How to Apply a Dressing to a Wound
Suffering a paper cut can be an annoying pain with little to no blood or flesh exposure. A wound, however, can lead to profuse bleeding and possibly serious infection. Excessive blood loss can result in shock or even death. Properly dressing a wound can keep these situations at bay. Careful attention must be paid to dressing a wound, or more harm than good can be done.
Things You'll Need
- Sterile gauze or clean cloth Soap Running water Tweezer Scissors Dressing tape
Instructions
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How to Apply a Dressing to a Wound
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1
Stop or control the bleeding first. Regardless of possible infection or foreign objects in the wound, put the gauze or clean cloth over the wound and apply firm pressure. Continuously apply gauze as gauze pieces become soaked, and do not remove any of it until the blood clots and the bleeding has mostly stopped.
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2
Wash your hands thoroughly, including fingernails. Clean the wound with soap and water to remove dirt and debris. Use a sterilized pair of tweezers to remove any foreign objects inside the wound, unless removal will cause significant further damage to the exposed flesh. Wash your hands again.
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3
Cut a piece of sterile gauze large enough to cover the wound plus a few extra inches on both ends. Apply tape along the edges of the gauze to secure it to the body. If bleeding continues, seek medical assistance.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Seek emergency medical assistance when dealing with deep puncture wounds or large wounds. In such cases, your goal is to stop the bleeding until help arrives (Step 1). Apply anti-infection ointment or healing ointment as necessary to provide pain relief.
Do not attempt to remove an object such as a bullet from a puncture wound. Doing so could increase bleeding.
