QuikClot makes hemostatic dressings for controlling severe bleeding, best known for the Combat Gauze that all branches of the U.S. military carry. Developed by Z-Medica, now part of Teleflex, QuikClot uses kaolin, an inert clay mineral that speeds the body's own clotting. Combat Gauze has held the Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care's designation as hemostatic dressing of choice since 2008, and QuikClot products are made in the United States for military, law enforcement, EMS, and civilian trauma care.

The lineup covers hemostatic wound-packing gauze and dressings in trauma and everyday-carry sizes, suited to bleeding control at different scales. QuikClot's Combat Gauze Z-fold is vacuum-packed with an X-ray-detectable marker for field use.

What makes kaolin hemostatics work is contact activation. The mineral directly triggers Factor XII, the first protein in the intrinsic clotting cascade, accelerating a stable clot without relying on the patient's own clotting speed. Unlike the earlier zeolite powders QuikClot once used, kaolin generates no heat and no thermal injury to tissue, and because it is a mineral rather than an animal-derived product, it carries no shellfish or protein allergy concerns. The gauze is packed directly into a wound and held with pressure, which is why proper wound-packing technique matters as much as the dressing itself. For serious hemorrhage, that combination of proven performance and a clean safety profile is why Combat Gauze became the military benchmark.

Pair hemostatic gauze with a tourniquet and a pressure dressing, and build these into a complete trauma kit.