Treatment for a girl with an injury to the calf is to apply which of the following?

• A. Apply a tourniquet
• B. Elevate and rest
• C. Ice and elevate
• D. Compression bandage only

Answer: (A)

The main concept is that a tourniquet is used to stop life-threatening bleeding from a limb when direct pressure cannot control it. If the calf injury involves significant bleeding that cannot be controlled with direct pressure, applying a tourniquet proximal to the wound rapidly minimizes blood loss and buys time until medical help arrives. It should be placed above the injury, not over a joint, and tightened firmly enough to stop the bleeding. Time of application should be noted, and it should remain in place until professional care can assess and manage the patient.

If there isn’t heavy bleeding, other measures like elevating the leg and resting, or icing while elevating, are appropriate for swelling and pain, but they don’t reliably control substantial arterial bleeding. A compression bandage alone may not stop rapid hemorrhage from a serious calf injury.