Tourniquets are not required for all extremity bleeding. Occasionally, some lacerations that can be controlled by hemostatic dressings will have a tourniquet applied during the massive hemorrhage phase. If you assess that a wound is amenable to control without a tourniquet, the wound packing and pressure bandage application skills taught in the massive hemorrhage module can be used.

CoTCCC-recommended hemostatic dressings, including Combat Gauze®, ChitoGauze®, and Celox™ Gauze, are safe and contain active ingredients that assist with blood-clotting at the site of active bleeding. To effectively form a clot and stop bleeding, hemostatic dressing must be packed into the wound to maximize contact at the active source of bleeding with direct pressure applied over the wound for at least 3 minutes.