You could even get sued if you treat a patient beyond your level of training. Thanks for the input. Thedirect pathof the bullet where it cuts or shears its way through the bodys tissue is called Permanent cavitation. It was the big difference between getting wounded in WWI and getting wounded in WWII. Handling gunshot wounds in an active shooter scenario. Pulling it back out after the tampon swells up, you risk doing the same damage as well as removing the clot you had hoped would have formed. 2. My point is that sometimes we may have to use a little ingenuity to save a life or two. You can urinate with minimal undressing just unbutton your pants. He said, "Oh, we divided them up and we all have them in our flak jackets, and I kept two for our first aid kit". You can catch up with Cache teaching EMP survival at survival expos, teaching SERE to ex-pats and vagabonds in South America or getting in some dirt time with the primitive skills crowd in a wilderness near you. Snopes and the Snopes.com logo are registered service marks of Snopes.com. BUT?, Still I think using whatever works best in a situation like that? Tampons do not stop bleeding. WHY didnt they buy candles. A bomb tech once showed me a cool trick using a tongue depressor broken in half to make part of a trip fuse. Even if a tampon, pad, or diaper can soak up pints of blood, the patient will still die unless the wound clots and stops bleeding. Medics with years of combat experience say they consider tampons excellent for penetration trauma because not only do they absorb a lot of blood, they are sterile, packaged with easy-to-use. You guys overthinking this. When they went to check on him later the surgeon told them, "You guys saved his life". In a real world SHTF, how man of us will have enough saline soltion to rise out the left over quick clot? There are other methods of packing a wound: all of them are similar in effect. SURVIVOPEDIA helps people regain their peace of mind by becoming more self-reliant and self sufficient in all aspects of life: from putting food on the table, to keeping your loved one safe, and staying in good health. It was nearly 50 miles away! Tampons can work under some situations for GSWs; however, they are not ideal. Wisconsin Historical Society, WHS-49898. Cutting up potatoes for a pot of stew. Home | About | Contact | Copyright | Report Content | Privacy | Cookie Policy | Terms & Conditions | Sitemap. Get everything included in Premium plus exclusive Gold Membership benefits. xstat, a bunch of objects that absorb blood. The pad will suck out the blood and, in the process, not allow clotting to occur in the injury (the clot will happen in the pad). A tampon. This is the theme of this article. When he brought this up my imagination was just running wild, but I let him continue. I understand your comment about medicine in the civilian vs combat environment, however, both environments have the same objective which is to keep people alive. The French Revolution changed everything, and the guy in most urgent need of medical intervention got treated first (unless youre a boyfriend of Mario Cuomos daughter, then you get a COVID vaccine ahead of at-risk seniors. 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. Couple of things Rick. Compression, elevation, pressure points, and even tourniquets if necessary. In WWII, that was the battlefield antibiotic of choice. No a tampon or a small pad is not the greatest thing for preventing an infection long-term.Im now retired from the medical field. Personally, if I am going to be carrying around something in my truck to stop bleeding, it is going to be items specifically designed for the task at hand. This transfer of energy essentially separates the layers of muscle tissue in particular and causes a hidden cavity behind the entrance wound of the permanent cavity. In 1931, a physician named Earle Cleveland Haas created Tampax, a tightly rolled cylinder of cotton with an applicator. Just as sterile i not more so than those gauze pads and other medical stuff. Check the wound daily for signs of infection listed below. Course minimum will be charged at time of booking confirmation. Anyway, again, thanks for the article, and the great discussion fodder! 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. . Makes no sense to me. i mai interesante suntcomentariile cu privire la acest subiect. Pressure is now maintained for 3 minutes. Tampons are sanitary products, but theyre not packaged and sealed as sterile products. Not trying to be critical here, just trying to really understand all of the downsides of this method of wound management. