Top Misconceptions About Tourniquets
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.พ. 2025
- There are a lot of misconceptions about tourniquets on the internet. Many people still have the old school mindset when it comes to tourniquet uses.
Facebook.com/SkinnyMedicTH-cam
Google ► plus.google.co...
Twitter ► / skinnymedic
Store ► shop.skinnymedi...
Great info and well done.
Beyonce says "put a ring on it" but Skinny Medic says "put a tourniquet on it" : )
Sootch00 you need a tourniquet for your belt and held on by a couple (2) hairbands (ask the young lady). tjl
sootch00
lol!!!!!
I took a hunter education course a while back. During the first aid portion of the class, the instructor told everyone that "if you put a tourniquet on, you're going to lose the limb. It's guaranteed." The man insisted it was true.
I was SO pissed. He teaches hundreds of students every year, and now who knows how many of them will refuse to apply a tourniquet if they need one because this moron told them they were guaranteed to lose a limb.
Logically still better to guarantee an amputation than risk a coffin. But people don't think that way
For 15 plus years that is exactly what people were taught about tourniquets. You would have done better to simply prove your position to that guy rather than accomplishing nothing by coming here and calling him a moron.
Simply ask yourself, do you wanna live to see another day question? If the answer is yes. Then better use that to stop bleeding asap with a tourniquet. It's going to hurt a bit but aleast you'll be alive. 😊
I'm ex infantry and I saw tourniquets save multiple lives when applied in Afghan after, mostly, IED incidents.
Roo Roo thank you for your service!
one of my rotc instructors saved a guys life after he stepped on an ied. the guy lost all of his limbs but the tourniquets stopped the bleeding
@@deltashot5608 at that point let the man die with some dignity
Thanks for the content. I’m putting together a heavy bleed kit for my employer. I had advanced first aid in 1982 and a few basic first aid classes at work since then. Your videos have helped guide me, but I now realize that we need some professional, expert training to use the heavy bleed kit at work. Thanks for the inspiration.
i love the fact you told .. there's no perfect tourniquets out there ... the one that works it is the one you have with you
'''TQ''''s Have come a long way since using a D.M.S. boot lace & a piece of twig. My ''old'' instructor was once ''told off'' by a snr medic for using a T/Q in the field on a Royal Marine. told him he needed to be more qualified before using such methods.!!! He told us, that , he simply smiled & said will a surgeon commander rank & advanced teaching Trauma qualification do ?? Her face was as red as farther Christmas's tunic.
I was a Lithuanian First Aid instructor for years and then stopped my certification because of age. I followed Skinny Medic for a decade and filed all his YT links with a paragraph on each so i returned when I saw an article from the head of training of the ambulance service in the country's capitol. I used their service and have kudos for the team that worked on me and got me to hospital. Sadly the article was written to more scare you out of using one and no mention to the layman of where to find out how to apply, etc. So I am back to an old skinny medic to refresh on some fine points.
I learned to use a triangle bandage in 1975. Just because things are old doesn't mean they don't work. Now, modern tourniquets are much better but the old stuff still works.
Thanks for making this video. I haven't been a paramedic for 13 years and tourniquets were used only under very specific circumstances when I was working. Based on how freely their use is being promoted I had a suspicion we were back to using them more frequently. Thanks for confirming.
This is now part of my 5.11 Tactical pant EDC... Put two hairbands on my SOE EDC w/Cobra belt buckle belt (that hold my 5.11 pant up) to hold the tourniquet. For I help only a little on business property that has a dangerous sport and not just shooting dangerous paper targets... Ordered two more tourniquets... Thank you for the video ! tjl
Like your new aggressive training people need to know this stuff. Thank you,
Thank you
SKinny, this video is 4 years old. You own the skinnymedic store, you should totally invent your own TQs. Make a belt that is designed to be used as a TQ and make the perfect TQ! DO IT! We'll all pay whatever for the perfect TQ.
I'm getting out of the Army in 10 months and going to go to college to be and EMT and eventually become a Paramedic and your vids are really cool. 👍
Thank you! Good luck!
such a pity that the army does not offer the E.M.T. or paramedic training to those who have served.
***** Washington State is actually going to pay for all of my training, labs, supplies, and have job placement for me when I get out when I sign up for the VIE-25 program. My last 12 weeks in the Army I'll be in EMT school 4 days a week and then show up to my unit 1 day a week provided my Commander approves it. 👍
Good on you. A medic is worth his/her weight in GOLD no matter what uniform they wear. Even S/F have the utmost respect for P.J's & C.M.T's RESPECT.....
I was today years old when I learned the ETB shark teeth can be used as an improvised TQ!!! freaking 9 years as an army medic and i just got hit between the eyes!!! sweet!! thanks for the insight brother! keep on being awesome!
