Pack it if it is deep, then wrap it: the Emergency Bandage takes over the pressure your hands were holding, so your hands can move to the next problem.
At a glance
12 things to know about the 4 in. Emergency Bandage
Where it came from, how the pressure applicator works, where it fits in a kit, and what the pressure studies found.
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01
Invented in Israel, issued by the U.S. military
Bernard Bar-Natan invented the bandage in Israel in 1993 and took it to Fort Sam Houston, where the U.S. military trains its medics, in 2000; the U.S. military made it standard issue in 2003.9 Safeguard Medical dates its adoption by U.S. Army Rangers to 2001.8 It is widely known as the Israeli bandage.9
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02
Who makes it today
First Care Products Ltd. of Rosh HaAyin, Israel, is the FDA-registered manufacturer.5 PerSys Medical brought the bandage to U.S. customers, and Safeguard Medical acquired PerSys in 2021;8 Safeguard now sells it as part of The Israeli Bandage® family.3
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03
Four parts, one sterile package
A sterile, non-adherent wound pad; an elastic wrap of polyamide, nylon-wrapped rubber and cotton; a polyethylene pressure bar; and a polycarbonate closure bar — double-packed in two vacuum-sealed pouches.6 The 4 in. version carries a 4 × 7 in. pad on a 145 in. black elastic wrap.3
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04
The pressure applicator is the point
Wrapping through the applicator and then reversing back over the top forces the bar down onto the pad.7 In the one study of the bandage alone, the bar raised pressure sharply directly under it without raising it around the rest of the limb, and fingertip refill and the wrist pulse stayed normal.10
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05
Built for one hand
A sleeve lets you put it on yourself, Stop-N-Go® tack sewing keeps the roll from unwinding out of control, and the closure bar locks the end so the bandage does not slip.3
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06
A pressure dressing is its own job
A bleeding-control kit carries four products for four jobs: a tourniquet, packing gauze, a pressure dressing and a chest seal. The Emergency Bandage is the pressure dressing. It carries no clotting agent and does not replace the tourniquet or the gauze. In combat registry data, pressure dressings are among the most common prehospital interventions — the most common one given by battlefield first responders.13,14
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07
Deep wounds get packed first
Groin, armpit, neck and deep limb wounds are packed before anything is wrapped: a tight power ball first, directly on the bleeding vessel, then every corner filled. The bandage goes over the packing and keeps the pressure on. Never pack the chest or abdomen.
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08
It frees your hands
Direct pressure with your hands is still the fastest way to start controlling bleeding: a systematic review found manual pressure reached hemostasis sooner than pressure dressings, though the certainty of that evidence is very low.12 The bandage's job is to take over that pressure so you can treat the next wound, the next casualty, or make the call.
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09
It can end up too tight
When 124 emergency providers applied pressure dressings over sensors, Israeli bandages produced the highest peak pressures — 205 mmHg on average — and passed 250 mmHg in 28% of applications; how tight providers thought they had wrapped did not match what was measured.11 Check circulation below every bandage on a limb and loosen it if the hand or foot turns cool, blue or numb, or loses its pulse.7
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10
Listed as a nonpneumatic tourniquet — carry a purpose-built one anyway
FDA lists the Emergency Bandage under product code GAX, nonpneumatic tourniquet: Class I and exempt from 510(k).4 DLA describes it as an elastic bandage, wound dressing and nonpneumatic tourniquet in one.6 For life-threatening limb bleeding, carry and use a evidence-based standard tourniquet.1
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11
Not on the evidence-based device list
The Evidence-Based Standard Devices & Adjuncts list covers limb tourniquets, hemostatic dressings, junctional hemorrhage control and airway devices; it has no pressure-bandage category, so the Emergency Bandage is not evidence-based standard.2 Absence from the list does not by itself mean a product was tested and failed. The TCCC Guidelines use pressure dressings by name: limb tourniquets are converted to hemostatic or pressure dressings once the casualty meets the criteria.1
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12
Eight years, and a cold-weather version
Safeguard gives the bandage an 8-year shelf life in vacuum-sealed packaging.3 Its cold-weather (CWG) versions — and versions without the pressure applicator — are rated for −40 °C to +60 °C (−40 °F to 140 °F) for up to 7 days; the 4 in. cold-weather bandage is green, NSN 6510-01-659-8420.3,6
How to apply the 4 in. Emergency Bandage
The TCCC pressure-bandage sequence, with the decisions that come before it.
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1Tourniquet first for a limb bleed it can control. Life-threatening bleeding from an arm or leg gets a tourniquet. Under threat, or when you cannot see the source: hasty — high and tight, over clothing. Once the wound is exposed: deliberate — on bare skin 2–3 in. above the wound, never across a joint.1
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2Pack a deep or junctional wound. Groin, armpit, neck or a deep limb wound: power ball first, directly on the bleeding vessel, every corner packed tight. Hold pressure at least 3 minutes for hemostatic gauze, or its labeled time;1 at least 10 minutes for plain gauze; or until the bleeding stops — best practice is to hold until someone relieves you. Pack the neck with care so the airway is not compressed. Never pack the chest or abdomen.
