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FIRST AID KIT, IFAK, IPMED
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FIRST AID KIT, IFAK, IPMED - TYPES AND USES OF MILITARY FIRST AID KITS
With American elements flooding European culture also the elements of their military clothing or equipment started to be seen on the streets. One of such elements is Improved First Aid Kit, or IFAK for short. This first aid kit worn on a belt or backpack became an important element of equipment for people feeling responsible for life and safety when hiking, working with guns, or being service members.To get more news about ifaks, you can visit rusuntacmed.com official website.
Elements of IFAK are chosen in such a manner to provide the ability to treat the most common injuries that occur to US Army soldiers in the battlefield. Having said so, we will find there mostly means to stop massive bleeding and protect airways. Elements of such US army individual first aid kit include:
Such a set of equipment in an individual first aid kit allows every soldier to treat most common wounds and stabilize injured personnel until the arrival of qualified medical personnel. Having all elements in IFAK as easy to use as possible allows military personnel to utilize it whole after a short training period.
Marine Corps IFAK, first aid kit for the workhorse of US military
Being the first to send into the hot zones, soldiers of the United States Marine Corps often get under heavy fire, which results in a high risk of injuries of all kinds. Luckily, their military first aid kits are well-prepared to treat intensive bleeding, extensive wounds, and burns.
As we can clearly see, an individual soldier doesn’t have a Nasopharyngeal airway tube, which is used to secure upper airways. Contrary to US Army IFAK the individual first aid kit of US Marine Corps consists of way more dressings, antiseptic measures, and burn dressings, which we won’t find in an army-issued one.Polish Army IPMED or Individual Medical Packet - Polish version of individual army first aid kit
Not only our allies from across the great water have their IFAKs equipped with modern dressings and treatment solutions, but the polish army also has their first aid kits equipped to address different types of injuries which may occur on the battlefield including massive bleeding, chest wounds, or securing upper airways.
As you can see at the first glance, the polish army IPMED is about the same size as US Army IFAK, with that noticeable difference, that the polish army first aid kit includes an autoinjector with morphine to fight strong pain caused by injuries, which we won’t find in any other of described first aid kits.A few words about less common elements of military first aid kits
As most people will probably easily tell us what gloves in a first aid kit look like, or what a sharpie or gauze bandage is, people without any civilian or tactical medical experience might have problems with explaining what some of the military first aid kit elements are. Running to the rescue, we will try to explain what some of them are.Hemostatic dressings in the form of gauze are used to stop massive bleeding by packing the wound with them and putting pressure on the wound also utilizing the hemostatic agent. Having such dressings in the military first aid kits allows to quickly stop massive bleeding which may be caused by piercing wounds or gunshots.
The nasopharyngeal tube is used in many military-issued first aid kits as a way to secure upper airways. The tube is put into the nostril and goes all the way to the upper back part of the throat. It is very useful when the injury prohibits the usage of the mouth to breathe. This type of tube can be used both on a conscious and unconscious patient.
Chest seal is an occlusive chest wound dressing to be used on sucking chest wounds for treating open pneumothorax and preventing tension pneumothorax from occurring. Such types of wounds are often associated with military work, as they are caused by piercing wounds or gunshots into the chest. Because of so high probability of those types of wounds, most of the modern IFAKs have chest seal dressings. Those occlusive chest wound dressings have a one-way valve, which allows air and fluids to escape from the patient's chest and doesn’t allow them to enter the patient's body.
A tactical tourniquet is a quick solution to initially secure massive bleeding from extremities. By applying pressure on soft tissue, it closes the artery, thus stopping the bleeding. It's nothing strange that they are part of military first aid kits all over the world and are slowly becoming standard equipment for every lifesaver. About different models of tactical tourniquets, you can read in our other blog post.