The more horrid scenarios inhabiting the skulls of some preppers include dramatic and bloody trauma following on loud and smokey battles against mindless hordes. Some war-game the defenses of their retreats and the possible aftermath. Still others consider what they might do if seriously injured by animal or firearm on a hunting trip. I think back to incidents where I found injured accident victims on the highway.
In all of these there is blood, sometimes lots of it. Where enough blood is lost, life is lost. If only we could stop the worst of it. Well, we can.
The military has used blood stoppers for years. QuickClot has been packed around the globe as a means of halting, or significantly slowing, the life-taking emergency of arterial bleeding. QuickClot’s main ingredient is Kaolin, a mineral that “initiates the body’s natural coagulation cascade, rapidly accelerating the clotting process.” (z-medica.com) It has a proven record of preserving life until proper medical care can be administered.
I came across Celox on a forum years ago, while looking for information on QuickClot, and was drawn to it by the comparisons. From the celoxmedical.com website,
“When mixed with blood, Celox™ forms a robust gel like clot in 30 seconds. It works independently of the bodies normal clotting processes. Celox’s™ clotting ability has been proven to work in the cold (hypothermia) or in the presence of common anti-coagulants such as warfarin. It generates no heat and will not burn the casualty or care giver.
In clinical tests by the US marines, Celox™ was the only product to give 100% survival. It gave a strong stable MAP (mean arterial blood pressure) and was also the only product to give robust clotting with no rebleeding**.”
Celox works differently than QuickClot. Its main ingredient is Chitosan, which swells and coagulates in the presence of blood. It will function on even cold blood.
Further comparison shows that Celox does not turn hyperthermic in the presence of water, which means wet wounds, or those treated in wet environments, will not burn. It does not stick to a wound. When the physician is ready to remove it, there will be no tearing of the flesh. It easily irrigates out, and if there is any breakdown of it, it converts into a glucosamine sugar, already present in the body.
The kicker was the fact that arterial bleeds in the head, neck, torso and abdomen can be treated with this. Try applying a tourniquet to those areas and see if the injured person survives. The risk of dying from broken arteries dramatically falls if this emergency treatment is available.
I began to carry the 35 gram pouches two years ago, in my vehicle’s IFAK. It is intended for use on myself, or on anyone I come across with a life-threatening bleed. (Good Samaritan laws cover the use of it for this purpose.) I saw a man that had died from bleeding out after a motorcycle crash. Femoral artery was torn up near the crotch. A tourniquet might have helped, and maybe not. For trips to the range and elsewhere, we carry Celox-A, which is an injectable version perfect for clean gunshot wounds. It can reach into a hole where pouring granules is difficult or impossible. Since then, they have added Chitosan impregnated gauze, trauma pads, wraps and more.
I advise, when asked, that a person should carry it if there is a concern about:
- accidents at the range
- defense of home
- hunting
- performing dangerous sports
- traveling in a motor vehicle
- taking part in dangerous sports and motor sports
- working with power machinery
- engaging in, or assisting law enforcement
- outfitting a soldier’s IFAK
- stocking a retreat
- building a personal IFAK for “dangerous times”
Any situation where serious injury can occur should be attended by an Individual First Aid Kit (IFAK), or a group First Aid Kit where applicable. Repair shops and farming equipment, construction sites and machines, factory and shipping equipment and warehouse operations – all these environments and more call for responsible medical equipment to be present. Because Celox is so inexpensive, there is no excuse for not having it on hand. And for the more serious world-changing events some envisage, it is absolutely necessary.
