What happens if you leave a tampon in for 3 days? For ages, people have said that Hippocrates, the most famous Greek doctor of all, talked about tampons made of lint wrapped around sticks. 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. Materials used in the manufacture of feminine products are especially well suited to wound care. Ok just my two cents. For more information, please see our I know someone that told me he is alive today because his buddies girl stuck one in him after he got shot. Most will not serve on a battlefield, but even there, expedience of removing the wounded to a proper MTF is paramount. The tampon will keep absorbing until saturated and then merely keep dripping out. For maximum shelf life, store the bandages in a med kit where the outer wrapping wont be compromised. This is the theme of this article. Required fields are marked *. You would think pads would be, but upon closer inspection, they are not. (Yes, first aid is good, but its called first aid for a reason). It was everyone higher in station than our conscript friend, so a severe wound was a death sentence for the infantry of low rank. Yes, in the field and in a clinical setting, we healthcare professionals do on occasion have to improvise a little in order to make things work regarding patient care and treatment. You need to stay hydrated to avoid heat illness, bladder infections and kidney stones. Theres nothing wrong with wearing a bra while you sleep if thats what youre comfortable with. If you want to go the extra mile, add a 2-pack of vented chest seals, but I recommend that most folks leave the nasopharyngeal airways, surgical lubricant, and chest darts to the medical professionals. 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". If I had been there my first reaction to render aid would be grab gloves, duct tape, scissors & thick pads as well as peroxide. Written by a vet and discussing closing wounds on cats and dogs (under 30kg) but still understandable to a lay man. Good information for gun shot wounds. Before that, however, it usually came in the form of a vaginal plug of some form or another, and it was as much about preventing things from getting in as stopping anything from getting out. They use kotex and tampons because they dont have better on hand. And the sexual revolution in the late '60s and '70s (the ad above is from 1967) brought a new mode of more "feminist" tampons, as critics pointed out that scented tampons were actually completely useless and quite bad for your pH (still true). But they gained rapid usage during World War II, when women became part of the workforce and needed better menstrual care. They'll come out eventually. I was in an armor/tank unit and in the 68th Medical combat support hospital. so there are restaurants, post offices, and stores known as exchanges that sell hygiene products (among other things), including tampons and sanitary pads. Yeah, the article/blog/whatever doesnt cover pads at all.Only tampons. One of the first civilizations to use tampons for apparent menstrual reasons may have been the Japanese. He said one of the guys attached the panties to an antenna and it blew in the wind like a windsock. Youll hear us say it all the time pressure wins the war against bleeding. A handful of tongue depressors were not used just for looking down someones throat. Does the army use tampons? The swelling of said gauze applies additional direct pressure to the various capillaries, veins, artery, etc. Tampons are sanitary products, but theyre not packaged and sealed as sterile products. Cellucotton, the substance used in Kotex (sanitary napkins), was devised for the purpose of improving bandages in World War I. Have you ever played a game of telephone? https://www.crisis-medicine.com/heavy-flow-is-not-massive-hemorrhage-tampons-dont-belong-in-ifaks/. Where youre anywhere from 5-8-even 10 miles away from the nearest forestry department roads?. They may follow bone structure, or ricochet. Ill bring it right over.? Step 5: Secure a snug pressure dressing and transport. sigmund freud is probably having a siezure in his grave over this tread! I've seen it happen on one occaison. Little known fact quick clot will actually burn the exterior muscles of the bullet wound making infection much more probable. It's not clear where this information came from, though, and it may have been scuttlebutt about a particular class of women, like prostitutes. The French Revolution changed everything, and the guy in most urgent need of medical intervention got treated first (unless youre a boyfriend of Mario Cuomos daughter, then you get a COVID vaccine ahead of at-risk seniors. Your email address will not be published. 