Medics adapt, overcome and improvise. Share your short cuts for field care for your troops?

SFC(P) Aaron Fore — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 19:06:29 -0400

I used an expended 7.62 round as a hole punch to off load a painful area for one of my troops.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 16 at 2015 9:46 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 21:46:14 -0400

I used to carry feminine products in my old medic bag. Great back-ups and sweat catchers for the old Kevlar helmet band

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 17 at 2015 12:22 AM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 17 Apr 2015 00:22:32 -0400

Have all your guys tape a bag of fluid with an Iv line in the middle of there ruck frame... Gives you a ton of extra fluids should you need it

Response by SFC(P) Aaron Fore made Apr 17 at 2015 7:49 AM

SFC(P) Aaron Fore — Fri, 17 Apr 2015 07:49:55 -0400

I had a Soldier who was having great pain on the bottom of his foot due to a plantar wart, I used a spent 7.62 round as a hole punch to relieve the pressure.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 17 at 2015 4:32 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 17 Apr 2015 16:32:40 -0400

Kind of crude, but incredibly effective. To prevent heat casualties, I told my Joe's that if someone goes down as a heat casualty, I'm taking core temps. When I would get the blank stare after that I would say, "I'm going to monitor your temp by sticking a thermometer up your @ss every 5 minutes...and it's medically justified." The looks on their faces were priceless...but I rarely had a heat casualty after I started using that line...

Response by LTC Paul Labrador made Apr 17 at 2015 4:37 PM

LTC Paul Labrador — Fri, 17 Apr 2015 16:37:29 -0400

I heard this one when I was in OBC and CPT Rascon (combat medic MoH recipient from Vietnam) spoke to us at graduation: Doc can't carry all the medical supplies. He had each bubba in the patrol carry his own resuscitation fluids (1 bag of NS and 1 can of albumin). Spreads the weight around. Also he had every bubba carry a hammock in his ruck to be used as a expedient litter.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 19 at 2015 4:01 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 19 Apr 2015 16:01:39 -0400

Took some old school green kravats, folded the email into a triangle and taped full iv kits (in order of use) inside. Roll it up, wrap it in a tourniquet, IV football. Super convenient and easy for the guys to use.

Response by SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. made Apr 20 at 2015 9:40 AM

SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 09:40:27 -0400

Ignore the packing list in the M3.
Bigger bandages are always better than small ones.
Klings beat the hell out of tape.
If you think its waterproof .. add to more wraps of plastic.
If someone asks for a salt tab, give them 2.

Response by SPC(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 28 at 2015 10:36 AM

SPC(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 28 Apr 2015 10:36:51 -0400

Are you serious, so versed in this skill. I made a long bone splint out of ducktape an Popsicle sticks. I pulled traction on a dislocated shoulder with a Hair traction splint. made an IV heater out of extra tubing and a couple of pairs of "hot hands." made a "Rehab pool" out of a fuel blivet. countless things if i needed it i usually found a way to acquire it or make it

Response by SSG Paul Forel made Dec 1 at 2015 12:27 PM

SSG Paul Forel — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 12:27:29 -0500

There is a thread here at RP that should concern many of you who are AD.

"Do you prepare your medics? We are nothing on the civilian side."

https://www.rallypoint.com/answers/do-you-prepare-your-medics-we-are-nothing-on-the-civilian-side?page=2&urlhash=1141038#1141038

Why aren't any of you guys who are AD speaking up with regard to what I have been posting at this thread?

Do you prepare your medics? We are nothing on the civilian side. | RallyPoint

This is something I constantly preach to the young medics I meet working in my hospital or clinics. Army medics and Navy corpsman are extremely qualified and experienced. Far above what our civilian crossover scope of practice is, and I believe it is an injustice by the army not to recognize this. There used to be chatter from NREMT and the mothership back at fort Sam to have us fall into our own qualification category of EMT to properly...

Response by SGT Charles W. made Jun 1 at 2016 10:15 PM

SGT Charles W. — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 22:15:37 -0400

I was covering a day drop but it was windy and had several people come in hard, so in maintaining spinal precautions, I took the 3 new neck braces I had (still in packaging) and cut around the braces to make a collar out of the cardboard, so gave me 6 total. For litters, I used ponchos and manpower, as I only had 2 litters at the time. That is something I put in my intro is that as a combat medic, I can do anything with nothing, and all of us know that's true!

Response by SGT Alicia Brenneis made Jun 2 at 2016 3:37 PM

SGT Alicia Brenneis — Thu, 02 Jun 2016 15:37:14 -0400

Prevented heat casualties with the threat of Ranger IVs . Only had to do it once.

Response by SPC Michelle Nelson - Thompson made Jun 2 at 2016 5:50 PM

SPC Michelle Nelson - Thompson — Thu, 02 Jun 2016 17:50:33 -0400

Some serious MacGyver's here!

Response by SPC James Anderson made Jun 2 at 2016 7:06 PM

SPC James Anderson — Thu, 02 Jun 2016 19:06:15 -0400

Was not aware of any injury treated by army medics that does not involve massive quantities of motrin and or duct tape/super glue.

Response by SGT David Sifford made Aug 16 at 2016 6:56 AM

SGT David Sifford — Tue, 16 Aug 2016 06:56:03 -0400

Tampons are a must for battlefield med kit....plugs the hell out of a bullet hole !

Response by CAPT Hiram Patterson made Aug 16 at 2016 9:44 AM

CAPT Hiram Patterson — Tue, 16 Aug 2016 09:44:12 -0400

Kudos to all you docs and former docs for your field expedient medical improvisations!

