10-15 years ago, tourniquets were NOT standard pre-hospital equipment used for bleeding control. Today, with training programs like Stop The Bleed and TECC (Tactical Emergency Casualty Care), the field use of tourniquets is gradually becoming more common. Recognizing and addressing life-threatening bleeding as soon as possible is crucial to saving a life.
Total Safety Experts Chicago believes EVERYONE benefits from knowing how to address life-threatening bleeding. The American College of Surgeons STOP THE BLEED® program has been used to train over 1 million people. The program instructs the public on how to control severe bleeding using three tools.
Essential Facts to Know about tourniquets:
- Use CoTCCC (Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care) approved equipment:
Examples:
Combat Application Tourniquet (CAT) Generation 7
SOF Tactical Tourniquet-Wide (SOFTT-W) Generation 4 - Be aware of knock-offs
- Practice to become proficient but do NOT use the tourniquet you carry for practice
- The tourniquet should be out of the package and accessible with either hand
- Tourniquets are for limbs only: Arms and Legs
- Apply “high and tight.”
STOP THE BLEED offers training on essential skills easy to learn and master. We urge everyone to register for a class today! Contact us to schedule a class: info@tsechicago.com
