A pressure dressing is the intermediate in hemorrhage control between a simple bandage and a tourniquet. Pressure dressings are superior to tourniquets in that they preserve the distal blood flow while providing more targeted pressure than a simple bandage, although pressure dressings may not always be effective whereas a tourniquet, if applied properly, will almost always stop bleeding. Pressure dressings are created by placing a folded sterile 4x4 or ball of sterile gauze over the point of bleeding origin and firmly wrapping with a gauze roll. There are several techniques for this including simple wrapping and the 180° method, both which will be shown in the video. Pressure dressings should NOT remove the presence of a distal pulse, if there is no distal pulse to be found after application of a pressure dressing, the dressing needs to be loosened or removed as it is now a tourniquet. Document the time of application and continuation of distal CSM in the patient care report.
