Medical Skills Everyone Should Know by Priority Medical Training

This is a guest article from Priority Medical Training. Priority Medical Training was established in 2009 and are one of the leaders in medical training and instruction. In their store they have items such as Bug Out Bags, Disaster Prep kits, Blow Out kits, as well as other medical professional equipment. Check them out at www.prioritymedicaltraining.com.

Knowing basic medical life saving skills is a must. The act of saving a life seems hard and out of reach of most people.

Direct pressure is one the simplest way to control bleeding. Bleeding scares some people and the thought of touching blood can cause people to want to vomit or want to pass out. This thought is common but you must think if you pass out who will help the patient. There are three kinds of bleeding arterial, venous and capillary. Arterial bleeding if severe, a patient can bleed to death in minutes. Holding direct pressure can help save a life. With severe spurting arterial bleeding you will have to hold more pressure than you would think. The patient may complain that its uncomfortable or hurts. This is true and until you can gain control of the bleeding this may have to be. Tell the patient that this is not meant to be painful but its for a good reason. Direct pressure is the single most effective means but when paired with pressure or a hemostatic agent will greatly increase bleeding control. Hemostatic agent have been on the market for many years. They have been given a bad name over time due to older products. The newer products don’t give off any heat and are not a powder. They work in different ways but they are all doing the same job slowing or stopping the bleeding.

Tourniquet

The use of a tourniquet in recent years has gained popularity. The new science has proven over and over that stopping the bleeding will save more lives than worrying about the bad side effects of the tourniquet itself. For many years people were taught if you place a tourniquet you would lose that limbs. The truth is if you leave it in place for an extended amount of time yes they will lose the limbs. The point is to stop the bleeding and get the patient to medical help as soon as possible. Venous and capillary bleeding are less significant and direct pressure should be applied to control blood flow.

Pressure Bandage

Once bleeding has been controlled the patient should be treated for shock. This can be done by applying a space blanket or starting a fire and removing wet clothes. The goal is to keep the patient warm and dry. Warm liquids can be given if there is going to be a prolonged rescue and the patient is awake and alert. More to come from your friends at Priority Medical Training