Bleeding is simply the flow or loss of blood. Sometimes, when we bleed, we get so tensed and agitated without knowing what to do inorder to stop the bleeding.
At end, there may be a situation whereby the person will be taken to the hospital for blood transfusion, because he or she was not able to stop it at the early stage. Then some, out of carelessness or ignorance has caused more harm than good to themselves.
Bleeding is a condition that needs urgent attention, because heavy loss of blood in one’s blood tissue can lead to death.
These are various precautionary acts to take inorder to stop bleeding:
- Wash your hand thoroughly with soap and dry with clean towel before touching or dressing the wound or the affected area.
- Press on the wound with a clean cloth, hand towel, tissue or cotton fabric used for surgical dressing until the bleeding stops.
- If the flow of blood continues and the blood soaks the cloth, towel, tissue or whatever Clean material you are using to press and hold the surface of the affected area, do not remove it. Rather put more cloth or material on top of it to soak it and continue pressing on it. Do not remove it, till the bleeding stops.
- If the wound is on the arm, raise the limb of the arm above the heart, but if it’s on the leg, raise the leg or rest it on top of a bench, chair or table, it helps to stop bleeding. Wash your hands again after cleaning and dressing or after giving first aid treatment.
CUT BY KNIFE OR SHARP OBJECT
If the bleeding was caused by a knife or sharp objects like razor, tip of the zinc, broken bottle,etc, cutting through your body, this is what you have to do:
- First, wash your hands thoroughly with toilet soap and dry with clean hand towel.
- Gently clean the surface of the cut with soap and rinse the soap thoroughly from the cut with clean water. Make sure that there is no atom of soap or soapy substance in the cut to prevent contraction or irritation.
- Make sure you do not use any acidic or strong aqueous chemical like hydrogen peroxide or iodine, when cleaning the cut, because it can damage or destroy the tissue.
- Then after cleaning it, pour one capsule of an antibiotic in the cut and then leave it to dry. This action is as a result to reduce or prevent the affected area(the cut) from being infected.
PROTECTING THE WOUND
These are what one should do inorder to protect or prevent the wound or affected area from infection.
- Gently or slowly rub an antibiotic cream on the surface of the wound inorder to reduce the risk of infection.
- Cover the wound with a bandage after cleaning and dressing it every day.
- Remove and change the old bandage every day to keep the wound clean and dry.
WHEN DO ONE NEED A DOCTOR DURING BLEEDING
You need to consult or call a doctor during bleeding in the following conditions:
- If the wound is caused by an animal bite like dog, snake, etc.
- If the wound is caused by a human bite like the sharp bite of a person’s teeth during a fight.
- If the wound is on your face or close to your eyes. Meet a doctor, because the face is a delicate area of the body.
- If the wound is too open or deep, it’s best to call a doctor to handle or treat it, to avoid complications.
- If there is need for tetanus injection or if you have not taken tetanus injection for close to or more than five years.