Introduction: Gunshot wounds were initially mostly war injuries, but now also occur in civilization, therefore nonprofessionals can encounter such injuries with increasing frequency. Severe bleeding is likely to occur in gunshot wounds, which is the leading cause of death, knowing how to treat it is consequently crucial. Bleeding is loss of blood from the circulatory system. Bleedings are divided by cause (disease and injury), localization (internal and external) and type (arterial, venous, capillary). Internal bleeding is very dangerous as it causes hemorrhagic or hypovolemic shock because it is very difficult to identify. External arterial bleeding is also dangerous, but significantly easier to recognize. Purpose: Purpose of the diploma thesis is to present in detail first aid provided by nonprofessionals in bleedings that result from gunshot wounds, by reviewing domestic and foreign literature. The objectives are to study how nonprofessionals approach an injured person with a gunshot wound, and to introduce methods of giving nonprofessional first aid to stop the bleeding. Methods: In the diploma thesis, we used a descriptive method with systematic review of literature published between 2009 and 2019, with the exception of few sources where the doctrine has not changed. We searched through the Digital Library of Ljubljana in MEDLINE, CINAHL, ScienceDirect and PubMed databases. We used the COBISS bibliographic-catalogue database and the Google Scholar web browser. Results: Approaching an injured person with a gunshot wound is very specific, especially due to dangerous circumstances that lead to the injury. It is very important and sensible to follow basic principles of first aid. There are several different techniques for stopping bleeding, however treating a gunshot wound varies depending on the location of the injury, and it is also very important to treat hemorrhagic shock that results from severe bleeding. Discussion and conclusion: Bleeding presents a major health-social problem and is the main cause of death in gunshot injuries. Due to development of medicine and accumulation of experience, first aid devices have evolved greatly over the years, also generating kits for stopping bleeding. Safe approach and knowledge of providing first aid by professionals and, with increasing frequency, nonprofessionals, is still crucial. Nonprofessional population is relatively large, but with targeted and quality trainings, significantly greater responsiveness and success in providing first aid in gunshot wounds would be achieved.
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