Submitted photoThe American Red Cross sells kits to help stop blood loss.

The American Red Cross is offering a new First Aid for Severe Bleeding course so people can learn what to do until emergency help arrives.

“Severe blood loss is a life-threatening condition,” Cheryl Kocurek, regional preparedness manager for the Mississippi Region American Red Cross, said in a statement. “This course empowers people with the knowledge and skills needed to provide immediate care and save a life.”

The 30-minute online course, according to a news release, teaches how to recognize and care for life-threatening bleeding, including:

When and how to apply different types of tourniquets;

When to use hemostatic dressing (a dressing with an agent on it for quickly clotting blood);

How to recognize and care for someone in shock.

To register for the course, visit www.redcross.org/take-a-class/severebleeding.

The Red Cross also recommends having bleeding control kits available. The kits, which the Red Cross sells, have the supplies needed to help control life-threatening bleeding and prevent further blood loss from someone with a traumatic injury. Personal kits contain tourniquets, gauze, trauma shears and nitrile gloves. The professional kits also include a hemostatic agent.

The kits may be purchased at www.redcross.org/store/first-aid-supplies/bleeding-control.

The Red Cross recommends that everyone have the knowledge and skills to help in an emergency and save lives. First Aid and CPR/AED online, blended (online content and an in-person skills session) and classroom offerings are available at redcross.org/takeaclass. Offerings include the recently released First Aid for Opioid Overdoses online course on how to identify the signs and symptoms of a suspected overdose and the appropriate care to provide based on the responsiveness of the person.