Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Product Feature: SWAT-T Tourniquet


Now offering the SWAT-T Tourniquet....a unique and multipurpose dressing that was developed for the military and civilian special weapons and tactics teams. 

These teams operate in an environment with a high chance of penetrating trauma, and 2/3 of them are preventable deaths if they can stop the extremity bleeding. Hence, the SWAT-T Tourniquet

The gist behind this easy but life-saving tourniquet is simply this:

Stretch. Wrap and Tuck. 

The SWAT-T operates on multiple levels: 
Tourniquet: A tourniquet is to be applied when bleeding is severe (arterial) and loss of life is of greatest concern. In most patients tourniquets have proven to be safe for a minimum of two hours. When used properly all tourniquets may cause loss of limb. This is a necessary risk, to bring our patients home at the end of the day. 
 
Pressure Dressing: The SWAT-T™ can and should be used as a pressure dressing - when hemorrhage is controlled or for venous and capillary oozing. Place your sterile dressing (or standard gauze / hemostatic dressing) then wrap the SWAT-T™ around the area of injury. You can then tuck or tape the end, which will maintain pressure on the wound (preventing further contamination and re-bleeding). If the endpoints are met on the dressing you may have a tourniquet and should check for good blood return in the extremity (pulse and capillary refill), or you risk the complications associated with all tourniquets. Pressure dressings should be left in place until definitive wound management can be accomplished. 
 
Elastic Bandage: The SWAT-T™ can and should be used as an elastic bandage. Use the dressing to hold ice near sprains and strains, stabilize a twisted knee/ankle, or to sling a shoulder. The dressing can also be used to loosely apply pressure across the chest or abdomen. This can be to help close and protect wounds, contain abdominal contents in evisceration, or to assist in stabilization of the pelvis in blunt pelvic trauma. The SWAT-T™ can be used to splint an extremity to the body, other leg, or to a rigid object for immobilization.


There is a TAB (tourniquet application band) included with every tourniquet.  This band allows application time, heart rate, blood pressure and other pertinent information to be written on the band and applied to the patient.

Get your SWAT-T Tourniquet's, today.

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