Celox makes chitosan-based hemostatic products for stopping severe bleeding, notable for working even when a patient's own clotting is compromised. Made by Medtrade Products Ltd in the UK, Celox uses chitosan derived from crustacean chitin, and it is the standard hemostatic issued to the UK military. Its defining trait is that it works independently of the normal clotting cascade, which matters for casualties who are hypothermic or on blood thinners.

The lineup covers hemostatic gauze and granules for bleeding control. Celox Rapid, built with the brand's Chito-R activated chitosan, is designed to seal a wound with a shorter 60-second compression time than standard hemostatic gauze.

Chitosan stops bleeding through a different mechanism than mineral hemostatics. On contact with blood it swells and gels, sticking to wet tissue to form a barrier that seals the wound, and because this happens without depending on the body's clotting proteins, it still works when a casualty is hypothermic or anticoagulated, conditions that can defeat other approaches. Despite being derived from shellfish, chitosan has not shown the allergy issues that assumption would suggest. The trade-off between granules and gauze is one of application: gauze packs cleanly into a wound cavity and is easy to remove, while granules mold to irregular wounds. For responders preparing for cold-weather or medically complex casualties, that independence from the clotting cascade is Celox's main advantage.

Pair Celox gauze with a tourniquet for limb hemorrhage, add a pressure dressing, and carry it in an IFAK.