Why are You Panicking?

"Hitchhiker, grab your towel and don't panic!"
-The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Before "Hurricane" Irene hit NYC, people seemed to lose their minds. Two days before the hurricane happened to be my grocery day. I saw people in BJ's with 2 full carts of food. It was like they were preparing for the end of the world. If the disaster is bad enough to warrant that much stuff, you may want to just avoid the disaster entirely (like those areas that were evacuated).

The question is, what made people panic like that? What caused people to hoard batteries and flashlights like we were going to be plunged into 10 years of darkness? Why did people who feared the idea of losing power also purchase lots of meat, especially if they would not have any refrigeration?

How people react is affected by what information they are presented with, and the manner in which the information is presented. In the case of the hurricane, the information was presented like NYC was going to crumble. It also didn't help that the media piggybacked it with the "earthquake" from earlier in the week.

A example of this presentation issue can be seen elsewhere. In The Survivor's Club, the author looked at airline flights, and why people seemed to see air travel as dangerous.

He started out by asking: Why do people perceive the danger to be so great? Barnett studied the front page of The New York Times and found the answer. Page-one coverage of airplane accidents was sixty times greater than reporting on HIV/AIDS; fifteen hundred times greater than auto hazards; and six thousand times greater than cancer, the second leading killer in America after heart disease.

What are my chances of dying on my next flight? In the aviation safety field, it’s known as Q: death risk per randomly chosen flight. Analyzing all the data from the last ten years, here’s Barnett’s bottom line: When you get on your next domestic flight, your chance of being killed—your Q—is one in sixty million. That means you could fly every day for the next 164,000 years before you would perish in a crash.

Even if you somehow ended up in a plane crash—a remarkably unlikely if—your chances of dying are still unbelievably small. Believe it or not, the survival rate in plane crashes is 95.7 percent. Yes, 95.7. More precisely, the National Transportation Safety Board analyzed all the airplane accidents between 1983 and 2000. Some 53,487 people were involved in those incidents, and 51,207 survived. Hence, the survival rate of 95.7.

The front page appears to tell us what is important, and we've started looking at the 24-hour news cycle as our way of staying "informed." The problem is, we rarely do any evaluation on our own, taking everything at face value. This is worsened by the fact that the papers and news channels present their information in order to catch viewers and hold them. Information presentation is a competition, and the real losers are people who don't do independent research or look to multiple sources.

Get with the Program

There was a time when I couldn't be bothered to sign up for a store's program. I still have no idea why. We've all bee there:

Cashier: Do you have a Store Program card?

Me: No.

Cashier: Would you

Me: No.

Hell, sometimes I say "Nope" in the correct tone for the first question, and I don't even have to bother with the second.

I mean, it's one thing if you have to pay to be in a program. Rarely is there a program that I will use enough that cost of entry will be greatly eclipsed by the savings (BJ's and Sams Club are examples where you win). Also, at some of these places, the prices are so high that even with the discount, it's cheaper to shop somewhere else. An example of this would be GNC (I recommend shopping at http://www.advantagesupplements.com) or Best Buy (only if I need something right now, otherwise online, get your cables at MonoPrice, and do other shopping online).

My thinking now is, if I'm going to spend money, I might as well do whatever I can to stretch the value of my dollar. I use only my credit card, and shop through links from my bank's website, because I can get more cash back. I'm currently working on a free trip to Japan, thanks to frequent flyer miles (and would probably be there if I had joined the programs earlier).

Anyway, now I'm part of so many programs that I have trouble keeping track of them. The hardest part is all of those stupid cards. If I could find some way to consolidate them into one easy to carry item, I would. Maybe I can create a card of bar codes just for that purpose.

Building my Medical Kit

Those of you who know me in any capacity should know that I am a gear whore. If you need a guy that has some randomly useful item, at a time when would would suspect that no one would have it, I'm your man. If I'm carrying a bag with me somewhere, it usually has a multi-head screwdriver, a lock-pick kit, flashlight, leatherman, allen wrench multi-tool, neosporin, a thumb drive, and the charger for my phone. I'm the guy that always brings the ram, bolt cutters, and a crowbar to arrests.

Anyway, due to a miscalculation, I had a lot of money left over for my flex-spending medical plan, and needed a way to burn it, because I would just lose the money otherwise. The money has to be spent on medical supplies and services, and they recently removed over-the-counter medicine. Since you can only buy so many condoms without seeming completely insane (ever make a condom choice because it was more expensive?), I decided that it was time to build a quick first aid kit for use on the job. Actually, I built two, and then got some extra stuff, all for the sake of spending money.