Bro, I can't say that the tourniquet hurt more than the hole blown in me, but when I cranked down on it I was heading into shock. How the hell did I get out of that one.
man u r good
never thought about first aid or anything, bought some ifak kits recently and am learning a lot from your viddies
good info, thanks much. Things have changed a great deal over the years. I have been retired for 8 years and then I worked for the dark side of the fire service for 12 years before that (fire investigations inspections and fire marshal of a large department) so I have not worked as an EMT for many years. I currently have a part time gig doing some commercial inspections and that puts me in a lot of urban areas (where things have been getting a little crazy) so decided to bone up again on medical.
they really do hurt, had them applied and was only practicing...it was bad! Mine was only on less than a minute but wow!
Right
LADONNA S. Yep. I showed my family how to use the CAT and only turned the windlass a couple turns so it didn't hurt too bad but I did make sure to explain that it needs to be cranked down much more
It needs to be cranked until bleeding stops, it's not a torture implement.
I tested a RATS tourniquet and it was mildly uncomfortable but not bad and it worked when I checked my pulse and capillary refill.
Yup, being dead from bleeding out would go a long way to eliminating the pain.
Excellent, long awaited video on this important topic. Thanks, Skinny.
A friend had a really gruesome accident with a power saw. Severed his wrist badly, his hand was hanging from pretty much half of it, squirting bright red blood everywhere... Believe me, a belt is no tourniquet, neither is a shirt or anything you can improvise on the spot (without training on how to "improvise" them)... only a tourniquet is a tourniquet.
Barely made it to the hospital in time, doctors said he was minutes if not seconds away from irreversible damage and death. Since then, I always carry a tourniquet and basic bleeding control stuff. It's not just for CCWs and such, accidents happen: power tools, car crashes, you name it. Better be ready, you never know when you're gonna be the first responder ;)
BW to this day he still has no feel in his thumb, but other than that, he's ok.
I had a friend almost die from washing the dishes one time. He forced his hand down into a tall glass to scrub it with a cloth and the glass broke and cut his wrist very badly. He was alone, didn't know how to stop the bleeding, stumbled outside into the street and collapsed. His neighbors saw him and called 911, so he survived.
This is a great video. Thanks so much for the tip on using an Israeli bandage as improvised tourniquet. I always have a tourniquet with me but my active shooter kit has more bandages than tourniquets and it is very helpful to see that in a emergency you could use this as an improvised tourniquet if you had already used up your tourniquets.
Basically, if you have to choose between life & limb, choose life! Limbs can be replaced; lives can't!!!
The C.A.T. is my favorite tourniquet overall, but the SOF T is also a very good choice. (Just for the record, I've never used either in the field, and hope I never have to, but in practice they're both so effective & easy to use that it can be tough deciding which one to buy.) There's also the new SOF Tactical Tourniquet-Wide -- SOF TT-W (that one's a mouthful!) -- that I'm interested in trying, but I haven't as of yet had the opportunity to do so.
Ironically, if I ever do need to use a tourniquet in the field it isn't likely to be either the C.A.T. or the SOF T, but rather the R.A.T.S.. The R.A.T.S. is so compact & lightweight that I've gone to carrying one around in my back pocket all the time now. In the morning I just slip my wallet into one hip pocket and the R.A.T.S. into the other. It's the first one I've found that's small enough to do that with. I still keep a C.A.T. in my 1st aid & blowout kits, but the R.A.T.S. is in my pocket pretty much all the time now. (A big thanks to SM for hooking me up with the R.A.T.S. to begin with!)
BTW, improvised tourniquets will almost always hurt more than purpose designed tourniquets, oftentimes a lot more. They're also more likely to cause permanent nerve & tissue damage. So, if you're planning to just unravel your paracord bracelet and use it, prepare for the pain!!!
I have a feeling one of these days you will probably design the perfect one, you are on the right track brother.
Maybe! ;-)
When you practice, you should be applying the tourniquet as tight as you can get it, then 1-2 more turns is what we were taught during my combat training, because that's the way you need it. It hurts like hell, and we were only leaving it applied that way for 1-2 mins, and it was horrible pain, but at least you would live. Good video man, informative as always. I personally love RATS and the SOFTT-W.
I was applied a TK in training long ago, but I don't remember the pain 😂
Although I do remember the pain of the excersize we did when we made an error 🙈
Hey skinny medic! I love your videos, as I'm an aspiring veterinarian or emt. but I'd love to see more of the small stuff like film dressings for everyday first aid. love your videos, keep up the great content!
Excellent Information,
Excellent Video Sir !
Thank You for sharing this with everyone.
I somehow missed this video last summer. Excellent overview. Very understandable. Answered a couple questions I only recently had. Thanks Skinny Medic!
