Celox warning

[conkers]

Was having a chat to local paramedic friend and she informed me that should you get celox in your eyes it can lead to blindness as it takes the water from the eye. She did not go into any more detail but you get the idea!

 

Most accidents requiring celox are going to involve panic and much haste. I got the impression that the effects are fairly quick so not only possible blindness but making self rescue impossible.

 

She did say the product is on the market somewhere already in a bandage and so not likely to be blown by the wind, as is possible with the little packs.

 

Am taking mine out of my hat tomorrow as ruptured packet could be pretty nasty.

 

This may be old news or may be very unlikely, as I have never opened a packet and do not know if it can easily be blown into the face, but worth mentioning I think.

[Theocus]

yep celox now comes in tea bags or impregnated bandages as they are called!!! In the eyes must be sore!!!!

[testcricket01]

cheers for the heads up havent herd that before.

[Mark J]

Thanks for letting us know that. It's still worth having though.

[Stephen Blair]

thanks for that, does any of the arb guys stock the new version

[tresrgr8]

bloody hell, glad i know that now.thnx for the heads up:thumbup1:

[arbsister]

I believe there is a ‘hot’ version that is harmful to the eyes if it comes into physical contact with them because it ‘heats up’ if it comes into contact with water. I think there is also a ‘cool’ version that apparently doesn’t have this side effect.

 

I’m no medic though

[arbogrunt]

when I did my 'remote areas first responder' course, they got a plastic cup and filled it with blood' then tipped a packet of 'quikclot' in. It melted the cup and the coagulated blood fell in a bit squishy lump of the floor!. I take it that was the hot one then...apparently the US Marines get a personal issue of it and there have been plenty of burns cases getting casevac'd with the wounded bloke they were tending...its fantastic stuff, if you use it after trying direct pressure and pressure points..and then with extreme care.

[ArbjobsNick]

I think some of you may be getting confused with two simular products I have read that Kwick Clot used by US forces can cause burns when in contact with the skin and liquid (water blood etc) were as CELOX appears to not have these effects. I would hazzard a guess that if either of these products came in to contact with your eyes it would not be very pleasant.

 

I am more concerned with the lack of understanding folk have regarding CELOX I think if you were to pour it on to a femoral bleed it would wash straight out again with the flow of blood. Unfortunalty although widely avaiable the product is not distributed with any decent user guide. If you have some it is well worth looking up how to use the product correctly including stemming the flow of blood before applying the sachet and keeping the flow reduced until clotting has occured after application.

 

If you have or are thinking about buying this product have a look at this site for more info on safe use of CELOX. Celox Home Page

 

IMO although CELOX is a good product you shouldn't overlook including a blood stopper / wound dressing in your first aid bag and or a few sanitary towels and bandages to help reduce the blood flow if the CELOX doesn't work.

[Greig Sutherland]

Hi Folks,

 

Hi Nick, i am of the same view as yourself, a lot of folks carrying celox who are pretty unsure of how to use it, not their fault to be honest. It is a great product if used correctly.

 

Just to clarify on a few points,

 

First generation quikclot granules(loose granules) did give off heat to the point where it did cause burns to both patient and care giver, the heat came from the exothermic reaction that takes place when in contact with blood/water, the quikclot acts as a molecular sieve and extracts the water molecules in the blood, in doing this it leaves only clotting factors behind promoting a natural rapid clot.

 

The resulting heat and burns generated was deemed acceptable if used in life or death situations. Personally, i would be ok with it too.

 

To stop the skin burning all you have to do is flood the granules with water, this causes the molecules to become saturated, just like a sponge, which stops the reaction and resulting heat. Not for finger cuts!!

 

That was first generation, Quikclot has advanced quite a lot since then, it now comes in 2 new delivery types, ACS+ (Advanced Clotting Sponge) which is great because it cannot get blown away by the wind and is great for packing a wound because of the "tea bag" it comes in. This stuff does give off heat but it doesn't burn.

 

The newest product from Z-Medica is Quikclot combat gauze, again it is great for packing wounds, very easy to use, you cannot accidental get it in your eyes(not to say if you rubbed it in your eyes it would not hurt or cause damage, i will check that one out) and it cannot blow away or get washed away by strong blood flow. e.g arterial bleed...... and to top it off i does not produce any heat.

It is the best on the market right now,in my opinion

 

For those reasons the team at Arb Aid chose combat gauze, as Nick said, you need to stop the blood flow with direct pressure on the right pressure point before administering any type of Haemostatic agent, or they will not work correctly!!

 

This is where a tourniquet comes in handy. It frees up the hand that is applying the pressure, allowing you to use the free hand to apply your haemostatic agent of choice and wrap a bandage round it.