How to Address Wound Care Effectively

Imagine being equipped with the know-how to handle the aftermath of a bleeding injury—whether it's a minor scrape or a deep cut. That's exactly what you'll grasp in this episode as Bill Bateman walks you through the essential steps of first aid and wound care. Bill shares his expertise on the ABCs of emergency response, emphasizing the importance of airway, breathing, and circulation, and guides us on how to tackle bleeding with confidence. Moreover, he highlights the life-saving Stop the Bleed program by the Ashland Fire Department, reminding us that cleaning wounds and seeking medical help is paramount. Bill's advice doesn't stop there; he knows that teaching others and being self-sufficient is vital in a crisis, and he discusses the need for two types of first aid kits—outlining what essentials your "boo-boo kit" should contain.

In our second segment, we get into the nitty-gritty of what makes a first aid kit effective, from the practicality of vet wrap to the psychological comfort provided by fun bandages for all ages. Bill's insights into the items your kit should never be without, like gauze pads of various sizes and saline solution, are invaluable. He also navigates us through the importance of professional medical training and consulting healthcare experts for emergencies. By the end of this discussion, you'll not only be motivated to ensure your kit is up to scratch, but you'll also understand why looking at product ratings is crucial for emergency readiness—not just for minor issues. This episode is teeming with actionable advice that could make a critical difference when care is needed most.

Promised Links:
Emergency Wound Care|Natural Disasters and Severe Weather
Step-by-Step Master's Guide to Wound Care | Unitek College
https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/Documents/Programs/HAIP-AS/Wound%20care%20observation%20checklist.FINAL.pdfhttps://www.health.pa.gov/topics/Documents/Programs/HAIP-AS/Wound%20care%20observation%20checklist.FINAL.pdf


Previously on Survival
https://www.buzzsprout.com/211002/episodes/13823928

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Transcript

Bill Bateman: 0:00

I wanted to talk about wound care this week, and boy is that a complicated subject. Come on in, let's sort this out. Hi everybody, I'm Bill Bateman, part of the team here at Refuse to be a Victim of Personal Protection Training. We are located in the Medford White City area of Southern Oregon at 6800 Kershaw, right there where Corey makes that abrupt turn. Come see us. We'd love to meet you face to face or have you come in and get a lesson. Just like the subject of radiation, we delved into a few weeks ago, the subject of wound care is just a little too complex for you to get from the guy on the internet. This is serious business. However, being able to do as much as you can is the difference between a serious infection, possible amputation or even death, and that's why we're going to delve into it and give you some suggestions and hopefully point you in the right direction.

Bill Bateman: 1:10

Now, in any situation,for any layperson there are basic goals. We should all be able to deal with the ABC's- Airway Breathing and Circulation. That's a choking hazard, that's a heart attack, that's CPR or using an AED. We should all know that for a person when there's an injury, generally with bleeding, the first thing you have to do is stop the bleeding. The Ashland Fire Department has a Stop the Bleed Class, which I recommend highly. It's usually full, so try and find out now when the next class is and you can be a part of it.

Bill Bateman: 1:51

After you get the bleeding stopped, you need to clean the wound, and that doesn't mean just dab at it with a piece of gauze. That means you have to remove debris. When I was riding bicycles and somebody had fall on a turn, oh my goodness, you'd have dirt gravel, sometimes even part of your clothing embedded in that wound. So cleaning a wound out, there needs to be some study on doing that properly, and always you should have some kind of solution, preferably sterile saline, but water works at a pinch. Then you've got to cover and stabilize the area so you don't do further damage and you can help nature stop the bleeding and cauterize and begin to heal.

Bill Bateman: 2:36

And, last but not least, you've got to get professional help as soon as possible, especially if stitches are going to be needed or you had to use a standby method, like some of the things we're going to be talking about in a few minutes. You got to get help. Unfortunately, that's not always possible. If you recall, we've been saying you are your own first responder and it could be for a day, a couple of days, weeks or up to a month. Now, naturally, in a medical situation, sooner is better.

