David Hayford introduced staff from Theda-Care who presented a program entitled, "Bleeding Control Basics -- Stop the Bleed."
The online program helped people identify what kind of bleeding is life threatening and what to do if encountered. The program is online at www.bleedingcontrol.org, and was motivated by the shooting tragedy at Sandy Hook School in 2012. The program is designed to provide civilians with basic training in bleeding control principles so they are able to provide immediate, frontline aid until first responders arrive to take care of an injured person. It's hoped that broad knowledge of this program will help decrease preventable deaths. It is designed to be of value to people aged 12 and up.
The first steps in to be taken include:
1. Call 911 or have someone else call 911 while you attend to the victim.
2. Determine where the life-threatening bleeding is coming from and determine what type of action to take -- pack the wound and apply compression or apply a tourniquet.
3. Remain personally safe -- wear gloves if possible to avoid blood-borne diseases.
Life-threatening blood loss can be identified by:
1. Spurting blood.
2. Blood pooling around the victim.
3. Blood-soaked clothing.
4. A victim's level of consciousness decreases.
Arm and leg wounds can often be treated by using a tourniquet. Injuries to the torso generally require packing and compression. With chest and abdominal injuries, the victim needs to be transported to the hospital as quickly as possible.
When doing compression, it's advised to use two hands in a CPR-like pose, while applying as much pressure as possible. Don't remove the pressure to see if the bleeding is lessening. Keep constant pressure on the wound, even if it's painful to the victim. Keep compression until EMTs arrive.
Tourniquets should be applied 2-3 inches above the wound/bleeding site. Tighten the tourniquet until the bleeding stops. A tourniquet can be left in place for up to 2 hours before damage to other tissues will happen. The body's bone structure will prevent the tourniquet from cutting off an artery, but never place a tourniquet over a joint such as the knee or elbow. If the bleeding still doesn't stop, add a second tourniquet above the first one. Tourniquets will cause the victim pain, but tell them that is normal and that they will get pain relief medication when the EMTs arrive.
When packing a wound is necessary, open the person's clothing to locate the source of the bleeding, push packing deep into the wound, and keep adding packing on top and keep pressure on the wound to get the bleeding to stop.
If you are contaminated by the victim's blood, wash the area thoroughly with soap and water ASAP and tell the EMTs that you were contaminated.
Kits having tourniquets and wound packing materials are available online at www.bloodcontrol.org. The presenters recommended everyone have such kits available to them.
A "stop the bleed" kit.
After the presentation, Rotarians were able to practice applying tourniquets and packing "virtual" wounds.
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