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IFAK. What am I missing?
- Thread starter frenchman
- Start date
The Mylar blanket is a good suggestion. Still have a few of those, so that's an easy fix. I guess two more rolls of gauze, a coup,e of non stick pads, some tape and a sharpie, and call it an IFAK.
It's packed in a "one Tigris" Amazon special pouch, which is about one step up from Condor, which means it s not exactly top tier. But I'm sure it'll withstand the rigors of sunny range afternoons (it's my range bag IFAK).
On my rig, I carry a vacuum sealed kit that was put together by the same instructor I took the classes from, in a TDS(?) tallboy, with a SOFT-T wide TQ.
It's packed in a "one Tigris" Amazon special pouch, which is about one step up from Condor, which means it s not exactly top tier. But I'm sure it'll withstand the rigors of sunny range afternoons (it's my range bag IFAK).
On my rig, I carry a vacuum sealed kit that was put together by the same instructor I took the classes from, in a TDS(?) tallboy, with a SOFT-T wide TQ.
Dennis in MA
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WTF is IFAK???????
I've never met a 4" Israeli but I knew a 3' Hungarian.
Where the Frick are you guys going that you need all of this. Afghanistan??? Certainly not your home or wandering around the Stop & Shop. (Well, maybe the condoms - you never know the MILFs that you might meet.)
I've never met a 4" Israeli but I knew a 3' Hungarian.
Where the Frick are you guys going that you need all of this. Afghanistan??? Certainly not your home or wandering around the Stop & Shop. (Well, maybe the condoms - you never know the MILFs that you might meet.)
Think of it this way; none of us ever thought we’d have to step into the Walmart octagon with 7 crazed soccer moms to fight over a 12 pack of TP either, but I bet we won’t make that mistake again.
This x100. Holy crap, this will be a huge IFAK.
OP, ditch the chem lights and consider removing one chest seal. Then add tape, a marker, maybe some regular gauze with a bandana. Done. Strap a second tourniquet on the outside somewhere if you’d like.
If you have something that creates holes in people, or are at a range where everyone has things that can make holes in people, it’s good to have something on hand that will plug those holes.
That used to be recommended so I bet some people still have them in their kits. But you don't want anything that absorbent. If possible you want a clot to form.
IMO those are the same. Individual First Aid Kit, IFAK or first aid/med bag.
Then there is a blow out kit or a trauma kit which is the next level of "Oh Shit".
For an IFAK I'd add Vetbond. Liquid sutures for cuts that need a few stitches but aren't that deep. Easier than trying to suture yourself and won't burn the skin like super glue.
I'd also add a squeeze bottle of saline solution in case you get something in your eye or need to irrigate a deep wound.
A first aid/med is an intermediary between an IFAK and a more complete trauma bag. An IFAK is supposed to be pretty minimal. It is to treat immediate needs of an individual. It is not for longer term care or for group care. That is what the first aid/Med bag is for.
Irigating a wound can be worried about later. IFAK is to keep an airway open or stopping a serious/arterial bleed. If you’re working around chemicals that can easily get in your eye, then sure some sort of saline solution in a squeeze bottle may be appropriate for an IFAK, but that’s a unique situation
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Mine is (and is more of a car kit, I don't carry this around with me):
CPR mask
2 CAT tourniquets
several pairs of nitrile gloves
trauma shears
2 6" OLAES bandages
2 packs of hemostatic granules (outdated tech I know, but I already had them, next time I'll get Z fold combat gauze)
mylar blanket
2 Narcan nasal injectors
safety glasses
leather gloves
N95 mask
Sharpie
It all rides in a $7 Walmart tool bag
Agreed, I should have a couple of chest seals. The OLAES bandages have that capability, but they're potentially fiddly in that situation and chest seals are cheap.