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. In 1931, a physician named Earle Cleveland Haas created Tampax, a tightly rolled cylinder of cotton with an applicator. If you sustained one or several gunshot wounds from a small firearm (not a rifle) and was left to save your life by yourself (since in todays world no one would do that for you), would would you do? The nearest hospital? Home and travel first aid kit should carry these types of wound care products. Using a tampon has no impact on whether on not someone is a virgin. He said when my husband and I sent the last care package Marine X came over to his cot picked up the box, started fishing through it, and said, "What'd we get this time?". The use of tampons in treating gunshot wounds during war times has had a profound impact on the medical community. The staples used are not so different from the regular office ones (judging by the look). Olaes Modular Bandage has additional bulk gauze inside it. If the stone (bullet) enters the water slowly, the water (tissue) displacement is so gradual that is has little effect on the surrounding molecules. Weve got over 12 years of well, that didnt work lets try something else to learn from. He said it entertained them for quite awhile. Doctors and nurses were the primary users of tampons to medicate women. The 'tactical tampon' is not a fancy, 'high-speed' product fresh from the minds of trauma device developers. Tampons have been used by U.S. Army medics as emergency wound care dressings: This particular story about a wounded Marine saved by a tampon included in a misdirected care package from home is factual. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Antiseptic cotton rolls were used to stop bleeding from bullet wounds. Never used a tampon but there is a reason I have Kotex in my first aid kit. For them, however, it seems largely to have been a matter of solving existing gynecological problems, not helping with menstrual flow. You can send Cache Valley Prepper a message at editor [at] survivopedia.com, Correct. Tampons are no substitute for PPT: packing, pressure and tourniquets. Ask any woman. Im still haunted by the memories of seeing one Medevac helicopter after another land at the nearest pads for our ambulances to go out and meet the choppers. My son said they had to go on a mission and Marine X wanted the chapstick and lotion for the trip. He said, "Oh, we divided them up and we all have them in our flak jackets, and I kept two for our first aid kit". In WWII, that was the battlefield antibiotic of choice. And t.p., like tampons is clean, not sterile. Actual gauze is pretty cheap. They are supposed to wick away fluid and keep the wearer dry. 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. I do carry toilet paper in my truck on a regular basis and a wad of toilet paper will suffice in lieu of a kotex pad. Compression, elevation, pressure points, and even tourniquets if necessary. Some people feel that they have lost their virginity multiple times, by having different kinds of sex. Roman women used wool tampons. This is as opposed totemporary cavitation, which is the damage to the bodys tissue caused by the energy dissipating from the projectile portion of the bullet. Deal with it! He is comparing a menstrual bleed to and arterial bleed. Yes, doctors literally "plugged the hole" by inserting a dressing that resembled a tampon into musket wounds. Antiseptic cotton rolls were used to stop bleeding from bullet wounds. One gunshot wound that I treated presented a small entry wound, some internal injuries (which were unknown to me at the time), swelling, extreme sensitivity to even the slightest touch, no exit wound, and minimal bleeding. Earle Haas patented the first modern tampon in 1931, tampons had been used for thousands of years prior to that by women across the globe. Most skin wounds heal within 10 days. So whats it going to be? But remember, just because the entrance hole is small, it does not mean the damage behind it is not significant. From a medical standpoint, I can talk about tampons and the many uses of said tampons much better than you ever could. Infection CONTROL measures are important, but that can be done after the injured HAVE been treated for severe blood loss! Even if we wanted to absorb the blood,a regular tampon could absorb approx. That first aid kit was a sulfa impregnated green pad about the size of a kotex pad with a gauze strip on either end to tie the pad in place. Skin-to-skin contact between adults can increase levels of oxytocin, the love hormone. But the modern tampon faced a bit of an uphill battle. 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. NEARLY SLICING OFF his thumb! The whole thing comes out, and the process begun again. What is the difference between packing the wound with gauze vs inserting a tampon? Sometimes, both parents and teens may wonder whether tampons will have an impact on virginity. Arterial blood is made up of oxygen-rich pressurized blood that transports minerals, vitamins, nutrients, and all sorts of other good stuff the body and its organs need in order to function. 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. The surgeon at the hospital does not stock tampons because he has almost unlimited space. Amputation Doctors began sawing off limbs to prevent the spread of infection. The entry was packed with. Your combat medics were retarded or never dealt with a gunshot Required fields are marked *. If you have the choice, use the right tool for the job. Take a Xanax Jax. Joan Youre not going to have choices. They are sanitary but not sterile. I also wouldnt use one to filter debris out of water. He swore by them, so I tried them, and they worked great, so now I wont carry anything else!. The use of tampons in treating gunshot wounds has had a positive impact on the medical community, resulting in improved outcomes and decreased mortality rates among injured soldiers. When shtf your gonna use what you have. As to how old this practice is, one of our correspondents says he saw tampons used in this fashion during the Vietnam War. We carried tampons (by the way the word tampon is a shortened form of tamponadewhat we do to blood vessels to stop them from bleeding) once upon a time because we did not have another convenient and quick form of wound packing. Well examine the evolution of the medical application of tampons, uncovering the surprising history of these products and exploring their innovative use in treating gunshot injuries. Tampon use for traumatic haemorrhage control is dangerous and irresponsible when there are so many well research and proven options that are continually being assessed and improved. . Many thanks for the article. Wisconsin Historical Society, WHS-49898. 