What is an emergency tourniquet?

Emergency tourniquet is a taut fabric band that compresses bleeding arteries to stop blood flow. It is made of medical polymer material, natural rubber or special rubber, long and flat, with strong tensile property.

It is suitable for routine treatment and rescue of blood transfusion, blood drawing and hemostasis in medical institutions. Or extremities bleeding, wild snake and insect bite bleeding emergency hemostasis.

Tourniquet is a simple and effective method to stop bleeding in extremities by compression of blood vessels and blocking blood flow. However, if used improperly or for too long, tourniquets can cause ischemic necrosis of the distal limb, leading to disability; therefore, tourniquets should be used only when bleeding is severe and no other means of stopping the bleeding are available.

There are four different types of tourniquets: surgical tourniquets, emergency tourniquets (including military tourniquets), convalescent tourniquets, and the tourniquet is used by phlebotomists to assess and determine the appropriate vein location for venipentesis.

Precautions for applying a tourniquet

1. Before wearing the tourniquet, the injured limb should be raised to promote venous blood reflux and reduce blood loss.

2. The tourniquet should be as close to the bleeding site as possible, provided the hemostasis is effective. However, the application of a tourniquet in the middle of the upper arm is prohibited because the radial nerve passes through the surface of the humerus.

3. The tourniquet should not be tied directly on the limb, and soft cloth pads such as dressings and towels should be used to protect the area to be used to protect the skin.

4. When tying the tourniquet, it is recommended to tighten the tourniquet only at the site of arterial bleeding. Too tight upper band is easy to cause damage to the skin, nerves, blood vessels and muscles at the tourniquet site, and even cause necrosis of the distal limb, which is not conducive to the functional recovery of the injured limb.

5. The tourniquet should be worn with obvious marks, and the wearing time should be clearly written near the tourniquet or on the skin. To prevent ischemic necrosis of the injured limb, loosen the tourniquet every 40 to 60 minutes for 1 to 2 minutes.

6. When releasing the tourniquet, do so slowly, using finger pressure to reduce bleeding. If the casualty is in a poor general condition, with a large wound and more bleeding, the interval for releasing the tourniquet can be extended appropriately. However, the tourniquet should not be used for more than 3 hours, otherwise the distal limb will be difficult to survive. If the casualty remains in the transfer hospital for more than 9 hours, the tourniquet will not be released periodically thereafter because the distal limb has no chance of survival.

Similarly, in first aid in earthquake areas, tissue necrosis can occur due to lack of oxygen and hypoxia if an injured limb is buried for too long. The compressed object was then removed and taken to hospital for further treatment.