At some point in your life, you will be someplace where you simply won’t have dedicated equipment available. In Army Special Forces, there is a PACE mnemonic used in planning: What’s the Primary plan? The Alternate plan? The Contingency plan? The Emergency plan? The Emergency Plan is sometimes referred to as the “Everything went to shit plan.”
If you have a fire in your house, it’s best to use a fire extinguisher to attempt to put it out while waiting for the fire department. However, you’ll settle for a bucket of water if you have to, rather than standing back watching the fire get out of control and potentially burn down your house.
Improvised techniques can save lives. The more you begin to see improvised equipment in your everyday surroundings, the quicker you’ll be able to respond and save a life without dedicated equipment.
The techniques posted here have some evidence and proof of concept to support their use in an emergency when better materials simply aren’t available.
Researched and written by Mike Shertz, MD/18D, not AI 🕖 Reading Time, 9 minutes Although the ideal fluid for resuscitation of trauma patients is blood, in most austere and tactical settings, particularly outside of military Special Operations, IV crystalloids are …
🕖 Reading Time, 6 minutes It’s always better to have proven, dedicated medical equipment in an emergency. But when you don’t, you improvise. Why use improvised materials at all? Eventually you could find yourself in a situation when you will …
🕖 Reading Time, 4 minutes Manual inguinal compression of the vasculature can work to occlude distal arterial blood flow. It may not constantly occlude during the entire time the rescuer is applying pressure and might require “readjustment” of the rescuer’s …
🕖 Reading Time, 4 minutes Creatively free-thinking under stress is extremely difficult. Learn to see improvised techniques in your every day environment and they will occur to you when you need them. Construction Barrier A very lightweight construction barrier is …
🕖 Reading Time, 3 minutes A few months ago I was shown a new technique for an improvised tourniquet. Unlike the traditional military cravat improvised tourniquet that requires two cravats, this new technique only requires one. However, we have some …
🕖 Reading Time, 4 minutes Critics of improvised tourniquets say they are ineffective. Some claim, “if you’re planning to improvise, you’re planning to fail.” We disagree with this statement. Proper planning includes having a primary plan, in this instance a …