Know When To Use It

The difference between a clinician and a field medic can be interesting. Both are medical experts, within their respective training and scope. 

Case in point, a paramedic or EMT, when teaching a trauma medical class such as Stop the Bleed or similar, will teach indications for tourniquet application. These indications would be massive bleeding, bright red bleeding, or spurting bleeding from an extremity. In a situation such as this, time is of the essence - you may have only seconds to apply a tourniquet in order to save the patient's life. 

One field medic this author knows works for Nashville Fire Department. When a paramedic or EMT from NFD arrives at the scene of an injury, it is not uncommon for a police officer to have arrived prior. In many instances, officers will apply tourniquets according to their training. From time to time, the responding paramedic carefully removes the tourniquet and checks to see if it is needed. About 50% of the time, the tourniquet was indicated - which also means about half the time, the TQ was not indicated. In either event, the paramedic is trained to shake the officer's hand and say "thank you. You saved his life!" Why? We would rather officers apply the TQ than allow someone to die. 

Old mentality was that a TQ was a "last resort," and "only after other methods of bleeding control had failed." That school of thought had the TQ released to allow some blood flow every 15 minutes. Now, the fact is that a limb can be saved up to 24 hours after TQ application. Precautions must be taken after 8 hours because of compartment syndrome, necrosis, and sepsis concerns. 

A great many clinicians I speak with, when they find out I carry a TQ and medical kit as part of my EDC, will immediately warn of TQ usage! Of course, emergency medical persons are immediately impressed. No worry or concern - because they know that a person properly trained in TQ usage knows the proper indications for the use of it.