Gunshot First Aid Kits?

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Wasn't sure where to put this but figured it does fall under the realm of self defense.

I am looking at putting together an emergency first aid kit geared toward gunshot victims.

I plan to have it available in my range bag when I go to the range but also have available in the event of an active shooter type situation.

I am no longer on active LE status but figure it can't hurt to be prepared.

I am looking for suggestions from others of items they may have in a similar set up if you have one.

Keep in mind this will be a small portable kit suitable to carry on your belt.

Thanks for your input.
 
In my kit I have:


Combat tourniquet
Israeli bandage
Chest wound sealers, two
Medical shears
Compressed gauze, two
Self-adherent wrap
Celox injectors, two


It's not designed for deep-woods use. I'm never outside a metropolitan area and this is for keeping someone alive until EMS can get there.
 
Univibe said:
In my kit I have:


Combat tourniquet
Israeli bandage
Chest wound sealers, two
Medical shears
Compressed gauze, two
Self-adherent wrap
Celox injectors, two


It's not designed for deep-woods use. I'm never outside a metropolitan area and this is for keeping someone alive until EMS can get there.
Click to expand...

This is an excellent basic assortment for a belt-sized kit. I was a paramedic for 30 years and my advice is to equip yourself more towards the "all-purpose" end of the spectrum rather than just the specific "gunshot wound" end - and I say this because I know that even two otherwise identical traumatic injuries can have vastly different effects, treatments and results.

This is also true because GSWs can occur in any area of the body and the emergency treatment for different areas will also be vastly different. For example, while the equipment listed above is a good selection, it doesn't do anything for a victim who has a compromised airway where you may have to worry about securing an airway before you ever get around to stopping the bleeding. Perhaps a slightly larger kit in your vehicle might be a better idea as is also mentioned in an above post. You don't have to go crazy, just give yourself a few more options.

And finally, don't forget to carry the most important piece of first aid equipment that you can have in almost every situation - a working cell phone!
 
Hey thanks, I learned something that might come in very valuable. I will be adding some Celox injectors to my main kit. I often camp and hunt in remote areas and those could save someone big time. I will be speaking to my one step son EMP about their usage.
 
What did you carry when you were active LE ?
LE officers on a day to day basis will see more gunshots than most others , except EM personnell .
Does the military (Army / Marines) carry anything now days . Their kit might be a good model .
In my scouting days we had U.S. Army military surplus WWII first aid kits but I'm sure better things have been developed since then .
Actually a good idea , I need to put another first aide kit in our car.
Gary
 
My Grandson had a friend that worked in Paraloft when he was in the Corps. He went to the loft to see his friend, and they were repacking Life raft containers. All the first aide kits were due for replacement. They had a large box that was going to the dumpster. Grandson asked why and was told because it is a rule. He rescued a couple and gave me one for the car. Nothing in it that is really going to go out of date. It contains a couple of pressure dressing, some 4X4 gauze pads, tourniquet, bandage scissors, band aides and other stuff. Keep it in the car. In my shooting bag and pistol box, I keep smaller versions. The range I use is a county run range and they have a well stocked first aide kit. The Main Fire Station is four miles away straight down the road.
 

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gwpercle said:
What did you carry when you were active LE ?
LE officers on a day to day basis will see more gunshots than most others , except EM personnell .
Does the military (Army / Marines) carry anything now days . Their kit might be a good model .
In my scouting days we had U.S. Army military surplus WWII first aid kits but I'm sure better things have been developed since then .
Actually a good idea , I need to put another first aide kit in our car.
Gary
Click to expand...

We received tourniquets a couple years before I retired that you could carry on belt or vest carrier.

What was in the car was a huge tool box of bandaids, some gauze, a large ambubag and a hodge podge of outdated supplies.

Not compact or idea by any means.

I have been to lots of shooting calls and if you were able to do much it was hand pressure and wait on EMS. EMS usually was quick to arrive when scene was clear.

My range where I live now is 30 minutes from town.
 