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/tampons-to-the-rescue/ Your combat medics were retarded or never dealt with a gunshot If you have nothing else then use a tampon. Ill bring it right over.? These include: Gun shot wounds are unique because of the injury profile created in the wake of a bullets path, known commonly as cavitation. You guys have no clue what it will be like. This was the whole point of the article. Some of the earliest tampons recognizable as we know them todayintra-vaginal devices made from a string and a wad of something absorbentwere documented in Europe in the 18th and 19th century.. Cox News Service. We teach the science, the anatomy and the what, when and how to treat not only GSW, but bleeds from any mechanism of action. With bleeding now controlled, use a section of regular gauze to wipe away excess blood, blunt dissecting as necessary to locate and visualize the severed artery. They absorb blood. [] material is very absorbent, thats not what you need if you want the blood to coagulate. They'll come out eventually. Plugging the hole with a tampon might mean the blood is not visually coming out of the body. The Fora platform includes forum software by XenForo. She believes that female care package was sent to Marine X to save our Marine. Slowly but surely, tampon manufacturers got back on their feet, rebranded, and continuously assured customers that their products were safe and FDA-approved. This material may not be reproduced without permission. Click Registration to join us and share your expertise with our readers.). Causing it to expand placing force on the damaged soft tissue, thus controlling the bleeding. Tampon was marketed as a "smarter" alternative to applicator tampons by emphasizing greater comfort and doing away with the need for an applicator. The shelf life of organic tampons is also believed to be about five years, because cotton is susceptible to bacteria and mold. This means bacteria and mold can grow if theyre not stored properly. Actual gauze is pretty cheap. Additional students will be charged on the day. Heavy flow is not massive hemorrhage: Tampons dont belong in IFAKs. Some people feel that they have lost their virginity multiple times, by having different kinds of sex. It was originally posted in July 2004 to a message board hosted by the Houston Marine Moms, a group that sends packages to soldiers serving in the field. This is like anything people have their own opinions but to say this is not a viable solution and or completely ignore its benefits is a bit ignorant and negalegent . Exploring the Benefits of Probiotics in Greek Yogurt, Who Invented the Pythagoras Theorem? A forum community dedicated to survivalists and enthusiasts. And, again, it's not for menstrual purposes: it's for stopping baby-making. Very thin paper or plastic offers little protection to the actual tampon. This is the last (and possibly most pertinent point) as to why a tampon wont work when treating a GSW at best it will simply stretch the skin of the entrance wound and plug it creating a hidden cavity that will simply pool blood removing it from circulation. I seen them drag him out and plug it right there. NOPE you have not. A tampon is one or two 2 x2 or 2 x4 sections of gauze rolled up on a stick, whereas a 4 trauma dressing is usually comprised of a strip of gauze 4-wide and 12 long, z-folded, and compressed into a pad and topped with a gauze pad. I suspect that is what has happened here. If you have the choice, use the right tool for the job. 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. There are a lot of discussions currently being had about the green future of tampons: many of them have a big environmental footprint, filling landfills, washing up on beaches, and proving very hard to biodegrade. Ill describe one of the methods of packing that was taught to me, and I have seen used to good effect on live tissue. Good information for gun shot wounds. They were, in essence, vaginal pessaries. Something is better then nothing. Im still haunted by the memories of seeing one Medevac helicopter after another land at the nearest pads for our ambulances to go out and meet the choppers. What were tampons invented for? He said it entertained them for quite awhile. But thats another article for another time. I ONCE did my time as a triage medic in a field hospital unit during the Vietnam Era! Army, Navy, Air Force, and every one! Kim: Your expertise to state that tampons are sterile is? Unfortunately, while the idea of a lint-covered stick appears to be nonsense, other medical tracts are a bit more explicit in their ideas about what to put up females' intimate bits. In a SHTF situation like some mention, QC would be a slow painful death. The reason for this was because if a person is hit in the chest or back during fire fights, you dont want to strip their flake vest or body armor off them to bandage the wound. If you switch from tampons to free bleeding, theres also a reduced risk of toxic shock syndrome (TSS). One of the first civilizations to use tampons for apparent menstrual reasons may have been the Japanese. Any girl who has her period can use a tampon. Of course, no beginning industry avoids challenges and pitfalls. Shertz, M. (2019, July 18). She said that God had a plan all along. These tampons back then were made from softened papyrus. Snip off the bloody excess and discard it, saving the rest of the unused regular gauze for further in the packing process. Have you ever had to open an Israeli bandage in a crisis situation that is in 2 separate packages? I worked for a police department with a force of over 500 officers. One medic with years of combat experience said that after absorbing the blood from a bullet-wound, the tampons leave something like a tail protruding from the wound which makes it easier and convenient for medics to . Have you ever stuck a tampon in a gun shot wound. >Is using a tampon to treat bullet wounds an effective strategy? 