A healthy person can bleed out in 3-5 minutes... so being offshore with a crew member suffering from a catastrophic bleed isn't the ideal place to be.
We approached 'Bleedstoppers' for their advice on what we should be adding to our first aid kit to deal with head injuries, puncture wounds, and major cuts. The team have used their 20-year plus experience as firefighters, where they attended road traffic accidents, terror-related incidents and trauma-related incidents as first responders to create 'bleed control kits' which contain the necessary advanced equipment designed to slow or stop catastrophic bleeding in a medical emergency. We talked the Bleedstoppers team through our risk assessment and described the potential injuries that could occur whilst sailing. For our needs, in addition to our standard marine CAT C first aid kit, they suggested one of their Medium Bleed Control Kits from the numerous options they offer.
Our Medium Bleed Control Kit contains:
1 x Strong lightweight water-resistant personal pouch with belt attachment
2 x CAT 7th Generation Tourniquets BLACK
1 x Responder Gauze
1 x pack of 2 Fox Chest Seals - 5.12"x 5.24"
1 x Emergency Haemorrhage Control Trauma Wound Bandage Dressing - 6" Grey
1 x Civilian Haemorrhage Control Trauma Wound Bandage Dressing - 6" White
2 x Tourniquet Action card with Lanyard
1 x Permanent Marker Pen
2 x Trauma Shears
2 x Med Gloves
2 x Thermal Emergency Foil Blanket - Used to keep the casualty warm aftershock or injury1
This will give us the equipment to deal with two potential catastrophic bleeds (hopefully not) and sustain life until help arrives.
Of course not only will these kits be useful for our needs offshore they could be used on a cruising boat leisure boat just a few miles offshore where the wait for a lifeboat or helicopter evacuation could run into hours, where treatment of the injury within the first 3-5 minutes is vital. We'll be keeping our kit close by in the workshop whilst we are working on 'Poppet' with tools, angle grinders, power saws etc. all which have the potential to cause a serious injury to even the most conscientious boat owner/tool wielder.
With the versatility and compactness of the kits, we'd love to see these kits available on every boat, racing yacht, ocean rowing boat, bus, police car, AED (automated external defibrillator) point, workplace, and school. The list is endless...
As a Community Interest Company, Bleedstoppers are committed to putting their profits back into helping and educating the general public and communities as well as supporting their worthwhile and chosen charities. They have kindly partnered with us on our project.
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THANK YOU - From the Sofa To Sailboat Crew