These are the same steps our staff use when they help someone. "They" means the person who needs help: you, or someone you are helping. Go in order, and call ahead when you can.
1Call and protect yourself
Call 911 for heavy bleeding, or have someone else call while you help.
911 (Grant County Regional Dispatch)
Emergency: police, fire, ambulance
911
Silver City · 24/7
Put on gloves if you have them, or put a plastic bag over your hand.
2Press hard
Put a clean cloth, shirt or gauze on the wound and press down hard with both hands. Lean your weight into it.
Don't lift it to check. If blood soaks through, add more cloth on top and keep pressing.
For a deep wound, stuff cloth or gauze into the wound and keep pressing.
Keep pressing until help takes over.
3Tourniquet for an arm or leg
If pressing doesn't stop heavy bleeding from an arm or leg, use a tourniquet if you have one.
Put it 2-3 inches above the wound (not on a joint) and tighten until the bleeding stops. It will hurt. Write down the time it went on.
Never take a tourniquet off once it is on. Let the medics do that.
A belt alone usually can't get tight enough. Pressing hard is better than a poor tourniquet.
4Keep them warm and calm
Lay them down and cover them with a coat or blanket. Talk to them.
Don't give food or drink.
Wash your hands well afterward. If their blood got in your eyes, mouth or a cut, see a doctor today.
5Small cuts
Rinse with clean water, press with a clean cloth until it stops, and cover with a bandage.
See a doctor if it gapes open, won't stop after 10 minutes of pressing, came from a bite or rusty metal, or gets red, hot or swollen later.
At the Gospel MissionAsk at the Mission for bandages.
6Learn it before you need it
You can say"A short class makes it much easier to act fast."
Silver City Fire Department
CPR, AED and First Aid certification classes ($35)
575-538-2591
1011 N Hudson Street, Silver City
Silver City Fire Department
Free Stop the Bleed class
575-538-2591
1011 N Hudson Street, Silver City
This guide is general information only, not medical, legal or other professional advice. Places and rules change, so please call before you go. In an emergency, call 911; in a mental health crisis, call or text 988. Disclaimer
Know a better way? Is something out of date?
If a number or place here is wrong, you know a better resource, or you know a better way to help, tell us. We automatically check reliable sources and update supported routine details. Unclear changes and safety guidance go to our staff for review.
Suggest a change
📞 We need volunteers to keep this guide up to date. You can help from home, an hour a week.
See how →
Questions, or want someone to walk through this with you? The Silver City Gospel Mission, 111 S. Texas St., Silver City,
575-388-5071, weekdays 9:00am-1:45pm. Everyone is welcome.