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. 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. 18th century: The tampon was used as a medical device. Your best bet is to choose a lightweight bra without underwire. After all, that's what they are designed for isn't it? The technology that has developed far superior products now available to healthcare providers and the layperson alike is unprecedented today. One historically-relevant innovation is organic tampons. It was not until 1940s that many companies made tampons. Seen first hand of a tampon being used in a gunshot wound. But if you are making a kit then use real bandages. BECAUSE hopefully a local hospital will be able too call for a medical aviation unit ( essentially a Medevac helicopter ), OR Air Medical Flite helicopter to transport an individual too the nearest hospital trauma center! The location where the bullet goes in to the body will cause an entrance wound and depending on whether the bullet leaves the body, theremayalso be an exit wound. Clean and free from debris, yes but not sterilized. 5. Instead, they were medical devices, designed to treat prolapsed pelvic organs, much as a modern vaginal pessary would today. All youd need is a large and heavy bullet traveling slow enough, and it would poke a hole. You wrote, Im not going to get into the anatomy of a wound cavity. Why not?! Tampons make the non-life threatening loss of built-up blood a little easier to deal with, and thats all. Regardless of how many times it is refuted, one of the many myths surrounding bleeding control that continues to linger, is using a tampon to treat a gun-shot wound. Direct pressure and other methonds might be necessary.But I can see where tampons might help in the first critical minutes while waiting to do more extreme measure. If you're a tampon user, you may not give much thought to the small wad of fabric you put into your nethers for one week a month, other than wondering if it's leaking and getting annoyed when there's no disposal bin. But even if they have, that doesnt mean they are what you should reach for in an emergency. When shtf your gonna use what you have. . The simple why not [from 2 of my doctor friends (one of whom is an avid shooter)]. Because they have many more uses than just shoving them up your cooch. The Papyrus Ebers, the world's oldest printed medical document, describes the use of papyrus tampons by Egyptian women as early as the 15th century BCE If you get stabbed, open a tampon and whack it in the wound. 9g of blood(about two teaspoons). Probably stung like hell, though. 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. Im not sure if you are aware the military actually has invested in an a tactical approach using the same technology as the tampon (slight variance as the Militarys applicator uses beads of the same material instead of a large swab). I was in an armor/tank unit and in the 68th Medical combat support hospital. Modern-day pressure dressings are in fact designed to treat penetrating traumatic injuries related to austere or combat environments. (Yeah, because that's going to help her yeast infection.). It DOES stop the bleeding. They're also often processed using some fairly body-damaging chemicals (like chlorine), so new frontiers need to be pushed to make them eco-friendly and safe. It was a tight fit and the guy probably should have did more than just grunt and grit his teeth if he wasnt so out of breath. Not all BY THEMSELVES! But the tampon has a fascinating and somewhat disgusting history in human medicine. Why do American tampons have applicators? Why do Australian tampons not have applicators? Other innovations related to comfort and ease of use are saturation indicators (so women know when to change), differently-shaped tampons to prevent leaks, reusable applicators to help the environment, biodegradable tampons (also to reduce environmental footprint), and so forth. 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.). Blood will pool into the temporary cavitation. From there, they had to adjust the chemicals used to produce tampons, and defend their products against Federal investigations and lawsuits. most of the cops I knew, at least those that took the job seriously, had go bags with medicial/first aid kits with these things in there. Contents When were tampons invented? Tampons are clean. 2. "Tampons" for medical use Of course, they weren't called tampons in Ancient Egypt, which was where the first similarly-constructed device was recorded. Get exclusive premium content! It is unclear exactly how the idea of using tampons to treat gunshot wounds originated. These days, pads are still actually the more popular option, but tampons have huge market share: surveys estimate that around 42 percent of women use them, even after the scares about toxic shock syndrome (a rare condition related to tampon use) in the '90s. A Look at the History of This Thrilling Ride, Common Carpet Cleaning Mistakes and How To Avoid Them, The Importance of Separating Personal and Business Finances, Developing Your Personality: Identifying Strengths, Setting Goals and Connecting with Inspiration, How to pick out the proper