Over the weekend I posted up a bunch of videos for various traumatic aid products--the SOF-T tourniquet, Israeli bandage, HALO chest seal, Quikclot, and a general wound packing video. These products get mentioned a lot when people talk about putting together some kind of gunshot wound/blowout/individual first aid kit, but I had to do some digging to find some actual tutorials on their use.
I think some kind of blowout kit is a very wise preparation for anyone who owns firearms, carries 'em or plans to use them come TEOTWAWKI. Heck, forget firearms--serious injuries can happen anywhere, from any cause. I think every adult should know some basics for responding to a traumatic injury of that level...packing a wound with gauze, applying pressure to stop bleeding, use of a tourniquet and so on. They're basics and they could save a life.
One barrier I see to putting together one of these kits is the perceived cost of putting a kit like this together. In most of the recommended lists, you've got about $150 in medical gear. $40 quikclot, $35 tourniquet, chest seals and so on. You can spend a lot of money on the best stuff. Will it help? Yep...quality gear is a good investment. However, don't let expense deter you from putting together a kit. Having something, plus the knowledge of how to use it, is much better than nothing.
The basics--gauze, a bandage to hold pressure and a tourniquet--can be put together for under $20. An eBay search for "IFAK" will turn up surplus USGI-issue individual first aid kits, most of them for under $30. Heck, if all you can afford is a couple rolls of gauze and a bandanna, do that. Upgrade as you can afford it and read up on the usage of these items.
I've been guilty of being woefully under-prepared for a traumatic injury for far too long. An investment of a little over $100 has enabled me to put together one very good kit for the home and two decent kits for each vehicle. It gives me good peace of mind to know that these tools will always be nearby, just in case. I will post up details in the near future.
Now I just need to get my wife to sit through some of the instructional videos...
Thanks go out to Sua Sponte, author of Guerrilla Sniper 2, and the guys at ITS Tactical for inspiration for this project.