# Severe bleeding

> Press hard directly on the wound with both hands and do not release the pressure.

A person can bleed to death from a limb wound in a few minutes. Direct pressure stops most bleeding, and firm unbroken pressure beats any dressing.

## Step by step
1. Protect yourself with gloves or a plastic bag if one is within reach, but do not delay pressure to find them.
2. Press directly on the wound with a clean cloth, a shirt, or your bare hand. Push hard.
3. Call 911, or have somebody else call while you keep pressing.
4. Lay the person down and raise their legs if they look pale, cold or faint.
5. If blood soaks through, add more material on top and keep pressing. Do not remove the first layer.
6. If a limb keeps bleeding heavily, put a tourniquet high and tight above the wound, tighten it until the bleeding stops, and write down the time.
7. Keep the person warm with a coat or blanket and keep talking to them.

## Never do this
- Do not pull out an object stuck in a wound. Pad around it and press beside it.
- Do not loosen a tourniquet once it is on. Only medical staff should release it.
- Do not use thin cord or wire as a tourniquet. It cuts into the limb and does not stop arterial flow.

## Call emergency services if
- Blood is spurting, pooling, or soaking through dressings.
- The person is pale, cold, sweating, confused or drowsy.
- Bleeding from a deep wound, an amputation, or after a crash or crush injury.

## Emergency numbers
911 - Emergency call

## Common questions
### Can a tourniquet cost someone their limb?
Current practice accepts a correctly applied tourniquet for hours. Uncontrolled bleeding kills far faster than a tourniquet damages a limb.

### And a nosebleed?
Sit forward, pinch the soft part of the nose for ten minutes without checking, and breathe through the mouth. Get help if it has not stopped after twenty minutes, or if it follows a head injury.

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Use at your own risk. Educational and research use only, not medical advice. Verify numbers and rules for the country you are in. They change.
Source: https://emergency-cards.com/en-us/severe-bleeding/
Reviewed: 2026-07-26