208 
HINTS TO TRAVELLERS. 
(In tlie absence of other antiseptics, the wound, after thorough 
washing, may be dressed with carbolic oil or Friar’s balsam, or boric 
or iodoform ointment applied on lint.) 
Bleeding or Hceinorrhage . 
General oozing from small vessels may be stopped by means of a pad 
made of a piece of antiseptic wool or gauze, firmly bandaged over the 
bleeding area. 
When a large vessel, whether an artery or a vein, is cut across, profuse 
bleeding will take place, and immediate steps must be taken to stop this 
whilst suitable instruments are being obtained. (In bleeding from an 
artery, the blood spurts out in quick jerking jets; if coming from a vein, 
the blood flows in a steady continuous stream.) Pressure should there¬ 
fore be applied, by means of the thumb or thumbs, or a tourniquet,* in 
the course of the vessel, either above or below the injury—nearer to the 
body than the wound if the bleeding is from an artery (Fig. 3), and 
beyond the wound if the bleeding is from a vein. 
It will be found that the bleeding can be controlled more effectually, 
and with greater ease, if the vessel is compressed against a neighbouring 
bone. 
No more pressure should be exerted than is just sufficient to stop the 
flow of blood. 
Whilst pressure is being applied, the wound should be cleansed with 
some antiseptic lotion, and a wedge-shaped pad of antiseptic gauze 
applied and firmly held in position by a bandage. 
Bleeding from the hand or forearm can generally be immediately 
arrested by forcibly bending up the forearm at the elbow-joint. 
If these measures effectually control the bleeding, the pressure should 
be kept up for an hour or two, after which time it may be cautiously 
* A tourniquet is a special instrument devised for the purpose of applying 
pressure to the main vessels of the limbs; in its absence, one may be improvised 
by rolling a handkerchief into a narrow band, and inserting a stone or a cork 
between its folds to serve as a pad; the pad is adjusted over the spot where it is 
proposed to compress the vessel, and the ends of the handkerchief knotted loosely 
.round the limb. A stick is now slipped between the knot and the limb, and 
twisted round until sufficient pressure is exerted to arrest the bleeding. 
