Stop the Bleed: first aid tips for hunting season

The general big game archery hunting season is just around the corner here in Montana, meaning that a lot more of us will be hitting the mountains with a lot more razor-sharp objects. That also means right now is probably a pretty good time to bone up on some first aid.

So, I reached out to Sergeant Jay Nelson with the Montana Highway Patrol, who as a trooper is well-trained in first aid and stopping blood loss from accident victims. He told me that above all there are a few items you need to have in your pack because if you are bleeding far from help time is not on your side.

"When you are looking at basically, even the tourniquet, where you would have an arterial bleed on an arm or a leg, which is common, you have about three to five minutes – probably closer to the three minutes mark – before you could possibly bleed out," Nelson said. "So having one of these devices is extremely lightweight on your person, in your vehicle, in your backpack is essential.”.

Along with the tourniquet, Nelson recommends quick clot, an emergency blanket, duct tape and a chest seal for any spot you can’t apply a tourniquet.

“Do you have an arterial bleed? Is there pulsing blood? Is there a large amount of blood? If you have that, then we need to apply a tourniquet. We need to apply a tourniquet tight enough to stop any of that bleeding. Should you have something in your chest area, we call, in between the clavicle and the naval, then you’re going to have to apply an occlusive bandage which is in these types of kits, which is literally one of these pads that sticks over that wound. Preventing that sucking chest wound or tension pneumothorax. Again, not really technical, you’re whipping away any of that bleeding and you’re placing this on the wound and possibly could save your life. To at least get you to a higher standard of care.”

Like anything practice using these life-saving tools makes perfect. But if you can’t find a class with a qualified instructor, try the next best thing.

“You can actually Google Tactical Combat Causality Care, TCCC," Said Nelson. "They actually, you’ve got videos you can watch. Different outlets to training there. Eventually, I think you’re going to see quite a few of these courses coming through Montana, as this is an intervention that has been around for a while that can really save lives. Especially in Montana where we have hunting and hiking and all sorts of things we enjoy outdoors but we have to be safe when we’re doing it.”