Expedient Hemostatic Agent (QuikClot)

I helped a former Spec Ops friend of mine conduct several Combat Medic classes over the years, beginning in 2012. Having helped with that class numerous times enabled me to come away with a considerable amount of information about a plethora of different emergency medical concerns. While I am most assuredly NOT qualified to teach that class, I think I can safely share a few things with you. The following is safe, cheap, easy method to make your own blood stopping agent that is virtually identical to the commercial hemostatic agent, QuikClot.

Of course, like any emergency procedure or expedient substance that you use, you do so at your own risk. This information is not intended to be a substitute for proper medical care...

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Modern QuikClot is primarily made up of kaolin clay. It is very expensive and not always readily available. This short tutorial will teach you how to make your own form of blood stopping agent that, for all practical purposes, is just like QuikClot but many times cheaper, doesn't burn like the older QuikClot and gives you the ability to make custom sizes and amounts for your purposes. The clay itself can be purchased locally or from Amazon. It is simply called kaolin clay and may say “white cosmetic” on it. Either way, just make sure it is pure kaolin clay.

In an emergency, use the the clay just as it is, right out of the bag. Simply pour the powder generously directly into the wound. Pack it in and apply pressure to keep it from being washed out by the flowing blood. However, the powder is difficult to use and there a danger of migration. That means it can be sucked into a blood vessel and cause a clot in the vein. Also, Kaolin is very fine and any breeze at all will make it difficult to get into the wound.

Obviously, the best thing to do is to prepare your blood clotting agent ahead of time. This is called being prepared and its not a bad way to handle things! To prepare your homemade “QuikClot”, stir about 4 cups of kaolin clay into 2 cups of clean water. A combination of 1.5 cups of distilled water and .5 cups of colloidal silver is good insurance to help prevent infection. Mix until you create a batter similar to very  thin, pancake batter. Spread thinly (1/4” or so) on a foil covered baking sheet and bake till completely dry. Remove from oven, crumble into a granular type consistency that resembles cat litter and repackage. It breaks up pretty easily. These granules work fine in smaller wounds but you can also make a blood clotting gauze that works better for larger wounds.

Make the gauze by soaking different lengths of gauze in the batter and bake at 250 to 300 degrees until completely dry. Gently shake the loose powder out, roll it up lightly and package it. Make 3 or 4 different sized rolls for different sized wounds. You can also pack multiple small rolls in larger wounds.

When better care is available, this and any other clot accelerators must be cleaned out of a wound prior to closing. If not, they can form a place where bacteria can grow and cause infection. If, on the rare chance that it does not cause infection, they will likely become encapsulated and there is a possibility they could interfere with healing or the body could form a knot under the skin that will be irritating. Scratching it may expose it once again possibly causing additional infection.

In the real world of SHTF, it is imperative to clean a wound as well as possible. However, it is not possible to get every speck out without the tools used in a modern emergency room. The best expedient method is to use saline with some sort of antiseptic in it like Betadyne, Hibacleanse, Colloidal Silver or Berberine (Extracted from the barberry or Oregon grape root). A soft, toddlers tooth brush works well for gentle scrubbing. Flush the wound and scrub gently. Irrigation, combined with a soft brush, will get it sufficiently clean. The Walmart brand of sterile saline for eye wash is perfect for this. The bottle has a built in nozzle to help flush the wound under pressure when the bottle is squeezed. While doing all this, it is important to control the bleeding. There will be some, but direct pressure should take care of it. When cleaned adequately, go ahead and close to the best of your ability using sutures, butterfly bandages, Super Glue Gel or a combination of any or all of these if professional care is not immediately available.