How to Treat a Gunshot Wound: What to Do Until Help Arrives
A gunshot wound is a life-threatening emergency. Do not try to treat it at home or drive the injured person yourself unless no ambulance can reach you. Your job is simple: stay safe, call for help, and slow the bleeding until trained medical workers arrive.
If this is happening now in Delhi, move away from danger and call 112 for emergency help. Delhi ambulance services may also be reached through 102, depending on local availability. Tell the operator your exact location, such as Connaught Place, Rohini, Saket, Dwarka, or near a known metro station. India’s 112 system connects people directly with emergency services, including police and medical trauma units.
A gunshot wound requires immediate emergency response. Call 112 at once. The steps below are intended to bridge the critical gap until professional medical trauma teams arrive — they do not replace hospital surgical care.
Understanding Gunshot Wounds and Their Severity
Gunshot wounds are high-energy puncture injuries that cause rapid, extensive tissue damage. Unlike ordinary lacerations, bullet wounds carry a compounded risk of internal bleeding, organ perforation, infection, and shock — all of which can be fatal within minutes if left untreated. Understanding the factors that determine severity is the first step toward effective emergency response.
Three Key Factors That Determine Wound Severity
Location of Injury
Head, chest, and abdominal wounds carry the highest fatality risk due to vital organs.
Projectile Size
Larger calibre bullets displace more tissue and cause wider internal wound channels.
Projectile Velocity
Speed has the greatest impact — doubling velocity quadruples kinetic energy transferred to tissue.
Rifle rounds travel at significantly higher velocities than handgun rounds, meaning they cause substantially more internal cavitation and tissue damage even when entry wounds appear small. However, any gunshot wound must be treated as immediately life-threatening.
Step-by-Step: How to Treat a Gunshot Wound
-
Check the scene first
Before you run to the person, look around. Is there still gunfire? Is the attacker nearby? Could a weapon, fire, traffic, or falling debris hurt you?
If the area is not safe, take cover and call 112. Do not become a second victim. Approach only when police or other trained responders say it is safe.
Once you reach the injured person, put on gloves if you have them. If not, use a clean plastic bag over your hand. Blood can spread bloodborne pathogens, so protect yourself while helping.
-
Call emergency services
Call 112 immediately, or instruct a specific bystander to call while you provide direct first aid. Put the phone on speaker so the dispatcher can guide you through each step.
Share key details:
- The exact location and nearest landmark or metro station.
- The number of injured victims.
- Whether the victim is conscious and responsive.
- Whether they are breathing normally.
- Where the heavy bleeding is located.
- Whether there is still an active threat or danger nearby.
Do not hang up unless the emergency operator explicitly tells you to do so.
-
Stop heavy bleeding
Severe arterial bleeding can lead to fatal haemorrhagic shock within 3 to 5 minutes. Look for blood that is spurting, flowing rapidly, or soaking through thick clothing.
Press firmly on the wound with sterile gauze, a clean cloth, a shirt, or gloved hands. Push hard and maintain uninterrupted direct pressure. Do not lift the cloth to check every few seconds. If blood soaks through, place another clean dressing directly on top and press even harder. Never remove the initial dressing.
For a deep junctional wound in the groin, armpit, or neck/shoulder junction, press firmly into the wound cavity with hemostatic gauze or clean dressing (wound packing) and hold heavy pressure until paramedics arrive.
-
Use a tourniquet on an arm or leg
If severe, life-threatening bleeding from an arm or leg does not stop with direct pressure, apply a proper commercial tourniquet (such as a CAT or SOFT-T) if available.
Place the tourniquet 2 to 3 inches above the wound (between the wound and the heart), never directly over a joint. Tighten the windlass until the bright red bleeding completely stops and the distal pulse is gone. Lock the windlass in place. Note the exact application time on the tourniquet band and report it to the trauma team.
Do not use thin wire, strings, or narrow belts as makeshift tourniquets if avoidable, as they can cut into tissue without stopping deep arterial flow. If no tourniquet is available, continue relentless two-handed direct pressure.
-
Help with breathing and chest wounds
Check whether the victim is breathing normally. A gunshot to the chest or back can puncture the lung pleural cavity, creating a tension pneumothorax (sucking chest wound).
If there is an open chest wound and you have a commercial vented chest seal, apply it firmly over the wound during exhalation. If you do not have a commercial seal, cover the wound with clean plastic or foil taped on three sides to create a flutter-valve effect. If breathing worsens rapidly after covering the wound, momentarily lift the seal to release trapped air pressure (burping the seal) and reapply.
Never remove an embedded projectile or foreign object. Do not probe the wound, pour water, or apply untested substances.
-
Watch for and manage shock
A victim suffering from severe blood loss will rapidly develop shock. Signs include pale, cold, or clammy skin, rapid shallow breathing, weak pulse, dizziness, nausea, confusion, or extreme thirst.
