Each year toxic shock syndrome affects about 1 in 100,000 women. Theme: Newsup by Themeansar. LSM Type II IFAK with a couple of great options and one bad option for controlling major bleeding. Infection CONTROL measures are important, but that can be done after the injured HAVE been treated for severe blood loss! Only it wasn't just the king. So, why shouldnt they work? Wrapping the entire dressing ensures that the bandage is being used to its fullest potential. In any situation involving an arterial bleed you need a different treatment to ensure that the artery is repaired as quickly as possible (hemostat, etc.). The tampon has been in use as a medical device since the 18th century, when antiseptic cotton tampons treated with salicylates were used to stop bleeding from bullet wounds. Thanks Some add an occlusive layer, pressure bar, and other bells and whistles. He said the wound was pretty clean, but it was deep. Exploring the World of Knowledge and Understanding. There are a lot of discussions currently being had about the green future of tampons: many of them have a big environmental footprint, filling landfills, washing up on beaches, and proving very hard to biodegrade. According to Carla Rice in her book Becoming Women , people objected to them for all sorts of reasons: religious leaders thought they'd make girls prone to erotic feelings, and parents didn't want their daughters' hymens ruptured. Suppose you are putting together a trauma kit, stock it with trauma dressings, compressed gauze, a tourniquet or two, 2 tape, gloves, and some BZK wipes. There are many factors which impacts the path of a bullet, and the amount of trauma from a GSW. 9g of blood, stop an arterial bleed, capable of pumping out 1000 mLs in just over 3 minutes, https://www.crisis-medicine.com/heavy-flow-is-not-massive-hemorrhage-tampons-dont-belong-in-ifaks/. This allows there to be pressure against what is bleeding. We greatly appreciate your business! However, it is believed that the idea came from the militarys need to find an effective and efficient way to treat wounds in the field. Take a Xanax Jax. Exactly. From hair trends to relationship advice, our daily newsletter has everything you need to sound like a person whos on TikTok, even if you arent. But the modern tampon faced a bit of an uphill battle. Home and travel first aid kit should carry these types of wound care products. First of all my opinions of whether to use or pack Tampons and/or maxi pads in my own first aid kit comes from 2 seperate sources which I believe have more than enough knowledge about gun shot wounds and shtf scenes. This pesky topic seems to rear its ugly head semi-routinely. AND, miles away from the nearest hospital? The biggest issue with that is the limited sites that it can be used in. And t.p., like tampons is clean, not sterile. Treating Gunshot Wounds with Tampons: Myth or Fact? Example: [Collected via e-mail, January 2005], He told me how wonderful the care packages were and wanted me to tell everyone thank you. It was not until 1940s that many companies made tampons. A survivalist explains that a tampon cannot provide the surface area or pressure required to control massive bleeding. Pushing a tampon into a gunshot would does damage going in , maybe tearing up a damage artery of vein. So they do not provide any hemostatic assistance. Some women are carriers of a virus that make them more susceptible to it, so it is a significant health-related innovation. If you have any further questions, please chat, email, or contact Customer Service at 1-855- . Made from everything you can think of (rock salt, opium, and elephant dung are all on the list), tampons have been used for centuries for a huge swathe of purposes. Just as sterile if not more so than those gauze pads and other medical stuff. This is a question our experts keep getting from time to time. Big difference. Some mention Quick Clot, QC is great but isnt perfect. When using a wound packing simulator from QuikClot; it is obvious that a tampon doesn't come close to filling a ballistic wound cavity. Home | About | Contact | Copyright | Report Content | Privacy | Cookie Policy | Terms & Conditions | Sitemap. They're also often processed using some fairly body-damaging chemicals (like chlorine), so new frontiers need to be pushed to make them eco-friendly and safe. The caveat is that wound cavitation from modern ammunition seems only to be cone-shaped in ballistic gel or when you shoot big game broadside in the chest cavity when the shot enters between the ribs. Call a doctor if you think you may have toxic shock syndrome. Sleeping naked together might improve your rest by reducing your stress and anxiety levels. A few things, though. