Can you put a sterile gauze compress directly on the wound?

In the photo, next to a first aid kit, there is a packed sterile gauze compress measuring 10 by 10 cm. You may put such a compress directly on a wound - this is exactly what sterile gauze is for. The answer is: yes.

The State Emergency Medical Services Act obliges every witness of a sudden medical emergency to call for help, and the Criminal Code punishes failure to give it; dressing a bleeding wound until the rescuers arrive is something that you can and should do. A sterile compress is free from germs, so it does not bring infection into the wound, and its fibrous structure helps to stop the bleeding. You open the packet so that you do not touch the side that will go on the wound, put the gauze on the bleeding spot and fix it with a bandage or a plaster; with heavy bleeding, you press the dressing with your hand or add more layers, without removing the soaked gauze. However, you do not put cotton wool, tissues or cellulose wadding directly on the wound, because their fibres stay in the wound, and before dressing it you put on the gloves from the first aid kit.

Legal basis: Art. 4 of the State Emergency Medical Services Act; Art. 162 of the Criminal Code