Category: First Aid/Medical

Musings of a Law Enforcement Paramedic – Part 5, by a LEO Medic

This is the conclusion of this five-part article, and this section contains information about gear selection, some tips and tricks that I learned along the way, as long as some links to some training videos. Gear Selection I am a huge believer in redundancy. Things break, get dropped, tear, and get lost. When your car is in the shop and you are driving the rental is when you will need the first aid kit you usually keep in the back. Murphy is alive and well. On My Person On my person, pretty much everywhere I go whether on duty or …


Musings of a Law Enforcement Paramedic – Part 4, by LEO Medic

Yesterday, we read about TCCC and the “MARCH” priorities of field care. We’ll continue with this five-part article by focusing, today, on emergency treatment for dogs because many of us will be depending ours after the SHTF. CANINE ALS/TCCC A very interesting aspect of TCCC that we have found is that it has extremely high carry over to the canine world. Two of my squad mates have working law enforcement canines assigned to them. In addition, we utilize many search and rescue dogs, from bloodhounds to labs for various missions and searches. I imagine most of you reading plan on …


Musings of a Law Enforcement Paramedic – Part 3, by LEO Medic

We are continuing to cover the TCCC “MARCH” Field Care. Yesterday, we covered the “M” representing Massive Hemorrhage. Today, we’ll continue with the A-R-C-H portions and more details to conclude the Tactical Combat Casualty Care Lessons. AIRWAY Head tilt/chin lift and jaw thrust are still recommended, as are nasopharyngeal airway (NPA) use. NPAs are preferred over OPA’s (nose vs mouth), because they do not stimulate a gag reflex. I like NPAs because they are a bit more forgiving when it comes to size (nose to ear!) in that fewer sizes fit a wider range of people, and they provide a …


Musings of a Law Enforcement Paramedic – Part 2, by LEO Medic

Yesterday, we read about certifications and training to prepare to “doctor” your family/group in a post-SHTF scenario. Today, we have part two of this five-part article, looking at first aid in some serious, even under fire situations. TCCC Lessons: In addition to teaching basic EMT, I am a Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC or TC3) instructor, as well as an instructor for the associated Trauma First Responder and Law Enforcement First Responder classes. As anyone in EMS or nursing can attest, one of the first tenants of patient care is that the scene must be safe before care is provided. …


Musings of a Law Enforcement Paramedic – Part 1, by LEO Medic

I am a peace officer by trade, but I am also a paramedic. This article will have five sections to it, based on experiences, thoughts, and training that I have seen and done on a few topics that I think may benefit the readers. The daily sections will be: Certifications/Training Options Tactical Combat Casualty Care Lessons/Training Canine ALS/TCCC Selection of Gear Carried Training Tips A lot of this will be geared towards the retreat group that already has some medical training and for the medical coordinator, but it is applicable to someone looking to start somewhere. First, let me share …


Letter Re: How To Survive Without Your Glasses

Regarding the “How to survive without your glasses” post from contributor J.E. on Saturday August 23, those were all good tips, but some folks have sufficiently poor uncorrected vision that rough shapes and colors is all that can be detected beyond a few feet. Planning a self defense strategy with those limitations could wind up being hazardous to everyone around them, friend or foe. Simple myopia (nearsightedness) can be at least partially overcome with magnifying lenses, which is what’s going on when J.E. suggests using binoculars in place of glasses. For those with astigmatism (distortions in the lens of the …


Quarantine Procedures for Ebola and Other Diseases at Your Bugout Location, by F.C.

With the most recent outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, causing the deaths of close to 900 people as of this writing in August 2014, along with reports that some people infected with the disease are now arriving in the U.S., many of us should now be asking this question: In all of my preparedness procedures, how do I protect myself, my family, and others in my bug-out or bug-in location from Ebola and other deadly diseases? What do I do if family and/or friends show up weeks after a full-fledged pandemic has broken out? Do I welcome them instantly …


Introduction to Tactical Combat Casualty Care, by W.H.