Bill Bateman: 3:07

And this all boils down, ladies and gents, to what can you do and what will you do, what do you have the ability and what do you have the willingness to take part? And if this sounds familiar, this is because way back when we first started out and in a recent program, we were talking about the same thing basic first aid and bleeding issues. Okay, you've stopped the bleeding, now what? And they had a number of books and emergency treatments. I've supplied the links at the sign in spot from that earlier episode and, if you'd like, you can even re-listen to the earlier episode.

Bill Bateman: 3:51

If you're the person on scene and someone's bleeding, I know you may be queasy. I know some people who can't deal with the side of blood. It really throws them. And if you know that in advance hopefully there's someone else and don't let that put you down you can be of value. You can call 911. You can assist getting the supplies. Go for help if that's an option. There's a lot of things just because you can't be Mr EMT Doesn't mean you don't have a valuable role to play. But if you are the only person and I've actually seen this firsthand person sees a loved one and that queasiness and that unwillingness to deal with blood goes away. If that's your child on the ground, you'll lift up a Buick if you have to to make that child better. Know as much as you can and this is where first day training comes in to play but also wound care after you deal with the initial problem. That's what we're talking today. Now there's two types of wound care. If you have a chronic wound and need chronic wound care, you need to be able it is your responsibility to be able to describe what steps need to be taken to someone who's willing to help you in the event of emergency. If a regular care provider can't be there, or if you're between point A and point B, do you have the necessary supplies and can you tell someone how to assist you? If someone is willing to do that work? Be as self sufficient as you can. Regular folks, you and me.

Bill Bateman: 5:36

I have supported having a couple of first aid kits. I used to say just have one. Well, a month or so ago I said. You know, I think we should really have two. You should have two first aid kits. All should contain some basic things like gloves, perhaps a mask, depending upon the situation medically. And in the first kit you're going to want what I call a simple treatment or a boo boo kit.

Bill Bateman: 6:00

Now, we're not making light of the fact somebody got hurt. I use boo boo kits on many of those bicycle injuries I'm talking about and that means you're going to have a way to disinfect. You're going to have gauze squares, you're going to have tweezers. You're going to have a spray disinfectant Also for those little cuts like eh, it's got a staple caught me, you got something here. You're going to want to have band-aids. Now, I know band-aid is a registered trademark but like Kleenex, everything's a Kleenex, regardless of who makes it. So you need to have a adhesive bandage to be accurate.

Bill Bateman: 6:37

And I will say that for kids of all ages, those dinosaur or flintstone bandages they're actually magic. I get a smile when I get an injection or I get blood work done and they give me a little flintstone bandage and I think it's kind of funny, little kids. Actually. That makes it feel better, even if it doesn't. You're dealing with some psychological stuff here. That is strong magic. They call that mom magic and don't mess with mom. So gauze squares, tweezers, itch be gone. There's a anti-itch after bite, after wasp sting or after spider bites, things like that. You dab it on. That's good Benadryl for something a little more serious and some wrap, vet wrap, and we'll talk more about that in a second. I like it better than tape if I have to hold on or close, try and close an injury.

Bill Bateman: 7:32

Now for bigger injuries, for more serious, serious problems. You're going to want at least two by two. We have, and I talked last time. I said I'd talk about some of the things we bought. We got gauze pads in two by two and four by four size. We both got what's called a brick or a block, a hundred of them at one time. And we also got some of the boxes of pre-wrapped individuals.

Bill Bateman: 8:00

The reason for the boo boo kit. You're not going to have to just dive in and start grabbing things. It's not a life or death emergency. You want to be quick. Of course You're going to tear the disinfected or the sterile I'm sorry, the sterile package of gauze out. Deal with the work. You may have to have one or two In something a little more serious. You're going to want to be able to get to larger quantities quicker.

