What to know about Bleeding?
Before understanding how to offer first aid to wounds and stop bleeding, it is important that one understands what blood composes of and how it circulates in the body.
Blood is made up 54 % of plasma which is a yellowish fluid and is a carrier, it works with platelets to stop bleeding.
Another 45 % is made up of Red Blood Cell which contains haemoglobin that stores oxygen.
The last 1% consists of White Blood Cells and platelets. White Blood Cells are part of the immune system that fight against microbes whereas platelets are involved in the formation of blood clots.
Blood transports oxygenated blood from the heart to the whole body through Artery in contrast to Vein that transports deoxygenated blood from the body back to the heart.
Blood is reoxygenated in the lungs and pumped through Artery by the Heart to the whole body.
Blood is transported in body tissues through a capillary network in order to provide oxygen for respiration to occur that is the breaking down of glucose in the presence of oxygen to get energy.
A human body comprises of 5 to 6 Litres of Blood.
For a 13 kg child, his body consists of 1 Litre of Blood.
So, if an adult loses 1.2 Litres of blood, he will enter a state of shock. This means that his vitals organs such as the heart and brain will be deprived of oxygen and his heart will begin to pump faster.
If ever the person loses at least 2 Litres of blood, we will not be able to detect his radial pulse (the pulse in his hand) and he will enter a state of cyanosis. This means that due to lack of oxygen, the lips and finger tips will begin to get a blueish color.
It is to be noted that we check the pulse for an unconscious person at the level of the carotil (the neck).
Firstly, it is very important to stop the bleeding which will be explained below.
A Tourniquet is usually used in cases of amputation whereby the blood will continuously flow out of the body.
The tourniquet will totally stop the flow of blood.
ENSURE TO TAKE THE AMPUTATED PART AS WELL WHEN EMERGENCY HELP ARRIVES OR WHEN TAKING PERSON TO HOSPITAL AS THE DOCTORS MIGHT BE ABLE TO SEW IT TO THE BODY AGAIN!
JUST DO NOT WASH IT, AND PUT IT IN A CLEAN PLASTIC BAG.
Call Medical Emergency Services.
Loosen tight clothing.
Then, make the casualty lie down on a rug or blanket and raise there legs up above the level of their heart to improve blood supply to vital organs. You may have noticed this when people faint after a blood donation, same manoevre is applied.
Cover the person with a blanket to preserve his body temperature.
Then, monitor vital signs until emergency help arrives.
Talk with the casualty to know level of responsiveness.
If patient stops breathing initiate CPR immediately.
If ever the casualty is breathing but not responsive, put him in the recovery position.
First Aid For Bleeding
Usually bleeding is stopped by applying direct pressure to the wounds, if there is an embedded object, do not remove of apply pressure on the object but rather on the wounds itself.
NOSE BLEEDING
Normally, nose bleeding occurs due to a rupture of tiny blood vessels in the nose.
However a nose bleed can be serious if the casualty loses a lot of blood. A nose bleed can also be a result of head injury. If it is the case, the blood will appear thin and watery. This means that the skull is fractured and fluid is leaking from around the brain. In that case, RUSH TO THE NEARBY HOSPITAL CALL EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES.
Here are the steps to control nose bleeding:
Make the casualty sit down.
Tell the casualty to breath through the mouth.
Press the soft part of the nose whilst the casualty is slightly bent forward to prevent blood to get into the airway.
Tell casualty to no speak.
If bleeding does not stop after 10 minutes of pressing, press for another 10 minutes, if bleeding persists, after 20 minutes, press for another 10 minutes. If bleeding exceeds 30 minutes and is not stopping, RUSH TO THE HOSPITAL.
IF EVER YOU HAVE ANY KINDS OF DOUBT EVEN IF BLEEDING STOPPED RUSH TO THE HOSPITAL.
MOUTH BLEEDING
Mouth bleeding may occur if the person's adult tooth has been knocked out following an incident or due to cuts in the tongue, lip or lining of the mouth.
NOTE WHENEVER AN ADULT TOOTH IS KNOCKED OUT, NEVER THROW IT AWAY AS DENTISTS CAN PLUG IS BACK IN ITS PLACE.
In the case of the knocked-out tooth, rinse the latter 10 seconds under running tap water, plug it back in its socket and cover it with a piece of gauze.
Else if not able to put teeth back in its place, put in a plastic bag and bring it along with the casualty to a dentist.
On the other hand, if bleeding occurs due to the other reasons, ask casualty to sit down with their head tilted forward and in the direction of the injured side.
Place a piece of gauze on the wound. Tell casualty to press on the gauze for 10 minutes to stop the bleeding.
If bleeding persists, replace the gauze and DO NOT WASH MOUTH AT ANY COST AS IT MAY DISTURB THE CLOT.
Advise casualty to not drink anything hot for the next 12 hours.