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3Pad on the wound. Open the package and place the pad directly on the wound, or on the packing, while you keep pressure on it.7
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4Wrap with short tugs. Wrap the elastic around the limb, keeping pressure on the pad. Short tugs tighten it; do not drag the packing out as you wrap.7
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5Through the applicator and back. Feed the wrap completely into the pressure applicator, then reverse it back over the top. The reversal forces the bar down onto the pad.7
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6Cover the pad, lock the end. Wrap tightly over the applicator until the pad edges are covered, then hook the closure bar into the wrap.7
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7Check below it. Check color, warmth, feeling and the pulse below the bandage. Cool, bluish or numb skin, or a lost pulse, means it may be too tight: loosen it and re-secure it — on a limb where no tourniquet is intended.7
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8If it soaks through. For a shallow wound, or one under the bandage that is not deep enough to pack, leave the bandage in place and add gauze and pressure on top. A packed wound that keeps bleeding is different: remove the packing, find the source, and repack with a power ball.1 Limb bleeding that will not stop gets a tourniquet.
Where it fits
- Bleeding that firm, direct pressure can control
- Holding pressure over a packed groin, armpit or deep limb wound
- A pressure dressing when a trained provider converts a limb tourniquet1
- Covering a traumatic amputation once the tourniquet is on1,3
- Self-aid with one hand3
- Life-threatening limb bleeding a tourniquet can control — tourniquet first1
- Taking the place of packing in a deep wound — pack first, then wrap
- Packing into the chest or abdomen — never
- An open chest wound — use a vented chest seal, or a non-vented seal if no vented seal is available1
- Wrapping tight around the neck — hold pressure on a packed neck wound instead
The evidence
The studies behind the numbers above, what each one tested, and how strong it is.
| Study | Evidence type | What was studied | What it found |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shipman & Lessard, Mil Med 2009 | Human · pressure measurement | Emergency Bandage with and without its pressure bar on the arm; sensors under the bar and at 90°, 180° and 270° around the limb | The bar raised pressure directly under it without raising it elsewhere; fingertip refill and wrist pulse stayed adequate — no full tourniquet effect |
| Brauckmann et al., Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg 2026 | Simulation · pressure sensors | 124 emergency providers (116 analyzed) applying pressure dressings of their choice over calibrated sensors | Israeli bandages highest peak pressure, 205 ± 98 mmHg; above 250 mmHg in 28% of applications vs 11.1% medium-stretch and 1.6% elastic bandages; self-assessment did not match measured pressure |
| Charlton et al., Prehosp Emerg Care 2021 | Expert review · systematic review | 107 studies, 22,798 patients, of first-aid bleeding control; 8 studies of pressure dressings, bandages or devices | Direct manual pressure reached hemostasis faster than pressure dressings or devices; certainty of evidence very low |
| Paulson et al., Med J (Ft Sam Houst Tex) 2021 | Human · combat registry | 29 combat casualties treated only by battlefield first responders, Prehospital Trauma Registry 2003–2019 | A pressure dressing was the most common intervention (12), ahead of limb tourniquets (4) and hemostatic gauze (2) |
| Schauer et al., Prehosp Disaster Med 2017 | Human · combat case series | 50 casualties of mass-casualty events in Afghanistan | Tourniquets and pressure dressings were the most common prehospital interventions; 97% of the 36 with follow-up were discharged alive |
Strongest to weakest: human data, then simulation, with the review weighing very-low-certainty studies. Shipman tested the Emergency Bandage alone and Brauckmann tested it beside other bandages; the registry, case-series and review data cover pressure dressings as a class.
How it compares
The four Emergency Bandage formats buyers weigh against each other.
| 4 in. (FCP-01) | 6 in. (FCP-02) | 8 in. Large Wound (FCP-09) | T3 (FCP-T3) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sterile pad | 4 × 7 in. (10 × 18 cm) | 6 × 7 in. (15 × 18 cm) | 12 × 12 in. (30 × 30 cm) | 4 × 7 in. (10 × 18 cm), plus a detachable second pad of the same size |
| Elastic wrap (manufacturer figure) | 145 in. (370 cm) | 145 in. (370 cm) | 8 in. wide; 75 in. (190 cm) unstretched, including the pad | 145 in. (370 cm), expanded |
| Extra in the package | — | — | Pressure bar can be bypassed over eviscerations | 4 × 29.5 in. (10 × 75 cm) gauze |
| NSN | 6510-01-460-0849 | 6510-01-492-2275 | 6510-01-532-6656 | 6510-31-017-2058 |
| Shelf life | 8 years | 8 years | 8 years | 8 years |
| evidence-based standard | No | No | No | No |
4 in. and 6 in. figures from Safeguard Medical;3 8 in. and T3 figures from PerSys Medical product information.15,16 The evidence-based device list has no pressure-bandage category.2
Build the system
The tourniquet and gauze that come first, the larger and multi-pad versions, a chest seal, a wrap, a trainer and a kit.
Questions buyers ask
Package & specifications
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Specifications coming soon. Contact us for detailed product information.
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