Cold, choking, bleeding and burns
Bleeding, shock, and rope or winch injury
A winch, a loaded sheet, and a galley knife can all cause bleeding you must stop before you do anything slower.
For serious bleeding, call for help and press firmly on the wound with your hand and a clean pad or dressing. If blood soaks through, keep the first pad in place and add another. Pack a deep wound with clean material if that is what it takes to get pressure into the bleeding point. Once bleeding is controlled, a pressure dressing can hold it.
Source: Resuscitation Council UK, First Aid Guidelines (2025)
If something is stuck in the wound, including a fish hook or a splinter of gear, do not press on the object and do not pull it out. Press beside it and build up padding around it.
Source: NHS inform, First aid
If life-threatening bleeding from an arm or leg is not stopping with direct pressure, put a tourniquet 5 to 7 cm above the wound and not over a joint. Tighten until the bleeding stops. Write the time. Do not release it. A second tourniquet can go above the first if the first does not stop the bleeding. A rope or winch injury to a limb is treated as this kind of bleeding when blood loss is severe.
Source: Resuscitation Council UK, First Aid Guidelines (2025)
Leave an open wound of the chest open to the air. Do not tape a sheet or plastic over it to make a seal. You may press on a local bleeding point. A special vented chest dressing is only for people trained to use that exact kit.
Source: Resuscitation Council UK, First Aid Guidelines (2025)
Pale, cool or clammy skin, with dizziness or confusion, can mean the circulation is failing. Lay the person flat and get emergency help. Raising the legs is not a routine step.
Source: European Resuscitation Council Guidelines 2025: First Aid
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Check your understanding
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1. Blood is pouring from a cut on the forearm and nothing is stuck in it. What is the first action on the wound?
2. Direct pressure has not stopped life-threatening bleeding from a leg. Where does a tourniquet go?
3. A winch handle has punched a hole in the chest wall and you can hear air. What do you not do?
4. Someone is pale, cold, and confused after heavy bleeding, and no limb looks broken. How do you position them?