There are various methods of stopping bleeding, the choice of which is determined by the nature of the damage, as well as the capabilities and abilities of the person providing assistance.
Often people use the following method to stop bleeding. They pinch the bleeding area. If you have bandages on hand, then you can use them. In this case, you should immediately release access to the wound. Iodine tincture is used, which lubricates the edges of the wound. Then apply a bandage and press it firmly with your hand. If the bleeding does not stop, the patient must be urgently sent to the hospital, but before that you should do a pressure dressing. Sterile material in the form of swabs of dry gauze is placed in the wound itself, and large quantities of cotton are used around it. All this is carefully bandaged. This bleeding stop is widely used when damage occurs in the body area. If blood flows through the limbs, pressure may not be enough, as arterial bleeding occurs here . Pressing is more designed to stop venous bleeding.
Stopping capillary bleeding also does not require special knowledge and effort. An ordinary dressing is sufficient for the wound. If such bleeding occurred on a limb, then it is raised above the level of the body. At the same time, the blood flow to the limb decreases sharply, the pressure in the vessels decreases and a blood clot quickly stops , stopping the bleeding.
If you do not have a bandage or other sterile materials with you, then temporarily stopping the bleeding will require even more effort. The bleeding area should not be crushed by what comes under the arm, for example, a scarf or some kind of fabric. This can only be done in cases where the bleeding is too strong, and it directly threatens a person’s life. Then you can neglect the rules of asepsis, and do everything possible to save a person. With slight bleeding , clean linen is often used, and sometimes you can even leave the wound uncovered for a while.
Also a fairly common way to stop bleeding is to apply a tourniquet. It is a rubber tube, with the help of which they drag the limbs slightly above the place of bleeding.
If the tourniquet is tightened correctly, bleeding stops instantly. At this time, the limbs turn pale. The basic rule is to apply a tourniquet just above the site of bleeding. For example, if you have a wound on the lower limb, a tourniquet is made in the thigh area. If the upper limb is damaged, the tourniquet is applied somewhere in the region of the shoulder or forearm. It is also worth being careful not to leave the tourniquet for more than 2 hours. After this, limb necrosis can occur, even paralysis. Therefore, after applying the tourniquet, you must quickly take care to completely stop the bleeding. If you can not do anything, then just remove the harness and make a temporary pressure.
It is recommended to use a tourniquet only when the arterial bleeding is strong and cannot be stopped. In other cases, stopping bleeding in this way can only harm human health.
The tourniquet is often applied even when a serious operation is performed on the limbs, for example, when the leg or arm are amputated . First, the limb must be raised so that the blood moves away from the site of the operation, then apply a tourniquet in all the rules that were mentioned above.
Sometimes people make mistakes when applying a tourniquet, namely: impose it on a naked body, far from the wound, when its use is not required.