CPR mask
2 CAT tourniquets
several pairs of nitrile gloves
trauma shears
2 6" OLAES bandages
2 packs of hemostatic granules (outdated tech I know, but I already had them, next time I'll get Z fold combat gauze)
mylar blanket
2 Narcan nasal injectors
safety glasses
leather gloves
N95 mask
Sharpie
It all rides in a $7 Walmart tool bag
Agreed, I should have a couple of chest seals. The OLAES bandages have that capability, but they're potentially fiddly in that situation and chest seals are cheap.
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Dennis in MA
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Back in 99, I decided to go deep on some SHTF stuff. It was the time. I packed a CTD surplus backpack with about 100years of supplies confident that my out-of-shape ass could hump it more than just to the end of my driveway. I had everything in there. Cooking supplies. Seventeen different knives. A few guns. Ammo for a full Marine division, etc., Ponchos. A FREAKING TENT! It was funny in a way.
OK, THAT makes sense. Maybe a RANGE first aid kit. But personal - like wandering around??? I'll just leave on in my truck and call it a day.
Haha, lots of people make that mistake for not just SHTF, but long backpacking trips, overland adventures, and long motorcycle trips. Once they start moving, stuff starts getting pulled and mailed home.
Yup, an IFAK is always with me at the range. As enbloc said, hunting or hiking too.
Day to day? No, I’ll leave it in my car and get home bag. I’m not far enough away from an ambulance and hospital during my day to day that it’s worth strapping an IFAK or bleeder kit around my ankle or have it sit in a purse, I mean European carryall... I mean satchel. I’ll use my belt as a tourniquet if I absolutely have to.
Good kit. I like these tourniquets- Tactical Medical Solutions SOF-T wide
You'll want a "Boo-Boo" kit if you don't already have one. I'd pack following in a small zip-lock snack bag;
You'll want a "Boo-Boo" kit if you don't already have one. I'd pack following in a small zip-lock snack bag;
- Band Aids
- Tweezers
- 81mg Bayer baby aspirin
- Advil That's the stuff you'll use the most often
Individual First Aid Kit
LOL but seriously i'd say it's designed to go to the range where a sucking chest wound is not out of the realm of possibilities.
I haven't yet, but it's something to think about now for sure. I also don't leave the this kind of stuff (or boxes of nitrile gloves) sitting out in plain view in parked cars.
For daily use (grocery store, etc), I wear a 3M 7500 reusable respirator with 60926 multigas / P100 filters. I got a few strange looks a few weeks ago, but not so much now.
The last few refresher courses I've taken do away with any clotting stuff. If I was still in Ajo, yes, maybe. But honestly, if you are going to bleed out, you're going to bleed out. If a TQ won't stop the bleeding, it's really bad news, I've seen pictures of guys with 2 TQ's on both legs make it. If you can't compress the damage and stop the bleeding, it's deep damage and quickclot probably isn't going to get to the original damage.
It also messes with the doc trying to actually fix you. They have to get that crap out first to see the damage.
I like the liquid stuff and the saline. Both useful for various things.
An IFAK should be small enough to carry almost daily, I carry 1 on me (armor), one on my bag (camelbak), and another in my truck (ziptied to my cage between the seats). If you live in a metro area, it's all you really need. If you are camping, sure, go a little more overboard and throw in an inflatable splint or whatever else you need. But even then, it shouldn't be big enough to slow you down or shorten your hikes between rests. As usual, my disclaimer that I'm more than willing to listen to someone with more experience than me.
Good points.
Good post. For camping, I’m going to have a bigger kit with not just added splint, but tweezers, hydrocortisone stick, burn gel, Ibuprofen, anti-diahreal, anti-bacterial cream, bandaids, nu skin etc. A camp med kit goes much further than an IFAK.
Quickclot and wound packing are for pelvic area or shoulder area, places where you can't apply a torniquet. In a "he's going to bleed out fast" situation I wouldn't waste time on a limb with wound packing, it's straight to torniquet.
