Bleeding is the leading cause of preventable death in both civilian and military trauma.1 There’s a clear consensus that control of bleeding is the top priority during patient care; every second of uncontrolled bleeding worsens outcomes.2 There are many ways to control bleeding, and each technique has advantages and shortcomings.

Advanced trauma life support (ATLS) guidelines simply recommend to “stop the bleeding,” but the various methodologies used to control external hemorrhage are often poorly understood. The use of tourniquets and hemostatic dressings are frequently quoted as the new panacea to control external bleeding, but there isn't a clear understanding of their limitations and what wounds are appropriate for their use.

With the recent Ebola events, new talk of the virus being airborne is all over the news .  I wanted to take a moment and talk about airborne or aerosolized pathogens.  Aerosolization is when a particle is small enough and light enough that the particle is suspended in and carried by the air currents.  Aerosolization can be naturally occurring or man made.  

Tactical medical considerations aren't just the team medic's problem, everyone needs to be well versed on the latest Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs).  We will discus some general concepts and considerations for combat live saving steps.

A word picture designed to take you through the some of the early on steps used when a team member is injured and you’re taking hostile enemy fire.

If during an operation a team member goes down, you have to avoid the overwhelming feeling to run directly over to them and attempt to begin medical treatment or assessment.  The stages of care are:

1. Care Under Fire ....