Tools...

Welcome to the new updated Lone Star Medics website!  Please excuse our mess as we thank the “Good-Idea-Fairy” for telling the medic to try and rebuild his own website.  We thought we’d start our new blog with a quick read.  We’ll be posting subjects related to Mindset, Education, Tools in the future; so keep tabs on us here and on social media.

Tools…
Here are three items I like to keep in our family vehicles along with our vehicle med kits.  While they are not exactly “medical” tools, they are in fact tools that can help during medical emergencies.  Car wreck scenes can be dangerous places with sharp metal sticking out everywhere.  So here are a few non-medical items that may help calm the chaos.       
Headlamp – Trying to hold a flashlight in one hand while applying a pressure dressing with the other, in the dark, while in a ditch on the side of the road is difficult enough.  Having both hands free to work with limited sight is pretty cool.  When it comes to how many lumens and lens color; we recommend at least 50-100 lumens and white/clear lens for this type of work.  We prefer either the Princeton Tec’s “EOS” or “Remix Pro” (https://princetontec.com/product/remix-pro/).  Both offer great options for your specific needs.  No matter which brand you get, just make sure you make a habit of checking the batteries every so often.   
Work Gloves – Helping remove the debris that has your neighbor trapped following that tornado or helping at that car wreck scene before Fire/EMS show up may provide opportunity for your hands to get tore up.  Keep a pair of leather work gloves or a pair of Vertx’s “FR Breacher” gloves (https://vertx.com/product/4425) at the ready in your car and at the house to keep your hands from getting sliced open.  You can’t help others if you’re spilling your own blood everywhere.  If you need to, you can wear your medical exam gloves under the work gloves to protect you from body fluids too.   
Blanket – We’re fans of old school wool blankets that were issued to the troops back in the day.  You can keep a casualty warm and treat for shock with them.  They’re usually inexpensive and can be picked up at your local Army surplus store.  Poncho liners are cool and all, but the nylon can melt and may not offer the same protection from the cold or debris as wool or cotton.  Blankets can also offer some protection from debris, for those trapped in a car while waiting on Fire/Rescue to arrive.  It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve made a temporary splint using a blanket either.  They make decent improvised litters to move someone that needs to be moved to a safer location.  A giant beach towel is another option that can work in a pinch.

While these items are just a few things we keep in our personally owned vehicles, hopefully they inspire you to think about what other tools you may need when away from the house.Just be sure and properly secure or hide these items from plain sight so thieves don’t get tempted.
Drink Water,
-Caleb