How do I treat a cut that will not stop bleeding?

Pressure works, and it works better than people expect. The most common reason bleeding continues at home is that the pressure was repeatedly interrupted to look at the wound, which disrupts the clot each time.

Safety

What you'll need

• Clean cloth or dressing
• Disposable gloves (optional)
• Plasters or sterile dressings (optional)

Step by step

1. Wash your hands or use gloves if you can.Not at the expense of delay if the bleeding is significant, but infection matters and it takes seconds.
2. Apply firm direct pressure with a clean cloth.Firm and continuous. This alone stops the great majority of bleeding from household cuts.
3. Hold it for at least ten minutes without lifting to check.This is the critical part. Each time you lift the dressing you disturb the forming clot and restart the process.
4. Raise the injured part above the level of the heart if you can.It reduces blood flow to the area and helps the pressure work. Sit or lie down if it is a leg.
5. Add a second dressing on top if it soaks through.Do not remove the first one. Removing it pulls away whatever clot has formed.
6. Do not remove anything embedded in the wound.It may be limiting the bleeding, and removing it can make things considerably worse. Press around it and get help.
7. Clean and dress it once the bleeding has stopped.Rinse under clean running water, pat the surrounding skin dry, and cover with a plaster or sterile dressing.
8. Get help if it will not stop, gapes, or is deep or dirty.Bleeding that continues after ten minutes of firm pressure, wounds that gape open, deep punctures, bites and anything with debris in it all need assessment.

Tips

• Wounds that gape open often need closing within a few hours to heal well. That is a reason to seek help promptly rather than waiting to see.
• Check tetanus status for anything dirty, deep or caused by an animal or rusty metal.
• Watch for infection over the following days — increasing pain, spreading redness, swelling, pus or fever all mean get it seen.

Common mistakes

• Lifting the dressing to check every minute — It disturbs the clot each time and restarts the bleeding. Ten minutes of uninterrupted pressure is what stops it.
• Removing an object embedded in a wound — It may be limiting the bleeding, and removing it can cause much heavier blood loss. Press around it and get help.
• Using a tourniquet for ordinary bleeding — Tourniquets are for catastrophic limb bleeding and carry real risks. Direct pressure handles almost everything else.

Questions people ask