Quik Clot Combat Gauze -- is it needed when close to help?

[Hmac]

Perhaps I misread you over the course of several of these TCCC related threads. I have no doubt that you do what you do in your profession. I guess it just comes off as if you dismiss the "need" for these tools. I'm a big believer in software first, especially when it comes to this "medical stuff", and I realize not everyone takes that stance...but I wouldn't dismiss the "need" as long as requisit skills are acquired. And again, maybe I'm misreading what you're actually saying.

Do you think a bystander with little or no training would have a better chance of stopping the bleeding from a femoral artery by applying a TQ or direct pressure?

Circumstantial. An 8 year-old can lose a major portion of his circulating blood volume from the femoral artery in the time it takes for even a trained paramedic to fumble that tourniquet on if he/she hasn't applied one in awhile.

But it does kind of highlight the reason for my cynicism about the hardware focus that keeps coming up around here regarding "how do I outfit my IFAK/Blowout/GSW kit?". I see situations in real life where the field efforts become so focused on getting the hardware on that sight is lost of the problem that actually needs to be treated, and immediately. There's a tendency to believe, for example, that getting a HALO chest seal on takes precedence over actually treating a sucking chest wound.