How to Apply a Tourniquet in the Wilderness Setting:

January , 2011/in Control bleeding, Medical Response, Rescue Training, Trauma, Treatment/by WMN Editors

January/February 2011 ISSN-1059-6518 Volume 24 Number 1

How to Apply a Tourniquet in the Wilderness Setting:

Brad L. Bennett, PhD, NREMT-P, WEMT, FAWM

Captain, US Navy (Ret.)

Member, Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care

SOLO Wilderness Medicine Instructor

Tidewater Search & Rescue, Virginia

Member, Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care

“The new concept of Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC)

has revolutionized the management of combat

Casualties in the prehospital tactical setting.”

R. Mabry, MD and J. McManus, MD

Critical Care Medicine, 2008

Is there a place for a tourniquet in your backcountry jump kit? Well, possibly, but does everyone in the backcountry need to carry them? Does wilderness epidemiology provide evidence for the frequency of severe bleeding? Does shock result in the same outcome no matter the mechanism of injury? Are all tourniquets effective? Should we use them? It is not that simple! The answer is not yes or no, but, when, where, why, how and which ones? The following discussion is the most up-to-date information from the Department of Defense tourniquet use on thousands of casualties over the past 10 years. The answers to these questions should become clear as you read this article.

LION ATTACK IN ZIMBABWE

May , 2010/in Bites and Stings, Eye injuries, Face, Head, Medical Response, Orthopedic Emergencies, Survival, Travel Medicine, Treatment/by WMN Editors

May/June 2010 ISSN-1059-6518 Volume 23 Number 3

Lion Attack in Zimbabwe

By Rob Nixon

Our man in Africa, Rowan Lewis, sent us this eyewitness account of a lion attack in the Tashinga National Park, Zimbabwe. Rowan managed to get permision for us to reprint it from Turbo Charge, the tour group that ran the safari, and the account was first published in their newsletter. It has since appeared in the blog “Zimbabwe Lifestyle”. Read more

ABDOMINAL TRAUMA

March , 2010/in Abdominal, Digestive problems, Internal Organ Injuries, Trauma/by WMN Editors

The Facts Regarding Abdominal Trauma:

– Abdominal trauma has two primary causes: blunt trauma and penetrating trauma.

– Blunt trauma occurs from a direct blow to the abdomen, causing compression or concussion of the internal organs.

– Deceleration injuries cause a shearing or stretching of the internal supporting tissues – a tug-of-war, so to speak, between a fixed organ and the mobile support tissues.

– Blunt abdominal trauma is the leading cause of morbidity (injury) and mortality (death) in all age groups.

– The mechanism of injury (MOI) that causes blunt trauma frequently has other potentially serious injuries as well. Rarely is blunt trauma to the abdomen an isolated injury.

– The liver and the spleen are the most frequently injured organs followed by the small and large intestine.

– 8% of trauma patients have an abdominal injury.

– 9% of abdominal trauma patients die from the abdominal injury.

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