Issue #007
Ten full minutes of pressure, and no peeking at the wound
Plus why August pairs heat waves with boil water notices and thin pharmacy shelves.
Thursday, August 6, 2026 · Emergency Skills
Most people hold a bleeding wound for about twenty seconds, then lift up to look. That peek is why the bleeding starts over.
Today’s Skill
Hold it for ten, then hold it longer
Pressure stops most bleeding, but only if you commit. Pack the wound with clean gauze or a folded shirt, then push with the heel of your hand right on the hole. Look at a clock. Ten minutes, no lifting to check. If blood soaks through, add material on top and keep pressing. For a limb that will not stop, a tourniquet goes high and tight above it. Call for help early.
On The Radar
Heat and a boil notice in the same week
August brings two things together. Heat that stacks up over days, and boil water notices after storms knock pumps offline. Refill prescriptions the day they are eligible, not the day they run out. Keep two weeks of anything you take daily. Stash a gallon of bottled water per person for a notice day. If tap water is flagged, a rolling boil for one minute makes it safe to drink.
The Drill
Ten minutes on a rolled bath towel
Tonight, roll a bath towel and set it on the table. Put your palm on it, stack your shoulder over your hand, and hold for ten full minutes by the clock. Your arms will burn at minute four. That is the lesson. Then pull a kit together: two rolls of gauze, a pressure bandage, gloves, trauma shears. Park it somewhere you can grab in the dark. Consider a hands on class for the rest. Rise ready.
Stay ready. Rise anyway.
- Survival Rise
P.S. Forward this to the person in your house who would be holding the towel if you were the one bleeding.