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. With the wound now wiped out, prepare the hemostatic gauze for packing by opening one side of the package and putting the entire package into a pocket, or tucking it into a shirt so it can be pulled out easily section by section. Materials used in the manufacture of feminine products are especially well suited to wound care. We'll maintain the "Undetermined" status regarding the story for now because although we can vet where and when the original post was made, to verify the tale itself would entail talking with the Marines or doctors who witnessed the incident. If you have nothing else then use a tampon. Hippocrates, in 500 BC, writes about absorbent material wrapped around sticks to carry medicine into the vaginal cavity. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. You state over and over that tampons are a bad idea for a trauma kit, but when it comes to the core of why people choose to carry them, you dont actually address *why* they dont work. By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. The tampon was traditionally soaked in whatever antiseptic or anesthetic drug was in general use, before being applied to a wound. Cellucotton, the substance used in Kotex (sanitary napkins), was devised for the purpose of improving bandages in World War I. These people are often the same ones who say tourniquets are unsafe (read our article on TQs here!). This is the last (and possibly most pertinent point) as to why a tampon wont work when treating a GSW at best it will simply stretch the skin of the entrance wound and plug it creating a hidden cavity that will simply pool blood removing it from circulation. Do yourself and your loved ones a favor: buy a real pressure dressing and take a class on how to use it effectively and efficiently. A student stocks a bathroom with free pads and tampons at a high school in Falls Church, Va., in 2019 . He grabbed a bunch of the items out of his care package and got in the Humvee. The idea of inserting a thing that's not a body part into the vaginal canal was actually probably first developed by the Egyptians or at least they're the first ones who wrote it down. As long as there is human history, the innovation is not likely to stop. Myth: busted. They are designed from the ground up to control moderate to severe bleeding, including pressurized arterial bleeding. Thank you for contacting us. They were, in essence, vaginal pessaries. The message board post was edited into the form it has now taken, e.g., the original contained details not part of the version that has come to be circulated in e-mail, including the name of "Marine X" plus a bit about the soldiers' throwing "Channel 11" footballs at one another after lights out. For maximum shelf life, store the bandages in a med kit where the outer wrapping wont be compromised. For ages, people have said that Hippocrates, the most famous Greek doctor of all, talked about tampons made of lint wrapped around sticks. the English thinker Francis Place advocated a tampon for contraception, a woman, Gertrude Tendrich, who bought the patent and started to produce it. But thats another article for another time. A ideal kit for first responders. Thanks for the input. It was an effective way to stop bleeding and reduce the risk of infection. The modern tampon (as in a tampon with an applicator) was patented in 1933 by a guy who then sold the patent to a woman who founded Tampax. SO while I had as much available medical supplies on hand as I could possibly pack into the backcountry. I've seen a scary and common misconception that it's just fine to put a tampon in a bullet wound to stop the bleeding. Later, Gertrude Tendrich produced the first commercial tampon brand . The 'tactical tampon' is not a fancy, 'high-speed' product fresh from the minds of trauma device developers. They successfully slowed the bleeding and got the guy medical attention. Just my two cents, but I have and will carry tampons for just this reason. However, as long as the package is still shrink wrapped and airtight it should still be sterile. Regardless of how many times it is refuted, one of the many myths surrounding bleeding control that continues to linger, is using a tampon to treat a gun-shot wound. That is significantly different from sterile. Theres nothing wrong with wearing a bra while you sleep if thats what youre comfortable with. Drawing straight from the toxic shock syndrome controversy, organic tampons drop the risk of being affected by trace chemicals. Of course having a cool guy A-Bag full of Gucci medical gear is preferred but might not always be available. But if you are making a kit then use real bandages. It's now pretty commonplace that certain women in ancient Japan used tampons made of paper, held in place by a bandage