Home By Yourself-Knock At Door

Now I am wondering what they came by for Do you recall?

 

they were lost supposedly.

 

I never answer the door because the only people that ever visit are Mormons, JWs, or salespeople. Sigh.

 

Most strangers that come to the door here are collecting money for a good cause.

 

Those Unicef people?

 

Would not be suprised if they came by as well (i'm not always the one that answers the door) but I mostly get people collecting for help against cancer and the likes. I always say my housemate's not here (jk!)

 

well, i suppose they can still have their uses, but that's still not what you tell random guy to do. like the article said, if it's not done just right it can do more harm than good. which is probably why pretty much all first aid training agencies say not to do it.

 

I live in the shadows like a spider. When someone knocks, my heart freezes and I panic. I instantly go stock still, slink to the furthest room from the door, and don't make a sound until they leave.

 

Incorrect. Here is something more up to date:

It once was thought that using tourniquets could be harmful because they cut off circulation. But during recent wars, it was learned that tourniquets, when properly applied, can stay in place for hours and save limbs.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/07/26/police-learn-to-provide-emergency-first-aid.html

Also, see this:

Unlike civilian EMS, military medicine practices have long called for tourniquet application much earlier in the treatment for blood loss. Recent research in military hospitals in Iraq and Afghanistan has shown that, contrary to popular belief, using a tourniquet doesn’t guarantee limb amputation or even nerve loss. In fact, researchers found that among patients who had a tourniquet applied to a limb before arriving to the hospital, only 0.4% of them underwent an amputation and usually the reason they got an amputation had nothing to do with the tourniquet. On the nerve damage front, only 1.5% of tourniquetted patients suffered any kind of permanent nerve damage. Based on this newfound knowledge, many civilian EMS teachers and practitioners are starting to encourage tourniquet use much sooner.

http://www.artofmanliness.com/2012/03/21/how-to-save-lives-like-an-army-medic-using-a-tourniquet-to-control-major-bleeding/

You appear to be arguing the point that if you don't know exactly how to apply a tourniquet, you should let the guy who's bleeding out just die. I disagree.

 

no, i'm not saying any such thing. i'm just saying that if you are trained in first aid, you are taught to do things other than using a tourniquet, and i'm sure there's a reason for that. you still control the bleeding, it's not like the only options are to do something outside your training or do nothing at all.

even if it is a truly catastrophic injury that would be best treated with a tourniquet, you don't know that fact in your initial scenario because you already told the guy to get off your property before he told you anything beyond "my friend is bleeding out." there's a lot of reasons he could be bleeding in a car wreck that should not be treated with a tourniquet, so that seems like something that should be resorted to only after you get to the scene and assess what is actually happening with the victim, certainly not the initial suggestion.

 

No. The issue is not that someone is bleeding. The example given in RooRshacks post was that the victim was bleeding out.

You must have missed this:

Recent research in military hospitals in Iraq and Afghanistan has shown that, contrary to popular belief, using a tourniquet doesn’t guarantee limb amputation or even nerve loss. In fact, researchers found that among patients who had a tourniquet applied to a limb before arriving to the hospital, only 0.4% of them underwent an amputation and usually the reason they got an amputation had nothing to do with the tourniquet. On the nerve damage front, only 1.5% of tourniquetted patients suffered any kind of permanent nerve damage. Based on this newfound knowledge, many civilian EMS teachers and practitioners are starting to encourage tourniquet use much sooner.

 

One night I was upstairs and not expecting anyone when I hear a loud knock at the door. I got up and went to the landing started to go down the stairs to see who was at the door and that's when they tried the doorknob and started to shake the door furiously to get in. I was scared of course and they kept shaking the door and left. I called 911. When the police came they found her down the road the gps had led her to my house she was baby-sitting looking for the house she was suppose to be at.

 

i never said that the victim wasn't bleeding out. in fact, i specifically said that he was. adding the word "out" does not automatically change the treatment of the injury.

i saw what your article said about EMS. i have been talking about basic first aid for the general public. i'm sure the "art of manliness" website is a highly trusted certifying agency, but when I certify people in basic first aid through a nationally recognized agency, tourniquets are in no way part of what i am allowed to teach them.

 

It reminds me of something I did once when I was camping by the river banks (I was homeless at the time). I was turning some dirt around in the garden with a big metal rake, when I saw a man walking down the path that lead to my (hidden) campsite. People usually never go there as it's out of sight and not easily accessible (have to go down a VERY steep hill among other things) so I got suspicious. The dog I had at the moment, Shadow (half husky, half psycho, about 75 lbs), started to bark and growl before charging the poor guy in a very agressive manner. After a while I called back the dog and walked to the guy, rake resting on my shoulder, and asked "how can I help you?". He just mumbled something before turning around and leave, obviously pissed off. I guess he wanted to use the site for himself or steal my stuff (at least I hope that's all he had in mind!), but oh well, better luck next time.

 

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Bruce A. West. Mr. West served as an Army medic in the Iraq war. He taught over 500 soldiers how to save lives in a class called Combat Lifesaver, and will be sharing his knowledge here on AoM in a series on important first aid/first responder skills every man should have.
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I'm sorry you don't trust Mr. West. Anyway, in the event of a catastophic bleeding event that pressure doesn't take care of, I'm going to use my belt as a tourniquet rather than let him bleed out.

 

Almost no one comes to my door and I don't go to anyone elses door. Except the mail lady and my kids. That's just about the right amount.

 

All I can say is, you guys are paranoid, somewhat dangerous, and depressing.

Of course you should be prepared to handle shit if you need - and be careful about who's there or whatever - but that doesn't excuse not helping people, much less, being a general menace to people at large without any reason.

Reminds me of the "guns and communes" thread. Shit's not something to be taken lightly. It'll be a different matter if you end up killing someone, see how much random murder (or, just menacing people, when you could have simply said you're not interested and you want them to leave) protects your petty drug operation or whatever, then....

 

Didn't I say that if they needed help cuz their buddy was bleeding out from a car wreck, they'd be knocking like there's no tomorrow, and probably saying something like, "Help me! My friend's bleeding out in a car crash down the road."? If you took me seriously when I said that I'd probably say, "Shouldn't you be back there applying a tourniquet to stop the bleeding or something," then you should lighten up, man; I was just joking. In reality, if he's saying there's an accident, I'd ask him his name and then go to my computer to do a background check on him. If he comes up clean, then yeah, sure, I'll call 911 for him, after which he will promptly get his ass the fuck off my property!!

The truth is that I would have given him my belt and a good strong stick, and then tell him to get his ass the fuck off my property. And I'm sure that, like myself, scratcho would do no less and no more.

 

When Patty Hearst was kidnapped it started by a knock at the door

 

This thread has caused me to reconsider my established protocol for those unwanted visitors. I'm going to hang some old belts on a nail next to my door. And right beside it, I'll put a sign that says, TOURNIQUETS -- $1.00; STRONG STICK NOT INCLUDED! QUARTERS ONLY PLEASE (that's so I can hear whether or not they're really paying). If I don't hear those quarters hitting the coffee can, then their bad day will have just gotten a little worse.

And in case it's someone asking for directions, I'll have a pile of old state maps on the ground below the belts.