Friday, November 7, 2008

New bandages for soldiers in war zones

From Stars and Stripes:
ARLINGTON, Va. — All soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan will get new bandages to treat life-threatening bleeding, replacing the "hemcon" bandages they use now.

The Army has ordered more than 270,000 packages of Quik-Clot Combat Gauze and 17,700 packages of WoundStat, said Lt. Col. Sean Morgan of the Office of the Surgeon General of the Army.

Combat Gauze, made by Z-Medica Corp. in Wallingford, Conn, is gauze with a hemostatic agent while WoundStat, made by TraumaCure in Bethesda, Md., is a granular substance meant to mix with blood to form a seal over wounds.

The Army plans for every soldier to have a package of Combat Gauze while every combat lifesaver issued a combat lifesaver bag will have three packages of Combat Gauze, and all combat medics will have three packages of Combat Gauze and two of WoundStat, Army officials said.

Article here. Something to think about as you stock your own personal trauma / first aid kits. I don't know if the Quik-Clot Combat Gauze is similar or identical to their Advanced Clotting Sponge product. Anyone know?

No comments: