Trauma and Wound Treatment

[bower4311]

Figured if there is any topic that should be brought up more it's this...not which bar/chain/60ccsaw is best. I am 19 and my 18 year old brother is starting cutting with me this year, and we also work around another 18 year old plus my grandpa and great-uncles. Me thinking that I could use this website as a resource to prevent any complications in the future has led me to posting this topic.

I need to know how to apply a proper turnakit.
I need to know if there are any turnakit products to keep in the truck to avoid using a belt or a shirt or whatever is closest. (usually work very close to the truck)
Is celox a very worthy investment? I've heard about it here
Any alternatives?
Classes I should consider taking?
Online sources?

If I learn now and don't forget I could bring this to offer for years of chainsaw use.

Thank you.

 

[ridgerunner97]

I'm a strong proponent of everyone getting first aid and cpr training. Call your local EMS/Ambulance Service or local Fire Dept. and ask them if they have any courses for the public going on, or the local red cross. They sell tourniquet's, i'm not sure where to get them but most of them are just round surgical tubing, however they now encourage not using them because if your not careful you can cause more damage than good. I have a first aid handbook from the red cross from 1947, one of the best books i've ever read, it's practically written and most techniques don't change over time except the CPR techniques have changed. Be smart, work safe, prepare for the worst, and hope for the best.

 

[Guido Salvage]

Proper training and protective gear can greatly decrease the probability of an accident or injury. As stated above, take a basic first aid course and have the necessary supplies on hand to use.

Applying direct pressure to a wound is the best way to stem the flow of blood.

 

[cpr]

PPE, a cell phone with 911 as preset #1, and a TON of experience would be worth more than the toolbox ambulance. I agree that you should "be prepared", but...

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Get in touch with your local Red Cross. If they offer a basic CPR and First Aid course (usually on a Saturday morning) take it. For forestry/chainsaw/logging classes, read several great books (so you'll know what questions to ask) and practice side-by-side with someone who has experience.

 

[mikefunaro]

The first step, if you haven't done so already, is to buy proper PPE to prevent a situation from requiring a tourniquet from being needed. In addition, proper training is also of value here. Ideally you can prevent a situation like this from even occurring.

I was under the impression that in modern emergency response programs tourniquet is essentially reserved for situations where you believe the damaged appendage will be lost anyway. as the previous poster had said, you can do a lot of damage to the otherwise healthy issues downstream from the site of the tourniquet.

Chaps will do a lot of good. You kind of really have to #### up to have huge gashes with massive blood loss, especially if you're wearing chaps.

 

[JRepairsK70e]

i keep a bloodstopper sponge compress, couple clean bandanas ,and a small roll of medical tape in a wedge pouch pocket, i hope to never use them , 32 years running saws , had a couple close calls ,never drew blood . i do have basic 1st aid and cpr training ,confident it was time well spent .

 

[Terry Syd]

I carry a couple of elastic bandages, the type you use to wrap around a sprained ankle. If I get bit by a snake or a chainsaw, I can wind the bandages around the bite or wound and hopefully last long enough to get proper medical attention.

 

[alderman]

25 years as an EMT

Stop bleeding by:

1. Direct pressure

2. Pressure Point

3. Tourniquet only as last resort, personally never had to apply one.

As options 1 & 2 may not be possible when dealing with your own wounds, I would recommend a wide band of cloth tightened with a stick over a pressure point and opened occasionally to try and keep tissues from dying from lack of blood.

 

[3000 FPS]

I go into the woods alot for fishing and hunting and have a survival kit that I made up. It has all the first aid items a person would need in an emergency. When I cut wood I always have it with me.

 

[4xrpm4x]

...All good info
Have a good first aid kit and know how to use it.
At work anyone running a saw is required to have a pressure dressing on their person.

 

[bore_pig]

PPE, a cell phone with 911 as preset #1

Preset #9 is always pre-programmed for 911. Works on all phones that have not had it disabled.

Wear ppe and take a first aid/cpr class. Having ANNUAL first aid/cpr training will offer confidence in the stressful situations you are hoping to avoid. But again, safety is #1. It can be tough working with the old boys while wearing ppe because they'll give you a lot of ####, so you'll have to put up with that for a couple days. After wearing your ppe for awhile, you will feel naked without it. Safe cutting!

