Talking about tourniquets in war movies

This is the 5174th article of Da Yi Xiao Hu

Feng Xiaogang's 2007 film "Assembly" can be said to be one of the most enjoyable war films in China, and the war scenes in the film are still impressive today.

The plot of the movie is also touching. The main storyline of the company commander Guzidi's attempt to find an explanation for his brothers who died in battle is also very fascinating. Under the interpretation of Zhang Hanyu, who was not famous at the time, the role of the company commander Guzidi is very full.

I personally like this movie very much. In my opinion, "Assembly" is not worse than other war movies. If I have to point out its shortcomings, it may be that it lacks a little tension, but it is still good enough.

Today, let's talk about the tourniquets used in war movies. Bandages are often used to stop bleeding on the battlefield. For example, if a person's arm is shot and bleeding, the nurse will put a bandage on the wound to cut off the blood circulation between the arm and the rest of the body, and the bleeding will naturally decrease.

If this kind of shot appears in a film or TV show about a war in the past, it makes sense, after all, people did it that way back then. But if it reflects the wars of our time, it is too outdated. That's because people now know that using a bandage to stop bleeding is a huge risk, sometimes more harmful than losing blood. For an experienced medical staff, he is very cautious in real life.

One of the hazards of bandages is that they can cause serious damage to injured limbs. Every part of our body needs oxygen and nutrients, which are obtained through blood circulation. If the blood circulation in a certain part is poor or even stops, the tissue in this part will soon die. Therefore, even in the era of bandages to stop bleeding, the bandages on the wounds will not be tied too tightly, and usually need to be untied and relaxed every ten minutes.

However, even so, the wound is still susceptible to toxic substances, which may pose a huge threat to life when blood flow returns to normal. Therefore, medical institutions in many countries have clearly required in first aid courses that doctors and nurses are prohibited from using bandages to stop bleeding unless the condition is extremely critical (such as life-threatening if bleeding is not stopped immediately).

Fund projects: 2023 Jing'an District Science Popularization Project (KP2023055); 2023 Jing'an District Health Science Popularization Leading Project; Shanghai Health Science Popularization Youth Talent Capacity Improvement Project (JKKPYC-2023-B14)

Author: Shanghai Jing'an District Central Hospital

Xia Lemin