You mean because of “first” ? There’s certainly no direct hint of “direct pressure”, and I maintain that there is no reason to suppose from common experience, which does not include emergency encounters with severe bleeding, that direct pressure on the wound would be efficacious. Come to think of it, I seem to recall that this doctrine was a replacement for previous teaching about tourniquets and pressure points as mentioned in the alternative answers.
Doh! Ok, I fail.
The direct hint of “direct pressure” is in bold below. It was part of he question.
2. Firefighters are sometimes expected to administer aid to victims who are bleeding. To control bleeding, firefighters must perform the following actions in the order given.
i. Apply direct pressure to the wound by placing a sterile dressing against the wound and applying firm pressure. ii. If #1 is unsuccessful, elevate the bleeding part of the body above the level of the victim's heart. iii. If #1 and #2 are unsuccessful, find the nearest artery by the wound and press the artery against the underlying bone. iv. If #1, #2, and #3 are unsuccessful, use a tourniquet, which should be placed between the heart and the wound. Note: Tourniquets should only be used for severe, life threatening bleeding that cannot be controlled by other means.
Firefighter Jacobs has just come upon a young woman who has just started bleeding profusely from the lower part of her right arm. Which one of the following actions should Firefighter Jacobs take first to control the woman's bleeding?
A) Hold the woman's right arm above her head. B) Apply a tourniquet just below the woman's right elbow. C) Press the artery that is closest to the wound against a bone. D) Use a sterile dressing to apply direct pressure to the wound.