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Back in "the old days", as my grandchildren often say to me, every good Boy Scout and First Aid Caregiver was taught how to make a tourniquet. Today, tourniquets are a no-no and should not be used to stop bleeding. According to Dr. Schneider of the American College of Emergency Physicians, using a tourniquet can do much more harm than good. Dr. Schneider stated that if one has a cut on the upper part of the leg and a tourniquet is applied, you will close the vessels to the entire leg. This could actually cause the loss of the foot due to a loss of blood supply to the extremities.
So how does one stop excess bleeding today' As we know, medicine is an evolving science and treatments do change.  Today we are told to use our hand, a clean rag or cloth, paper towel, etc and apply pressure to the wound. By doing this, pressure is applied to the wound but the remaining vessels are free for the blood to continue flowing through. This method will not damage the area below the wound but should control the excess bleeding until help arrives or transport to the emergency room or other medical facility can be made.
According to Dr. Charles Pattavina, chief of emergency medicine at St. Joseph Hospital in Bangor, Maine, a tourniquet may still be used when "everything below the wound is beyond repair." This would be the case if the area below the wound has been amputated. In that situation, the main concern becomes stopping the bleeding as the rest of the damage has already been done.
It is important to keep up-to-date on the many changes that take place in the field of medicine. In this instance, our old method could cause a far more serious problem than the initial wound. One thing we don't want to do is to make matters worse!