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Chest Seal Kits 101: Choosing the Right Kit for Life-Saving Treatment

From years of experience in trauma care and manufacturing trauma care supplies, I've seen too many situations where people are unsure about the chest seal kits:how they work, how to choose. Making wrong choice could end in disaster. In this guide, I'll show you everything based on the front line feedback to ensure you make the right decision. What is a Chest Seal Kit ? A chest seal kit is used to treat open chest wounds, mostly caused by gunshots. These wounds can lead to something called a sucking chest wound or pneumothorax. When air gets into the space between the lung and the chest wall, causing the lung to collapse. A chest seal stops air from getting into that space and release the air through vent channels. A chest seal kit includes: Vented or non-vented chest seals Gauze or wipe to clean the blood Gloves for hygiene How to Use a Chest Seal When open wound on chest happens, you need to apply the chest seal kit fast. Here are the steps: Wipe the dirt and blood with gauze. Normally the wipes and gauze are included in the chest seal kit. Peel off the seal backing. Place the chest seal directly over the wound. Central the vent to the wound. Check for other wounds. Gunshots often have a through and through wound. The entrance and exit wound. If there is another wound on the back, apply the second one to seal air. Check breathing always and watch for any signs of tension pneumothorax. Differences between vented and non-vented chest seals There are various kinds of chest seal in the market, but most of them are created based on 2 kinds: Vented and Non-vented. Some vented chest seals come with vented channel, some of them come with a valve, all of them works well if the adhesion is working well. Non-vented one is working as a seal only and will not allow air be released. Why quality matters: Bad chest seals can be dangerous, nothing is better than a bad chest seal You can always trust top brands from USA such as Hyfin and SAM. During our testing, these brands works perfectly even in extreme conditions. But it's understandable not everyone could afford such experience costs, China made chest seal starts to become a good choice as well. Unfortunately, not all chest seals are working well to seal the wounds. Some cheap chest seals were of poor quality, these seals had glue overflow around the edges and center, it causes problems with sticking and covered the vents. To satisfy end users, some manufacturer have tried to solve this by switching to industrial grade glue which comes with heavy chemical smell. Industrial glue isn't designed for medical use. Using low quality chest seals or ones with industrial glue can put lives at risk. If this happens we prefer to seal the wound with CPR mask or tape or any plastic case, it's even MUCH BETTER! It's crucial to choose these chest seals that have been tested and made with medical grade materials that can handle extreme conditions. How we test chest seals We tested chest seals in our lab to make sure how they work in real-life situations. Here is how we did it: Extreme Weather Testing: We tested the seals at -40°C by climate chamber machine, test time 17 hours. We test if the glue sticks. Poor quality chest seals fail at low temperature even at 0°C. Some brands works well in this conditions, like Hyfin, SAM, AeroLock. Click here to see the test result and pictures . Air Release Test: We use an injection device with a plate that mimics a gunshot wound. If the chest seal releases air through the vent, we know it's working. Some bad quality chest seals happened with glue overflow and the vent is covered by glue, the air cannot be released. Blood Release Test: We fill the injection device with liquid and push the injection device. If the blood comes out from the vented channels, we mark it as a successful result. Cheap seals messing up and the blood comes from everywhere, that means glue is overflowed everywhere. Glue overflow test: After being stocked for a while, some glue overflow and covered the vent, how does it work for releasing air if this happens ? Check the picture below. Contact us to get a complete test report of all these chest seal kits. Wholesale Chest seal kits: What to look for If you are a distributor or business looking for seals in bulk or for your trauma kit, here is what you should consider: Weight: The lighter the chest seal, the better for carrying in IFAK kits, and makes the trauma kit compact. The AeroLock chest seal weights only 17G which is 1/3 than regular chest seals. Cost: Top brands chest seals are highly reliable, but they tend to be costly, especially for wholesale orders. Affordable Brand balance the price and function. Quality and Adhesion: Test the chest seal in right way before you make decision. You may test by temperature, adhesion, weight, size, smell, stability to find the answer. If you are buying a chest seal kit for personal use or wholesale, make sure it has been tested and the adhesive holds up under stress, and it should be medical grade. Remember, a poor quality chest seal is worse than using nothing at all. If you'are ensure about the quality of the chest seal you have, if might be safer to use film and tape to cover the wound (such as CPR face shield).

Chest Seal Kits 101: Choosing the Right Kit for Life-Saving Treatment

A chest seal kit is used to treat open chest wounds, mostly caused by gunshots.

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