 

[madhatte]

I always carry a first-aid kit with me into the woods. Fun story: once I cut myself cleaning up a plot-center stake with a pocketknife. No biggie, says I, and reach into my vest for the kit. Turns out, it had no large bandages. Snakebite kit? Check. Antihistamines for a bee sting? Got it. But, it didn't have the bare essentials. Ended up using the same pocketknife to cut the sleeve off my t-shirt to use as a bandage. I check every new kit now to make sure it has at least 16 square inches (4"x4") of plain gauze, and tape to hold the same.

 

[bower4311]

Thanks, all good info.

My one point on preventing is that I'm not concerned with that since the point of me making this thread has as much to do with helping other people as it does myself.

Try telling my grandpa to wear chaps. He'd laugh. But I know that there is a chance it could happen to him. Or anyone else that doesn't. I'm sure most of you don't actually wear them anyway. I want to be responsible enough to help someone else as much as myself.

Great info guys.

 

[ridgerunner97]

I like your attitude kid, need more like ya out there I'm not much older than you but i've seen some ####, and your attitude could've prevented some of the stuff I've seen.

 

[bplust]

First Aid & CPR: a must, no questions asked.

Additionally, something that is commonly overlooked, is that, if you can afford to have a slew of saws, use the lightest saw possible for the job. I find that almost all saw injuries occur when someone is tired and is not completely in control of the machine.

Them cutters of the olden days were hard mothers!

 

[Jacob J.]

25 years as an EMT

Stop bleeding by:

1. Direct pressure

2. Pressure Point

3. Tourniquet only as last resort, personally never had to apply one.

As options 1 & 2 may not be possible when dealing with your own wounds, I would recommend a wide band of cloth tightened with a stick over a pressure point and opened occasionally to try and keep tissues from dying from lack of blood.

7 years as an EMT here also, working on Paramedic.

Most chainsaw cuts are not amputations or near amputations. Like Rich says above, a tourniquet is an absolute last resort.
What happens to the flesh when the chain contacts it is a severe grinding and twisting of the tissue, i.e. making hamburger.
It sounds kind of weird but one of the best dressings you can carry are brand new, sealed maxipads (yes, those maxipads.)
They soak up a tremendous amount of blood and retain their shape well. You also need to carry something to make an occlusive
dressing out of, like saran wrap. Remember- parts of the body that would normally be moist should be kept moist (i.e. eyeballs,
eviscerated tissue/organs, avulsed tissue, amputated parts.)
If you do apply a tourniquet, it needs to be done an inch or two above the injury, and you need to write the time the tourniquet
was applied so the hospital can gauge how much tissue damage has occurred.
Pressure points aren't really being taught anymore because they're not as effective as direct pressure, elevation, pressure dressings,
and splinting. Elastic bandages need to be used carefully, because if a body part is wrapped with an elastic bandage and then swelling
occurs, the elastic bandage then becomes its' own tourniquet.
Once you apply a dressing, do not remove it, even to put new dressings on. Just pack additional dressings over the original and let
the hospital deal with it.

 

[bplust]

And of course, as others have said, wear your equipment. It's worth the few bucks it costs, and heck, in the winter, it keeps ya warm!

 

[ridgerunner97]

^ Great points to mention J.J. A few friends of mine in Iraq got me carryin those maxi pads in my pack now anytime i'm in the woods. Work great for a dressing. Also a tourniquet shouldn't be tight, it should be on the looser side, not pinching off all flow. Like these gentleman said, a tourniquet should be a later resort...

 

[Stihlasaurus]

Basic first aid and CPR training just make sense for life in general. I carry a pretty comprehensive first aid kit that has about anything we could need, but have never really needed it for more than a band-aid or tylanol. Being prepared for anything makes me feel better but I don't want to ever have to use it.

 

[RandyMac]

Training is great, having a proper kit is good and all of that is worthless unless you also have the mental state to use the training and the kit. How many of you have actually administered first aid on a screaming person that is bleeding from a major injury? Ever seen a compound fracture, second or third degree burns? Will you hesitate to act? Will you vomit, maybe go into shock? Being prepared goes beyond knowing how the use the kit, do you have what it takes to push aside any personal feelings or reactions?