Understanding how to control bleeding is a life-saving skill that promotes safety and preparedness in everyday life. It’s no exaggeration to say that in emergency situations, knowing how to control bleeding can be the difference between life and death. Quick action can prevent severe blood loss and stabilize a victim until professional help arrives. Consider that the average response time for emergency services is 7-10 minutes, while bleeding out typically occurs within 3-5 minutes. This means, in the average scenario, a victim will bleed out before help arrives. So ask yourself, are your prepared to stop the bleed? 

Don’t let yourself be helpless in an emergency. Empower yourself to be an asset with the proper training and gear. Here is a rundown of the most essential B-CON supplies.

Tourniquets

If you don’t already know, a tourniquet is a device used to stop the flow of blood to a particular limb. It is typically used in cases of traumatic injury, such as a gunshot wound, to prevent the patient from excessive blood loss.

Tourniquets are usually made of a strong, adjustable band, and are applied by wrapping the band around the limb above the wound and tightening it (usually with a windlass) until the bleeding stops. The Combat Application Tourniquet (C-A-T) is a classic example of a windlass tourniquet, and has been the official tourniquet of the U.S. Army since 2005. The SWAT Tourniquet, however, does not use a windlass. Instead, it employs the Stretch, Wrap, and Tuck method. This works as a tourniquet, pressure bandage, and injury stabilizer, making it a highly versatile tool in the field.

Everyone should have a tourniquet in their home, office, and vehicle. Moreover, anyone who may be exposed to traumatic injuries, such as first responders, medical professionals, law enforcement officers, military personnel, and wilderness adventurers, should carry a tourniquet. It is important to be trained in its proper application and use.

Gauze and Bandages

Wound packing gauze is a specialized type of medical gauze used to fill and pack wounds, particularly deep or cavity wounds, to assist in blood clotting and to help protect against infection. A properly packed wound with ample applied pressure should clot an arterial bleed in about 10 minutes.

Hemostatic gauze are an upgrade to regular wound packing gauze, as they contain hemostatic agents such as Kaolin and Chitosan that speed up the body’s natural clotting process. Used in products like Celox, QuikClot, and ChitoGauze, these products, when applied properly, can stop an arterial bleed in 3 minutes or less.

After packing a wound, the next step would be the apply a pressure bandage. The Israeli Emergency Bandage and Emergency Trauma Dressing are the most common and trusted bandages. Both allow ease of application with little to no training. The Israeli Emergency Bandage is more dynamic, including a pressure bar to apply pressure into the wound to prevent bleeding after packing.

Overall, the proper use of gauze and pressure bandages are sufficient for most bleed control situations. Don’t overlook these simple yet crucial pieces of life-saving first aid gear.

B-CON Training

Equally as important to having the right supplies is being trained to use it. Quality training not only familiarizes you with your supplies and how to use it, but it also empowers you to take action in an emergency. Here, we demonstrate wound packing using a simulated gun shot wound.

Bleeding Control Kits

Luckily, we do have a comprehensive lineup of prebuilt Trauma Kits on our website. A proper IFAK or trauma kit should contain at least some kind of gauze and pressure bandage. The Spec Operator Bleeding Control Kit is a great basic bleed control kit. More substantial kits will contain hemostatic gauze along with a bandage and tourniquet. Take a look at the Spec Operator Bleeder Trauma Kit for something more advanced.

Want to built your own IFAK? Start with our blog post below.

Take Action

At the end of the day, we want you to be prepared. Knowing how to stop severe bleeding can save a life. In an increasingly dangerous world, it’s more important now than ever to be prepared for anything. Get the skills and supplies you need to protect yourself and those around you, and enable yourself to take action in critical situations.