Serious Bleeding Treatment

With all types of bleeding, as with other first aid care, we must make sure that we have our gloves on.

The first part of controlling serious bleeding is the use of direct pressure. This can be by the patient applying pressure over the wound or using your gloved hand. This stops some of the blood from leaving the body and also assists the clotting process where the body produces fibrous threads to block the hole.

The next thing we do is elevate the wound if possible, as this raises the cut above the heart and therefore reduces the pressure of blood at the injury site. If the injury is on an arm, this can be done by raising the arm above the head. If it is on the leg, the patient should lie down with the leg raised as long as this doesn't aggravate any other injuries. Serious bleeding on other parts of the body is controlled by direct pressure alone.

With cuts we can also apply a pressure bandage. Another way of stopping serious bleeding is the use of pressure points. These are where an artery passes over a bone, and by applying pressure at these points, you can reduce blood flow to the injury site without risking any other complications.

Tourniquets completely stop all blood flow through and back, and these can cause a lot of problems so they are virtually never used in first aid training. In the case of accidental amputation, it is still important to treat this as serious bleeding as discussed, but you will also need to place the amputated part in a plastic bag and then pack it in ice and ensure that it goes to the hospital with the patient.

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