Uncontrolled bleeding causes death. More than 1 million people die every year because they bleed out. That means bleeding control sometimes needs to be quick, aggressive, and effective. When it comes to life threatening bleeding, there are a lot of ways to attempt to control it: direct pressure, elevation, restrict movement, tourniquets, pressure dressings, wound packing, medications like TXA, and more. We haven’t really had any new bleeding control options in a while, we’ve been utilizing the same ole things for years, because they generally work. You might need to use multiple bleeding control methods to actually control someone’s hemorrhage, but all in all, they are mostly effective. But now, the day has come that we finally have a new option for bleeding control, the Traumagel.
The Traumagel was just approved by the FDA to be used in America, as of August 2024. With most bleeding control options, they take time to start working. While we’re waiting and waiting for bleeding to be controlled, the patient is losing volume, losing clotting factors, and losing more and more of their oxygen carrying capabilities, which is going to increase their risk of having a poor outcome. One of the great things about the Traumagel, is that it works almost instantly to slow or stop the bleeding. “Traumagel is different from currently available treatment methods like gauze and tourniquets because the gel doesn’t require pressure to work, and its effects happen within seconds, unlike other methods that can take several minutes to kick in.” (Johnson, 2024).
Sometimes it is impossible to get true direct pressure on a wound. If an entire leg is amputated, a tourniquet might help slow the bleeding, but likely won’t stop it. Also, if your patient is too large or too small for a commercial tourniquet, again you likely won’t fully stop the bleeding. Although medications like TXA have been proven beneficial, and used worldwide for over four decades, many companies and departments in the US still do not have it as part of their protocols. This means that we need more bleeding control options. They need to be readily available and affordable. Cresilon, the company that responsible for the Traumagel promises just that, availability and affordability.
The Traumagel is especially beneficial for life threatening bleeding due to trauma, like stabbing and gunshot wounds, but can be used with any external bleeding. The Traumagel is an algae-based gel that can be squirted directly into a wound via a pre-filled syringe. The syringes don’t require any preparation, they are clearly labeled, and user friendly. This means that all levels, EMT, advanced EMTs, paramedics and more should have protocol clearance to administer it. The gel assists the patient in creating localized clots quickly, stopping the bleeding. One benefit the Traumagel has over other hemostatic agents like powders, is the gel isn’t going to blow away, it isn’t going get spilled and wasted on the skin, it will actually get down into the wound, to the source of the bleeding, and complete its job. When it comes to the powders, sometimes those are very difficult to fully remove after bleeding has been controlled, but with the Traumagel, it can be removed safely and quickly with saline and gauze. Also, since it is a gel and not truly a liquid, it isn’t going to unexpectedly spread out and get wasted.
Although the Traumagel seems like it might be revolutionary in stopping or slowing severe and life-threatening bleeding, we need to remember that it is just one tool. As previously mentioned, sometimes we will need to still use multiple tools to control the bleeding. We always want to attempt the least invasive options first and then utilize other methods if necessary. When arriving on scene you don’t typically run up to someone and apply a tourniquet just because they have a small laceration, the same goes for the Traumagel. If we can use a Bandaid, gauze, I am or something more appropriate, that’s what we need to do.
References
Johnson, A. (August 15, 2024). FDA Clears Gel-Based Device That Instantly Stops Severe Bleeding: What To Know About Traumagel. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2024/08/15/fda-clears-gel-based-device-that-instantly-stops-severe-bleeding-what-to-know-about-traumagel/
