Bleeding

Minor cuts, scratches and grazes

1. Stop Bleeding    

• Apply direct pressure on the cut or wound with a clean cloth or tissue until bleeding stops.
• If blood soaks through the material, don’t remove it. Put more cloth on top of it and continue to apply pressure.
• If the wound is on the arm or leg, raise limb above the heart to help slow bleeding.

2. Clean Cut or Wound

• Gently clean with warm water. 
• Don’t use hydrogen peroxide or iodine, which can damage tissue.

3. Protect the Wound

• Apply antibiotic cream to reduce risk of infection and cover with a sterile bandage.
• Change the bandage daily to keep the wound clean and dry.

Severe Bleeding

1. Sanitize your hands if you can. If you have them, put on surgical gloves. This will help to prevent infection to the injured person.

2. Lay the injured person down flat and elevate the legs or place a pillow under the body so that the trunk is just slightly higher than the head. If the wound is in a limb, elevate the limb.

3. Remove any debris or dirt from the bleeding area without removing any large chunks that may have caused the damage.

4. Wrap the wound with a bandage if you have one. If not, use a clean cloth or whatever else you have. Bind it with adhesive tape. Continue to use your hands or whatever else you may have available.

5. Add cloths or any other absorbent material you might have if the bleeding does not stop and is coming through the bandage.

6. Place an ice pack on the wounded area. This will help to constrict blood vessels, which will help stop bleeding.

7. Locate the artery nearest to the wound and apply pressure to it, keeping your fingers flat and against the bone if the bleeding does not stop.

8. Get the injured person to the emergency room as quickly as you can when the bleeding has stopped or continue to wait for help to arrive.

WARNING

Wear gloves, if possible, to prevent infection.

If patient becomes unconscious, follow DRCAB

If embedded object in wound, apply pressure either side of wound and place pad around the object before bandaging.

As a last resort and only when other methods of controlling bleeding have failed, a tourniquet may be applied to a limb to control life-threatening bleeding.