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Originally Posted by HHI944
Nope, that's bad info that just doesn't seem to go away. Ya gotta do something to stop/slow the bleeding, a tampon will just absorb the blood. The Z fold quick clot gauze is becoming very widely accepted for traumatic hemorrhaging. Even a lot of local FDs are starting to use it.
I've got to finish some work, I'll pop back in and go more in depth later tonight.
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The current generation of quick clot gauze really has no downside (other than cost) so use it even if you're not sure it's necessary.
For extremities, brachial or femoral arteries are the main concern. We've come a long way in our understanding and techniques for tourniquet. I read a paper by several Army surgeons a while back that gave an absolute low end of roughly 5 hours of a tourniquet being applied before any irreversible damage occurs. Once it's on though, you need to leave it there until a trained professional can't remove it properly. There are guidelines for a gradual release. Instant release can blow out an artery and cause more damage than the initial trauma. In short, for extremity wounds: apply tourniquet, pack the wound with QC gauze (use 2 fingers to really stuff it up into the wound, always stuff towards the heart) and call an ambulance.
Abdominal wounds are much more in depth. Aside from the abdominoaortic artery, the liver and kidneys are big breeders. Diaphragm punctures will mess with breathing, but you can manually assist that with chest compressions. They make an AAA tourniquet, but it's large, expensive and hasn't been widely field tested. Best bet here is stuff it with QC gauze and maintain pressure on the wound with your knee until help arrives.
Chest hits are entirely different annd chest seals save lives. It's not really feasible to apply pressure to the wound and some of the techniques require precision.
The best thing would be to take a course from someone with SOF medical experience. There are a handful of companies out there that provide weekend crash courses that will cover enough to keep someone alive until EMS can respond.
Dark Angel Medical does a really good one and sells a couple of solid kits of varying sizes.