I'll chime in, some of this has already been stated, but can bear repeating:
Bleeding - pressure, pressure, pressure. For small wound, the best device is your finger - apply narrow pressure to the spot, right where it is bleeding - scale it up for larger wounds. Hold that pressure for 10-15 minutes. Don't look at it. The vast majority of wounds will have clotted by the time the 15 minutes is up. If it is still bleeding, hold more pressure, for longer. I have stopped plenty of arterial bleeding with just a finger & patience. Once the bleeding has stopped, apply a dressing to the area - some vessels (small arteries in particular) can exhibit enough vasospasm to temporarily stop bleeding, only to reopen later - so you need to monitor the wound. If the person has taken aspirin, or other antiplatelet /anticoagulant medications - be prepared to hold pressure for a long time (30-45 minutes is not uncommon). If you can't hold pressure that long, place a pressure dressing - the new military dressings are pretty darn good, and worth adding to a kit. Head wounds bleed a lot - expect it - there is an anatomical reason for it (blood vessels in the scalp are trapped within a tough layer of tissue, they cannot contract or spasm easily, and they therefore stay open much longer, causing more blood loss. There are roles for tourniquets, mainly in amputation, and uncontrollable bleeding.
Suturing in the field is generally not a good idea. There are exceptions, but the wilderness med guys will tell you clean, cover (some advocate a dilute betadine dressing), and transport. The only reason I could see to close a wound w/ sutures or staples, is if not doing so will hinder you getting to help - that's a pretty rare circumstance.
Pouring superglue into a wound is not smart. Does it work - sometimes. You can usually get away w/ using it on small, superficial wounds. Even the medical grade superglues have a fairly narrow range of uses. I know everyone here has probably used superglue on cuts (all of which would probably have healed without it) - I've done it to seal small paper cuts before going into the OR, but it's not the safe choice for wound care.
But back to suturing - it does several things - it can align tissues & restore function (arteries/veins/nerves/tendons,etc...) it speeds/promotes the healing process (basically by closing the distance that new tissue has to bridge & eliminating dead space where infection can get a foothold), and it gives a better scar.
In a field environment, I would advocate either approximating w/ steri-strips (after irrigating/debriding) or packing the wound open w/ moistened gauze. Trying to sew up a wound in grossly contaminated environment is an invitation to infection. I can guarantee you that you will have a contaminated wound. Cellulitis/necrotizing fasciitis/septicemia are real concerns when injuries occur in the field. If untreated, they can lead to loss of limb and/or life. Clean it (potable water is fine), leave it open (my rule is I approximate it w/ steris if it does not gape, otherwise pack it wet to dry), cover it, and seek higher care. If the wound remains clean (and is large enough to consider closer), you can close wounds after days of being open (delayed primary closure), otherwise most wounds will heal (albeit slowly) by secondary intention - new tissue will grow in to fill the gap. Don't irrigate w/ alcohol, bleach, iodine,peroxide, etc... - they all retard tissue healing. Irrigate w/ normal saline or potable water (studies have shown that it is pretty comparable to NS for irrigation purposes). Best done under some degree of pressure (a syringe w/ a fine tip works great for this - in the ED I use a 30cc syring & an 18 gauge IV catheter). Suturing hurts. Stapling hurts. Steris - don't hurt. Suturing/stapling tracks contaminants into the wound (and into surrounding tissues, if you do it correctly) unless you can meticulouslymaintain a sterile field. A contaminated wound that is closed has a much higher risk of infection than a wound left open. Local wound care is easier than trying to fight a systemic infection, esp. in the field.
In school, I used pig's feet for practice, but few things will really give you the feel for real tissue. It's not the same as sewing cloth. It takes some actual training & practice to understand what you are doing & why. You need to be able to identify the various layers, and bring them back together in the appropriate planes (this sometimes requires placing multiple layers of sutures). You have to close all the wound, not just the skin - if you leave space below the skin that is not approximated, fluid will collect, and you've just increased your infection risk dramatically. By leaving the wound open, you can inspect it daily, remove any questionable material, and if it does become infected, it will tend to drain, and not progress deeper. You can always remove sutures if the wound looks infected, and then reopen the wound, but I would suggest hedging on the safer side, and that's to leave it open.
I could teach you to suture in an hour - it would take much longer to teach you when not to suture. If you never had formal training in how/why to suture, I'd suggest not doing it. If you have had the training, you already know this.
Fractures - unless you are experienced in reducing them, I would suggest splinting in place & transporting. Follow the RICES mnemonic - rest, ice (cool stream would work), compress (ace wrap - helps stabilize area & reduce swelling), elevate (again, reduces swelling), and splint. Open fractures - same - cover the protruding bone w/ moistened gauze, pad the area around it, splint in place - do not try to reduce it. SAM splints are great, and can be used in a variety of applications.
Many of the topics covered are not really first aid. Suturing, reduction of fractures or dislocations - all falls more into more advanced care. I'd make sure you have the basics down pat before pursuing more aggressive management. As the gurus state - DO NO HARM, DO KNOW HARM - don't make it worse, but more importantly, you have to KNOW what will make it worse. Sometimes the best answer is not to try to do too much.
Just my 2 cents as a former Army medic/EMT-B & current surgical PA - I've closed a ton of wounds, but I've also left a ton open.
Sam
, natural disaster, whatever, and help is just not an option, then there are things to consider.