First Aid Pouch, MOLLE Compatible Black

I'm going to need a place to put the stuff, and since I'm not building an EMS bag, it has to be something small enough to fit on my body armor, in a cargo pocket, or in a glove compartment. The main draw of this pouch was that it could fit MOLLE webbing. It also has internal elastic to hold stuff down inside. I purchased two of these.

Bear Claw Tan Nitrile Gloves: 10 pair, rolled

I already have a box of these, but since I was spending money, why not get some that were already prepped for the kit (also, so I could see how they did it). If there is time, gloves are always a nice way to protect yourself when dealing with blood. Also, avoid colors like black unless they are absolutely necessary for tactical purposes. It is hard to see blood on black gloves, which may pose a problem when checking a victim. Two of these are in each kit, because gloves always break.

NAR Combat Application Tourniquet (C-A-T Tourniquet)

A tourniquet that can be applied one-handed is always good, just in case you're the casualty. I looked at another model, but settled on this one because of the ease of getting the tightening bar into the holder. Also, the strap that secures it doubles for where you write the time.

NAR C-A-T Tourniquet Holder

It came down between this holder and this one. In the end, I decided that I would go with the one that covered the tourniquet completely. Deployment time should be negligible. The tourniquet will be mounted on my body armor, since you don't want to have to go digging for this.

Hemcon Chitogauze


Similar to QuikClot, I did some research and found that the chitosan gauze stopped bleeding faster, and absorbed less blood in the process. I also like that it comes z-folded, which makes deployment from the container much easier. When gauze is rolled, the entire roll must pulled out to unroll it as you go (I think you can master the pull from the roll center method, though), exposing it to the elements, and the chance of being dropped.

This is to be stuffed in large wounds where arterial bleeding is present.

Celox Trauma Gauze

Similar to the chitogauze, this is another hemostatic, but can also be used to treat burns. The trick to this, is that the gauze isn't coated with chitosan, but is actually made of the chitosan agent itself. I would prefer that it were z-folded, though.

CELOX-A

I'm really the guy that you want around if you get shot. Reading up, I came across this, which is for smaller wounds where trying to stuff gauze might not work. The applicator allows delivery of the hemostatic agent deeper into the wound, and closer to the artery.

NAR HyFin Chest Seal & HyFin Xtreme Chest Seal

Ches wounds suck, especially if they are sucking. These are two similar items, with one that is just designed to cover more of the chest in the case of multiple wounds. The adhesive is good, even if the application ares is wet.

NAR Emergency Trauma Dressing 4"

If a wound isn't deep, you're going to need to cover it. So this is the other option. It can also be placed over a packed wound once the bleeding is under control.

Nasopharyngeal Airway (28 Fr., 9.3mm)

It comes with lube! I was totally going to shove it up your nose dry. Also, I don't have to care if your gag reflex works, not that I've ever cared.

ADC Adsafe CPR Pocket Mask

It's not like you'll wake up when I kiss you. This is a little too large to get into the pouch, but a large pouch presented other issues. I mean, sure they say you can use only chest compressions, but I'm not planning for heart attacks. Also, easier to get a seal.

FREE Immediate Action Card

Don't know what to do? Panic under pressure? Realize that no one else on your team has a medical kit, so chances are unless you can talk, you're screwed? This should help. I am upset that it doesn't talk about burns, but it was free. CPR instructions on the back.

Master Classic II Littman Black Edition Stethoscope

This is where I was just spending money because. When I opened the package and told my grandmother the price, my grandmother first said "you can get those anywhere in Chinatown for cheaper." However, once she took a listen with it, she said it was awesome (she's a retired nurse from the NY Hospital for Special Surgery). My aunt (a teaching nurse at Columbia) said that most doctors she knows use Littman brand (which she also owns), and that a lot of nurses go with a cheaper model (which is actually extremely clear). She says that stethoscopes are probably the most stolen thing in a hospital, by other nurses and doctors, so never put yours down.

ADC Diagnostix 2100 Digital Fingertip Pulse Oximeter

A fun and completely unnecessary item, my aunt (my mom's side of the family is almost entirely nurses) said this is like gold in a hospital. So much so that no one buys one because it will be stolen off of your patient's finger. She just uses the heart rate machines at work, and says that most patients don't get their oxygen saturation checked. She want's one for her birthday (note to Phoenix and Austin).


If anyone saw anything that I may have overlooked, or if you have suggestions, let me know.