First aid qualifications

[HGBMX]

I redone mine the other day, it was a day course with 13 other forestry contractors in a room. It was a good day and actually really interesting. The bloke running it told us he is told by the FC he has to teach us extra stuff like deep cuts and things, he also said if we have a heart attack in the woods we have a 2% of surviving which is good to know

[agrimog]

how many of you that work in areas that re quite remote actually make a note of the gridref and/or lat/long readings of a site sutible for a helivac should it be required?, and know how to get a helivac in for a serious trauma incident

[Taff3757]

Celox is amazing bit of kit and a must in your kit. I am still a serving soldier and would recomend buying it. I am fortunate eneough to be trained to deal with trauma through the military and also an instructor/team medic. I have a tourniquet as part of my kit but have to be carefull with using on civilians, a catastrophic bleed without the skills and equipment to treat ends in one thing.

[Andymacp]

Celtox is good, but only on extreme wounds where a proper wound dressing won't do the job.

Surgeons hate the stuff, they have to pick out all the little granuals out of the wound before they can sew you back up.

[Joe Newton]

Apparently Celox can cause major damage to your eyes. The tendency to open a pack with your teeth (if one arm is injured) can cause granules to get in ones eyes, which then causes damage.

[Paul Melarange]

I managed to find the Celox as a gauze (so not loose granules). You just pack the gauze into the wound. The thinking being that it's easier to clean out of the wound once you're in the capable hands of the health care professionals. Fingers crossed none of us arbtalkers need to find out!

[agrimog]

the newer range of heamostatic products seem to be made up of non woven cloth impregnated with the "celox" type products, a lot easier to use, and not so frowned on by the medical folk in A&E

the origonal celox granules could cause issues with anyone with a shelfish allergy, not very well publicised

[Al North]

Earlier versions of haemostatic agents like Quikclot did cause issues with eyes and airways in the rescue as they reacted with moisture. Celox (and later versions of Quikclot etc.) does not lead to this problem as it reacts with the blood in a different manner.

 

I would however recommend the impregnated gauze as trying to pour granules into a wound on an agitated casualty on a windy day (and Sod's Law dictates that it will be) could be difficult. The gauze is much easier for hospitals to remove too.

 

Remember its down to skills not just products - I've seen examples of horrific injuries (easily comparable to chainsaw injuries) that have been successfully treated with lots of simple wound dressings and direct pressure.

 

In my experience the FC will not accept a 'standard' 3 day FAW course as it must have the additional +F topics. These are Chainsaw wounds, Hypothermia, Lyme Disease and Crush Injuries none of which must be in a standard FAW course.

[Taff3757]

I did some research about the f qual today and found not a great deal about it. I'm interested in doing it as my army qualifications mean very little In civvi street even though my medical training is of a high standard and covers crushing catastrophic bleeding.

 

Steer clear of the celox in granular form as previously said. If you can get hold of the bandage type I'd say it's a life saver.

[quixoticgeek]

A couple of things of note:

 

I am a big fan of the IDF dressings, I carry a pair of them at all times. I find they are considerably better than the "Ambulance dressing" that you find in most COTS first aid kits.

 

Tourniquets. Yes a chainsaw wound is nasty and will bleed like hell, *BUT* think before putting a tourniquet on a limb. The moment you start to wind that tourniquet you are saying good bye to the limb. Yes there are times when this is the right action to preserve life. But there are times when direct pressure is actually a more effective treatment.

 

Julia