As discussed in the video, severe bleeds are very high on the list of things you can be "unalived" by. "Unintentional Injuries" Ranks #4 of the leading causes of death. Lets break those down a bit.
Poisoning (including overdoses) | 102,001 |
|---|---|
Blood Loss | 60,000 |
Motor-Vehicle Accidents | 46,980 |
Falls | 44,686 |
Choking | 5,325 |
Drowning | 4,337 |
Fire, Flames, Smoke | 3,389 |
Another point of reference for comparison:
Murder | 22,900 |
* stats taken from injuryfacts.nsc.org (2021) and NE Journal of Medicine (for blood loss - 2019) and statista.com (murder - 2021)
These statistics are not perfect, since there is surely some overlap between accidents like motor-vehicle and blood-loss.
We never really think about the fact that we are 2x more likely to die in a car accident or 3x more likely to die from blood loss than to be a victim of murder. We also don't think about the fact you are 4x more likely to be murdered than to choke to death.
As such, it also lands very high of the list of things that we want to be prepared to address. I personally had a anecdotal experience in regard to trauma after we ran a trial IFAK course last year. A couple days after the event, a close friend (who couldn't attend the training) fell from a roof on a construction site and landed on a stake. Thankfully, the injury (though it required a long recovery) did not cause any massive hemorrhaging. The "what ifs" always run through my mind though - a couple inches one way or the other, could have resulted in a different story.
But lets rewind... growing up in a rural area, I also knew a farmer who had lost a hand and a leg to farm equipment. Amazingly, he survived both and lived a very long life. Unfortunately, this was not the only local heavy equipment injury - and many were not as lucky. These types of events are also frightening for the rural individual because we have much longer emergency response times than most of the population.
I always felt pretty unprepared for a traumatic situation like these, but like most people I probably just brushed it off thinking, "I'm no medical professional." Its easy to default to expecting someone else to be the one to address any potential injury. Especially because emergency medical was less of a discussion back in the day. However, some good things come from war. In 2005 the CAT tourniquet was introduced to the military with amazing success, becoming the standard for stopping extreme hemorrhaging. Then, as the global war on terror raged on, many experienced veterans were coming home and training individuals in self defense. Naturally, their understanding of the necessity of this tool (and the rest of an IFAK) came through in a lot of their training and became infused in the new evolution of gun culture. This started to change my perspective as I began to carry a firearm. I saw people like James Yeager and Warrior Poet Society talking about the importance of tourniquets. I also worked security around the same time, and I knew I needed to have some layer of protection against serious bleeds in that role. Similarly, in that period I was driving a lot between college and home and work, and saw a handful of accidents happen (and had one of my own). Thankfully, none of them resulted in life-threatening injuries, but again the "what ifs" bounced around in my mind.
This is one of the topics that really started me into a passion for being prepared for things to go wrong. It seemed so strange that this legitimate concern of most of my peers in the agricultural and industrial fields was often met with apathy. Why wouldn't we want a layer of safety that is so simple (and cheap) to adopt into our lives? Well, most people simply don't like to think to about the chance for these types of things to happen to them. Thankfully, the content available and some EMTs that I knew at the time drove me in the right direction of what to acquire and become capable with.
Since then (about 8 years ago), I have begun to adopt IFAKs and other medical equipment (more on this eventually) into my regular gear. I always have a TQ and an IFAK. I have come across multiple accidents since then as well. And the added confidence of being equipped for a severe bleed allowed for more comfort and less of feeling of helplessness in the past.
Remember, I am a regular guy. I have taken one medical college course (emergency first aid- around 2014) that wasn't of much value. I don't think they stressed TQs at all and I am pretty sure we never even learned to apply one. I basically just got CPR certification. You don't need to be anyone special to understand how to use this equipment. I firmly believe EVERYONE can utilize these items. I think it is a major disservice that these things are not a staple in every education system, so every student would go into adulthood equipped.
60,000 deaths a year from massive hemorrhage. Imagine if everyone knew these basics.
Thankfully, the tide is turning somewhat. More people like you and I are here to consider these things. And many states are even trying to address it as well. My state even recently started up a free Stop The Bleed course.
Last note: like I mentioned in the video, there is a lot of fake equipment out there when it comes to medical gear. DO NOT BUY kits from amazon or ebay or other sites where knockoffs are common. Always go through a verified CAT (Combat Application Tourniquet) or North American Rescue dealer. This is one of the reasons why I recommend the Every Day Citizens tactical IFAK. Watch the video above, or check out our recommendation page to see the other reasons why.