I used to have a smaller kit for truck/range purposes. However when I bought an airplane I assembled a much more comprehensive trauma kit, with substantial input from my wife who has a masters degree in nursing.

It has the basics needed for minor and major bleeding with tourniquets, suture kits, a skin stapler, quick clot bandages, chest seal for sucking chest wounds, and day to day essentials like bandaids, steri strips and topical antibiotic.

It also has the basics for airway preservation, CPR, splinting a broken limb, treating/protecting eye injuries, treating minor to fairly severe burns and normal day to day things like removing slivers and treating insect stings.


I then upgraded my truck/range kit to match, and then built a third identical kit to go in the second aircraft we bought.

001(60).HEIC
 
I became a paramedic back when we were still trained to use rotating tourniquets for acute heart failure with pulmonary edema. I doubt if many people under 50 years old even know we used to do that!

My point is, there has been a lot of mention of tourniquets on the lists of supplies people keep in their kits but the one thing that hasn't changed is we still have layering, hand pressure, pressure bandages, and even Quick-Clot to work our way through before a tourniquet is an option. They are still a last-resort. Of all the GSWs I've seen on the job, I've never had the need to apply a tourniquet. Now the military medics may argue that point with me, but we live in very different worlds with very different resources and very different circumstances.

Outside of work, however, the only time I ever needed one was when I stopped at a motorcycle accident and the rider had a traumatic amputation at his right knee with arterial bleeding. I didn't have a tourniquet but I DID have a blood pressure cuff - and that worked very well. Necessity is indeed the mother of invention!
 
Jon651 said:
I became a paramedic back when we were still trained to use rotating tourniquets for acute heart failure with pulmonary edema. I doubt if many people under 50 years old even know we used to do that!

Rotating tourniquets, 40 of Lasix and PPV - along with the life pack 4.

Now I just carry a tourniquet and a pair of gloves. Did a BP cuff once on an arterial bleed on a arm once in ten years but never needed more than pressure and a 5x9 to stop a bleed.
Click to expand...
 
elpac3 said:
Jon651 said:
I became a paramedic back when we were still trained to use rotating tourniquets for acute heart failure with pulmonary edema. I doubt if many people under 50 years old even know we used to do that!

Rotating tourniquets, 40 of Lasix and PPV - along with the life pack 4.

Now I just carry a tourniquet and a pair of gloves. Did a BP cuff once on an arterial bleed on a arm once in ten years but never needed more than pressure and a 5x9 to stop a bleed.
Click to expand...

You forgot the 2 nitro tabs under the tongue, 2mg of morphine sulfate every 5-10 minutes (max = 10), PEEP ventilation, EKGs transmitted to the local hospitals, and Hearse ambulances operated by the local funeral homes!

I never dealt with Hearse ambulances, but the rest is still tucked away in my memory somewhere... :D
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Jon651 said:
elpac3 said:
You forgot the 2 nitro tabs under the tongue, 2mg of morphine sulfate every 5-10 minutes (max = 10), PEEP ventilation, EKGs transmitted to the local hospitals, and Hearse ambulances operated by the local funeral homes!

I never dealt with Hearse ambulances, but the rest is still tucked away in my memory somewhere... :D
Click to expand...

did have the MS, did not carry nitro, had to read our own EKG's, transmitted and portables came along about '78. Worked Medic in a large metro area so we left them for the ME
Click to expand...
 
Hemostatic, Gauze, and Medical Tape all come to mind immediately. Dunno what else to suggest putting in there that wouldn't be better left to proper paramedics, your goal is simply to keep the victim from bleeding out until help arrives.
 
Last year, at the Adaptive Defensive Shooting Summit, one of the workshops all of the participants had to attend was a "stop the bleed " class. It is my understanding that this class will be offered/mandated again this year. Last year, at the conclusion of the Summit, all of the participants received a new tourniquet, tourniquet holster, and stop the bleed kit.

From my perspective, these are the essentials!
 
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