Response by SFC Peter Siegle made Aug 16 at 2016 4:23 PM

SFC Peter Siegle — Tue, 16 Aug 2016 16:23:19 -0400

I have read most of these post I'm a retired medical NCO and agree that new medic out of AIT still need more training and if there medical knowledge is lacking the problem is not with the medic him self but with the medial NCO that are leading them. As a NCO I took great pride in my medic and pushed them to be the best medic possible in the field.

So in a nut shell the NCO need to lol their selfs in the but and get back to the basic of training and leading by example. Also I do not know of any school / training military hat any on completing schooling is a hundred percent ready for there job, there is always OJT required. So my fellow NCO get back to the basic and why we are the back bone of the army and train are troops to be the best.

Response by SSG Drew Cook made Aug 17 at 2016 12:48 PM

SSG Drew Cook — Wed, 17 Aug 2016 12:48:08 -0400

We were too busy making dart guns out of chest tubes and 18g needles to make up cool tricks.

Response by COL Rich McKinney made Aug 17 at 2016 1:49 PM

COL Rich McKinney — Wed, 17 Aug 2016 13:49:14 -0400

The Iraqi Army had a triangular bandage/Cravat that was screen-printed with pictures of the 30 or so different ways to apply it. I still have one somewhere.

Response by PO1 Robert Johnson made Aug 17 at 2016 4:02 PM

PO1 Robert Johnson — Wed, 17 Aug 2016 16:02:12 -0400

This was a one time fix that I do not recommend as a technique to be used in the field and not by anyone with the minimal medical training that folks get now days. I was aboard ship when a sailor stepped where he shouldn't have and a 2" line came off a guide and tore his leg almost completely off at the knee. I was called to the scene and we, shipmates and me, got a tourniquet on and the leg into a splint and brought him to sick bay. we found out that it was going to be hours before we could get him to a hospital and I was very worried about the blood flow being cut off for that long. With the help of a couple of seamen holding things and passing instruments, I used IV tubing and suture material as a bypass to keep the blood flow through the major arteries until we could transport him to medical facilities ashore.

Response by SSG Lew Wilson made Aug 17 at 2016 8:22 PM

SSG Lew Wilson — Wed, 17 Aug 2016 20:22:00 -0400

I took the combat life saver course, about a year or so later I ended up with pinched nerves which in turn caused me to develop tremors as the doctor called them a steady shaking in my opinion. any how before we went to the field my company commander called me in front of the formation asked me yo hold out both hands so as the company could see how badly I shake, he then told the entire company that if any one went down with a heat injury I would be the man to admin I.V's we were the only company in the battalion that did not have a heat injury what so ever during the field exercise

Response by LCDR Harding Harrison made Aug 17 at 2016 9:06 PM

LCDR Harding Harrison — Wed, 17 Aug 2016 21:06:02 -0400

Great thread! I had my FMF Corpsmen in GTMO (especially Minefield Maintenance) carry TWO 5-gallon coolers full of ice water; one to drink and one to dump on the young Marine having Heat Prostration.
Not recommending this at all, BUT, good Sea Story; 1979 a Reserve Flight Surgeon, CDR, was doing his summer drill in my GTMO E.R. 0300 the S.P.'s brought in a young Marine, drunk, from a fight, big laceration on his left eyebrow, across his forehead. CDR tried to explain everything to Young Marine but he was not in shape to listen, or settle down. Two nice big loops of 3-0 silk, catching each earlobe and the gurney mattress did the trick.

Response by SPC Byron Skinner made Aug 18 at 2016 12:13 AM

SPC Byron Skinner — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 00:13:41 -0400

Sp4 Byron Skinner…Medics are the true angels of the battlefield. 50 years later at reunions, no Medic can buy a drink…"Doc's" money is no good at the bar…They also are accomplished liars all will tell you as you are bleed out that hold on just another minute, the Dust Off is on its way, I can hear it now.. your going to be OK, you will make it. The last words all to many Infantry will ever hear.

Response by 1SG Patrick Sims made Aug 18 at 2016 7:42 AM

1SG Patrick Sims — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 07:42:18 -0400

We were conducting tank operations at the Marine Corps base at Twenty Nine Palms, California. I was a platoon sergeant at the time, and every morning I lined up the entire platoon and made them drink a quart canteen of water. They bitch about it, but I never lost a man to heat exhaustion. I have to add, operating a tank in the desert is a killer. The radios were designed to shut themselves down when the inside of the tank reached 140 degrees---This happened several times.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 18 at 2016 9:33 PM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 21:33:07 -0400

Tampons can hold more than 5cc s of blood, pack some they fit nicely in some wounds. Maxipads can hold upwards of 10ml, more than the small bandages they issue. I also carry huggies baby wipes.

I am not a medic.

Response by SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 23 at 2016 11:21 PM

SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 23 Aug 2016 23:21:11 -0400

Dealing with a fluid filled vesicle (blister)... Drain the fluid with a small gauge needle and syringe. Draw up benzoin tincture from within an applicator with a filtered needle. Use the original needle to inject the benzoin tincture into the blister. Apply light pressure and give the BT a few seconds to dry. This will sting slightly; however, it will allow the blistered skin to remain intact and the soldier to continue with the mission.

Response by Susan Weekley made Aug 25 at 2016 1:44 AM

Susan Weekley — Thu, 25 Aug 2016 01:44:34 -0400

Will read. Medic services deserves recognition from Commander in Cheif "President" sadly the atrocities in a previous war seemed to stall beyond respected "tab" in my opinion. You asked.