Bill Bateman: 8:27

Also, you can get gauze bandages. As you will see if you take a stop the bleed class. They are rolled up. It's strips of gauze that are rolled up. You throw it over your shoulder and then you work the gauze into the wound after you clean it. Or, if it's a serious emergency, you work the gauze in right now getting debris out as you can. Now, I am not a doctor. I have played a doctor on television but I'm not a real doctor. I've taken a lot of classes. You should consult with a health care professional doctor, emt, nurse, take a class and get the actual step by step. I'm giving you general information based on an emergency situation.

Bill Bateman: 9:14

I like vet wrap and if you've had your blood drawn recently, they're now using vet wrap. They put the little square over the cotton, over where they draw the blood, and then they wrap this stuff around its stretches. It sticks to itself but it is not adhesive. It doesn't pull all the hair off your arm. So vet wrap comes from that one half inch strip. You see, comes in all kinds of fun colors, going back to the mom magic, but it comes in from, I think, half inch. I've seen it up to four inch wide rolls. I'm sure it comes larger than that, but not readily. What we do with here at the house what we had to do this past week dealing with my goofy foot problems, we would find out. And here's a real helpful tip I've seen some people pull off a hunk, cut all the way across on their three inch hunk gauze, then cut down the length of it, making a smaller strip.

Bill Bateman: 10:11

This is a good idea, but they've cut a number of strips only to find they needed a longer piece. Cut your first strip traditionally. Find out okay, I'm going to need a foot, I'm going to need six inches, I'm going to need this much to wrap up the gauze around the area. Then you can pre-cut it, leaving it attached to the roll, and you can get to it easier. Your bigger kits are going to have the gauze, the pre-rolled gauze. They may have chest seals. They're going to have wound closure devices. Now, I'm not ready to ever try to stitch somebody up, but there are a lot of various methods.

Bill Bateman: 10:57

Google wound closures. You're going to see a number of different things. I was really surprised. I did this right before I sat down and started to record. There is some new stuff out. Even now it just blew me away. You can use a super glue type substance once the bleeding is stopped. You can use a wound closure in which little stickies attach to, much like a seri strip, if you know what I'm talking about, and you pull with almost a zip tie to put this help close the wound. Then you seal it and wrap it, or wrap it and seal it, depending upon the kit.

Bill Bateman: 11:42

I always like to look at anything I purchase and at the ratings. I don't look at anything that's not at least four stars and up. Now, occasionally you're going to find people who will give a very bad rating for a really stupid reason, like it didn't come in blue or the box is too much for the environment Valid concerns, I suppose. But I'm looking at what this is going to do in an emergency situation to meet the immediate medical need. And, like I said, this vet rep comes in all kinds of colors. I personally don't care what color you get. You're always going to want to have gloves and saline, both for your boo-boo kit and your more serious kit. I call it my trauma kit.

Bill Bateman: 12:34

Saline, sterile saline solution is just excellent stuff. It comes well. You can get a quart bottle, just like you can get a quart bottle of iodine or a quart bottle of alcohol for a wound center, maybe for you and me in the car. No, I use a little three milliliters eye drop site like you do for eye rinse, those drops you put in your eyes when you get a dry eye. That's about three milliliters and that's good for the boo-boo kit. If you got something a little bigger, they come in 15 milliliter bottles. The little top twists off. You can both wash out, sterilize, clean the area and make sure you've got everything done.

Bill Bateman: 13:17

Now don't be a cheapskate and try and save and reuse this stuff. It is sterile and if you've got the top touching something, especially in the area of an injury, you're not going to want that contaminated solution to be reused again. So it comes in various sizes. Again, I went to Amazon and I found a number of different options. Again, a big bottle definitely is only something you're going to want in a hospital situation, that's, you don't want again the backwash or the stuff getting contaminated.

Bill Bateman: 13:58

Another thing we talked was Benadryl. Benadryl? Betadine yes, in the boo-boo kit. You're going to want to have itch-peak on and Benadryl and things like that. But in the bigger kit, in addition to needing those things, you're going to want some Betadine. That is something that's an antiseptic liquid. It can be used in the cut to spray on the cut, sterilize the area and wipe around the area you're working on Now for under $100, I know this stuff is not cheap, but it's far cheaper than having all kinds of difficulties after an injury.

