[Lurker]

Imagine instantly clotting serious wounds so blood losses would be stopped

We've already got that:

Link to more information. I've used the stuff. It's amazing. There are already confirmed instances of this stuff being used by the USMC in the field.

One Marine was saved after his jugular was severed by a bullet. It's also proven to work on arterial bleeds.

Cost: About 10 bucks.

I highly recommend you add it to your family first aid kit. You do have a family first aid kit, right?

L

[brityank]

Thanks to that link I found confirmation of something I have known for a while, but it's not recommended to use in most cases.

Nature provides us with wonderfully redundant systems when it deems a system important to our survival. Certainly, keeping our blood inside our body where it belongs is one of those things important to our survival. Our bodies have multiple complex systems to help make sure this happens. The two main systems are platelet activation and the coagulation cascade. QuikClot® brand zeolite based products work in both these systems.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

QuikClot® products also work in the coagulation cascade. The specific engineered zeolite used contains a cation (Ca++) that is a cofactor in many steps of the coagulation cascade. Also, there is evidence from Professor Stucky’s group that QuikClot® facilitates a phenomenon widely known as the "glass effect". It has been known since the 1800’s that blood clotted faster than otherwise when it came in contact with glass. Since then, it has been shown that this is due to the negative surface charge found on glass. Further research tells us that the negative surface potential activates a protein at the very beginning of the contact pathway, one of the two chains in the coagulation cascade. Ostomel has clearly demonstrated in thromboelastography (TEG) that the surface charge and isoelectric point of zeolite promote rapid onset of clotting and strong clot formation as a result of protein activation in the coagulation cascade.

From the PDF at Z-Medica's FAQ.

I'd gotten a severe cut on my leg as a kid, and my Dad grabbed a small pane of glass and pressed it onto the cut, holding it there for about ten minutes or so; it stopped the bleeding better than a bandage would, and healed without any now-noticeable scar.

Looks like that QuikClot^® should be in everyone's First Aid Kit; it will be added to mine; thanks.