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Shrimp Bandages Clot Blood Faster

dwbryson writes "A new bandage technology uses ground up shrimp shells to instantly clot blood when applied to an open wound. These new bandages were developed and are being produced exclusively for the military (at $100 for a 4x4" square), but the company who makes them is hoping to mass market them to general consumers."

5 of 384 comments (clear)

  1. Tough Choice by tribentwrks · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Do I die a slow, fearful death from blood loss, or a slow bloated death from shellfish allergies. I'll be heading to Walgreens to get one of those cheap "I'm allergic to ..." medical tags just in case they start using them in Ambulances any time soon.

  2. Re:PETA's going to have a cow by Solder+Fumes · · Score: 4, Insightful

    PETA doesn't care about the animals, they care about the political power. They use people who care about animals to achieve their own goals. Open your eyes.

  3. Re:Quote from TFA by Anonymous+Luddite · · Score: 4, Insightful

    >> Keep in mind that the United States and European armies are the only military forces that don't use disposable regiments

    I don't think that's right. The IDF (Israeli Defense Force) puts a big premium on survival of individual soldiers.

    Also, I don't think it's a difference in ideology so much as 1st world vs 3rd world realities. Medical treatment for basic needs is pretty lacking in many parts of the world, forget staff trained to handle battle wounds...

    Guns, they got. Doctors, they don't.

  4. What about those allergic to seafood / shellfish? by illc0mm · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I wonder how this will affect those allergic to seafood or shellfish? I know a few people that that are deathly allergic to shrimp, would the military one be able to use this on those that have been screened? Could it cause more harm that good? The technology sounds very interesting though.

  5. Re:Sorry, I'm jaded... :-( by illc0mm · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's understandable to think that it's a crazy price for this. I don't know the specifics of the funding from the government, but usually initial high prices are the result of years of research and development. That R&D has to be paid for some how.

    Now, that's not to say that the "government" has never paid stupid amounts of money for things like toilet seats and hammers, but in the case of medicine it's usually justified. Again, I don't know the details but this is usually the case for this sort of thing.

    There are similar remedies that until recently were too costly to give to the public, surgical glue based bandages for one. Now you can get them at the grocery store for just a little more than traditional bandages.

    This is just like any new technology, like LCD displays. Eventually the R&D will be paid for, and they will be produced in quantities that will become acceptable for the average person to purchase.

    -illc0mm