First Responders

First Responders First Aid Tips for Bleeding

By Sandra Reutlinger you place over top of a wound to cover "What a bloody mess." No, that's not and protect it is called a 'dressing' and just Uncle Rodney speaking with his Brit- hopefully what you are using will help to ish Accent about the state of your mud absorb the blood. Some people at this room. He's talking about the blood gush- point are really tempted to keep lifting the ing out of your hand and making a mess dressing up to just gaze at their open all over the kitchen counters and floor. wound and marvel at the flow of blood Here you thought you'd just wash the dish- spurting out. Resist the urge. If you can es really quick and that drinking glass keep steady pressure directly on the wound broke right in your hand. The gash may or your body's clotting response will usually may not be deep - hard to tell with all the stop minor bleeding within 10 minutes. blood. Those 10 minutes may seem like a long

Start by grabbing something clean. time but somehow that time can fly by Yes, clean. Not your 3-day old dish towel. when you're playing Candy Crush or Infection is not something you want to end online poker or whatever your particular up getting and so grab a clean towel or the game may be. If the blood soaks through like and then put it on top of the wound the dressing, just apply some additional and apply pressure. Any kind of material cloth or dressings right on top rather than

pulling off the first layer of dressing. If the wound is serious and the blood was spurting from the wound (not flowing out at a steady rate but actually spurting) and direct pressure is not stopping the bleeding, then you will need to seek medical attention. Make sure you sit down and if the wound is on an arm or leg and you can, position it above the level of the heart.

When do you require stitches? If the wound might now otherwise heal cleanly with a butterfly bandage (those cool small band aids that pull the skin together like stitches would) then consider stitches as they help prevent infection and reduce the appearance of scars. Also go in for stitches if the wound has very jagged edges or is very wide, more than 2.5 cm long, is on your face or head, if it's quite deep (like the muscle or bone are showing) and for sure if it is hemorrhaging (bleeding lots and won't stop) and also go get checked out if the wound is from a bite (human or animal). If your wound is minor and you know you have cleaned it well to prevent infection, then you are good to go and hopefully you have a good story to tell about it. If the wound is hard to clean, infection is not nice to deal with later and so it's best to have it cleaned well by a medical professional. Puncture wounds, even if they seem minor, need to be thoroughly cleaned.

What about impaled objects or when something is actually still in your wound? If it is something small like a sliver or a fish hook, you can usually remove them carefully and then clean the wound really well. If it is larger, like a stick that's still stuck in your leg, a shard of glass or piece of metal, then you should leave them right where they are. (Continued on page 21)