called "kama," or pony. Sources: That's what tampons were developed for, believe it or not. Required fields are marked *. It took several years after that for manufacturers to figure out what was even happening. This is the part that can trip people over. The discharged fluid is made up of about 40-50% actual blood, and then several other types of tissues, such as uterus lining, broken-down unfertilized eggs, some hormones, and maybe even small amounts of vaginal secretions. Apparently military have been using them for some timeand caleb..THEY ARE STERILE! This does not mean it is in circulation. TIL tampons were originally made to plug bullet wounds. Yet for some reason, people still feel the need to treat patients like they are living in some bad Mad Max remake. Yep. Tampons are typically associated with feminine hygiene, but they have also been used in more unexpected ways throughout history. Which Teeth Are Normally Considered Anodontia? In ancient Japan, they created tampons out of paper, in Hawaii, they used ferns, in Indonesia vegetable fibers and in Africa rolls of grass. Claim: Tampon used to stanch deadly wound saves Marine's life. God bless each of you for your efforts and hard work, and God bless our Marines! I have a passion for learning and enjoy explaining complex concepts in a simple way. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. This isnt guaranteed but a possibility. The Napoleonic Wars saw many medical innovations, including: Yes, doctors literally plugged the hole by inserting a dressing that resembled a tampon into musket wounds. Very different kind of bleeding, too. Tampons do not stop your menstrual blood from leaving your body, and you wouldnt want them to. Your email address will not be published. My point is that sometimes we may have to use a little ingenuity to save a life or two. However, the tale's premise, isn't all that outlandish. In the 1920s, nurses sometimes made tampons out of cotton and gauze in medical settings. Instead, they were medical devices, designed to treat prolapsed pelvic organs, much as a modern vaginal pessary would today. Because thats a different situation where tampons are useful for me . You can urinate with minimal undressing just unbutton your pants. These include: Gun shot wounds are unique because of the injury profile created in the wake of a bullets path, known commonly as cavitation. TimesMojo is a social question-and-answer website where you can get all the answers to your questions. However, as my military medical career progressed and I gained more education and experience, this is one of several medical interventions that were either modified or removed. It was nearly 50 miles away! Usually fired a little round musket ball (to reduce powder fouling) of around .65 caliber from a paper cartridge at 1,000 to 1,100 feet per second. After packing three balls, pack the remainder of the hemostatic gauze in an asterisk(*) pattern to create a tight dome over the bleeder. Need a safe place to go? Have you ever played a game of telephone? It was marketed as an invisible device even with the most perfectly fitted gown. Gertrude Tendrich bought the patent and launched the now-familiar brand. It's not clear where this information came from, though, and it may have been scuttlebutt about a particular class of women, like prostitutes. 1001 Things Everyone Should Know About American History, 2,200 cases of tampon-related toxic shock syndrome. Hi Sherri. Sometimes hemostatic gauze is used (when the bleeding is severe.) What is the difference between packing the wound with gauze vs inserting a tampon? But there are times that a tampon might be helpfulnot with an arterial bleed but maybe the entrance wound or not a hollow-point or assault style weapon wound in the core of the body. If the tampon is at body temperature, it is soft and flexible like the wall of the vagina. Tampons are not designed to stop bleeding but rather to absorb and catch menstrual blood stopping it from leaking out during a menstruating womens daily activities. This is like people that found out crayons can be improvised as candles, then went out and bought crayons. And if you were to quickly spray the tampon with a broad spectrum antibiotic before packing it into a bullet wound, would this not help mitigate at least some of the potential infection that might accompany the use of a non-sterile wound dressing? Of course, no beginning industry avoids challenges and pitfalls. Photo: author, Which of these three products do you want to use to save your life or your loved ones life? My son said, "Mom, the tampons sent by the Marine Moms by mistake saved a Marine's life." Second Media Inc., 30800 Telegraph Rd, Suite 1921, Bingham Farms, MI 48025 USA. It seems to me like its a hell