Loading...
Civilian Emergency Platform
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Direct pressure is not stopping severe bleeding from an arm or leg. A tourniquet may be needed as a life-saving last resort.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — NOT EXPERT REVIEWED — NOT FOR PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Spurting or pouring blood from arm or leg that does not slow after several minutes of firm direct pressure.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Person becoming pale, weak, or confused from blood loss.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Multiple casualties or you cannot maintain pressure — tourniquet frees your hands.
Scene hazards: Blood-borne infection, Violence
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Confirm bleeding is on a limb — tourniquets are NOT for neck, chest, abdomen, or head.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Call 112 or ensure someone is calling.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Place commercial tourniquet or wide belt/cloth 5–8 cm above the wound, on solid muscle — not over a joint.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Tighten until bleeding stops. This will hurt — that means it is working.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Write the time on the person forehead or tourniquet band. Do not loosen.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — If first tourniquet fails, place a second one higher on the limb.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Tell dispatch: "Tourniquet applied to [limb] at [time]. Severe bleeding controlled/not controlled."
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Stay on the line. Dispatch may guide you if bleeding restarts or the person weakens.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Tourniquet use always requires emergency hospital care — surgical evaluation is mandatory.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Never remove a tourniquet in the field — only hospital staff should decide when and how.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Do NOT use a tourniquet for minor cuts or nosebleeds.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Do NOT loosen the tourniquet to "give the limb a rest."
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Do NOT use narrow wire, string, or thin rubber bands — they cut tissue and fail.
MYTH: DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Tourniquets always cause amputation
REALITY: DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — When used for life-threatening bleeding, tourniquets save lives. Delaying their use causes death from blood loss.
DANGER: DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — People bleed to death while afraid to tighten a tourniquet.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — A tourniquet stops blood flow to a limb to prevent death from hemorrhage. It is used when direct pressure is not enough.
DEVELOPMENT FIXTURE — Modern guidance accepts tourniquets for severe limb bleeding — saving a life matters more than limb risk.