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Conditions: You see a casualty who has an open chest wound.
The casualty is breathing.
Necessary equipment and materials:
casualty's first aid packet and
material to improvise a dressing (clothing
or blankets).
Standards:
Applied a dressing to the wound following
the correct sequence, without causing
further injury to the casualty.
The wound was properly sealed and the
dressing was firmly secured without
interfering with breathing.
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Performance
Steps
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Note. If there
are two wounds, the same procedure
should be followed for both.
Start with the one that is more
serious; (the one that has the heavier
bleeding or is larger).
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1. Uncover the wound unless clothing is stuck to the
wound or in a chemical environment.
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CAUTION
Uncovering
the wound in a chemical environement
or removing stuck clothing could cause
additional harm |
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WARNING
Do
not attempt to clean the wound
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2. Apply airtight material over the wound.
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a.
Use the fully opened
outer wrapper of the casualty's
field dressing or other airtight
material.
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b.
Apply the inner surface
of the airtight material directly
over the wound after the casualty
exhales completely.
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Note. When
applying the airtight material try not
to touch the inner surface.
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c.
Hold the material in
place.
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3. Apply the casualty's field dressing.
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a.
Apply the dressing, white
side down, directly over the
airtight material.
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b.
Have the casualty breathe
normally.
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c.
Maintain pressure on the
dressing while you wrap the tails
around the body back to the starting
point.
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d.
Tie the tails into a
nonslip knot over the center of the
dressing after the casualty has
exhaled completely.
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e.
Check to make sure the
knot is tied firmly enough to secure
the dressing without interfering
with breathing.
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Note. When
practical, apply direct manual
pressure over the dressing for 5 to 10
minutes to help control the bleeding.
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4. Position the casualty on the injured side or in a
sitting position, whichever makes
breathing easier.
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WARNING
If
the casualty's condition (difficulty
in breathing, shortness of breath,
restlessness, or blueness of skin)
worsens after placing the dressing,
quickly lift or remove and then
replace the airtight dressing
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Note. Watch the
casualty for life-threatening
conditions, check for other injuries,
and seek medical aid |
Evaluation
Preparation:
Setup: Use the same
field dressing repeatedly.
Prepare the field dressing outer
wrapper or provide a piece of airtight
material (plastic, cellophane, foil).
Have another soldier act as the
casualty.
Use a moulage or otherwise simulate
the chest wound.
Brief
Soldier:
Tell the soldier to do, in order, all
necessary first aid steps to treat the
casualty's wound.
When testing step 1, you can vary the
test by telling the soldier that clothing is
stuck to the wound or that a chemical
environment exists.
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Performance
Measures
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GO
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NO
GO
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1. Uncovered the wound unless clothing is stuck to the
wound or a chemical environment
exists.
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——
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——
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2. Applied airtight material over the wound without
touching the inner surface.
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——
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——
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a.
Used the fully opened
outer wrapper of the casualty's
field dressing or other airtight
material.
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b.
Applied
the inner surface of the airtight
material directly over the wound
after the casualty exhaled
completely.
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c.
Held
the material in place.
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3. Applied the casualty's field dressing.
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——
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——
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a.
Applied the dressing,
white side down, directly over the
airtight material.
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b.
Had
the casualty breathe normally.
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c.
Maintained
pressure on the dressing while
wrapping the tails around the body
back to the starting point.
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d.
Tied
the tails into a nonslip knot over
the center of the dressing, after
the casualty exhaled completely.
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e.
Checked
to make sure the knot is tied firmly
enough to secure the dressing
without interfering with breathing.
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4. When practical, applied direct manual pressure over
the dressing for 5 to 10 minutes to
help control the bleeding.
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——
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——
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5. Positioned the casualty on the injured side or in a
sitting position, whichever made
breathing easier.
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——
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——
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6. Performed steps 1 through 5 in the correct
sequence.
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——
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——
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Evaluation
Guidance:
Score the soldier GO if all
performance measures are passed.
Score the soldier NO GO if any
performance measure is failed.
If the soldier scores NO GO, show
what was done wrong and how to do it
correctly.
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References
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Required
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Related
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FM
4-25.11
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FREE Audio Version
Download & print
Misc. Information
For
55 years, this has been the basic guidebook for enlisted leaders
of the Army.
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