Wound Management
Once the big bleeds are handled, every wound still needs checking, dressing and rechecking. This module is about not applying a bandage and forgetting it, because bleeding is the top preventable cause of death.
What to remember
- Minor wounds are handled at the W (Wounds) step of MARCH PAWS, after the life threats.CLS M15 Notes, PDF p.5
- Reassess every dressed wound often; never apply it and forget it, because bleeding is the #1 preventable cause of battlefield death.CLS M15 Slides, PDF p.6
- Look for blood flowing around or under tourniquets, bandages and dressings; if it is not controlled, tighten the tourniquet or pressure bandage and redress.CLS M15 Slides, PDF p.7
- While rechecking, confirm fractures are splinted, all wounds wrapped, eye injuries shielded and open chest wounds accounted for.CLS M15 Notes, PDF p.3
- For re-bleeding, pack with hemostatic dressing, hold pressure for 3 minutes, watch for blood under the gauze, then add a pressure bandage once it has stopped.CLS M15 Slides, PDF p.8
- Dress minor wounds with gauze under direct pressure; non-life-threatening bleeding usually does not need a hemostatic dressing, and clean dry cloth works if you have no gauze.CLS M15 Slides, PDF p.9
- Recheck pressure bandages for increased pain, pale or bluish skin and a lost pulse, and loosen a too-tight bandage while keeping bleeding controlled.CLS M15 Notes, PDF p.4
Skill: Wound packing and pressure bandage
Tap each step as you rehearse it.
Where people go wrong
- Applying a dressing or bandage and forgetting it instead of rechecking.CLS M15 Slides, PDF p.10
- Leaving a pressure bandage too tight when pain, pale or bluish skin, or a lost pulse shows up.CLS M15 Notes, PDF p.4
- Pulling out an object lodged in a wound instead of bandaging it in place.CLS Skill Card 3885, PDF p.1
Check yourself
Questions on this module, each with the reason and the slide it came from.
Practice Module 15Official course material
On Deployed Medicine, the Defense Health Agency’s training site. Some items ask you to sign in.
Course objectives: T17: E82-83 (the Course Plan schedule on PDF p.38 writes T17: E78-79)
This program includes clinical facts and medication doses drawn from official guidelines for test preparation only. Nothing on this site is medical advice or clinical guidance, and none of it is a substitute for clinical judgment. For any real-world care, follow current official protocols and your medical direction.