How to Make and Apply a Tourniquet During First Aid

Bleeding is frequently the most serious risk to an injured person's life. If you determine that a tourniquet is necessary and can apply one, you just may save a life.

Difficulty:

Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Cravats
• Bandannas
• Wilderness First Aid Classes
• First Aid Kits
• Gauze
• Latex Gloves
• First Aid Classes
• Notebooks
• Pens
• Trekking Poles
• Safety Goggles
• Surgical Masks

1. Put on latex gloves to minimize the risk of disease transmission.

2. Determine if a tourniquet is necessary (see "How to Treat Severe Bleeding During First Aid").

3. Gather the materials: a bandanna or cravat and a stick that won't break. If no sticks are available, use a trekking pole.

4. Fold the bandanna in half, from corner to corner; if using a cravat, don't perform this step. (The point is to form a right triangle, which cravats naturally are, whereas bandannas are square.)

5. Grab the corners that form the long side of the triangle and fold 3 to 4 inches toward the third corner.

6. Fold again and again in this manner until you've reached the third corner. You should now have a bandage 3 to 4 inches wide and several layers thick.

7. Tie the bandage with gauze around the appropriate limb between the wound and the heart, as close as possible to the wound but above the knee or elbow. Use an overhand knot (the same as the first stage in tying a shoe).

8. Place the stick on top of the knot and tie a second overhand knot over the stick.

9. Twist the stick until it pulls the bandage tight enough to stop the bleeding.

10. Tie the ends of the bandage around the limb and secure the stick with gauze.

11. Write "TK" on the injured person's forehead in pen, along with the time of application.

12. Splint the wounded area to avoid movement, which could restart bleeding (see eHows on splinting).

13. Get the injured person to a hospital as quickly as possible. If a hospital is more than an hour away, check the bleeding every 10 minutes by slowly loosening the tourniquet to see if clotting has stopped the bleeding. If so, clean and bandage the wound (see "How to Clean a Wound During First Aid" and "How to Bandage a Wound During First Aid"). If not, retighten the tourniquet and check again in 10 minutes.

Tips & Warnings

• Contact your local chapter of the American Red Cross for information on first aid classes near you.

• Contact the Wilderness Medicine Institute or the National Outdoor Leadership School for information on wilderness medicine courses and books.

• Apply a tourniquet only if the injured person is in imminent danger of bleeding to death, since complete cutoff of the blood supply can result in limb loss.

• Never use material that will cut the skin, such as rope or wire.

• Some diseases, such as AIDS and hepatitis B, are transmitted through the exchange of bodily fluids. To minimize the risk of infection from oozing or spurting fluids, wear latex gloves and plastic goggles.

• This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment.