Bleeding Control Trainer

This is a device that can be used for Scouts to practice treatments for severe bleeding.  It can be used to practice tourniquet application and packing of wounds with hemostatic gauze.  Currently, tourniquet use is de-emphasized and hemostatic gauze use is absent from the Scout curriculum.  This runs counter to national trends, like the Stop the Bleed campaign being promoted by the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma, that is teaching hemorrhage control techniques to lay people.  Bleeding control kits that contain tourniquets and hemostatic gauze are being placed in or near AED cabinets in public locations around the nation as part of this program.  This is the current standard for layperson first aid, and the BSA will eventually catch up.

Side view.

Top view.

End view.

With tourniquet and pressure dressing.

Bleeding control training devices that are commercially made can cost anyway from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars.  The one I made cost me about $15, but I already had some of the materials.  You can expect to spend around $20-$30 to make one.  I procured all the materials at Walmart and Lowes.

This one costs about $400.

This one costs about $3,000.

I can't take all the credit for this.  I got the idea from the American Safety & Health Institute.  I modified their design to allow for wound packing.  I did not bother with the tubing that they used to simulate an artery.  I also did not use contact cement as they recommend because I used self-adhesive shelf liner.  They recommended a 1.5" diameter dowel, but 1.25" dowel (closet rod) fit my pool noodle better.  They have a very good set of instructions that you should read at:  https://www.hsi.com/hubfs/PDFs/ASHIMEDIC_ABC_DIY_031418b.pdf?t=1530824878586

Materials:
large diameter pool noodle (aprox 4.5")
1.25" diameter dowel (closet rod)
duct tape
shelf liner, tan, self-adhesive
2x8" board
7" long 5/16" carriage bolts (2)
5/16" washers (4)
5/16" lock washers (4)
5/16" nylon insert lock nuts (2)
5/16" nuts (4)
black gloss spray paint
felt self adhesive pads

Self-adhesive shelf liner from Walmart.

The instructions below are very similar to the American Health & Safety Institute instructions.  The main part that differs is in italics.

Cut the pool noodle and 1.25", dowel, and 2x8" board to 20" in length.  I used a power miter saw to cut all three.  Mark a line along the length of the pool noodle with a permanent marker.  You can put a 2x4 along it to use as a marking guide.  Use a box cutter or sharp knife to cut a slit in the pool noodle down to the center hole.

Drill 2 holes (large enough for the 5/16" carriage bolts) in the dowel at 4" and 12" from one end (or 4" from one end and 8" from the other end).

Mark the centerline on the underside of the 2x8.  Countersink 2 holes with a 1" spade bit, about 1/2" deep, 4" from one end and 8" from the other end.  Drill the rest of the way through with a large enough bit to accommodate the carriage bolts.  Paint the board.  Add some felt pads to the corners on the underside.

Attach the carriage bolts to the dowel with a lock washer and nut each.  Then attach the carriage bolt / dowel assembly to the board with a washer, lock washer and nut on the topside, and a washer and nylon insert lock nut on the bottom.

Wrap the pool noodle around the dowel and secure with several circumferential wraps of duct tape.  Drill a 3/4" diameter hole into the pool noodle with a spade bit, down to the dowel.  This simulates a cavitary wound like a gun shot wound.  Use a box cutter to cut a slit in another part of the pool noodle, also down to the dowel to simulate a deep laceration.  Apply the shelf liner to the pool noodle.  This part is a pain, but it can be done.  Use a box cutter or razor blade to trim the ends and around the wounds.