Control bleeding; improvise bandages and use the emergency kit
Governing: STCW Table A-VI/1-3; Resuscitation Council UK 2025 First Aid guidelines. Builds on: L1.2.
Types of bleeding
| Type | Appearance | Urgency |
|---|---|---|
| Arterial | Bright red, spurting in time with the pulse | Life-threatening within minutes |
| Venous | Darker, flowing steadily | Can be heavy |
| Capillary | Oozing | Usually minor |
| Internal | Not visible; signs of shock, bruising, swelling, pain | Suspected from the mechanism of injury |
On a yacht the mechanisms are familiar: snapping lines, winches, knives in the galley, glass, propellers and jet-ski impacts.
Protect yourself
Put on gloves from the kit. If none, use a plastic bag or the casualty's own hand to press.
Control life-threatening bleeding
RCUK 2025 sets an escalating approach:
- Call for help: 999 ashore, the bridge on board.
- Firm, direct manual pressure on the bleeding site.
- Apply a standard or, ideally, a haemostatic dressing directly onto the injury and press firmly. At some sites, the dressing may need to be packed into the wound. With no dressings, any clean material will do.
- Once controlled, apply a pressure dressing.
- If a limb is bleeding life-threateningly and pressure does not control it, apply a tourniquet as soon as possible.
Tourniquets
| Step | RCUK 2025 |
|---|---|
| Position | Around the limb 5-7 cm above the injury, not over a joint |
| Tighten | Until the bleeding slows and stops; it may be painful |
| Record | Write the time it was applied |
| Leave | Do not release it; only a healthcare professional should |
| Second | If needed, apply a second tourniquet above the first |
CAUTION — Improvised tourniquets A purpose-made tourniquet works far better than a belt or tie. If your yacht's kit does not have one, raise it with the designated medical person.
Special wounds
| Wound | RCUK 2025 action |
|---|---|
| Open chest wound | Leave it exposed so air can escape; do not cover it with a dressing. Control local bleeding with pressure. Trained staff may apply a vented dressing |
| Amputation | Control bleeding first. Wrap the part in a moist clean cloth, seal in a bag, put that bag in another bag with ice or ice water, never in direct contact with ice, label with name and time, and send it with the casualty |
| Embedded object | Leave it in; pad around it and bandage over the padding |
| Nosebleed | Sit forward, pinch the soft part of the nose |
Minor wounds
Clean with clean water, cover with a sterile dressing, and watch for infection: increasing redness, heat, swelling, pus, fever. At sea, small wounds matter, because infection has time to develop before port.
Improvising
STCW expects you to improvise bandages and use what is in the kit:
- triangular bandage: sling, pad, or bandage over a dressing;
- clean T-shirts, towels, napkins as dressings;
- cling film for burns (L2.3);
- rolled magazines, boat hooks, paddles as splints (L3.1);
- sail ties and Velcro straps for securing.
TIP — Know the trauma kit Yachts often carry a separate trauma or bleed kit near the tender garage or aft deck, where injuries happen. Find it before you need it.
After any serious bleed, treat for shock (L2.3) and keep the casualty warm.