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. 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. You can use tampons on nose bleeds. They are designed from the ground up to control moderate to severe bleeding, including pressurized arterial bleeding. Quik Clot vs tampons. They absorb blood. TSS is typically caused by an overgrowth of bacteria called Staphylococcus aureus. It is critical to remember that once you have managed the bleed, you still need to manage the casualty for hypovolemic shock. 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. Quite possibly. Of course, they werent called tampons in Ancient Egypt, which was where the first similarly-constructed device was recorded. Survival Trauma Kits: IFAK, GSW Kit, Blowout Kit What Should Be in How to Treat the Most Common Burn Injuries, Back to History: Top 9 Civil War Survival Recipes, Potassium Permanganate: Why I Still Carry this Old School Chemical, 8+ Places To Avoid Like The Plague When SHTF, Top 6 Survival Rifles And Why You Need One. Exploring the Benefits of Probiotics in Greek Yogurt, Who Invented the Pythagoras Theorem? 6. According to Dr. Robert B. Laughlin, MD, The use of tampons as a means of controlling bleeding from gunshot wounds was an innovative solution to a difficult problem.. Just as sterile i not more so than those gauze pads and other medical stuff. . The initial discovery of the telescoping cardboard "applicator tampon" was developed and patented by the Colorado doctor Earl Haas in 1931, but it was a woman, Gertrude Tendrich, who bought the patent and started to produce it, expanding from sewing tampons at home to distributing them under the now-famous brand name Tampax. Sleeping naked together might improve your rest by reducing your stress and anxiety levels. According to a study published in the journal Ancient Medicine, Tampons were used as early as 1500 BC by the Egyptians for vaginal hygiene. The Egyptians believed that the use of tampons could cure various diseases and ailments. AND, miles away from the nearest hospital? "Tampons" for medical use Of course, they weren't called tampons in Ancient Egypt, which was where the first similarly-constructed device was recorded. This means bacteria and mold can grow if theyre not stored properly. Tampons are not staying the same, as physicians and manufacturers learn more about the female body, and adjust to the many different occupations women hold in society. This would slow down the bleeding until the patient was out of the fir fight and you could apply the proper wound care bandages. the English thinker Francis Place advocated a tampon for contraception, a woman, Gertrude Tendrich, who bought the patent and started to produce it. 9g of blood(about two teaspoons). You guys overthinking this. The use of tampons as a medical treatment has also allowed doctors to treat more patients in the field. As a result, from 1979 to 1983, over 2,200 cases of tampon-related toxic shock syndrome were reported to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). During World War II, the US military experimented with tampons to treat wounds caused by bullets and shrapnel. It is the pressure that stops bleedings, and there are additional mechanical and pharmaceutical tools that aid this. The modern word "tampon" is likely derived from the Middle French for "plug," as in a stopper for a bottle or (more specifically) the plug put in the front of a gun muzzle. JavaScript is disabled. Your membership is the foundation of our sustainability and resilience. Some women are carriers of a virus that make them more susceptible to it, so it is a significant health-related innovation. 18th century: The tampon was used as a medical device. What were tampons invented for? Bullets do funny things when they enter the body. 1st they are hard to open and know how to use, really? Which Teeth Are Normally Considered Anodontia? He said that one guy, we'll call Marine X did get a girl care package and everyone was giving him a hard time. Get exclusive premium content! Hello Christine, In the Napoleonic Wars, the most used firearm in that conflict was the Charleville a smoothbore musket of .69, .70, or even.71 caliber. 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. When youre on your period you are just expelling the blood and junk that has built up in your uterus all monthnot bleeding from your bloodstream. Experts note that free bleeding has no proven health benefits. 