I was on Facebook last night where there were people recommending tampons for bullet wounds. This time it was in the Combat Medic group, holy crap these guys should know better.
So I don’t know who needs to hear this but tampons for bullet holes is a bad idea. Those things are not designed to stop bleeding. They are designed to keep bleeding from making a mess.
A bullet hole will sometimes have a small entrance wound, followed by a rather large wound cavity. If you put a cork in the entrance wound, a cork is all the tampons is, then the wound will continue to bleed internally. Because there is a new, rather large permanent wound cavity, there can be a massive amount of bleeding before the volume of blood pushes the proverbial cork out.
In bleeding control direct pressure is yhe first line treatment choice. If that is unsuccessful, the wound needs to be packed tightly with kerlex roller gauze, and a pressure dressing placed over top. UNLESS the wound is in the chest cavity, where the lungs and heart are. Never pack the chest cavity, that space can not be filled up as the lungs need that space so you can breath.
If the bullet hole is in the chest cavity then the best you can do is seal the entrance and exit wounds with an occusive, airtight, bandage and get them to surgery. The reason for this is to prevent any additional air getting in and collapsing the lung(s).
Notice I never suggested a tourniquet. Tourniquets are useful in an emergency, like a gunfight, as they work quickly. Ultimately tourniquets should be converted to a pressure dressing and/or wound packing. Tourniquets aren’t bad, but they are being over used more and more frequently. As too many people think it is the solution to every problem. It is rather the solution to otherwise unstoppable bleeding on an extremity, arm or leg. Nothing more and nothing less.
Hopefully this helps someone. End of rant.
-Joseph
Outpost 95 