EDC Medical: The Minamalist Approach

**Minimalism**  
*Minimalism, noun*  
1. A style or technique (in music, literature, or design) characterized by extreme spareness and simplicity.

Many EDC (Everyday Carry) enthusiasts often overlook the importance of medical care in their daily lives. However, being prepared for most medical emergencies in an urban setting primarily requires your hands, knowledge, and training. With just your hands, you can apply direct or indirect pressure to control bleeding, open an airway, seal a chest wound, and provide CPR. This skill set requires knowledge and training, which can be provided by online courses from CTOMS Academy.

There are specific hemorrhage control situations that necessitate additional supplies and training.

**Tourniquet**  
Research has shown that improvising tourniquets results in correct application rates of only 10% to 40% when administered by trained personnel. For example, during the response to the Boston Marathon bombing, when 27 improvised tourniquets were applied by trained professionals, all were found to be ineffective in subsequent analysis and coroner investigations. Simply put, you cannot improvise a tourniquet that matches the efficacy of a commercial COTCCC-recommended tourniquet. A minimalist EDC medical kit should include a proven tourniquet, such as a Combat Application Tourniquet (CAT) or a Special Operations Tactical Tourniquet-Wide (SOFTTW), which are the two highest-rated tourniquets according to the latest recommendations from the Committee for Tactical Combat Casualty Care.

**Hemostatic Dressing**  
When it comes to controlling bleeding, direct or indirect pressure may suffice until rescuer fatigue limits your effectiveness, particularly for moderate to severe wounds that cannot be treated with a tourniquet. You can only maintain pressure for a limited time before it becomes ineffective. While improvised wound packing using the casualty's clothing can work in some situations, initial packing with a hemostatic dressing has been shown to be significantly more effective, with efficacy rates of up to ninety percent. Therefore, a minimalist EDC medical kit should include a hemostatic dressing, such as QuikClot Gauze or SAM ChitoSAM.

**Gloves**  
There are many different bloodborne pathogens, including malaria, syphilis, brucellosis, Hepatitis B (HBV), Hepatitis C (HCV), and the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). These can be accidentally transmitted to a rescuer after treating casualties. Although the transmission rates may be low, this risk must be addressed. A minimalist EDC medical kit should include examination gloves when treating casualties whose medical status is unknown or when the risk needs to be mitigated.

A proper minimalist EDC medical kit requires extensive training to improvise effectively. It should include a few essential tools, well-rounded knowledge, and regular skill practice.

Certain tools cannot be improvised, regardless of training level: effective commercial tourniquets, hemostatic dressings, and hypoallergenic examination gloves. Other items can be improvised when paramedic response times are average.