18th century: The tampon was used as a medical device. Thus, while the article may have left a few holes in the whys and why nots, it is spot-on in its advice to use the proper product and/or technique to STOP the bleeding. When they went to check on him later the surgeon told them, "You guys saved his life". I dont as a matter of habit carry a bunch of tampons in my truck for whatever. So take it with a grain of salt. Its not like people say hmm, should I carry compression bandages or womens sanitary devices? 5. A bomb tech once showed me a cool trick using a tongue depressor broken in half to make part of a trip fuse. Was in the army, was told by combat medics (who have said to have used them) that tampons can and do work at patching gunshot wounds. If your not a woman you have no say in tampon use. Have there been cases where a tampon, feminine hygiene pad, or diaper may have served as a dressing in a pinch? He said he wasn't sure who we were sending the pack to, but the panties were size 20, and he said one of the guys got on top of the Humvee and jumped off with the panties over his head and yelled, "Look at me, I'm an Airborne Ranger!!!!". At most, a woman loses 60-80ml of blood during a period (about 1/3 of a cup). Im sure there are other myths that need your expertise. Dexter, so either: This is why we assess and treat injuries in the order of Circulation, Airway, Breathing (CAB). This was proper medical advice: the treatise was published in The Lancet, still the most respectable medical journal in England. However, in addition to menstrual blood, the tampon also absorbs the vagina's natural . 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. Thanks for the article. The absorbent wads were more commonly used to soak up blood from wounds in World War One, or to administer medicine vaginally. Either they are lying or you are lying Dexter. In 1931, Earl Haas invented the menstrual tampon most commonly used in the twenty-first century. 3. Drawing straight from the toxic shock syndrome controversy, organic tampons drop the risk of being affected by trace chemicals. The base camp was 12 miles from the nearest forestry department road! Disposable tampons were first invented by the ancient Egyptians. You guys dont really understand why using a tampon for bullet treatments actually works. This isn't to say you shouldn't use a tampon to pack a wound if you were shot in a remote rest-stop bathroom and there was literally nothing else available. You can buy two Olaes bandages for under $15, and two Israeli bandages for under $10. while you do want to stop the bleeding, the bleeding itself does help irrigate the wound channel of smaller debris and contaminates. 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. Having had to use tampons, israeli bandages, QuikClot (which has its own litany of negative issues), Kurlex and other improvised wound management material one fact is clear, if it helps control the bleed then its affective. There are other methods of packing a wound: all of them are similar in effect. Why would the bandages you discussed have an expiration date? I was hoping to get a reasonable answer to what should be a simple question. The Tampon The name loosely translates as plug. French physicians began using battlefield dressing based on the design of the article of female hygiene. The History of Tampons and Their Use for Treating Gunshot Wounds, When Was the Rollercoaster Invented? But unless you have a raging period each month then you really have no say on tampons & pads. If an active shooter breaks out the windows of a hotel and starts shooting into the crowd and you are laying on the ground bleeding, would you want me to yell out Does anyone have a tampon, or, would you prefer I yell out Does anyone have any QuikClot, Kurlex, or Olaes Bandages. Your best bet is to choose a lightweight bra without underwire. 1776: A French doctor described a tampon made from tightly rolled, vinegar-soaked linen that was used to stop the flow of non-menstrual vaginal discharge. But if you are making a kit then use real bandages. That is significantly different from sterile. As a registered nurse who has done extensive wound care. Step 2: Pack the wound with gauze. There are many myths and legends around the history of tampons, but as it often is, the plain facts of history are no less fascinating. You would be better off just taking off your shirt or Tshirt and using it. Unlock new opportunities and expand your reach by joining our authors team. Just my two cents, but I have and will carry tampons for just this reason. I seen them used a couple times on my second tour to Iraq in 2004. A survivalist explains that a tampon cannot provide the surface area or pressure required to control massive bleeding. Crisis Medicine. Pulling it back out after the tampon swells up, you risk doing the same damage as well as removing the clot you had hoped would have formed. During World War 1, field nurses discovered that Cellucotton worked well as a disposable feminine napkin. Not all BY THEMSELVES! Pushing a tampon into a gunshot would does damage going in , maybe tearing up a damage artery of vein. But even if they have, that doesnt mean they are what you should reach for in an emergency. He is saying that using a tampon on an open gunshot wlund is a horrible idea because of the extreme difference between a gunshot wound and a period. Thanks, rachelinnys. Plugging the hole with a tampon might mean the blood is not visually coming out of the body. When it comes to teens and the use of tampons, there are many questions and misconceptions. You can thank Nose bleeds probably for