All tight articles of clothing and equipment should be loosened, so as not to interfere with breathing or the circulation of the blood.  Belts, collars, and the trousers at the waist should be opened.

[Illustration:  FIG. 1.]

Don’t let mere onlookers crowd about the patient.  They prevent him from getting fresh air and also make him nervous and excited.

In case of injury the heart action is generally weak from shock, and the body, therefore, grows somewhat cold.  So don’t remove any more clothing than is necessary to expose the injury.

Cut or rip the clothing, but don’t pull it.  Try to disturb the patient as little as possible.

Don’t touch a wound with your fingers or a handkerchief, or with anything else but the first-aid dressing.  Don’t wash the wound with water, as you may infect it.

Don’t administer stimulants (whisky, brandy, wine, etc.) unless ordered to do so by a doctor.  While in a few cases stimulants are of benefit, in a great many cases they do positive harm, especially where there has been any bleeding.

The heart may be considered as a pump and the arteries as a rubber hose, which carry the blood from the heart to every part of the body.  The veins are the hose which carry the blood back to the heart.  Every wound bleeds some, but, unless a large artery or a large vein is cut, the bleeding will stop after a short while if the patient is kept quiet and the first-aid dressing is bound over the wound so as to make pressure on it.

[Illustration:  FIG. 2.]

When a large artery is cut the blood gushes out in spurts every time the heart beats.  In this case it is necessary to stop the flow of blood by pressing upon the hose somewhere between the heart and the leak.

If the leak is in the arm or hand, apply pressure as in figure 1.

If the leak is in the leg, apply pressure as in figure 2.

If the leak is in the shoulder or armpit, apply pressure as in figure 3.

The reason for this is that at the places indicated the arteries may be pressed against a bone more easily than at any other places.

Another way of applying pressure (by means of a tourniquet) is shown in figure 4.  Place a pad of tightly rolled cloth or paper, or any suitable object, over the artery.  Tie a bandage loosely about the limb and then insert your bayonet, or a stick, and twist up the bandage until the pressure of the pad on the artery stops the leak.  Twist the bandage slowly and stop as soon as the blood ceases to flow, in order not to bruise the flesh or muscles unnecessarily.

[Illustration:  FIG. 3.]

A tourniquet may cause pain and swelling of the limb, and it left on too long may cause the limb to die.  Therefore, about every half hour or so, loosen the bandage very carefully, but if the bleeding continues pressure must be applied again.  In this case apply the pressure with the thumb for five or ten minutes, as this cuts off only the main artery and leaves some of the smaller arteries and the veins free to restore some of the circulation.  When a tourniquet is painful, it is too tight and should be carefully loosened a little.