Thanks for some great info! There's a lot of misinformation and ignorance out there about TKs, nice to see some of it dispelled.
Thanks for these vids👍
Lol, "I'd be somewhere on a Beach". Nice. On a beach WITH a tourniquet I'd bet! Great video. Taking a few new guys to the range this weekend and CAT Training WILL be in the schedule.
Thanks for the video! Perfect timing, as I just received my SkinnyMedic kit yesterday.....
Great video sir. I apologize the 2nd comment. I was reading some information regarding tourniquet and surface area. In using an improvised tourniquet it should be noted that is needs to be at least 1" in width. Using 550, electrical cords, etc will create a ligature essentially and possibly cause more damage , and not help with arterial occlusion. What say skinny medic?
yep TQ's hurt a lot
Great Video. I will be doing the drawning for the skinny medic pocket kit this weekend.
This is an AWESOME video bro everyone should see this video, just subscribed to you 👍
Really appreciate what you do. Thank you.
Another great tutorial.
Great advice on the tourniquet. Which tourniquet is the easiest to apply? Which is the cheapest cost ways...
Wheels gone Wild easiest to put on is a cat tourniquet (£30+ for a real example) as you can apply it effectively 1 handed, great for personal treatment. Cheapest legitimate tourniquet is the SWAT tourniquet (£10 approximately) which is a bit trickier to apply one handed but is achievable but is also great for someone who has little to no trauma first aid experience as a visual pressure indicator is on the exterior of the tourniquet.
They are all good and have a legitimate place in a trauma kit, it honestly depends where you are and what threats you are expected to face.
Thanks
Will you please make a video of what to do if SHTF and there is no further help to turn to after having to apply a tourniquet or other bleeding control such as wound packing?
I have never put my knee in a femerol artery. I have put my size 12 foot on a bracheal and femeroal artery. I have also used the bp cuff as a touriquet and as a pressure bandage.
Excellent video.
Your manual BP cuff will also work well for this. (and yes, they make cuffs that are big enough to wrap around the thigh.) In fact, that's why I always used to carry two sets of those.
I've done this, and for short term pressure they are great. The problem I've had is that they leak, so you might have to keep an eye one it and pump it up from time to time (quite often). For short term (minutes) they are better than proper tourniquets imo
I enjoy your videos.. Good work and really enjoy the refresher tips.
Thank you
Have I misunderstood you Skinny medic. Are you a cop or a paramedic ?
Belfastchild paramedic, now part time thanks to his TH-cam and store which I think is awesome.
Is there any research done in the amount of blood clotting caused by smaller vs thicker tourniquets?
Nice, I was just talking to someone yesterday about using cordage as their main tourniquet. Hopefully this video could help persuade them to buy something that was specifically designed to treat massive hemorrhage wounds. Not to talk about using feminine hygiene products in place of trauma gauze.
Good info, thanks for sharing.
Great video. And Thanks for posting it.🖒
Thanks for the insights!
Really good video skinny. I subscribed. I have watched some of your videos off and on for a couple years now and always blew off the subscription because of having to many subscription bombarding me with notifications. I have a passion for medical (I was a combat medic for a few years) and I am always posting medical stuff on the prepper forums. I just posted one of your videos on the fake Chinese CAT tourniquets with a write up on the forums and will probably share this video as well. Don't forget to remind people lto click on the bell for notifications. I didn't know about that and missed out on a lot of videos until I figured it out. Take care
Thank you!
Where has this channel been all my life.
I have several of each type and version, i like them all, but some are better for diff scenarios
Great info thanks doc!
Thank you
Love your videos, solid advice.
Thank you
Great video. Can you make same kind of video about heamostatic gauze.
Excellent advice as usual!
And...YES...they hurt!
Thank you
That's a great ideal with Israel bandage thank you advice option to help a lot when I go camping upstate New York God forbid something happen but thank you
Im late, but last time i donated blood, the nurse used a bp cuff as a tourniquet, then used a hemostat to keep the air in. I thought it was pretty interesting,as i never thought of doing it.
If you have to put a tourniquet on and it has been on for two or three hours. Can you loosen that up for a few seconds to let blood flow to the limb and then tighten it back up?
Outstanding
placed this question on another video but it might be better here, how do you remove a tourniquet safely if it has been on for a long time?
Another good video ! Well explained
Great video! So with the cost of this stuff so out there for the average person living paycheck to paycheck, do you know of any places that sell used tourniquets for training purposes? My wife is a lifeguard and knows the basic CPR and I'm a prepper and would like to get used ones to train and practice with at home, we already use other items to train with but I see that we really need to get some actual tourniquets.
I really want to add a tourniquet to my supplies. But, with no training on them I'm leery on which one to get. I need to put it in place with 1 hand. I expected each one has it's draw backs, but there has to be an efficient basic one for beginners.
