Pulling together your biomedical supplies to create the optimal jump kit can be pretty daunting. You don’t want to miss out on anything that may put a patient in harm’s way. From pressure bands, compressed gauzes, tourniquets, gloves, shears, and other essential things, you want to ensure you’re not missing any vital material in your bleeding control kit. Now the big question is whether or not you should add a hemostatic along with other materials in your bleeding control kit. If you’re asking this question, this article may help you get one step closer to an answer.

The reality is, a hemostatic agent is essential, as it helps stem the flow of blood from traumatic injuries. There are a variety of hemostatic agents available on the market today. While some help to accelerate the natural clotting process, others help suppress the body’s natural means of busting clots. Before you add any hemostatic to your trauma kit, it’s important to recall some of the crucial guidelines put together in 2003 by the United States Army Institute of Surgical Research. These guidelines help describe the perfect hemostatic agent for battlefield scenarios. 

• Readiness to stop a large-vessel arterial and venous bleeding within minutes of use
• Ability to be used with no requirement for on-scene mixing or preparation before application
• Ready to be used by injured persons or medic with little training
• Lightweight, durable, and easy to carry
• Safe to use with no accompanying risk of injury or transmission of infection

Hemostatic products like QuikClot Combat Gauze, Hemcon, Celox Gauze, Celox rapid, and more have all been described as the perfect hemostatic. They come very close to meeting the USAISR description of what an ideal hemostatic is. 

Without mincing words, it is imperative to add a hemostatic to your bleeding kit, especially when dealing with traumatic injuries. New hemostatic gauze products have proven to be extremely useful in this regard as they can be used with standard wound packaging techniques. While some professionals may consider hemostatic agents to be more of a luxury, we can’t deny the fact that this agent helps save lives every day. That said, if you’re looking to add a hemostatic agent to your kit, we will advise you look up applicable local regulations before purchasing these biomedical supplies.