payroll software for your enterprise, Security Tips For Every Web Developer Should Follow, Elevate your e-commerce business by enhancing packaging, Top 15 Decentralized Autonomous Organization Companies, 10 Must-Have Skills for Any Web Developer (Latest Guide 2023), Does Chobani Have Live Cultures? Antiseptic cotton rolls were used to stop bleeding from bullet wounds. I know for a fact a finger in the wound will plug it and possibly save your life. Tampons just make menstrual bleeding less messy. A solid bunch of material in a tampon simply does not pack well. You need a fully staffed OR to clean QC out or else your buddy will die of infection, thats if the QC doesnt break apart. Isnt that what trauma dressings do? In the article they claim a few things; I am absolutely amazed by the ingenuity of our Marines, and can't believe that something that started out as a mistake ended up saving someone's life. Exploring the Life and Legacy of the Ancient Greek Mathematician, Are Fairlife Protein Shakes Healthy? As a woman, Im here to tell you that tampons dont stop your vagina from bleeding, they just absorb the blood. The idea of wound management is to STOP the bleeding, not induce it. If the stone (bullet) enters the water slowly, the water (tissue) displacement is so gradual that is has little effect on the surrounding molecules. On torso wounds, things get even more complicated. Instead they planned to improvise. 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.. Tampons have been used by U.S. Army medics as emergency wound care dressings: This particular story about a wounded Marine saved by a tampon included in a misdirected care package from home is factual. Ill say maybe in Las Vegas. Doctors and nurses were the primary users of tampons to medicate women. Disposable tampons were first invented by the ancient Egyptians. Yes! If it is arterial wound then you best get a TQ on or your buddy is going to die. Youre dang right, Im gonna use whatever absorbent reasonably clean items I have on hand to help stop OR slow down the rate of blood loss!! Amputation Doctors began sawing off limbs to prevent the spread of infection. Know the signs of toxic shock syndrome (TSS) and how to reduce your risk. A tampon is a menstrual product designed to absorb blood and vaginal secretions by insertion into the vagina during menstruation.Unlike a pad, it is placed internally, inside of the vaginal canal. Written by a vet and discussing closing wounds on cats and dogs (under 30kg) but still understandable to a lay man. At this point I asked him, "Well what did you do with the rest of the tampons?" One was a close quarters ak47 to the side from maybe 10 away. Gunshot wounds aren't shaped like tampons. Wouldnt pads be relatively decent for packing a wound on the fly? You didnt even read the article about how plugging a tampon doesnt even make sense nor helps to stop the bleeding from a gunshot. My own experience has been that gunshot wounds range from poking a tiny hole, tearing a giant gash, and bouncing around internally like a ball in a pinball machine (if the pinball opened like a jagged metal parachute). 1. However, as long as the package is still shrink wrapped and airtight it should still be sterile. Some scholars believe that the name didn't come from its use as a bandage material for wounds in battle, but from its use as a menstrual material, possibly in tampon form, among medieval women. I've seen people advocating for using them in medical kits. You are better off packing the wound. It took me quite a bit before finding a solid article on the topic. Exploring the World of Knowledge and Understanding. 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. The tampon will swell, which creates pressure and stops the bleeding. Your email address will not be published. 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. Could it happen? 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. Your email address will not be published. you only got so much blood, before you go hypotensive. You simply insert the tampon tube into the vest or body armor and push the tampon gauze ad into the wound. Thanks tampons": o.b. What is the best less than ideal solution for a less than ideal situation? The whole thing comes out, and the process begun again. Linen would be wrapped around earth from the Nile river, which was mixed with honey and galena, and placed inside the woman. Some doctors argued that it was an ineffective method of treatment and that it carried a risk of infection. Tampons are not sterilized when they leave the manufacturer, and there really is not a need for them to be. 1995 - 2023 by Snopes Media Group Inc. Some mention Quick Clot, QC is great but isnt perfect. Did you get triggered? 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. Thank you for dispelling that myth. Dart, Bob. Wrapping the entire dressing ensures that the bandage is being used to its fullest potential. But as Helen King notes, this is likely a misuse of the Greek word motos , which basically means the material they used for dressing wounds. Just as sterile if not more so than those gauze pads and other medical stuff. 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.

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