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Severe bleeding: what to keep in your first aid kit and how to be ready to stop it

Kit for severe bleeding: a practical guide

⏱ 2 min read

Pressure dressing, tourniquet, course. A guide based on official advice. The same text is in the free SurvivalZone.app and works without internet.

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Severe bleeding can kill within minutes, faster than an ambulance can arrive. That is why it matters so much that the person on the scene knows how to stop it and has something to do it with.

That takes a few items in your kit and a short training session.

What to keep in your kit

  1. Disposable gloves.
  2. Several large sterile dressings and elastic bandages.
  3. A pressure dressing, such as an emergency trauma bandage.
  4. A commercially made tourniquet, not a home-made one.
  5. Trauma shears and a foil blanket.

Where to keep it

  1. One kit at home, another in the car. If you work in a workshop, in a forest or on a building site, keep dressings there too. Check expiry dates once a year.

Learn to stop bleeding

  1. The basis is firm, direct pressure on the wound. A tourniquet is used for life-threatening bleeding from a limb when pressure is not enough. It is best to practise this on a first aid course, because under stress your hands do what they have learned.

Remember

  1. Your own safety and gloves first, then 112 and pressure. You have step-by-step instructions in SurvivalZone.app, which also works without internet.

Checklist

  1. Disposable gloves
  2. Large dressings and bandages
  3. A pressure dressing
  4. A commercial tourniquet
  5. A kit at home and in the car
  6. Dates checked once a year
  7. A first aid course

See also

Frequently asked questions

Should a home first aid kit include a tourniquet?

It is worth having one, especially in the car and when working with tools. Choose a commercial tourniquet and learn to use it on a course.

How do I stop severe bleeding?

Press firmly on the wound with a dressing or anything clean and call 112. For limb bleeding that pressure does not stop, apply a tourniquet.

Can I make a tourniquet from a belt?

Improvised tourniquets often do not work. It is better to have a commercial one and to press hard on the wound.

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Sources

Official sources are checked automatically every day. Last check: 2026-11-04.

General guidance only; it does not replace the emergency services. If a life is in danger, call 112.