Do you have any experience with the RMTs (Ratcheting Medical Tourniquet)? I never see them mentioned, but it's used by AK state troopers and was highly recommended to me by a recently retired PJ and current EMT/Fireman. Thanks for the great video.
Vastly inferior to the windless CAT and SOFT-W or EMT TQs which are CoTCCC
THANK YOU.
Awesome information!!! Thanks God Bless!!!
What about releasing pressure every 10-15 minutes then tighten the tourniquet again?
Skinny , Sir , will you ship to Canada ?
Awesome video!!
Thanks
I'm building my kit now and it has been a grip since I had any medical training... I wish I was closer to GA so I could take the class this coming November 21..... Would be a great B-Day gift to me, but 3000ish miles from me prohibits it from happening /sadface
To your point of wider is better the blood pressure cuff is a great example. 6 inch wide and Velcro can hold it closed. Seems like a no brainer, wider is better.
great video
Nice info as usual.
What do u recommend for small Outdoor adventure medical kit, 4" or 6" Israeli bandage? Needs to fit in a 5x8 fatpack
I normally put a 6" in my 5x8 FATPacks
good stuff
The TK4 is not a real tourniquet. The CoTCCC tested it several times and came back with the same recommendation: not for field use. The kept snapping and injuring the soldiers and they didn't do an adequate job of cutting off blood flow.
Could you not "halfway" a tourniquet to minimize bleeding but allow flow?
Buy them all and put them all on 👍🤠
From personal experience they hurt like hell , you know it’s on correctly when you can’t feel a pulse below it.
Awesome vid thanks if the tourniquet doesn't hurt than it's applied wrong
Awesome vid
Thanks
What about just wrapping tons of gauze over the opening instead?
From what I have swwn in European writings on the topic, it seems we have embraced the concept mutch less, except maybe in the military. Does anyone have an idea why that could be?
I have a question, that I’m not sure who else to ask:
If I don’t have someone to practice on, who/what do I practice on? Do I need to get a practice dummy?
You can work with a foam noodle, it is cheap and easy.
@@SkinnyMedic I never would have thought that. Thank you
If I have a deep cut on my head do I use a tourniquet around my neck?
As someone who wants to learn things like CPR/First Aid what are the classes I should look at? I've seen regular CPR and First Aid, but also have BLS, PALS, AED etc.
Look into a first aid class and a trauma class
Thanks so much. And when you say a Trauma class, what kind of class is that? I found lot of First Aid stuff, but not so much when it comes to trauma.
Hey Skinny, do you hav any experience with Celox? If so, wut r yor thots on it? Thnx.👍
Without doubt, the best tourniquet is the one you have to hand when you need it.
Any thoughts on Revmedx TX2 and TX3 tournaquets?
I like them!
So after having checked out the CAT on amazon months n' months agao, I made a paracord tourniquet out of a cobra stitch (~1" wide or so & ~30'ish" long) & have a small clevis used for purposes of tying it onto itself. Any caveats in this?
Not sure ... never tried it
Good to know. Thanks shipmate
God Bless (us all)
Like your vids....have you used a Israeli bandage as a tourniquet and got the blood stooped?
Not in the field
there is a perfect tq, the stat tq
haha
Now are Tourniquets reusable, I mean they are built to be used more then once. But what about getting blood on it and it would become a biohazard. So are they one use or can they be decontaminated
Single use.
Picked up a Rats today. I like it, hopefully I'll never need it. Are the Rats a decent one can you say from experience?
No sir, I recommend either the CAT or SOF-T.
Iraqveteran8888 brought me here. subbed
Welcome!
SkinnyMedic More like, "you're welcome."
I can't live without my right hand/girlfriend.
Jason Elder I see what you did there.
What about your left hand girlfriend? If you lose both might as well becoming a metal cyborg in the process. 😁
I can't live without my left hand/girlfriend.
WhyteLis21 - He’s not the cheating kind- It’s his right hand... or NOTHING!!
Who am I kidding... we’d all adapt. I saw a walrus blow a load in the underwater viewing tank at Sea World. Jerked himself off with those big ol flippers. Analyze, adapt, overcome!
@@WhyteLis21 cranking one out with a cyborg arm sounds a little dangerous
Are ratchet tourniquets more dangerous or not? Would it still be a good option to carry? Different povs out there.
What`s your pov on this?
I know this vid is a year old, but I guarantee NO ONE said "a to 4 is my favorite tourniquet." Just saying! Great video.
There's something about the Soft-t that I don't like... I don't really know the difference between the Cat and Soft-t, but whatever it is, it makes a difference!
- Palmer I can't seem to get as complete occlusion with a SOFTT-W. Particularly compared to modern CATs, swat-t, or even the RATs