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Saved by 'sand' poured into the wounds
New Scientist ^ | 16 March 2006 | Jessica Marshall

Posted on 03/17/2006 10:13:55 AM PST by Ben Mugged

DETECTIVE Danny Johnson was on patrol outside Tampa, Florida, when a report came through of a possible shooting in a junkyard three blocks away. Arriving on the scene, he found an elderly man sitting on a tractor, with a large hole in his leg that was bleeding profusely.

Realising it would be some time before the ambulance arrived, Johnson opened a packet of sand-like material and poured it into the wound. Within seconds the bleeding had practically stopped, and the man survived. "The medic told me that had I not put the substance in there, the guy would probably have bled out and died," he says.

The material, called QuikClot, which is issued routinely to police officers in Hillsborough county, Florida, was developed for the US military to cut down the number of soldiers who bleed to death on the battlefield. More than 85 per cent of soldiers killed in action die within an hour of being wounded. Improved haemorrhage control "could probably save 20 per cent of the soldiers who are killed in action", says Hasan Alam, a trauma surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

The material is already used by the navy and a few US police departments. Researchers would like to see it used more widely, but one major safety problem has prevented this happening. Now developers are hoping that advances in the material and the design of new substances could see blood clotting treatments used by ambulance crews, in operating theatres, and even in the home.

Every US marine and navy soldier in Iraq and Afghanistan carries QuikClot.

(Excerpt) Read more at newscientist.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: emergencytreatment; lifesaving; militarytechnology
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Every emergency medical kit should have this in it.
1 posted on 03/17/2006 10:13:57 AM PST by Ben Mugged
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To: Ben Mugged

I attended a 'medical first responder' type of class that spoke very highly of this stuff.


2 posted on 03/17/2006 10:16:23 AM PST by Riley ("What color is the boathouse at Hereford?")
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To: Ben Mugged

Agreed


3 posted on 03/17/2006 10:16:34 AM PST by null and void (Sept 11th: National Moderate Muslim Day of Tacit Approval)
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To: Ben Mugged; neverdem

BTTT


4 posted on 03/17/2006 10:17:18 AM PST by Fiddlstix (Tagline Repair Service. Let us fix those broken Taglines. Inquire within(Presented by TagLines R US))
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To: Ben Mugged
I have never heard of QuikClot, Thanks.
Do large drug stores carry it, over the counter.
5 posted on 03/17/2006 10:17:44 AM PST by HuntsvilleTxVeteran ("Remember the Alamo, Goliad and WACO")
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To: HuntsvilleTxVeteran

preparing to go hunting with ... ahhh must resist making jokes about dick...


6 posted on 03/17/2006 10:20:20 AM PST by globalheater (There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare - Sun Tzu)
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To: HuntsvilleTxVeteran

The stuffs not cheap. Just did a google search, $25.95 for 3.5oz package.


7 posted on 03/17/2006 10:21:16 AM PST by Taylor42
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To: Ben Mugged

Says it works by absorbing liquid.

Sounds a lot like clumping kitty litter.


8 posted on 03/17/2006 10:21:22 AM PST by HiTech RedNeck
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To: Ben Mugged

Never heard of this before. Thanks for the post.


9 posted on 03/17/2006 10:21:56 AM PST by BigBobber
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To: Ben Mugged
Researchers would like to see it used more widely, but one major safety problem has prevented this happening.

What is the problem?

10 posted on 03/17/2006 10:23:31 AM PST by ContemptofCourt
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To: Ben Mugged
...Says it works by absorbing liquid....


11 posted on 03/17/2006 10:24:54 AM PST by FReepaholic (I was FReepin' when FReepin' wasn't cool.)
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To: ContemptofCourt

Article says it got hot when used.


12 posted on 03/17/2006 10:25:13 AM PST by HiTech RedNeck
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To: Taylor42
Thanks, but cheap if it saves a life.
13 posted on 03/17/2006 10:25:28 AM PST by HuntsvilleTxVeteran ("Remember the Alamo, Goliad and WACO")
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To: Taylor42

Maybe so- If you *really* need it, the money instantly becomes insignificant. I can think of a couple of times that I could have really used this stuff.


14 posted on 03/17/2006 10:26:34 AM PST by Riley ("What color is the boathouse at Hereford?")
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To: Ben Mugged
QuikClot
15 posted on 03/17/2006 10:27:38 AM PST by FReepaholic (I was FReepin' when FReepin' wasn't cool.)
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To: HiTech RedNeck

LOL, your typing beat my thought processes.


16 posted on 03/17/2006 10:28:08 AM PST by Ursus arctos horribilis
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To: HiTech RedNeck

Same technology as the absorbent stuff in baby diapers and oil absorbent booms for spill control. Works really good!


17 posted on 03/17/2006 10:29:21 AM PST by Delta 21 ( Democrats -- a 40 year war on poverty and still no exit strategy)
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To: HiTech RedNeck
...Article says it got hot when used....

QuikClot website FAQ says they've recorded it getting to 140 degrees.

18 posted on 03/17/2006 10:29:39 AM PST by FReepaholic (I was FReepin' when FReepin' wasn't cool.)
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To: Ben Mugged

What about the water saving crystals used in house plants?


19 posted on 03/17/2006 10:30:45 AM PST by msnimje (SAMMY for SANDY --- THAT IS WHAT I CALL A GOOD TRADE!!!)
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To: Ben Mugged

bookmk ping and thanks Ben


20 posted on 03/17/2006 10:32:23 AM PST by Dad yer funny
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