Bill Bateman: 14:40

I got a number of tough strip adhesive bandages. I like the extra large and I like to get them waterproof because they stick better even if you're not dealing with water. They have a thicker Telfa pad and I like those, so I got a number of bandages. I got two boxes of that. I got a box of 4x4 Gauss pads, sterile. I got a 4x4 of the smaller, more prepacked. I also got gloves. We didn't mention that. I firmly believe in working. If you're at the point you're dealing with a lot of blood, you should be wearing gloves for your protection and the protection of the individual, and latex and powder-free are what I get Now. I have big hands so I have extra extra large and I got a box of those.

Bill Bateman: 15:33

My wife she's a petite flower. She's got the regular size. It's a good idea to find out what size you wear and get some. They're not that expensive and you're going to save yourself a lot of difficulty. I got Betadine Antiseptic in a bottle for home and use here Not a big bottle but a small bottle for a treatment of a series of injuries. I got some 2x2s gauze sponges and I got Betadine Spray. That way you don't have to touch it and you don't have to backwarshen the stuff. I got that and the whole thing came to under $100. I think it was $94. There is $94.15 including shipping.

Bill Bateman: 16:20

Now, as you look at these things and you're thinking, maybe I don't want to get into that you have to determine what you're comfortable doing. Absolutely, you talked about that and it's a consideration, especially when you're cracking these things open and tear and open the bags. If you've got a problem, don't be afraid to ask for help. Now I mentioned I'd leave the link on the front of previous first aid episode. I'm also going to leave you some links from that both. The previous episode has some links to books and guides. From this time I have emergency wound care and national disasters and a step-by-step guide to wound care. In addition, one's from FEMA, one's from a university and I finally have a Pennsylvania state document of health Sounds official on a checklist to use while getting familiar with dealing with wound cares and wound problems.

Bill Bateman: 17:25

Stock up on your supplies. That's an item number one. Make sure you have long-term information available to you. This is where I would recommend a class working with someone who has information like a doctor, like a medical school, like a first aid training class. If you want to become a doctor, that's good, but if you're going to be out in, especially out in the hinterlands, and somebody's going to be down for three, four days, you need to know what to do. You have to decide what you're going to do and how you're going to do it.

Bill Bateman: 18:03

Okay, let's look at the classes. It's the middle of the month. We've had our concealed carry for February already. Thank you for those folks who came out. Thank you for those folks who are pre-registering Always a good idea, as I've mentioned every week. Now the things are listed on the calendar. If you're looking for the beyond the concealed carry class, find that class in the available class list, give it a click and it'll show you where that class is held and on what date that it's available. So don't be shy.

Bill Bateman: 18:39

Sign up. You can get a lot of notifications, always available birthdays, festivals, anything you want to do and questions are always welcome. I am trying to build a podcast, so if you've got friends, family, the folks at church, the folks at work, you want to share this. This program is made to be downloaded. You can subscribe. You can download it free of charge. It can be shared. The only thing you can't do is re-record it as your own and sell it. That would be bad, yeah, that would be bad. So, other than that, share this, let's get the word out, and I want to also reach out. I've discovered in, because every now and then I look at the statistics to see how we're doing.

Bill Bateman: 19:23

We have a very large base of listeners, not only here in the Medford area, but and not only here in the United States we're seeing people across the pond. We have some folks in Germany. Guten Tag, thank you. That's about all the German I know, but thank you very much. Questions, suggestions always welcome and again, I appreciate your support. Let's get this thing out here, and I do not take contributions. I do not charge for sponsorships. Everything said on this program is my own personal opinion based on the research I've done. Nothing I buy, nothing you send is going to change that. That's everything for this week. Be good to each other, be safe. We'll see you next time. The preceding program was a retired guy productions presentation.