This is an introduction to Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC), which is the medical training that U.S. troops are currently taught to save lives on the battlefield. TCCC is the result of collaboration between U.S. Special Operations Command, trauma doctors, and emergency medical personnel to address the shortcoming in combat medicine at the start, and actually well into the current Wars On Terror. It is the combination of good medicine with good tactics. It incorporates some procedures that are proven to save lives but in the past 75 years were shunned in the medical community. TCCC has proven to reduce …


Being Prepared, by JRR

(Forward by HJL: This article presents some controversial subjects such as milk and eggs without refrigeration. Make sure you perform due diligence on any concept presented as the issue may be more complicated than presented.) Getting started being prepared isn’t hard, but it does take tenacity. It’s not always easy and can be downright mentally and physically draining, at times. There are busy seasons, and there are slower seasons (usually winter). Always looking ahead (what to plant/grow/harvest) and keeping one eye on the weather. What we can’t change, we just have to roll with what nature brings us, but we …


Guest Article: The Very Important Role of CHARCOAL in TEOTWAWKI, by J.W.

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Okay, the Schumer has hit the fan, and we are in TEOTWAWKI times. A family member or your group member (or several) has had a major medical occurrence– an event that has drained much or all of your antibiotic supply and many of your medicines. Then what will you do when you or someone you know receives a poisonous snake, spider, or insect bite? Or, what will you do when perhaps someone is experiencing food poisoning, cholera, jaundice, bacterial infections, ulcers, or has a badly infected wound at a time when your medicine cabinet is all but empty? I want …


Letter: “Be Smart Get Prepared” First Aid Kit

Hugh, Scot’s review made me decide to review what I carry in my car trunk– the Be Smart Get Prepared First Aid Kit sold by Sam’s Club. It was designed as a kit for a small office and meets OSHA and ANSI requirements for such use. The cost is $19.98, so it is less expensive than the Chinook MinimalistPak, even though it is larger. The Be Smart kit comes in a sturdy plastic case with a rubber gasket around where the lid meets the case. It appears this was intended to make the case waterproof when closed, but the tolerances …


Saving Your Marriage for the End of the World – Part 1, by Cottage Mom

Could there be a greater, more important survival topic than building a stronger marital union, which is the bedrock of civilization? This topic reminds me of a young man I once spoke with. He noticed a young lady and heard the Lord telling him that she was to marry him. Even though he barely knew her, he intended to declare God’s will to her, go to the altar, check off the wife box on his bucket list, and move on, clueless to the reality that winning her is a journey. I counseled him that he was trying to barge in, …


Letter Re: NYC Chokehold

Hugh, Just a note about chokeholds. A chokehold uses the forearm to put pressure on the windpipe and can easily result in serious injury or death. Most LE departments have outlawed them as a restraint and classified them as “deadly force”, the same as a knife, club, or firearm. Often mistaken for a chokehold (and usually referred to as such by the ignorant media) is the LVNR (Lateral Vascular Neck Restraint), which, when properly applied cuts off blood flow to the brain and the subject passes out in less than 10 seconds, at which time the LVNR is released. Pressure …


Letter Re: Potential Bioterrorism Agent Found in Colorado

Hugh, In the 19 July 2014 entry by Dr. Koelker, she brought up the potential for use of weaponized plague. Many years ago when I was in the Air Force, my tattered old shot record says I was inoculated against “Plague”. Is there currently any vaccine available that works to prevent pneumonic and/or bubonic plague? And how long is/was my ancient (1968) inoculation effective? Thank you for the excellent heads-up, Doc. BUFF Driver Cynthia Koelker, MD Responds: In my recent article on pneumonic plague I stated that no vaccine is available, but to answer this reader’s question, let me address …


Potential Bioterrorism Agent Found in Colorado, by Cynthia J. Koelker, MD

July 2014: One of the deadliest diseases on earth is right here in our own back yard, so to speak…with no vaccine, fatal without antibiotics, and on the CDC’s “Category A List” of potential bioterrorism agents. Don’t panic just yet. The disease also occurs naturally, as is the case in this month’s outbreak. However, overnight I’ve changed my outlook on the disease. What I’ve recently described to my students as highly unlikely is instead alive and well on the prairie. I’ve gone from believing I’d never encounter this infection to thinking it’s entirely possible. The next time I see a …