In our life, the mostunforeseen situations and, probably, we will have to render first aid to a person who is in trouble. And this person may be someone very close to us and dear. In order not to get lost in an extreme situation, it is important to have a good idea of how to practically apply a tourniquet with heavy bleeding.
When should the tourniquet be applied?
First of all, determine the nature of bleeding:
- · Arterial bleeding is scarlet blood andfollows with pulsating jerks. In such cases, it is necessary to press the finger over the artery above the wound site and not to let it go until the tourniquet is applied.
- · Venous bleeding is dark blood.
The tourniquet should be applied in cases of severe arterial bleeding from the vessels of the extremities.
Sometimes it is difficult to understand whetherthe attachment of a tourniquet or not. In order not to do this manipulation unnecessarily, press the artery with your fingers and apply a pressure bandage on the wound. Give the body (wounded limb) an elevated position at which bleeding should decrease, slowly relax the pressure on the artery and carefully observe the bandage. If the blood quickly impregnates the bandage, then this is the signal to urgently perform the application of the tourniquet.
If there are doubts, then you can put a tourniquet under the limb of a wounded person without tightening it. As soon as bleeding resumes, it can be immediately tightened.
If the harness is correctly applied, thenarteries below the site of application, blood rupture should cease. It should be ensured that the compression of soft tissues is sufficient. Otherwise, bleeding may even intensify, since a weak tourniquet will become an obstacle to the flow of blood through the veins, without interfering with the influx of arterial blood.
Where do I apply the strings?
- · Wound of upper limb. Harness tighten in the upper third of the shoulder.
- · Wound of the lower extremity. Stop the blood in the upper half of the thigh.
- Very high shoulder injuries.The tourniquet is placed on the shoulder joint area. A lump of cotton wool or gauze is put in the armpit. An elastic tourniquet wrap around the shoulder from the wound and cross over the ends of the harness. Take them along the front and back of the chest and fasten on the opposite side of the trunk below the axilla.
Harnessing technique
- · Place a soft cloth under the place where the tourniquet will be tightened, or put it over the clothes. This is necessary not to damage the wounded's skin.
- · The first turn of the bundle should be the most compressive (taut). Draw the elastic tourniquet under the limb and make a few turns. Fasten it.
- · Overlaying harness from improvised materialsspend so. Rolled material (towel, torn clothing, etc.) wrapped around a limb and knotted. The stick is inserted into the knot and begins to spin, squeezing the tissue until the ripple disappears.
- Write a note in which you specify the time of application of the tourniquet and place it under the bandage. It must be done in every case.
Overlapping the harness - what are the dangers?
- · Too tight. Can damage the nerve endings. As soon as the pulse has disappeared, it is not necessary to squeeze more strongly.
- · Too long.Can lead to necrosis of tissues left without food. An hour after the application of the tourniquet, the bandage is weakened for a few minutes, but it is done very carefully so that the blood does not again rush out of the arteries and does not knock out the already formed thrombi by this time. The time of application of the harness is not more than 2 hours and such wounded persons are firstly sent to the operating room.
- Frostbite of the extremities. In the cold season, special attention should be paid to the prevention of frostbite of the limb, drawn by a tourniquet.
