SWAT-Tourniquet: Frequently Asked Questions

If you’ve been paying attention to the the latest Tactical Combat Casualty Care guidelines and recent articles for emergency medicine, you probably have a few questions regarding tourniquets.  If you’ve been paying attention to tourniquets, then you probably heard of the Stretch-Wrap-and-Tuck Tourniquet (SWAT-T) made by TEMS Solutions, Inc.   This new tourniquet is highly effective, multifunctional, lightweight, and inexpensive.  Got your attention?  Ok.  Remote Medical International works closely with the creator and owner of TEMS Solutions, so we have the answers to the questions you are currently formulating.

What is the SWAT-T made of?  Hypo-allergenic poly-isopropylene material.  Both colors, black and blue, are non-latex and can be used on any patient with extremity hemorrhaging or in need of a pressure dressing.

Is it strong?  The SWAT-T was durability tested and stretched to 250% length over 5000 times with no degradation in effectiveness.  Extreme weather?  The SWAT-T was heated to 212 degrees, then immediately applied with no degradation in effectiveness.  Does it work in the cold?  Remote Medical International used the SWAT-T as the primary tourniquet for Tom Milne’s recent expedition to Vinson-Massif in Antarctica.  -40 degrees… no problem.   TEMS Solutions gave tourniquets to Naval Special Operations Warfare Group 4 for testing and evaluation and the following story resulted:

After receiving three SWAT-Tourniquets to test and evaluate, a physician from Naval Special Operations broke down on the way home from work.  In need to remove his car from the road, he did not have anything in the trunk of his car to do the job.  In frustration, he looked in his backseat and saw three SWAT-T’s.  Knowing the tourniquets were stated to be “durable,” the physician tied the three SWAT-T’s tourniquets together and towed his car over 150 meters.   Cool story, but the SWAT-T is not intended to be used as a tow strap.

Is it easy to use?  Yes, the design is very intuitive and can be effectively applied with minimal training and practice.  When you look at the printed side of the tourniquet, you will see a variety of shapes: oval, circles, diamonds, squares, and hash marks.  To effectively make a tourniquet, you simply wrap the tourniquet around the extremity until it grabs on itself, then STRETCH-WRAP-and-Tuck.  When you make the printed ovals look like circles, the diamonds look like squares, and the hash marks look like a checkerboard, the tourniquet is now applying enough pressure to stop blood flow.  On the last wrap, go a little easy on the stretching, then tuck the end of the tourniquet under a previous wrap.

Application instructions?  Included with each tourniquet is a card with instructions for tourniquet use, pressure dressing application, and elastic wrap improvisation.  If you need more instruction, you can view the instructional videos .

Is this a multi-use tourniquet?  If you’re using this tourniquet to stop blood loss, chances are the tourniquet will be covered in blood and need to be tossed regardless.  The approved solution is to get a training tourniquet.  You can use the tourniquet to train your entire team and maintain the quality of the equipment going downrange.  At $8.50, training equipment really doesn’t get any less expensive.

Does it work when it is covered in blood?  All you have to do is get the SWAT-T to grab on itself after one wrap, then start pulling.  Try in covered in soap, water, dirt, or blood.  This thing works as designed when it is mission critical.

Advantages over other tourniquets?  Compared to other tourniquets, the SWAT-T can be used on patients of all size.  That means is works on kids, animals, service dogs, or people with larger extremities.  There is no strap requiring fiddling, adjustment, or re-tensioning–STRETCH, WRAP, AND TUCK.

Recently, military services conducted studies on the stress paradox as it relates to a rescuer in a survival situation.  When the adrenaline is pumping and tunnel vision goes into effect, all studies find a loss in fine motor skills and increased decision making time.  The SWAT-Tourniquet works best in this situation.   The more adrenaline and muscle you put into the application of the tourniquet, the more effective you will be at saving precious blood.

Let’s face it.  People make tons of cool kit out there.  Everybody has the solution for every problem you may have on the objective.  So how do you decide what to carry downrange?  You need everything possible to achieve your objective ballistically or kinetically, then you need the equipment to take care of you when things go downhill.   If you’re fighting to reduce weight and save on real estate, the SWAT-T is a tool to fill multiple purposes in a smaller space.

The best advantage of the SWAT-T is the cost.  At $8.50, the SWAT-T is a quarter of the price of other tourniquets.  If you’re on a budget and need to outfit your team with mission critical equipment, this is the tourniquet for you.

Can I buy this tourniquet via GSA?  Yes, Remote Medical International is the GSA distributor for the SWAT-T and offers a government discount for individual or bulk purchases.  Click here to request more information.

Is there formal testing and data?  At this time, there are no formal studies by independent agencies.  TEMS released the SWAT-T in July 2008 following the most recent tourniquet studies by the Army, Navy, and Air Force.  With recent data addressing the need for a wider tourniquet, TEMS Solutions Inc and Remote Medical International are looking forward to putting the SWAT-T to the test.   Remote Medical International gave out 800 SWAT-T’s at the Special Operations Medical Conference in December 2008.  Feedback from U.S. and foreign militaries is outstanding.

BOTTOM LINE:  The SWAT-T is a highly effective tool to help save a life at the most critical moments.  Give it a try.  RMI has a 100% guarantee you’ll be satisfied. If you have any questions I did not address in the blog, please post to comments below and I will be sure to answer them.