What Is A Bleed Control Kit and How to Use It

First Aid Kit

Emergencies can happen when you least expect them to. When we don’t know what to do in such an emergency, the most common reaction exhibited by most people would be panic and distress. This often happens when you’re unprepared for what happened and you don’t have the right equipment on hand with you to deal with these situations. 

In the worst case scenario, emergency situations could result in severe blood loss. This could prove to be fatal depending on the severity of your injuries and it is important that you be as prepared as possible to minimize the loss of blood until you can get to the hospital. One way to do this is to buy bleed control kit (or kits if you want more than one) and have them on standby in your home and in your car. 

What Is A Bleed Control Kit?

A bleed control kit is an emergency medical kit that has been designed to provide initial first responders or the general public with quick access to medical equipment. Having access to this equipment is essential because in an emergency, the right tools could save your life. Severe bleeding could be potentially life-threatening, and if no action is taken immediately, it could prove to be fatal when you cannot rush to the hospital in time. 

You don’t necessarily have to be a medical professional or first responder to use the equipment provided in the kit. There will be an instruction card within the kit itself that will tell you what steps should be taken if you have never done something like this before. The point of a bleed control kit is to save lives first and that will be the number one priority.

How to Use A Bleed Control Kit

The components in a bleed control kit have been designed to control and stop severe bleeding temporarily until you can get yourself to the hospital. In a SAM Medical bleed control it, for example, you would get SAM XT Extremity Tourniquet, Medical Gloves, Medical Shears, Compressed Gauze, Permanent Marker, Emergency Bandage (6″ wide), Instruction Card. It is designed for fast application of a dressing on a wound enough to control the bleeding. 

injury

In the event you find yourself in an emergency situation, this is how you would use your SAM Medical bleed control kit:

Step 1

The first thing you need to do is put your medical gloves on. Before you help another under your care (or help yourself), you need to protect yourself. Once you have your gloves on, tear open the package that contains the emergency bandage. 

Step 2

Once you have your gauze, carefully place the non-adherent pad over the affected area. Next, quickly wind the bandage around the wound, wrapping it as tightly as you can. This will prevent any accidental unravelling from taking place until the medical professionals can attend to the wound. Stay as calm as you possibly can while you do this. It helps to stay focused on the movement of wrapping the bandage around the wound. Use the entire gauze strip all the way to the end and secure it.

The following steps are only to be carried out depending on the nature of the patient’s injury and the kind of medical care they need. However, it is still good to be well-informed about what to do should you ever find yourself in such a situation. 

Step 3 

This step is to be used on patients who experience severe bleeding of an extremity. In this case, you would use the SAM XT Extremity Tourniquet. The tourniquet will help effectively manage the bleeding until definitive care can be provided by a medical professional at the hospital. To use the tourniquet (ensure that you have your gloves on for this), remove the tourniquet from its packaging. Remove the elastic bands on the tourniquet and unwrap the device. Now, what you will do next is to wrap the tourniquet around the patient’s limb. This should be done just above the bleeding area. Pull tightly because you must apply pressure on the limb to help stop the bleeding. Once you have done this, twist the windlass (the stick at the top of the tourniquet) as many times as possible. You should do this until the bleeding flow has reduced significantly. As you do this, the patient may find this painful but you need to keep going because it is necessary. When you’re done, slip the windlass into the plastic triangle located at the side. This will secure the windlass into place and prevent the tourniquet from coming loose. 

Step 4

Once you have secured the windlass in the tourniquet, take note of the application time. Use the provided permanent market in your SAM Medical bleed kit and write the time down on the tourniquet. You will find a space for this on the tourniquet strap. 

Step 5

The compressed gauze provided in your SAM bleed kit should be used on a patient who is suffering from a severely bleeding open wound. In this case, the compressed gauze is to provide temporary control on the affected area. With your gloves on, open the package containing the compressed gauze and remove the contents. Next, carefully identify where the source of the bleeding is coming from. Use the dressing to cover the source. You will need to pack the dressing completely into the wound. Use enough gauze to make sure you’ve covered the wound and other contact bleeding areas if any. If required, it is okay to use more than one dressing, depending on how severe the patient is. Once the dressing has been fully packed into the wound, apply pressure on the area. Hold the pressure until the bleeding is finally controlled. After the bleeding has been controlled, you should then wrap and secure the area with a dressing to continue applying pressure until further medical assistance can be received. 

Medical shears are also provided in your SAM Medical bleed kit in the event you need to cut open a patient’s clothing to access the affected area. Always read the provided instructions for further assistance with how to use your bleed kit.