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This edition of my series, IFAK Essentials will focus on the Emergency Trauma Bandage aka the infamous Israeli Bandage (IZZY).

Any Individual First Aid Kit (IFAK) should include, at a minimum, two Israeli Bandages.

This article will describe the ins and outs of the Emergency Trauma Bandage by demonstrating why you need one, how to use them, and where to pick them up.

Lets begin:

Here’s what the First Care Products LTD’s Emergency Trauma Dressing (ETD) looks like:

First Care has gone as far as to provide easy to read instructions on the back of each dressing’s package. Nice of them.

The ETD is essentially an ACE bandage, a tourniquet and a trauma dressing all wrapped into one. They’ve taken elements from the C.A.T. tourniquet, the typical sports (ACE) bandage and the traditional camouflage combat dressing and rolled them into one more efficient, more compact package.

The Israeli bandage has a built in tension bar that applies continuous pressure to the wound, allowing the bandage to act as a stand-alone field dressing, sling, pressure dressing and mild tourniquet. It is ideal for head wounds, because it can be wrapped very easily. Directions on how to use the bandage are printed on the back of the package.

The Israeli Bandage was developed by Jerusalem-based First Care Products Ltd., a startup company founded by inventor Bernard Bar-Natan.

Since it’s invention in 2003, the Emergency Trauma Bandage has become a mainstay for U.S. Combat Forces stationed world wide.

For example: here’s a picture of the new U.S. Army Individual First Aid Kit (Improved) with its standard Emergency Trauma Dressing.

The ETD is very simple to administer properly. First Care’s website writes:

Nine Steps to Apply the Israeli Bandage Properly
1. Remove the emergency trauma bandage package from the casualty’s kit
2. Remove the bandage from the pouch
3. Place the pad (dressing) on the wound
4. Wrap the elastic bandage around the wounded extremity
5. Insert the elastic bandage completely into the pressure bar
6. Pull the elastic bandage back over the top of the pressure bar, forcing the bar down onto the pad
7. Wrap the elastic bandage tightly over the pressure bar
8. Continue to wrap the elastic bandage around the limb so that all edges of the pad are covered
9. Secure the hooking end of the closing bar into the elastic bandage to secure the bandage

Here’s a pictorial representation of how to utilize the above 9 steps:

Open the package and give your ETD it’s first wrap around the trauma site, with the trauma pad against the wound.

Thread the elastic bandage through the pressure bar.

Pull the elastic bandage over the pressure bar, forcing it flat.

Wrap until you’re out of elastic bandage and secure the bandage to itself with the hooking ends of the closure bar.

Here’s a pictorial representation of how you can apply the ETD to cover a very wide range of traumatic injuries to both trunk, head and extremity.

Shoulder

Forearm (with improvised sling, I like this idea)

Chest/torso

Arm

Wrist

The Emergency Trauma Bandage comes in many different sizes and configurations which allows you, the medic, to pick and choose which dressing will best serve your patient’s needs.

Standard 4″ Model

6″ with optional GSW (Gun Shot Wound) slider pad

The massive 8″ which is more adequately suited for large chest/abdominal wounds as seen below:

Here’s a few selling points from the manufacturer:

* Immediate direct pressure to the wound site
* Quick, easy personal and professional application
* Consolidation of numerous treatment equipment into a single unit
* Significant per treatment time and cost savings
* The product is designed with the end-users in mind.
-The Victim and the Care-Giver (sometimes one and the same)

The members of Zombie Squad, civilians and combat medics alike realize the importance of the Emergency Trauma Bandage. Here’s some of their First Aid Kits which include the ETD (in some prudent cases, several ETD’s)

Gunny’s Trauma Bag

TacMedic22’s Trauma Bag (ETD’s are removed from their main wrapper)

Doc Simon’s Trauma Bag (ETD’s are removed from their main wrapper)

WHERE TO BUY
CPR SAVERS
PACIFIC RESCUE
CHINOOK MEDICAL
COUNTRYCOMM
EBAY

Edited To Add: Zombie Squad was contacted by a current Army combat medic with impressive qualifications who stated that the Emergency Trauma Bandage should never be used to treat head wounds in any instance.

She noted:

The Israeli Bandage is NOT for head wounds. If it’s a small
laceration and they have not hit their head or done anything to cause
raised Intracranial pressure (ICP) is fine (very rarely will you ever
see this scenario in the battlefield or on the civilian side).
However, if you apply any elastic bandage to a head injury even the
smallest amount of pressure can raise the ICP (Just think about the
last time you wore a hat that didn’t quite fit right and you got a
headache, that’s a good example of how easily ICP can be raised). This
can cause anything from an anuerism to leakage of blood or
cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) into the brain matter. Obviously this can
cause serious brain damage or kill someone. A simple dressing of 4×4
gauze with a bandage of roller gauze will suffice. The bandage may
even be applied in the same manner you have applied it in your
picture.

In light of the above, I’m removing any mention of using the ETD on head wounds and apologize for this oversight on my part.

–Brad 7/5/2008