Added 13-7-24
One of the survival manuals that I own is “Combat Survival and Evasion” (1966). The basic content is adequate, but it is not the first book I would recommend on the subject.
Where this manual distinguishes itself is that it has occasional bouts of very British eccentricity. There is a whole section on eating snails, which seems to be an extract from a letter by a restaurateur to a newspaper or magazine.
The section on primitive medicine (part 14) is actually the recollection of a Dr Gene N. Lam, USAF, who was held prisoner in a North Korean POW camp.
On p.147 Lam states:
“I believe more men lost arms and legs as a result of tourniquets than from any one type of war wound. A tourniquet destroys tissue, gangrene sets in, and it is often impossible to save the injured member.
Just apply heavy, constant pressure - that alone will stop 99% of all bleeding. If blood is spurting out, stick your finger down on the wound and hold it there.”
In recent years, it has been common to issue troops with an immediate first aid kit (IFAK), and one or more tourniquets are often included.
There is no doubt that properly and appropriately used, tourniquets can save life and limb. As manufactured tourniquets are more commonly available, so too is there is a greater potential for improper use.
This site has a good discussion on when to use a tourniquet, and when not to.
I heartily recommend any readers to carefully read and assimilate the information given there.
A basic rule of thumb is not to use a tourniquet unless a pressure dressing is not working. The site referenced lists a number of exceptions to this.
This video discusses using a tourniquet to apply direct pressure to a dressed wound.
This is an application for tourniquets that is not particularly well known. This is the only example that I have personally encountered.
It would be useful to see some experimentation and clinical trials conducted to verify the usefulness of tourniquets in this application.
One may easily envision a situation where a tourniquet is used to reduce blood loss so that a wound may be cleaned and dressed, and then relocated to apply lighter, direct pressure to the wound dressing.
By the Author of the Scrapboard : | |
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 | Attack, Avoid, Survive: Essential Principles of Self Defence Available in Handy A5 and US Trade Formats. |
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 | Crash Combat Fourth Edition Epub edition Fourth Edition. |
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