TRAUMA – BLEEDING AND WOUND MANAGEMENT
EXTERNAL BLEEDS
Recognition
- History of trauma to the body with sharp or blunt and irregular object
- Injuries can range from small to life threatening.
- Bleeding from an artery can be recognised by spurting bright red blood
- Bleeding from a vein can be recognised by flowing dark red blood
- Bleeding from capillaries may be recognised by oozing red blood
Management
- Apply direct pressure to the wound with a thick dressing or improvised dressing
- Resting the body part affected.
- The casualty should be placed into a comfortable resting position (preferably lying down) and reassured.
- Minor bleeds are simply cleaned well and covered with a sterile dressing
- major bleeds should be controlled immediately without any concern for cleaning.