Jedidiah Ballard, D.O., spent two years as an Army Rangers Battalion Surgeon and is now an emergency room physician. Here he shares critical tips on how to treat someone who has been shot. Full article Mens Health Magazine.
In 2018 alone, there were 323 mass shootings—defined as four or more people shot in the same location at roughly the same time—in the U.S. Last year also marked more school shootings than ever before, and for the first time in American history, the public school system is on record to do more lock down drills than fire drills.
1) Stay Safe Yourself
This is by far and away the most important principle.
2) Stop the Bleeding
Extremity wounds are the number one cause of preventable combat death.
3) Treat a Sucking Chest Wound.
A penetrating injury to the chest or upper abdomen needs a simple plastic covering to prevent a rapidly fatal complication called a tension pneumothorax.
4) Provide Warmth
Keep the casualty warm with a blanket, ideally, but coats, the shirt off your back, or whatever else you have around will work.
The simple steps in this article are absolutely enough to save a life without further medical training. If you want to take it a step further, citizenAID has slimmed down the military’s casualty care training system for civilians. They focus on the initial life saving minutes before professional help arrives and offer a free “what to do in a shooting” phone app, trauma supply kits, and a one-hour $14 online training with a 1:1 matching incentive which trains a teacher.
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