Let' start out with a short definition of a tourniquet. A tourniquet is a piece of cloth or material used to cut off blood flow to an area. These are very useful when shot in the woods, by an enemy on the street (get some street cred, yo), or in battle. The less blood that gets to an area, the more time it buys you to get to the hospital.
So, if you need to make a makeshift tourniquet in an emergency, what do you do?
First, get a piece of cloth. If this means ripping your shirt, 5 bucks is worth saving your life. If you're wearing a tie or a belt (you sexy business man, you), these are better than shirts, but a shirt should do. Rip it into a strap.
Now, tie the shirt *tightly* around your limb between the wound and your heart. Your heart is the main center for blood flow in your body, and it is where blood will be pumped from towards the wound. We do not want this to happen. Tie it together as close to your injury as you can.
Make the tourniquet as tight as you can. The less blood flow, the longer you can survive. The best way of doing this is winding the cloth around a piece of wood or metal. Twist the object so it gets tighter and tighter with every turn.
End off your tourniquet with a square knot because it is very hard for you to untie. If you don't know how to tie a square knot, then tie it as well as you can. Remember that your life depends on it.
Once the tourniquet is tied in place, make sure that you apply pressure. This also stops blood flow.
Before you go and make practice tourniquets, let me just say I'm not responsible if you hurt yourself. I'm not a medical professional, I learned how to make a tourniquet in health class. And please, spare us both the grief- do NOT tie a tourniquet onto your genitals. Thanks.
Hey, look at that. I might've just saved one of your limbs, or even your life! Aren't I great?
So, if you need to make a makeshift tourniquet in an emergency, what do you do?
First, get a piece of cloth. If this means ripping your shirt, 5 bucks is worth saving your life. If you're wearing a tie or a belt (you sexy business man, you), these are better than shirts, but a shirt should do. Rip it into a strap.
Now, tie the shirt *tightly* around your limb between the wound and your heart. Your heart is the main center for blood flow in your body, and it is where blood will be pumped from towards the wound. We do not want this to happen. Tie it together as close to your injury as you can.
Make the tourniquet as tight as you can. The less blood flow, the longer you can survive. The best way of doing this is winding the cloth around a piece of wood or metal. Twist the object so it gets tighter and tighter with every turn.
End off your tourniquet with a square knot because it is very hard for you to untie. If you don't know how to tie a square knot, then tie it as well as you can. Remember that your life depends on it.
Once the tourniquet is tied in place, make sure that you apply pressure. This also stops blood flow.
Before you go and make practice tourniquets, let me just say I'm not responsible if you hurt yourself. I'm not a medical professional, I learned how to make a tourniquet in health class. And please, spare us both the grief- do NOT tie a tourniquet onto your genitals. Thanks.
Hey, look at that. I might've just saved one of your limbs, or even your life! Aren't I great?
Haven't you ever been to boyscouts they tell you to never tie a tourniquet!