Washington State Hunters Ed Practice Exam

What should be prioritized if you encounter a person with severe bleeding?

1. Keep the person awake

2. Maintain body temperature

3. Direct pressure on the wound

4. Remove clothing around the wound

The correct answer is: Direct pressure on the wound

The priority when encountering a person with severe bleeding is to apply direct pressure on the wound. Direct pressure helps to constrict blood vessels and control blood loss, which is crucial in a situation where someone's life may be at risk due to excessive bleeding. Maintaining blood flow is vital, and applying pressure can significantly reduce the amount of blood lost, allowing time for emergency medical assistance to arrive. Additionally, if there is an obvious object in the wound, while pressure should still be applied around it, it's essential to avoid removing the object, as this could lead to further bleeding. Other considerations, such as keeping the person awake or maintaining body temperature, are also important in emergency situations, but they take a secondary role to stopping the bleeding. Directly addressing the wound is the most urgent action to prevent shock or loss of life. Removing clothing around the wound might be necessary to properly assess the injury but should not be done at the expense of applying direct pressure, especially if the clothing is not constricting the bleeding.