eli5 : why do ordinary soldiers carry multiple tourniquets but tourniquets are mostly not used in civilian first aid?
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I was an Army medic. ☺️ Extremity hemorrhage (really bad arm and leg bleeding) is the most common cause of preventable combat death. That’s why.
A lot of studies were done in the 1970s through 2000s centered mostly on WWI and II, and Vietnam. Out of the battlefield deaths that *could have been prevented on the battlefield*, extremity hemorrhage was the cause of most.
This is because body armor does not cover arms and legs very well, and lots of arms and legs get hurt by gunshots and explosions during a war. Tourniquets are small, lightweight, easy for a layman to use, and VERY good at stopping bleeding.
As a result, in the 1990s the U.S. military developed a method of medicine called Tactical Combat Casualty Care or “TC3” for short. TC3 was immediately made the new standard for all American military medics, who then taught it to non-medical service members as well, and then the US military taught it to all of our ally countries.
There are some other interventions that can help stop preventable battlefield deaths, like a needle that goes in someone’s chest to help them breathe. Those are also part of TC3! It also talks about WHEN during combat to use a tourniquet (or any other intervention).
Extremity hemorrhage is NOT the most common preventable cause of civilian deaths. This is because there are less shootings and explosions in the civilian world, and lots more other causes of death. Civilian EMS does carry tourniquets and uses them when they need to, but they don’t need to as much.
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