Secure the dressing using the attached bandages.

If improvised dressings are used, secure these dressings with cravats made from muslin bandages or with improvised bandages.

a. Hold the dressing in place with one hand to keep it from slipping while you are securing the dressing.

b. When taking a tail around the casualty, grasp the tail and slide it under the casualty. Reach down on the other side of the casualty, grasp the tail under the casualty, and pull.

c. Tie the tails in a non-slip knot at the casualty’s side, not over the wound. The bandages should be tight enough to keep the dressing from slipping, but not tight enough to place excessive pressure on the injury. Pressure could cause additional damage to the organs of the abdominal cavity. The primary purpose of the dressing and bandages is to protect the wound from further contamination, not to control bleeding through pressure.

CAUTION: If an object is protruding from the wound, apply bandages to hold the bulky dressings in place. Do not wrap the bandages around the protruding object.