of a lot more common for someone to encounter or be the victim of a gunshot wound these days than we would like to admit. You might have some smarts but you lost it here. Modern-day tampons were developed in the 1930s. Packing wounds in the field just introduces more contamination into the wound, which creates infection, but that is why they make antibiotics.. saving lives sometimes is a compromise between best practices and absolute desperation. This might change the amount of fluid your vagina produces during the rest of the cycle, but more research is needed (2). I told my son I was really sorry about the mistake, and if he wanted I would send Marine X another package. A solid bunch of material in a tampon simply does not pack well. When he brought this up my imagination was just running wild, but I let him continue. In Viet Nam tampons were sometimes used for shrapnel wounds. After the war, Kimberly-Clark began making sanitary napkins from Cellucotton. However, the military continued to experiment with the idea and eventually found that it was a safe and effective way to treat gunshot wounds. Medics with years of combat experience say they consider tampons excellent for penetration trauma because not only do they absorb a lot of blood, they are sterile, packaged with easy-to-use applicators, and leave a "tail" protruding from the wound that aids doctors in easily removing them. During World War II, the US military experimented with tampons to treat wounds caused by bullets and shrapnel. In the panic of a shooting you think a woman is going to holler back, I do! Even though they are not sterile dressings they are clean. most of the cops I knew, at least those that took the job seriously, had go bags with medicial/first aid kits with these things in there. Just because something worked once doesnt mean it will work again. yes they will expand but that is a great thing, espically since, THEY ARE STERILE. Click Registration to join us and share your expertise with our readers.). Then of course, they had the tampons. OR, like the camp cook that was prepping food in the dining and cooks tent! I was in an armor/tank unit and in the 68th Medical combat support hospital. Just using a tampon alone may not work and may require pressure and additional gauze, however this can be said about almost any piece of medical kit. A Brief History of the Tampon and Who Invented It - ThoughtCo In no world would the 9g of absorption be beneficial tostop an arterial bleed, capable of pumping out 1000 mLs in just over 3 minutes. So, once and for all, lets get this subject straightened out. A Brief History of Tampons and How They Were Used to Treat Bullet Wounds Tampons have been around for centuries and were originally used for healing. Remember, the entrance wound is determined by the size of the bullet, it is the wound you can physically see. Photo: author, Top: one of authors favorites, Olaes Modular Bandage from Tactical Medical Solutions in four-inch version. As we have in the field started packing wounds in recent years (this is a carry over from combat medics, yes I know its been standard for years in the military, but not so for most US based field medicine). If I had been there my first reaction to render aid would be grab gloves, duct tape, scissors & thick pads as well as peroxide. According to a report from the National Institutes of Health, In 1966, the Army implemented the use of tampons for the treatment of gunshot wounds. The tampons were soaked in antiseptic solutions and inserted into the wound to stop bleeding and protect against infection. https://www.crisis-medicine.com/heavy-flow-is-not-massive-hemorrhage-tampons-dont-belong-in-ifaks/. 0.543 secs. At this point I asked him, "Well what did you do with the rest of the tampons?" Applicator tampons help to do the hard work by pushing the tampon in for you. Hornadyexplains it well: In essence, a bullet going through soft tissue has the same effect as dropping a stone into a pail of water. Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, cocaine was regularly used as a local anesthetic in surgery. The permanent wound cavity that resulted when a man was shot with a Charleville was vastly different from the wound cavities left by modern rifled firearms firing high-velocity ammunition. Because you wont have a fully staffed OR. Tampon - Wikipedia Many thanks for the article. I think the whole idea of tampons as a blood loss stop came from the bandage carried in the first aid kit in WWII. I bet some of you must be thinking, I have inflicted, seen, and/or treated numerous gunshot wounds, and there is no way I could have plugged any of them with a tampon! Bear with me here. In the Napoleonic Wars, the most used firearm in that conflict was the Charleville a smoothbore musket of .69, .70, or even.71 caliber. Not a good as a hemostatic, for sure, but the gauze provides a lattice at the edge of the leaky artery to allow the clot to begin to form, same as stuffing a wound cavity with Kerlex, just packed smaller and with a tube to facilitate getting the gauze in the cavity and close to the bleeder. I am absolutely amazed by the ingenuity of our Marines, and can't believe that something that started out as a mistake ended up saving someone's life. