Stop the Bleed: Pressure, Tourniquets and Wound Care
Most bleeding stops with pressure and patience. For the bleeding that doesn't, a tourniquet buys a life — if you apply it correctly and commit to it.
Pressure first
For most bleeding, the answer is direct pressure: press a clean cloth or gauze firmly onto the wound and hold for 5–10 minutes without lifting to check. Letting a clot form is the goal; peeking restarts the bleed. Most wounds stop with patience and pressure alone.
When to reach for a tourniquet
For severe, bright-red arterial bleeding from a limb that pressure won't control, apply a tourniquet 5–7 cm above the injury — never directly over a joint. Tighten the windlass until the bright-red bleeding stops and the pulse below it disappears. Mark the time on the skin. Once on, leave it on: do not loosen it to "check," and in a true crisis with no medical care coming, leave it in place. Beyond about two hours a tourniquet risks permanent limb damage — but with no care available, that trade is acceptable. Losing a limb is preferable to dying from blood loss.
Clean it — correctly
Once bleeding is controlled, rinse the wound with cooled boiled water or saline under pressure (a syringe, or a bottle with a narrow tip). Do not pour alcohol or iodine into a wound — that burns living tissue; apply antiseptic only around the edges. Chlorhexidine is ideal: it doesn't sting and it works.
Watch for infection
After two weeks without medical care, infection — not trauma — becomes the leading killer. A red streak spreading from a wound, spreading redness, a high fever, or new confusion mean the infection is turning dangerous and needs aggressive action and any antibiotics you have.