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Basically you only use a Tourniquet on a hemmorhage/bleeding that you can't stop.

However, on medium sized bleedings, you need to use a bandage and apply a lot of preassure (for example you do the knot on top of the wound). Wouldn't it make sense to put a cat tourniquet over that spot, and tighten it only a bit (but not all the way), to add some extra pressure?

Normally you would first put down a layer of gauze-bandage, before covering the wound up with a cover-bandage. Wouldn't it make sense to do this with a SWAT-T (Tourniquet) instead? To add some extra pressure, when covering it?

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    The title of your question and the body don't match. A CAT tourniquet is a device used to add extra pressure to a wound; a tourniquet is a device used to block blood flow to an extremity. The latter should only be used when loss of life due to blood loss is imminent and bleeding of the wound is too severe to stop by pressure alone and the loss of the limb is secondary to the survival of the victim. But yes, if you have access to a CAT tourniquet, its use would be perfectly adequate. It would also allow you to tend to other wounds.
    – BillDOe
    Dec 26, 2018 at 21:02
  • I agree with @BillDOe. Various devices have been used over the years to hold pressure on wounds and there is no prohibition on using them. The only prohibition is on using something that will completely stop blood flow to the limb, as Bill described. You might want to edit your question to clarify if that's not what you meant.
    – Carey Gregory ♦
    Dec 27, 2018 at 20:20

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Yes, tourniquets are used to creating pressure like you said. But stopping bleedings is not only function of tourniquets. Medical professionals use it also to finding a vessel for taking some blood; because when it is tied to your arm, it will squeeze your vessels in that area. So, the pressure in vessels which front of the tourniquet will be increased; and than that pressure will cause that dilatation of those vessels.

In this way, those vessels will be getting more visible from your arm surface. Then medical professionals find easily a vessel in order to taking some blood.

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