Advanced Clotting Sponge

If you have a loved one using a blood thinner, taking NSAIDs, a slow-healing wound, having any risk of falling, or any chance of going out into the Great Outdoors hiking, camping, fishing, or other life activites, you need these!This sponge saved me from serious blood loss complications after a recent surgery. At home, being allowed full weight-bearing, I had walked to the bathroom, sat down, and saw a rapidly growing pool of blood on the floor. The bleeding would not stop or slow with holding direct pressure, so I directed my caretaker to grab the QuikClot package from my outdoor kit. I lifted the gauze pile over the wound long enough to shove the sponge on the wound, then resumed holding pressure. Bleeding immediately slowed. By the time I got to the ER, 20 minutes later, the bleeding had stopped.When the ER nurse removed the sponge, blood shot into the air 2 feet high, I had a blood "water" fountain, the bleeding coming from a badly damaged artery. It would take twelve stitches, six embolization coils, and complete bed rest for a week for the artery to heal. When I got home, I immediately bought several more sponges and have them in my car, the bathrooms and the kitchen, two in the garage toolkit, and one in each car, plus sent a set to my aging parents and a set to my brother.While I can't claim this sponge saved my life, it did allow me time to get medical care while only suffering from blood loss anemia vs. the nastier conditions, like running out of blood. While running out would have stopped the bleeding, it would have been an even larger mess for my next-of-kin to deal with.

I hoped I'd never need this, but there was a dog fight at the park, and my friend ended up with a really bad bite on his forearm. I'm so glad I had this in my emergency bag because he is on blood thinners, and we all freaked out when we realized he'd been bitten. We were able to apply this to his arm and secure it with a pressure bandage. It worked quickly, and the blood stopped running down his arm within a minute. I'm looking to order more of these.

I recently attended a first-aid class where the instructor stated that the older style of Quick clot (the style with the sawdust contents that you pour into the wound) is no longer recommended as the hospital staff has to then clean out every last bit of the quick clot before sealing the wound. This sponge style is recommended as the contents are contained in the sponge package. I've fortunately never had to use either one but they are great to have on hand just in case.

Yesterday used an angle grinder without a guard. I know dumb but it jumped and cut into my finger. Because the edge of the grinder removed skin completely, I had an open wound 1/2 inch by 1 inch on my finger. I ran for this clotting sponge leaving a blood trail. It stopped the bleeding almost right away with the sponge applied. I was able to hold it onto the finger on my left hand with my left hand only and still drive myself to urgent care without blood spilling everywhere. By the time they saw me, I told them it would probably bleed everywhere when I removed the sponge. But I carefully removed it and the bleeding had stopped. A gaping wound with the meat of my finger showing 1 inch by 1/2 inch and no blood coming out. The doctor was so impressed she said she was going to buy some of them. Without the sponge, I would have had to drive to the ER while bleeding everywhere. I couldn't have stopped the bleeding because there was no way to close the skin. When I got home, I ordered two more sponges.

Great product and real lifesaver. Everyone should have these in their car, backpack/gear bag, and home. Things can go wrong in a split second and bleeding happens fast. The few minutes it takes to get things figured out could be the line between life & death. One of these can stop major bleeding right away and keep things under control until help arrives or the wound can be dealt with correctly. I live in NYC where anything & everything can happen in a split second so I carry enough kit to be able to keep the odds in my favor. In my backpack I have a QuikClot, an Israeli bandage, SWAT tourniquet, 2 large gauze pads & rubber gloves. (All available on Amazon) Those few things totaling about $25 & 1 pound can save a life.

While working in the kitchen, I accidentally dropped a glass dish on my foot (which required stitches). Blood began running out of my foot like a valve had been opened. I quickly grabbed a kitchen towel and applied direct pressure. The towel soaked through and the flow showed no signs of stopping. I grabbed a Quik Clot and applied it after removing the towel. You're supposed to leave the original bandaging material in place if you're going to add more, but it wouldn't have stopped the bleeding in this case. The bleeding stopped within about a minute so I secured it to my foot with some rolled gauze. I checked the expiration date on the package and noticed it was expired April, 2013, which was 4 years and 4 months ago. The package also states to discard if expired. I checked through my stuff and found another Quik Clot that was expired 2009 along with some more 2013 ones. While flexing the sponges still in the original packaging, I noticed the 2013 ones were still flexible, but the 2009 one was hard as a rock. So I would say these are good at least 4 years after their expiration date.

Paramedics and nurses that I work with in the prehospital EMS field have used these to excellent effect. For major arterial bleeding, this can make the difference of life and death, especially if you are far from available emergency care. An item that is indispensable in any trauma care kit, and one that I hope I never have to use. I keep some of these, along with a tourniquet, dressings, cling wrap, and other trauma related items in my "oh s*** box" when I am out in the woods working with my chainsaws. My father almost lost his life to blood loss before he could make his way back to an area for help from a chainsaw accident years ago. Something like this in his bag would have made a difference.