Pouring Sand in Wound.. A good thing?

[Hamma]

Every US marine and navy soldier in Iraq and Afghanistan carries QuikClot. Its maker, Z-Medica of Wallingford, Connecticut, claims it has saved 150 lives so far. The porous mineral powder is poured into the wound, where pores quickly absorb water, which concentrates the blood's clotting factors and so speeds up clotting. In lab tests, blood treated with QuikClot clots in less than 2 minutes, compared with the 10 minutes or so for untreated blood. In studies on pigs with severed arteries, the survival rate was 100 per cent; with a standard gauze dressing, more than half the animals died.
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18925435.800

That's just awesome.

[Giovanni]

I can just see it already. Kid falls off the swings, splits his head and puts a ton of sand/cat urine in the wound. :p

Seriously thought however usefull it is... can you imagine how painfull it is to treat after?

[OneManArmy]

The safety problem in the way of QuikClot's wider use arises because of the large amount of heat the material releases when it absorbs water, sometimes enough to cause second-degree burns. In the face of a life-threatening injury, this may be a price worth paying. "The general feeling around the department is that if I get shot, I don't care if it burns," Johnson says. Despite this, the navy and marines advise soldiers to apply QuikClot only after all other methods have failed, and it is not standard issue for the US army's troops.

down side.

and this is sucks too, you do have to clean it all out. except for this new bioglass
The team's new material, a bioactive glass made of silica and calcium, has larger pores than QuikClot and a different consistency. Its large surface area, and efficiency in releasing calcium ions, makes it clot blood even faster. The large pores allow bigger molecules, such as enzymes found in the blood's clotting cascade, to be incorporated in the material and released into the wound, which could further improve clotting.

Unlike QuikClot, which is hard to make in anything but powder form, the bioglass can be squeezed out of a syringe, like a paste, which would be easier to apply during surgery. Bioglass can also be left in the body after surgery, where it will eventually be absorbed - unlike the QuikClot particles, which have to be removed from the wound after bleeding has stopped, a fiddly and time-consuming process.

[Hamma]

All pretty cool - I would take a burn over bleeding to death anyday hehe.

[Setari]

Wouldn't the burn help close the wound?

[AztecWarrior]

Wouldn't the burn help close the wound?
Possibly, but it would also sterilize it.

[Geist]

That would help if I was bleeding to death but luckily I live in a small town with a hospital and don't plan on going in the army any time soon,especially since I'm only 14.

[Giovanni]

I can just see it already. Kid falls off the swings, splits his head and puts a ton of sand/cat urine in the wound. :p

Seriously thought however usefull it is... can you imagine how painfull it is to treat after?

Note to self: Read the article before commenting! (Dooh) Darn misleading thread title!

[KaceCoyote]

It wont burn you unless its wet. If its just blood it'll get uncomfortably 'warm' but it wont burn you. Its like jumping in a hot shower or a hot tub, uncomfortable but not harmful.

The problem with quickclot is it doesnt weigh verymuch, and in a deep cut with serious bloodflow its -very- difficult to get the quickclot to stay inside the wound to expedite clotting. I've seen bandannas covered with white lithium or similar soaked in quick clot.

My personal favorite is gorilla tape, which is like heavy duty duct tape. run a truck over it so it'll lay flat, stuff it in your pack. You need a wound closed just tape it shut. QC isnt good for heavy bleeding, its much better for smaller wounds or places its tough to get it like split toes and such.

[Ivan]

Is Super Glue still used to close wounds sometimes? I've used Super Glue on some large cuts before, worked fine. I've even used Super Glue to get splinters out. Just pour some glue on the splinter and let it dry, then peel the glue off with the splinter stuck in the glue.

[KaceCoyote]

Yeah I've used superglue aswell, but it has the same problem as QC. If your loosing alot've blood, it wont stay in the wound and close it. Only tape can give you compression AND stop bloodloss.

[Electrofreak]

There's also the problem of internal bleeding if you just close the wound. You actually need the artery to clot up, not just stop the blood from getting out of the wound