The only problem I found with improvised occlusive dressings is difficulty in getting tape to stick. But, that’s the point of this thing, right, so it’s hard to complain about that. I did use that as an opportunity to impress upon the students the difficulty in taping a dressing down to sweaty, bloody skin.
Who the Mountain Man Medical Chest Seal Trainer Is For
At this point you might be wondering who this is for. This isn’t something I would recommend to the average consumer. If you conduct any kind of first aid, training, however, this is a very helpful tool. One of its biggest benefits is the simplest: it demonstrates the anatomy relevant to emergency medicine/first responders. Second, it performs its stated purpose of allowing you to place chest seals on a surface that they will come off of, and it lets you get several uses out of one seal. Third, it serves as a workspace for practicing improvised chest seals.
Those reasons make this an outstanding tool for anyone teaching emergency medicine. EMS instructors, law enforcement first aid trainers, concealed carry permit classes…the list goes on and on. With the focus of emergency medicine so heavily tilted toward stopping massive hemorrhage (and specifically with a tourniquet), everything else seems to be left behind. This outstanding visual and physical aid gives a little more realism to conversations about survivable chest injuries.
If I were to recommend one improvement to the Mountain Man Medical Chest Seal Trainer, it would be printing on both sides. Currently it has single-sided printing. This would be even more useful if the backside were printed with the skin. This would be useful for pointing out other landmarks like the clavicles, the suprasternal notch, the nipple line, etc. Even without that, I feel like this is a very worthwhile tool. Adding this to your teaching kit will expand your capability and make your classes better.