Keep the victim lying flat, calm, and warm by covering them with a jacket or emergency thermal blanket to prevent hypothermia, which impairs blood clotting.
Do not give any food, water, tea, or oral medicines. The patient will likely require emergency surgery under general anaesthesia. Offer calm, steady verbal reassurance: “Help is on the way, stay with me.”
-
If they become unresponsive and stop breathing
If the victim loses consciousness and is no longer breathing or only gasping abnormally, alert the emergency operator immediately.
Begin Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) at once: 30 hard and fast chest compressions (100–120 bpm) at the center of the chest followed by 2 rescue breaths (or continuous Hands-Only CPR). Apply an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) as soon as one arrives.
Avoid unnecessary twisting or movement of the spine unless remaining in place poses an immediate threat to life (fire, active threat).
-
Withhold food, water, and medications
Never give the victim anything to eat or drink, even if they complain of severe thirst. An empty stomach is mandatory for emergency surgery to prevent pulmonary aspiration under anaesthesia. Do not administer pain medications, aspirin, or home remedies.
-
Monitor, reassure, and stay until paramedics arrive
Continuously reassess the victim's airway, breathing rate, bleeding status, and consciousness. Keep talking to them calmly. When paramedics arrive, provide a clear handover: time of injury, bleeding control methods applied, tourniquet application time, and any changes in alertness.
Expert First Aid Tips for Gunshot Wounds
Entry vs Exit Wounds
Do not waste precious time trying to differentiate between entry and exit wounds in the field. Look for and treat all bleeding puncture sites on the front, back, and sides of the body.
Bullet Path Is Unpredictable
Bullets can ricochet off bones, fragment, or tumble unpredictably inside the body. A wound on one side does not mean the internal damage is confined to that area. Treat systemic shock aggressively.
Velocity = Destructive Energy
Kinetic energy transferred equals ½ mass × velocity². Doubling projectile velocity quadruples the tissue cavitation and internal organ destruction, making immediate surgical transport essential.
Shock Awareness
Watch closely for signs of haemorrhagic shock: weak rapid pulse, cool skin, confusion, or cyanosis. Cover with a thermal blanket and report all observations directly to incoming paramedics.
Critical Mistakes to Avoid in Gunshot Emergencies
-
Do not remove embedded objects: If a bullet casing, metal fragment, or object is lodged in the wound, leave it in place. Removing it can cause uncontrollable haemorrhage. Stabilise it with bulky dressings.
-
Do not probe or clean the wound cavity: Never insert fingers, tweezers, or instruments into a gunshot wound cavity. Do not attempt to flush deep penetrating wounds with water or antiseptic.
-
Do not apply a tourniquet to the neck, chest, or abdomen: Tourniquets are strictly designed for limb extremities (arms and legs). For junctional areas, use wound packing with continuous manual pressure.
-
Do not elevate legs if torso wounds exist: Elevating legs in abdominal or chest gunshot wounds can accelerate internal thoracic bleeding or compromise respiratory mechanics. Keep the patient lying flat.
-
Do not leave the victim unattended: Blood loss can cause a sudden decline in consciousness and respiratory arrest within seconds. Maintain continuous observation and reassurance until paramedics take over.
Additional Common Mistakes:
- Do not wait to see whether bleeding will stop on its own before calling 112.
- Do not apply turmeric, coffee powder, toothpaste, herbs, or home powders to open wounds.
- Do not loosen or remove a tourniquet once it has been tightened — only hospital surgeons should remove it.
- Do not give water, food, or stimulants under any circumstances.
- Do not transport the patient in a private vehicle to a small local clinic if advanced life-support trauma ambulances are responding.
Whether an emergency occurs in Central Delhi near Connaught Place, South Delhi near Saket or Lajpat Nagar, West Delhi near Dwarka, or an industrial area in Noida or Gurugram, the first 10 minutes determine survival. Protect yourself, activate emergency trauma services at 112, control active external haemorrhage, maintain airway patency, and provide psychological reassurance until trauma teams arrive.
Turn Knowledge Into Life-Saving Skill
Reading about first aid is crucial, but hands-on muscle memory and certified practical training are what truly save lives during high-stress trauma events. At 24x7 Medical Service, our certified First Aid and CPR courses in Delhi provide comprehensive hands-on practice in trauma management, haemorrhage control (Stop the Bleed), tourniquet application, CPR, and AED operation.
Our Standard First Aid & CPR certification is recognised across India by corporates, industrial facilities, educational institutions, and healthcare providers. We offer customized programmes for corporate teams, security personnel, and community responders.
Explore our Corporate First Aid Training programmes or enrol online in a certified course today.
Be Prepared Before a Medical Emergency Strikes
Gain practical, life-saving trauma skills with hands-on First Aid, CPR, and AED certification from Delhi's most trusted medical training institute.
