👤 By the CinnaEMS Content Team🕐 Updated 2026-09-24🏷️ Trauma🔖 Free to read, print, and share
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Use this quick-reference guide to recognise, treat and hand over Hemorrhage Control on the NREMT and on the call. Keep it handy during review and on exam day!
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📒 The 1-minute cheat sheet
📌 The Ladder
Direct pressure — firm, no peeking
Extremity + pressure failed → TOURNIQUET
Junctional → PACK the wound + pressure
📌 Keep Warm
Hypothermia + acidosis + coagulopathy
Each one worsens the other two
📌 Remember
Impaled objects stay in
Target perfusion, not a number
📚 Hemorrhage Control — full study notes
The cheat sheet above is your quick recall card. These notes go deeper — what it is, what to do first, what changes the plan, and what to hand over.
A ladder, not a menu: each step exists because the one before it failed or cannot be applied. The examinable judgement is matching the technique to where the bleeding is.
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Key points
Understand these first
Direct pressure first, firmly and without peeking.
Tourniquet for an extremity when pressure fails or cannot be maintained.
Wound packing plus pressure for junctional sites a tourniquet cannot reach.
Keep the patient warm — cold blood does not clot.
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Nursing priorities
What to do, in order
Massive hemorrhage is controlled within the primary assessment.
Target perfusion rather than a normal pressure in uncontrolled bleeding.
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Red flags — report now
Escalate immediately
Bleeding through successive dressings
A cold, bleeding patient
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Patient teaching
What patients must know
A correctly applied tourniquet is safe for prehospital durations — hesitation is what harms.
❓ Hemorrhage Control: NREMT FAQs
What are the priority actions for Hemorrhage Control in the field?
Massive hemorrhage is controlled within the primary assessment. Target perfusion rather than a normal pressure in uncontrolled bleeding.
What findings in Hemorrhage Control change your plan or your transport decision?
Bleeding through successive dressings. A cold, bleeding patient.
What do I need to know about Hemorrhage Control for the NREMT?
Direct pressure first, firmly and without peeking. Tourniquet for an extremity when pressure fails or cannot be maintained. Wound packing plus pressure for junctional sites a tourniquet cannot reach. Keep the patient warm — cold blood does not clot.
What should the crew communicate or document for Hemorrhage Control?
A correctly applied tourniquet is safe for prehospital durations — hesitation is what harms.
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Quick Tip
Direct pressure first, firmly and without peeking.