Injured persons
With injured people the rule is: first deal with what kills fastest. You stop severe bleeding with direct pressure – firm and without interruption. Then prevent shock and look after the person until the emergency services take over.
Stop the bleeding
- Apply firm, direct pressure to the wound – with your hand, a dressing or a clean cloth, without stopping. Once the bleeding has stopped, a pressure bandage keeps up the pressure.
Prevent shock
- Lay the person flat on their back, do not elevate the legs of injured people, protect from cold (from underneath too), reassure and do not leave them alone.
Dress the wound
- Cover with sterile material – but leave an open wound on the chest open and do not seal it airtight. Leave any foreign body lodged in the wound in place.
Monitor
- Observe breathing and consciousness. If the condition worsens, inform 144 immediately.
Pressure bandage in 3 steps
- Clean dressing directly on the wound
- Secure with a bandage, pressure pad on top
- Keep binding tightly – if blood soaks through, add a second layer on top
Tourniquet for life-threatening bleeding from an arm or leg
Anyone who has a tourniquet and has practised with it can use it on an arm or leg to stop life-threatening bleeding when firm pressure is not enough or not possible, or when an arm or leg is fully or partly severed above the wrist or ankle: apply it 5–7 cm above the wound, not over a joint, and twist it tight until the bleeding stops.
Write the time on the tourniquet and never loosen or remove it yourself – only medical professionals do that.
A tourniquet does not help at the neck, armpit, groin, chest or abdomen; press firmly on the wound there.
Remember
- Gloves from the pharmacy protect you
- Leave foreign bodies in place – they can plug the wound and slow the bleeding
- Lay injured people down, cover them, reassure them
Recognising shock
- Pale, cool and clammy skin
- Fast, weak pulse and rapid breathing
- Restlessness, trembling, later apathy
- Feeling thirsty – still give nothing to drink
Treating minor wounds correctly
- Rinse the wound under clean, lukewarm water
- Disinfect with wound disinfectant, do not dab with cotton wool
- Cover with something sterile (a plaster, or a dressing with a bandage)
- Have heavily soiled wounds, bite wounds and deep cuts assessed by a doctor
- Check tetanus protection: last vaccination more than 10 years ago? Get a booster
Further sources
- Swiss Samaritans Guide to stopping bleeding
- Stab wound & tourniquet When a tourniquet is needed and how to apply one