helping create this line of thinking. My sister said she doesn't believe in mistakes. I worked for a police department with a force of over 500 officers. Your email address will not be published. It was nearly 50 miles away! It was an effective way to stop bleeding and reduce the risk of infection. And I USE too provide EMT service in my brothers hunting camps in the high mountain country of New Mexico and Colorado. It was issued to every Marine as part of his 782 gear. The reason for this was because if a person is hit in the chest or back during fire fights, you dont want to strip their flake vest or body armor off them to bandage the wound. Put the fear of total civilizational cowabunga into your friends and family today! There was no need for additional care other than a bandage wrap. While its generally safe to sleep with a tampon in if youre sleeping for less than eight hours, its important that you change tampons every eight hours to avoid getting toxic shock syndrome. Tampons absorb more than just menstrual blood about a third may be vaginal and cervical fluids (depending on how absorbent your tampon is) (1, 2). Linen would be wrapped around earth from the Nile river, which was mixed with honey and galena, and placed inside the woman. The corpsmen spread it over burns and wounds equally. They do come with expiration dates, but some last up to four years. Some of the earliest tampons recognizable as we know them todayintra-vaginal devices made from a string and a wad of something absorbentwere documented in Europe in the 18th and 19th century.. Thanks 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!". And, again, it's not for menstrual purposes: it's for stopping baby-making. But that doesnt mean we should be trying to re-invent the wheel! 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. 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. Overall, the future looks relatively bright, as long as the tampon can adjust to our higher standards about health, safety, and greenery. Need a safe place to go? This fluid is not pressurized like arterial blood is throughout the body. Photo: author Bleeding from a Gunshot Wound 4 yr. ago Bullshit. This wicking away property works against the goal of tightly packing gauze inside the wound, creating pressure, restricting the blood coming out, and hopefully allow the clotting factors in the blood to activate and form in the wound. From the modern ob tampon (the mysterious name for which I'll explain) to ancient Indian and Egyptian devices, let's go on a wild journey through the history of the tampon. NOTHING BUT nothing is as good as the ER Department to save a life from a potential Sepsis infection from a knife or bullet wound! Snopes and the Snopes.com logo are registered service marks of Snopes.com. And please explain how a tampon DOES work? This is the part that can trip people over. Do Men Still Wear Button Holes At Weddings? That increased oxytocin can help to reduce your stress levels. When he brought this up my imagination was just running wild, but I let him continue. As luck would have it he grabbed the tampons, and my son said everyone was teasing him about "not forgetting his feminine hygiene products". The location where the bullet goes in to the body will cause an entrance wound and depending on whether the bullet leaves the body, theremayalso be an exit wound. 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. Is this not the central reason why people think tampons would work, because most people would assume that a bullet wound cavity (at least that of a smaller caliber round) would lend itself to be filled by the expansion of a tampon? Now, a bandage that has a quick clotting agent could experience some degradation in effectiveness the further past the expiration date it goes. Yet for some reason, people still feel the need to treat patients like they are living in some bad Mad Max remake. 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. Carrying advanced lifesaving equipment that you are only marginally trained to use could potentially strengthen an attorneys legal argument. Do you have knowledge or insights to share? Thanks This was the first commercial distribution of menstruation-related items. You never served in the army and youre just rambling. Yes, we fight for life now and treat infection later. Only it wasnt just the king. German gynecologist Dr Judith Esser-Mittag, scented tampons were actually completely useless, many of them have a big environmental footprint, woman-leaping-in-white-trousers theme of tampon ads. Cookie Notice It was the big difference between getting wounded in WWI and getting wounded in WWII. A Comprehensive Analysis, Exploring the Innovative JBX Theater: Revolutionizing the Entertainment Industry. Modern-day tampons were developed in the 1930s. In the article they claim a few things; Now lets talk about the type of bleeding one might come across from a single gunshot wound. RangerRick nailed it. Like a number of other products that first came to market in the 1920s, Kotex sanitary pads originated as a wartime invention. If you get stabbed, open a tampon and whack it in the wound. If something was being put up the vagina (say, soaked in opium), Hippocrates did say it should be covered on motos, but there's no mention of using it to stop menstrual bleeding. wdavdaemon unprivileged mac, maine police logs,