What Is Tourniquet Used for?

What Is a Tourniquet? A tourniquet is a device that is placed around a bleeding arm or leg. Tourniquets work by squeezing large blood vessels. The squeezing helps stop blood loss.

When should you use a tourniquet?

Tourniquets should be used when the bleeding cannot be stopped by the use of direct pressure alone, or if direct pressure cannot be effectively applied for any reason. Heavy and uncontrolled bleeding can cause death within minutes, so it's necessary to act quickly when dealing with a traumatic wound.

When and where would you use a tourniquet?

Tie the bandage around the bare limb on a single bone (i.e. if the lower part of the arm or leg are bleeding, you should tie the tourniquet on the upper part, where there is only one bone rather than two). The tourniquet should be at least 5cm above the wound, or 5cm above the joint if the wound is on the lower limb.