STOP THE BLEED Day about awareness and pressure

Thursday is STOP THE BLEED Day and the Chair of the Stop the Bleed Coalition, Dr. Matthew Levy, wants people to know that pressure can help them save lives.

“We know that severe bleeding, and that’s from all types for all reasons, both inside and outside of the body, that severe bleeding is the single biggest cause of preventable trauma death,” said Levy.

Even if you don’t have special equipment, if someone is bleeding out, you can get your hands dirty and help.

“We want people to remember that they can take their hand and hold pressure on that wound,” said Dr. Levy. “Pressure is what stops bleeding. If everyone can just remember to get pressure on a wound and hold that pressure, as much pressure as possible, until they can get either bleeding control equipment, or responders arrive, then we’re going to improve the chances of survival for these people.”

You can take a course to find out the best procedures and what equipment to have in place if you want to be ready for such a situation.

“We want people to know that they should go to nationalstopthebleedday.org,” said Dr. Levy. “They can find out how
and where to get a Stop The Bleed course. They can get trained to learn all the details of what to do and how to use lifesaving bleeding control equipment. At the end of the day, it’s about pressure.”

You can also buy bleeding control kits online at controlbleedingkits.com.