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the next recorded tampons were still used primarily for medical use. Why do Australian tampons not have applicators? It was a contraceptive device, a way of distributing medicine, a method of healing, and often not thought to have anything to do with menses at all. RangerRick nailed it. Plus, there's also been a thorough backlash against the stupid woman-leaping-in-white-trousers theme of tampon ads throughout the decades, with modern tampon ads now far more straightforward (helped by the fact that there isn't as much TV censorship nowadays). Read the federalist papers but read the Anti Federalist Papers as well! I know for a fact a finger in the wound will plug it and possibly save your life. Do Men Still Wear Button Holes At Weddings? https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/tampons-to-the-rescue/ Not all BY THEMSELVES! He said they were administering first aid but couldn't get the bleeding to slow down, and someone said, "Hey use Marine X's tampons". They may follow bone structure, or ricochet. The oldest printed medical document, Papyrus Ebers, refers to the use of soft papyrus tampons by Egyptian women in the 15th century BCE. That changed in 1929, when Denver-based physician Dr. Earle Hass patented a design for the first modern day tampon. Even ER doctors misdiagnose tension pneumothorax about 30% of the time, so if your medical training consists of a few basic certifications like first aid, WFR, WEMT, and maybe a couple of tactical trauma classes, you could end up doing more harm than good with a chest dart or performing a cricothyrotomy. Anonymous. My son said things were going well, and then the convoy was ambushed. The tactical tampon is not a fancy, high-speed product fresh from the minds of trauma device developers. Unlock new opportunities and expand your reach by joining our authors team. He said it entertained them for quite awhile. Corpsman rolled him over and plugged it with a kotex and we put him on an LRV. When it comes to teens and the use of tampons, there are many questions and misconceptions. Menstrual tampons are feminine hygiene devices, usually made of absorbent cotton, that are temporarily inserted into the vagina for absorbing a woman's blood during menstruation. If only that were true. We also investigated the origins of tampons and how they came to be used as a medical treatment. Tightly! Photo: author. True they come in all sizes but so do bandages even Isrealies come in various sizes so this shouldnt be a point that eliminates their potential effectiveness. Tampon history - Period! Only it wasnt just the king. Tampons are made to soak up blood, after all. One medic with years of combat experience said that after absorbing the blood from a bullet-wound, the tampons leave something like a tail protruding from the wound which makes it easier and convenient for medics to . Photo: author. Youll do just about anything to help stop bleeding from a potential stray bullet wound! There are better options today, but if you run out of them, a tampon is still a convenient way to get gauze inside a wound. A Look at the History of This Thrilling Ride, Common Carpet Cleaning Mistakes and How To Avoid Them, The Importance of Separating Personal and Business Finances, Developing Your Personality: Identifying Strengths, Setting Goals and Connecting with Inspiration, How to pick out the proper payroll software for your enterprise, Security Tips For Every Web Developer Should Follow, Elevate your e-commerce business by enhancing packaging, Top 15 Decentralized Autonomous Organization Companies, 10 Must-Have Skills for Any Web Developer (Latest Guide 2023), Does Chobani Have Live Cultures? Yes! This was the first commercial distribution of menstruation-related items. In a no S*** real world situtaion, who cares if you have a few pieces of sterile cotton in your arm. Sometimes it better to say nothing than let everyone that works trauma thi nk your speaking out of turn. Yes, tampons can get stuck but don't panic! You can buy two Olaes bandages for under $15, and two Israeli bandages for under $10. Additionally, there could potentially be gunshot wounds that will require anesthesia, open excision, lavage, cautery, ligation, and repair that is beyond the purview of the majority of even medically licensed preppers. Never used a tampon but there is a reason I have Kotex in my first aid kit. The use of tampons as a medical treatment has also allowed doctors to treat more patients in the field. Tampons are not designed to stop bleeding, but rather simply absorb it. Even packing gauze when removed will tear out clotting, or even irritate the wound area. My son said they had to go on a mission and Marine X wanted the chapstick and lotion for the trip. This was the whole point of the article. