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Shrimp-Based Bandages Save Lives
Roland Piquepaille writes "Unstoppable bleeding is one of the leading causes of death on battlefields. But now, soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan have a way to reduce bleeding when they're wounded. In "War Bandages," ScienCentral News writes that these new bandages contain chitosan molecules, extracted from shrimp shells. These positively charged chitosan molecules attract negatively charged red blood cells, stopping hemorrhage in one to five minutes. As said one of the co-founders of the Oregon-based company behind these bandages, "You can have a hole in your heart and 60 seconds later it's sealed." The Food and Drug Administration approved these bandages for human usage, but today they are exclusively sold to the Army. With a $90 price tag for a 4-inch-by-4-inch single bandage, would you buy them anyway? This overview contains more details and references. It also shows you how the red blood cells are attracted by the chitosan molecules."
When you need one to stop a gusher - $90 is going to seem cheap when somebody's life is on the line.
Moneyed corporations, non-working 'poor' and criminal prisoners are turning productive citizens into tax-slaves.
In the event of a vehicle or farm accident, I'd like to see these bandages available to our EMT's - all they need to do is to buy about 30 minutes.
A fine is a tax you pay for doing wrong and a tax is a fine you pay for doing all right.
I have a feeling that if I had a wound that would *require* this kind of bandage, I'd be incapacitated enough that I wouldn't be able to get to the glove box.
On the other hand, I might be able to save someone else's life. We've all heard about the staggering numbers of deaths in auto accidents... I wonder if a percentage of those might not have been fatalities if the EMT's (or other drivers) had materials like this.
It might also be worth it for people with blood clotting problems, who (without proper care) could bleed to death from a bad papercut. Does it work for them?
If I could buy one for $90 and throw it in my med kit and leave it there for 4 years, you bet. If it expires after 2 months, no way.
I have sterile bandages in there that are years old, and are still good because I take care of them.
yadda
I probably wouldn't buy one at ninety bucks a bandage, but I would think that hemophiliacs (and their parents) would definitely consider such a cost... well, inconsiderable.
~UP
Eat the Path.