Tourniquets should only be used as a last resort to stop heavy, life-threatening bleeding. Direct pressure and elevation should be tried first. Tourniquets can cause limb amputation if left on too long and should only be removed once bleeding has stopped.
A tourniquet is a tight band of tissue that compresses a bleeding artery to try to stop the flow of blood. Tourniquets should only be used after trying other methods to stop the bleeding first. A tourniquet shouldn’t be used at all unless the bleeding is heavy and life-threatening.
The reason tourniquets should be used rarely, if at all, is that a limb may need to be amputated if the tourniquet is left on for too long. In some military situations, the injured person’s forehead is marked to indicate the time the tourniquet was applied. Ink or blood can be used to mark the forehead.
Before even considering the use of a tourniquet, the direct pressure method should be used. A clean cloth is placed on the bleeding wound and the palm of the hand is pressed down to restrict blood flow without completely cutting off blood circulation. Another way to try to stop bleeding from a wound before resorting to a tourniquet is to lift the wound higher than the heart. This should be done by applying direct pressure to the wound.
If the bleeding remains uncontrolled, shock can occur. Shock occurs when blood supply to the brain and other organs is restricted. Death is a very real result of bleeding shock. If other methods of stopping the life-threatening bleeding don’t work, a tourniquet is used.
A tourniquet is wrapped around the injured limb and then secured with some type of stick object positioned so that the cloth can be twisted tightly and held in place. Once tightened, the tourniquet should not be loosened until it is completely removed. The tourniquet should only be left on until the bleeding stops or serious damage to the limb could occur. Fabric with some stretch, such as linen, is usually used for tourniquets, but other fabrics such as terrycloth can also be used. If blood seeps through the first layer of tissue, that layer of material should remain for the time the tourniquet is worn to allow for clotting.
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