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. If you have the choice, use the right tool for the job. NEARLY SLICING OFF his thumb! 2nd they are not sterile, which maybe true however infections are easier cured then the outcome of uncontrolled bleeding. If the king had gas, he got treated before a conscript who was bleeding to death. While the use of tampons is not the ideal solution and there are some better alternatives out there, given the necessity of the nature of puncture wounds, gsws, even large gashes, anything is better than nothing. Antiseptic cotton rolls were used to stop bleeding from bullet wounds. His Facebook page is here. When I was a combat medic, improvisation was not only encouraged, but we also were tested on it several times throughout our training at Ft. Sam Houston. beyond taping a tampon pad on the victim Im not qualified to do much else. As an example in a Active Shooter situation and without having a cool guy med kit, would you recommend NOT to use a tampon to help control bleeding? It was everyone higher in station than our conscript friend, so a severe wound was a death sentence for the infantry of low rank. Once 2-3 inches above the wound, fold over the remainder of the gauze and use it as a pressure pad to continue to apply firm pressure. Why Do Cross Country Runners Have Skinny Legs? That increased oxytocin can help to reduce your stress levels. I understand your comment about medicine in the civilian vs combat environment, however, both environments have the same objective which is to keep people alive. Some gunshot victims only bleed a few drops, but some lose pints if left to bleed. Tampon Wound Dressing | Snopes.com The first time women had to creatively manage their periods was in the First World War, when nurses created both pads and tampons so they could continue working effectively. This means bacteria and mold can grow if theyre not stored properly. Knowing what to use and when is crucial, this is why we have included Stop the Bleed in all of our First Aid courses. With bleeding now controlled, use a section of regular gauze to wipe away excess blood, blunt dissecting as necessary to locate and visualize the severed artery. However, as long as the package is still shrink wrapped and airtight it should still be sterile. Women picked up on the idea for their needs. Throughout history, women dealt with their monthly bleeds in the privacy of their own homes or farms. 1st they are hard to open and know how to use, really? If you switch from tampons to free bleeding, theres also a reduced risk of toxic shock syndrome (TSS). But even with proper treatment, a wound infection may occur. Even if a tampon, pad, or diaper can soak up pints of blood, the patient will still die unless the wound clots and stops bleeding. He told me not to worry about Marine X because every time I send something to him, Marine X thinks it's for him too. Anyways you can read the article. Granted the artery was not hit. If it did stop bleeding women wouldnt bleed for a week. Do you know why men can write articles about tampons? PSA DON'T USE TAMPONS FOR GUNSHOT WOUNDS : r - Reddit If the stone (bullet) enters the water (tissue) with a lot of momentum, however, the surrounding molecules have to act a lot more quickly and violently, resulting in a splash (temporary cavity). 30 April 2003. 18th century: The tampon was used as a medical device. The Surprising Origins of Kotex Pads - Smithsonian Magazine Your email address will not be published. Lets remember, the goal of controlling bleeding is not toabsorbblood, but tokeep it in circulation. The pressure dressings designed by the companies I just mentioned are specifically designed for moderate to severe arterial bleeding and packaged for austere environments. I have served in combat, have used tampons to temporarily treat various wounds, but that said, any packing material is not the cure all. Step 5: Secure a snug pressure dressing and transport. Fun fact: Military bases in the US and abroad often feel like their own mini cities. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. If you say you do not want me to try and stop your bleeding with a tampon, what would you want someone trying to help you do?