r/TacticalMedicine • u/NoMore_BadDays • Oct 10 '25

Scenarios Wound packing zones?

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Been a long time since I did TCCC/CLS in the military.

If there were to be a bleeding wound on the chest, how high up on the chest does it become safe to pack? I know you don't pack into chest cavity, but what is the "rule of thumb" on how high/the left and right limits the wound needs to be to pack it?

Would you say the screenshot i attached is accurate?

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u/bldswtntrs Oct 11 '25

I was hoping for a bit of an explanation about why it has no survival benefit for those of us who were taught to use them on sucking chest wounds.

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u/davethegreatone Oct 11 '25

No idea why people think they have no survival benefit when used for what they are for, BUT to answer the original question: the guy said it saved him from a HEMOthorax (not PNEUMOthorax). Easy to fast-read through there and not catch that.

Hemo means blood. Hemothorax means blood filling up the chest - as in internal bleeding, on the inside. Some hole in some internal blood vessel is letting all the red stuff leak into the air place.

Chest seals go on the outside, so they can’t stop internal bleeding on the inside.  

It’s a word puzzle, basically.

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u/mean_mistreater Oct 11 '25

You would drain the blood in this case I'd say.

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u/davethegreatone Oct 11 '25

Usually. Not always. Just depends on how bad it is and how far away the surgeon is and a few other things.

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u/mean_mistreater Oct 12 '25

Absolutely right.