Self-sufficient travel into remote locations, living an adventurous lifestyle, or even just getting out of the house for the weekend can all encompass a wide variety of activities. Not to come across as paranoid but rather realistic and prepared, we all know that most of those activities we enjoy include some level of risk that we often choose not to dwell upon.
The EDC Kit (Every Day Carry Kit) from ITS Tactical is an extremely compact 6-ounce emergency trauma kit that fits in your back pocket. Just a bit larger than your average men's wallet, the EDC Kit contains 1 package of QuickClot Combat Gauze LE, 1 SWAT-T Multipurpose Tourniquet and 1 pair of Nitrile Gloves.
Find yourself in the unfortunate situation of dealing with a large wound that is rapidly evacuating blood?! Tear open the EDC Kit, put on the Nitrile Gloves, stuff the wound with the QuickClot Gauze, wrap the wound with the Tourniquet and seek advanced medical attention. Nothing to it!
Depending on your choice of activities the situation may be considered rare but medical emergencies are the reason we all carry first aid kits. Consider that vehicle based exploration can involve on-road accidents, rollovers, injuries from winch line and recovery gear and every few years it seems that someone drives into a downed tree branch – luckily there were no injuries in this case! [link] Around camp and on the trail we use shovels to dig, axes to chop and machetes to clear or cutlery while making dinner. Target shooting and hunting with firearms or arrows can involve accidents. Mountain biking, trail running and climbing falls in just the right, or wrong, place can lead to punctures and impalement.
The idea is to be prepared.
A few notes:
When using QuickClot it is best to save the packaging and deliver it with the "patient" to the advanced medical care providers. They will want to know exactly what product they are working with for consideration in the next steps of treatment. Also, when using a tourniquet be sure to record the time and date that the tourniquet was applied. Advanced care providers will need to know how long the tourniquet has been on.
