Plop, plop, fizz, fizz — oh, what a wonderful coagulant it is!

Halting blood loss is probably not what the inventors of Alka-Seltzer had in mind when they developed the medication. It’s usually used for upset stomachs, headaches, heartburn and any other manner of bodily ills.

Although surgery or trauma is typically more serious than an upset stomach, the basic ingredient in Alka-Seltzer, calcium carbonate, could be a lifesaver.

When a patient starts bleeding uncontrollably after an accident, a responder’s first priority is to stop the loss of blood. Coagulants can stop bleeding by helping the body form blood clots. But delivering a coagulant to the source of that bleeding is difficult. The doctor needs to get that medication to the damaged tissue against the flow of blood.

Researchers from Canada are studying the use of calcium carbonate to deliver coagulants. They mixed calcium carbonate with an acid and injected it into saline solution or blood. The particles reacted just like an Alka-Seltzer tab in a glass of water and rose to the surface of the solution. Thanks to the rapid expansion of gas, the bubbles pushed outward through the liquid.

They also found that the calcium carbonate successfully delivered medication to the site of a wound — and stopped its bleeding.

The calcium carbonate could be a low-tech, cheap addition to a first aid kit — one that could be used by medics on the battlefield or by a first responder administering aid to a car accident victim.

The researchers say this method could be even more effective if they could figure out a way to have the bubbles travel in one direction. But for now, it seems the lowly antacid tablet is already going above and beyond its call of duty.