Unlock new opportunities and expand your reach by joining our authors team. Clean and free from debris, yes but not sterilized. From the modern ob tampon (the mysterious name for which I'll explain) to ancient Indian and Egyptian devices, let's go on a wild journey through the history of the tampon. This article gives us CERTs great information. But consider that in order to properly control bleeding from some injuries, you may have to pack a wound with that bandage in the field. Like a number of other products that first came to market in the 1920s, Kotex sanitary pads originated as a wartime invention. Cookie Notice In 1931, Earl Haas invented the menstrual tampon most commonly used in the twenty-first century. The use of tampons to treat gunshot wounds quickly spread throughout the medical community and is still used today. These tampons back then were made from softened papyrus. By becoming a member, you will have access to our experts knowledge in Personal Defense. But if you are making a kit then use real bandages. This is likely, because no physician or researcher would recommend such a dangerous practice or suggest something so inferior to products that are battle tested with thousands of hours of research and hundreds of lives saved.. Reasd every word, I went with the Israeli bandage. Tampons have been used by U.S. Army medics as emergency wound care dressings: This particular story about a wounded Marine saved by a tampon included in a misdirected care package from home is factual. He might have some smarts but you lost it here. This article explored the history of tampons and their unexpected use in treating gunshot wounds. He was inspired by a female friend who used an internally-applied sponge for menstrual flow, and informed by his own experience, since doctors had been using cotton plugs for bullet wounds and other secretions for years. At most, a woman loses 60-80ml of blood during a period (about 1/3 of a cup). The other type of tampon, the no-applicator kind, was invented by the German gynecologist Dr Judith Esser-Mittag, which is the reason they tend to be referred to in the literature as "o.b. 3rd they cause damage when being removed, this is true to any packing material. (Ouch.) Your combat medics were retarded or never dealt with a gunshot There is a taboo on menstruation that lasts until today, which means it took quite a while for menstruation-related items to become commercial. Various devices made of dung, acacia juice, goosefat, and opium (used in different mixes) were wrapped in lint or linen and used for gynecological problems and even contraception. Suggested materials included lint, flax, cotton, fine wool (yikes, itchy) or essentially anything soft and absorbent. I ONCE did my time as a triage medic in a field hospital unit during the Vietnam Era! And it's clear that women no longer regard the tampon as an abnormal or controversial choice: the UK government's current plans to tax it as a "luxury" have met with widespread derision. The use of tampons as a medical treatment has also allowed doctors to treat more patients in the field. If you have nothing else then use a tampon. The word improvised gets thrown around in the field/tactical medical industry more than I want to acknowledge. Antiseptic cotton rolls were used to stop bleeding from bullet wounds. Yet for some reason, people still feel the need to treat patients like they are living in some bad Mad Max remake. I do it just to upset the ER Doctor, Well that and leak on the floor. TIL tampons were originally made to plug bullet wounds. Kimberly-Clark, an American . That changed in 1929, when Denver-based physician Dr. Earle Hass patented a design for the first modern day tampon. Im not sure if you are aware the military actually has invested in an a tactical approach using the same technology as the tampon (slight variance as the Militarys applicator uses beads of the same material instead of a large swab).