QuikClot, Do you require a license?
I recently completed a basic combat medic course about two months ago. Part of the course showed us how to use a product called QuikClot which is used for moderate – Severe bleeding of the limbs. I recently brought a sachet of QuikClot from a shop and keep it in my first aid pouch just in case I require it.
Last week someone told me that it was illegal for me to be in possesion of QuikClot because you apparently require a license. Is this true or are they just chatting B*ll*hit?
While I don’t believe that QuikClot is actually illegal to use or possess, I believe that there are some restrictions on the sales of such items.
And for good reason too!!
I have actually taught and coordinated the equivalent in the Canadian Forces, the Trauma Combat Casualty Care course. What I would like to point out most strongly is that such products are of fairly little use in civilian first aid. Only when you need to consider “return fire” and “win the firefight” as steps in your care algorithms should Quikclot be utilized. Adequate direct pressure or adequate wound packing will almost always (read 99.9% of the time) be far superior to QuikClot (maybe some profuse abdominal bleeds or high, profound femoral artery bleeds, possibly the occasional aortic laceration….but come on, these bleeds are likely to kill you no matter what you use to stop the bleed, unless you are able to start surgery right where the victim lays).
QuikClot burns so much tissue in the process of clotting off the bleed that it can cause limb/life threatening damage whichever site it is used on. When you start using QuikClot in a wound, you should be completely aware you are becoming a cause of a large chunk of meat being cut away and thrown in the garbage in the operating suit.
But, if bullets are flying overhead and that guy is continuing to bleed but you can’t apply direct pressure without getting shot in the head….then QuikClot is the cat’s meow.
Now I am a practicing GP, contracted to the Canadian Forces. I have access to some pretty amazing supplies. I have about 6 packages of QuikClot at home, but I have phased it out of all of my civilian first aid kits (including my mountaineering first aid kit), in exchange for packing and pressure supplies. I believe that in non-combat situations, any realistic bleed I would come across would have superior results with good ol’ direct pressure/packing.
I know, I know….QuikClot is darned cool and its “wow” factor kept it in my first aid kits longer than it should. Only after I started really scrutinizing weight and size of supplies (you want the absolutely smallest first aid kit possible when you have to carry everything up a mountain on your back) did I come to my senses about it.
Hope this helps
Cheers
John
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