I like the small Bleed Stop packs of powder, very similar in size/shape to a flavored packet of whatever that people pour into their water bottles.
Perfect for smaller but deep cuts that would normally require stitches to stop the bleeding. Not everything will be life threatening and sometimes we can get locked into that operational policy of IFAK’s only holding life treating sustainment until a medic shows up with a full pack, but we’re not overseas and bending those rules to suit your environment here at home shouldn’t be a gig on somebody that’s at least trying to be prepped for the occasional shit storm we call life.
I’ve used the small powder packs combined with 3M steri strips on a cut that required 4-5 stitches on a person using blood thinners. So for that actual instance it could’ve been life sustaining for her as the blood was everywhere.
Don’t lock your minds into a singular SOP simply because that’s the way it’s always been in your experience and you only ever carried one size pouch. People should evolve and adapt to what the individual needs and environment is.
Perfect for smaller but deep cuts that would normally require stitches to stop the bleeding. Not everything will be life threatening and sometimes we can get locked into that operational policy of IFAK’s only holding life treating sustainment until a medic shows up with a full pack, but we’re not overseas and bending those rules to suit your environment here at home shouldn’t be a gig on somebody that’s at least trying to be prepped for the occasional shit storm we call life.
I’ve used the small powder packs combined with 3M steri strips on a cut that required 4-5 stitches on a person using blood thinners. So for that actual instance it could’ve been life sustaining for her as the blood was everywhere.
Don’t lock your minds into a singular SOP simply because that’s the way it’s always been in your experience and you only ever carried one size pouch. People should evolve and adapt to what the individual needs and environment is.
My main point is depending on how it clots, it can cause almost as much damage as the original wound. The old school stuff used to get hot enough to cauterize the wound. Meh, ok, before I had to hit edit, just looked at my latest issue IFAK, it does have a clotting bandage in it. So maybe it's coming back into favor? Or someone just ordered a bunch not knowing what was in it.
The original powder stuff (that cam brought up a couple posts above) is frown upon now, I think, and has been for years. The quick clot gauze replaced it and seemed to be well received, but perhaps that too is now out of favor. I’m not sure what the current TCCC viewpoint is.
Edit: TCCC says to use hemostatic dressings when tourniquets cannot be used, like p.. said.
“
b. For compressible (external) hemorrhage not amenable to limb tourniquet use or as an adjunct to tourniquet removal, use Combat Gauze as the CoTCCC hemostatic dressing of choice.
- Alternative hemostatic adjuncts:
- Celox Gauze or
- ChitoGauze or
- XStat (Best for deep, narrow-tract junctional wounds)
- iTClamp (may be used alone or in conjunction with hemostatic dressing or XStat.
- Hemostatic dressings should be applied with at least 3 minutes of direct pressure (optional for XStat). Each dressing works differently, so if one fails to control bleeding, it may be removed and a fresh dressing of the same type or a different type applied. (Note: XStat is not to be removed in the field, but additional XStat, other hemostatic adjuncts, or trauma dressings may be applied over it.)
- If the bleeding site is amenable to use of a junctional tourniquet, immediately apply a CoTCCC-recommended junctional tourniquet. Do not delay in the application of the junctional tourniquet once it is ready for use. Apply hemostatic dressings with direct pressure if a junctional tourniquet is not available or while the junctional tourniquet is being readied for use.
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Yeah, I think it depends on who's teaching the course. There was a CPR thread a while back that almost turned into a dumpster fire between how you do CPR.
Totally, I get it. The granule stuff is old tech. And if all I had was regular gauze I'd use that to pack a wound without clotting agent and hold pressure.
Current stuff is z fold combat gauze with the clotting agent embedded in the fabric, with an x-ray visible strip too so they can find where you put it, and it's easier to remove at the hospital. But I was buying this myself and it's $43 a pack, so I used what I had!
Combat Gauze Z-fold Hemostatic
