• STOP THE BLEED

    1. Identify- recognize life threatening bleeding.
    2. Take steps to stop the bleeding.

    Personal Safety

    YOUR safety is YOUR first priority.

    • If you are injured, you cannot help others.
    • Help others only when it's safe to do so.
    • If then situation changes or becomes unsafe:
    • Stop
    • Move to safety.
    • If you can, take the victim with you.
    • Wear gloves if you can
    • If you get blood on you, be sure to clean any part of your body that the blood has touched.
    • Tell a healthcare provider that you have blood on you and follow his or her direction.

    ABC’s of Bleeding Control

    A - Alert

    • Call 911
    • Know your location.
    • Follow instructions provided by 911 operator.

    B - Bleeding

    • Find source of bleeding
    • Look for:
    • Continuous bleeding
    • Large volume of bleeding
    • Pooling of blood
    • There may be multiple places where the victim is bleeding.
    • Clothing may also hide life-threatening bleeding.

    C - Compress/Pressure

    • Apply direct pressure to the wound.
    • Focus on the location of the bleeding.
    • Use just enough gauze or cloth to cover injury.
    • If pressure stops the bleeding, keep pressure on wound until help arrives.

    C- Compress/Packing

    • For large wounds, superficial pressure is not effective.
    • If bleeding is from a deep wound, pack gauze tightly into the wound until it stops the bleeding; hold pressure until help arrives.

    C- Compress/Tourniquet

    • Apply 2 to 3 inches above the wound.
    • Do not place over the elbow or knee.
    • Tighten tourniquet until bleeding stops.
    • DO NOT remove the tourniquet.
    • Can apply to others or yourself.
    • Can be applied over clothes.
    • Tourniquets HURT
    • A second tourniquet may be required to stop the bleeding.

    Bleeding control in children

    In all but the extremely young child, the same tourniquet used for adults can be used on children.

    For the infant or very small child (tourniquet too big), direct pressure on the wound as described previously will work in virtually all cases.

    For large, deep wounds, wound packing can be performed in children just as adults using the same technique as described previously.