Howdy.
So my GF and I took a Stop the Bleed course last week. It was about a 1.5 hour course where they run through the very basics of how to deliver first aid to a bleeding victim and keep them alive before the EMTs show up.
I can’t remember if I shared here or not (I think I did), but last year on the way back from Thanksgiving I saw a roll over accident on the highway and stopped to try to help. In that case there wasn’t any bleeding trauma to the victims, but I kept thinking about “what if”. And of course the thought of an accident at the range keeps you frosty while there.
I had a friend take a full day trauma course a couple years ago, and they said at the very least, one should take a Stop the Bleed course, which should help prepare you for the basics of bleeding control.
So after ample procrastination, and making it part of my goals at work, I took the course and now am fairly confident I could help in an accident. They keep the instruction very simple, very direct. Nothing fancy, you learn to compress the wound. If that doesn’t work, pack it with gauze/fabric and compress. And if that doesn’t work, use a tourniquet. They focus mainly on extremity injuries.
So at the very least they have a ~25min online video on their site one can do to take the course. But I’d encourage you to take one in person so you can do some hands on practice on their little cylinder dummy part and actually try out a tourniquet and how it is used.
Even if you are squeamish around blood and don’t think you could do the work, if you know HOW to do it, you can direct someone else.
I then went out and bought stuff to make my own kit, though they do sell kits on their website (I tailored mine to have a little redundancy. I have this thing about running out of consumables and always want extra.)
Here is the link to their website. They hide the link to find the live classes, so below that is the class search link.
Anyway, stay safe out there and good luck if you decide to take the course!
