnerable to infection. Snip off the bloody excess and discard it, saving the rest of the unused regular gauze for further in the packing process. Many troops live on themsometimes with their families! NOPE you have not. The function of the internal tampon is to absorb menstrual blood inside the vagina after it has left the uterus, preventing it from leaking out, and thus providing suitable protection with total discretion.. My son said things were going well, and then the convoy was ambushed. Tampons just make menstrual bleeding less messy. Thanks for the input. The idea of wound management is to STOP the bleeding, not induce it. Using a tampon and stuffing gauze in the wound, to me, is exactly the same less the more sterilized gauze (preferable, but tampons are lightweight, take up less space, and the application for insertion to the wound is much easier). Yes, doctors literally "plugged the hole" by inserting a dressing that resembled a tampon into musket wounds. The tampon was traditionally soaked in whatever antiseptic or anesthetic drug was in general use, before being applied to a wound. 1776: A French doctor described a tampon made from tightly rolled, vinegar-soaked linen that was used to stop the flow of non-menstrual vaginal discharge. Sleeping in a bra will not make a girls breasts perkier or prevent them from getting saggy. You would be better off just taking off your shirt or Tshirt and using it. I seen them drag him out and plug it right there. [] tampoanelor pentru plgi, mai ales pentruplgile produse de glon, un material bun este aici. Where youre anywhere from 5-8-even 10 miles away from the nearest forestry department roads?. The use of tampons in treating gunshot wounds during war times has had a profound impact on the medical community. Just my two cents, but I have and will carry tampons for just this reason. 1776: A French doctor described a tampon made from tightly . You have nothing in your bus that can tamponade a gunshot as quickly as a tampon unless you are using quikclot or similar product. All youd need is a large and heavy bullet traveling slow enough, and it would poke a hole. This isnt guaranteed but a possibility. Photo: author. FB Live World restart a heart day; a survivors perspective. OUT there? 6. Women picked up on the idea for their needs. However, as my military medical career progressed and I gained more education and experience, this is one of several medical interventions that were either modified or removed. Pessaries made of elephant or crocodile dung, or of lint soaked in acacia juice, were both used as contraception devices over the history of ancient Egypt, and the Romans got in on the act too, with so-called "destructive pessaries". Ill bring it right over.? If youre going to be carrying one or the other as part of your EDC kit, dont plan to improvise plan to win! 4. Numerous soldiers have told us that yes, tampons are indeed carried in med kits and are used on bullet wounds in the field. Its not as bad IF you have to give emergency first aid to someone in a major auto accident,but still miles and minutes away from dying? But unless you have a raging period each month then you really have no say on tampons & pads. So, why shouldnt they work? These kinds of articles are all too common on the internet, due to the need to generate clickbait. Step 2: Pack the wound with gauze. When it comes to teens and the use of tampons, there are many questions and misconceptions. Handling gunshot wounds in an active shooter scenario. This is why include all of these in ourIndividual First aid System. The tampon would expand in size, thus expanding the size of the wound. You guys dont really understand why using a tampon for bullet treatments actually works. Carrying advanced lifesaving equipment that you are only marginally trained to use could potentially strengthen an attorneys legal argument. Tampons are clean. Yeah, the article/blog/whatever doesnt cover pads at all.Only tampons. Ok just my two cents. But if you are making a kit then use real bandages. Ball up a large wad of gauze and place it directly on top of the end of the bleeder, replacing pressure with pressure, making sure to apply enough pressure to clamp the artery shut against the bone. Additionally, there could potentially be gunshot wounds that will require anesthesia, open excision, lavage, cautery, ligation, and repair that is beyond the purview of the majority of even medically licensed preppers. Its also best to use the lowest absorbency necessary. Tampons work just as well for girls who are virgins as they do for girls who have had sex. But the bottom line is, one can only do so much in the field environment, be it urban or austierre. She said that God had a plan all along. Photo: author, When using a wound packing simulator from QuikClot; it is obvious that a tampon doesnt come close to filling a ballistic wound cavity. xstat, a bunch of objects that absorb blood. Not just disagree, but highly disagree. I think the whole idea of tampons as a blood loss stop came from the bandage carried in the first aid kit in WWII. >raid pharmacies and car first aid kits for tourniquets, >call your wives and get them to send you fresh PADS, >Early in December, the Russian Defense Minister, General Pavel Grachev boasted he could seize Grozny in two hours with just one airborne regiment, >doc rolls your torso up in adult diapers, >dies to fucking the tetanus wagon instead, >no visible symbols marking it as an ambulance. Tampons are made to soak up blood, after all. When I was a combat medic, improvisation was not only encouraged, but we also were tested on it several times throughout our training at Ft. Sam Houston. This means you would have to cause further damage just to shove it in the hole to plug it it doesnt make sense. These sound distractingly ineffective, so they apparently needed to be changed up to 12 times a day. The severity of the trauma caused internally, the cavitation, is often hidden, especially if there is no exit wound. Drawing straight from the toxic shock syndrome controversy, organic tampons drop the risk of being affected by trace chemicals. Tampons are no substitute for PPT: packing, pressure and tourniquets. Leaving a tampon in for too long can lead to infections and rarely cause life-threatening toxic shock syndrome (TSS). The x large roll of gauze would be a MUCH more effective wound packing material but he chose the tampon because the gauze would never