generally, if you are on your own and in a situation where you need one of the powders - you are likely to die anyway as :
a) unlikely you can self admis=nister
b) your not going to able to raise help.
In the UK with someone else present you are bette of with direct pressure method - or in worst cast tourniquet (if used correctly). As thse things are not NHS approved you are going to make problems for yourself as its gonig to make the ambulance crews job harder - to your detriment, and you are gonig to have to deal with a very peed of doctor or even worse A&E ward sister/staff nurse.
I respectfully disagree with these assertions:
* Haemostatic agents can and have been self administered
* Celox products are available from the NHS Supply Chain. Therefore they
are approved.
* Applying haemostatic products topically to an arterial or central venous bleed is
less risky than applying a tourniquet. Tourniquets are really very dangerous, and should only be used by someone who knows what they're doing, or if you simply have no other option - i.e. you're going to die.
* Doctors and nurses like patients they can work on as opposed to ones that turn up in their emergency department already dead, regardless of what methods they employ to stay that way. Traumatic injuries which warrants the use of such products are usually going to need to be debrided and/or otherwise surgically corrected anyway. Some surgeons who are unfamiliar with new pre-hospital care technologies
may get their knickers in a twist over their use, but that probably reflects a certain amount of conservatism on their part to embrace new ideas.
While researching the topic for this thread, I have come to the conclusion that
all granulated haemostatic products should be avoided. The impregnated gauze products seem to be easier to apply, easier to remove and have less complications than granulated ones.
Having said that -
DIRECT PRESSURE TO THE BLEEDING SITE IS THE FIRST LINE INTERVENTION. Haemostatic agents should only be used in
serious bleeds. If direct pressure to the site doesn't work, or an arterial bleed is pumping blood all over the place - then it's a survival situation, and no one has ever been penalised for trying their best to save someone's life when they're definitely going to die without intervention.
http://www.ramcjournal.com/2009/dec09/lawton.pdf
http://www.closeprotectionworld.co.uk/medic-forum/35694-haemostatics-catastrophic-haemorrhage.html
All the best