Stop the Bleed Month & First Aid Kit Essentials

Continuing our video series for National Stop the Bleed Month (May), Caleb is again joined by Chris Hoyne, Director of Community Preparedness at North American Rescue, to talk about the basic items that should be in a good first aid kit. NAR's M-FAK Mini First Aid Kit contains necessities for treating a major bleeding wound: tourniquet, chest seal, quick-clot, pressure dressing, and Nitrile gloves. The M-FAK comes in a rugged nylon carrying case you can attach to a belt or pack, and you can get it with two versions of the case. One version has the tourniquet stored in a quick-access flap pocket on the outside of the pack. The other has the tourniquet stored inside the main compartment pouch with all the other supplies.

 

This is a good kit to have at the shooting range, as it equips you to provide emergency first aid for something we hope we'll never encounter - a gunshot wound resulting from an accidental discharge. Typically, the M-FAK is equipped to treat one wound incident. NAR does offer larger kits with more items in them.

 

The Stop the Bleed program was developed to train folks to be prepared to treat major bleeding wounds resulting from car accidents, gunshot wounds, industrial accidents, agricultural accidents, and the like. Much like the long-standing campaign to teach people CPR, the purpose of Stop the Bleed is to train as many people as possible (about 2.6 million so far) to treat bleeding wounds AND to make sure properly equipped medical kits are readily available. You'll see Stop the Bleed kits stored next to AEDs (automated external defibrillators) in airports, convention centers, office buildings, and other public places.

 

It's important not only to have the medical kit but also to know HOW to use it. Visit http://www.StopTheBleed.org to find an STB class near where you live.