Stops bleeding without stitches

 

The soldiers in Iraq often have to help severely wounded comrades or other victims of warfare. To stop bleeding fast and effectively, the soldiers are equipped with a miracle bandage. The bleeding is held under pressure for two minutes, and then it stops. This helps to save lives.

 

The bandage is produced by HemCon Medical Technologies Inc. The company, founded in 2001, had a goal that could be formulated simply: save lives. This is achieved by getting the bleeding under control, something that is reflected in the company’s name of HemCon, which stands for haemorrhage control. Since controlling bleeding is also important in dentistry and oral surgery, the company has also used the same concept to develop Dental Dressings. These are used if a tooth has to be extracted from a patient who takes anticoagulants. If the anticoagulant medication cannot be stopped and if the extraction is unavoidable, HemCon Dental Dressings provide the solution.

 

 

Positively charged

The HemCon bandage works because it is manufactured from chitosan, a natural product that is found in the shells of shrimp. That chitosan effectively helps to stop bleeding and heal wounds is something that has long been known to Japanese fishermen, who rubbed shrimps in their palms until the chitosan was released and began to work almost immediately. HemCon succeeded in manufacturing chitosan from shrimps, and this chitosan was then freeze-dried and used in manufacturing bandages and dressings of all sizes to be used to help stop bleeding after an accident. For dental surgeons, the chitosan has been used in a dental dressing that is applied to the extraction wound. The Dental Dressing does not have to be used for every tooth extraction but, for third molar extraction or for patients taking anticoagulants, the HemCon Dental Dressing is certainly an indication. The HemCon dressing is applied to the bleeding wound and held in place with  tweezers for just two minutes. The chitosan is positively charged and thus attracts the negatively charged red blood cells. In just two minutes, a strong adhesive seal has been formed between the HemCon dressing and the extraction wound. This seal stabilizes the surface of the wound without a blood clot being formed. And the bleeding stops!