fit in his helmet and would take up a lot of space anywhere else in his kit. Predating the e-mail's appearance, an April 2003 news story about odd uses soldiers stationed in Iraq were finding for non-military items said, "In the 4th Infantry Division from Fort Hood, Texas, many soldiers carry tampons to plug bullet holes in case they are shot." As a result, from 1979 to 1983, over 2,200 cases of tampon-related toxic shock syndrome were reported to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Bleeding stops by pressure in most cases, a tampon expands when blood hits it. This has enabled them to provide more effective care and save more lives. Cache Valley Prepper is a pen name used to protect his identity. The bullet entered the inner elbow and exit the back. As nobody's ever written about moss tampons, though, this remains just a theory. New York is a few centuries behind the civilized world). I have yet to see a gunshot wound inflicted by a modern firearm firing modern ammunition that I could have stuck a tampon in and called it good. you only got so much blood, before you go hypotensive. It strongly resembled a green kotex and I would guess that they probably were made up in a factory that originally or mainly manufactured womens sanitary napkins. Dart, Bob. Along this same vein of reasoning, feminine hygiene pads and diapers are designed to soak up body fluids or excrement and prevent them from leaking (and sometimes to contain and mask foul odors), not stopping severe bleeding and promoting healing. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Overall, the future looks relatively bright, as long as the tampon can adjust to our higher standards about health, safety, and greenery. In 1931, Earl Haas invented the menstrual tampon most commonly used in the twenty-first century. BUT?, Still I think using whatever works best in a situation like that? It is the same diameter as the bullet or the bullet fragments and typically what youll see on the in or entrance wound. A tampon is designed to be inserted into the vagina of a female human being in order to absorb menstrual fluids, which are discharged over the course of a few days. German gynecologist Dr Judith Esser-Mittag, scented tampons were actually completely useless, many of them have a big environmental footprint, woman-leaping-in-white-trousers theme of tampon ads. Professional responders will be there fast and just direct pressure would be better/faster. If you have any further questions, please chat, email, or contact Customer Service at 1-855- . Of course, they werent called tampons in Ancient Egypt, which was where the first similarly-constructed device was recorded. While Dr. Earle Haas patented the first modern tampon in 1931, tampons had been used for thousands of years prior to that by women across the globe. If a tampon truly stopped the bleeding, I would assume there would be no need to reapply any during the course of several days; however, Ive never seen a commercial with the tag line set and forget. Either they are lying or you are lying Dexter. Lost me when you said they werent sterile. Survival Trauma Kits: IFAK, GSW Kit, Blowout Kit What Should Be in How to Treat the Most Common Burn Injuries, Back to History: Top 9 Civil War Survival Recipes, Potassium Permanganate: Why I Still Carry this Old School Chemical, 8+ Places To Avoid Like The Plague When SHTF, Top 6 Survival Rifles And Why You Need One. Have you ever stuck a tampon in a gun shot wound. The development of tampons as a medical tool began during the Vietnam War. For more information, please see our A bomb tech once showed me a cool trick using a tongue depressor broken in half to make part of a trip fuse. Cache was mentored in survival by a Delta Force Lt Col and a physician in the US Nuclear Program and in business by Stephen R. Covey. Made from everything you can think of (rock salt, opium, and elephant dung are all on the list), tampons have been used for centuries for a huge swathe of purposes. They have evolved from being used for feminine hygiene to being used as a medical tool to treat gunshot wounds. Could it happen? Anonymous. I have a passion for learning and enjoy explaining complex concepts in a simple way. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); As a former nurse LPN I have to agree with a lot of what this article said. By becoming a member, you will have access to our experts knowledge in Personal Defense. The technology that has developed far superior products now available to healthcare providers and the layperson alike is unprecedented today. Due to the occult (hidden) nature of the trauma behind the skin layers, it wont always present obviously or immediately. My son said they put the tampon in the wound. And if you were to quickly spray the tampon with a broad spectrum antibiotic before packing it into a bullet wound, would this not help mitigate at least some of the potential infection that might accompany the use of a non-sterile wound dressing? While the use of tampons is not the ideal solution and there are some better alternatives out there, given the necessity of the nature of puncture wounds, gsws, even large gashes, anything is better than nothing. I've seen a scary and common misconception that it's just fine to put a tampon in a bullet wound to stop the bleeding. A search of peer-reviewed medical literature will fail to provide you with any data whatsoever on tampon use. There are better options today, but if you run out of them, a tampon is still a convenient way to get gauze inside a wound. I worked for a police department with a force of over 500 officers. Russians kill Russians in the war more often than Ukrainians More than 50% of the dead Russian soldiers in Ukraine died from wounds that did not threaten their lives - simply the wounded were not treated properly, said Artem Katulin, head of the Tactical Medicine Training Your combat medics were retarded or never dealt with a gunshot As a registered nurse who has done extensive wound care. During World War II, the US military experimented with tampons to treat wounds caused by bullets and shrapnel. Using applicator tampons can be less messy as the applicator deals with the blood, rather than your finger. Compression, elevation, pressure points, and even tourniquets if necessary. It seems to me like its a hell of a lot more common for someone to encounter or be the victim of a gunshot wound these days than we would like to admit.