Bleeding, also called hemorrhage, is the name used to describe blood loss. It can refer to blood loss inside the body, called internal bleeding, or blood loss outside the body, called external bleeding.
Blood loss can occur in almost any area of the body. Internal bleeding occurs when blood leaks through a damaged blood vessel or organ. External bleeding occurs when blood exits through an incision in the skin.
Blood loss from bleeding tissues can also be evident when blood exits through a normal opening in the body, such as:
- Mouth
- the vagina
- rectum
- the nose
What is Bleeding?
Bleeding can occur internally or externally, either through a natural opening such as the mouth, nose, ear, urethra, vagina, or anus, or through a wound in the skin. Hypovolemia is a significant reduction in blood volume, and death by excessive blood loss is referred to as attrition.
Normally, a healthy person can tolerate a loss of 10-15% of their total blood volume without serious medical difficulties (by comparison, donating blood usually takes 8-10% of a donor's blood volume).
Stopping or controlling bleeding is called hemostasis and is an important part of first aid and surgery. The use of cyanoacrylate glue is designed to prevent bleeding and seal battle wounds and was first used in the Vietnam War. Today, many medical treatments use a medical version of "super glue" instead of the traditional stitches used for small cuts that have to be closed at the skin level.
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What are the common causes of bleeding?
Bleeding is a common symptom. A variety of accidents or conditions can cause bleeding. Possible causes include:
traumatic bleeding
The injury can cause traumatic bleeding. Traumatic injuries vary in severity.
Common types of traumatic injuries include:
- Abrasions (scratches) that do not penetrate much under the skin
- Hematoma or bruising
- lacerations (wounds)
- Puncture wounds from objects such as needles, nails, or knives
- crush injuries
- hit his gun
medical cases
There are also some medical conditions that can cause bleeding. Bleeding due to a medical condition is less common than traumatic bleeding.
Conditions that can cause bleeding include:
- hemophilia
- blood cancer
- Liver disease
- Menorrhagia, heavy or prolonged menstrual bleeding, such as sometimes seen in endometriosis
- Thrombocytopenia, low platelet count
- von Willebrand disease
- Vitamin K deficiency
- brain trauma
- Colonic diverticulum
- Lung Cancer
- acute bronchitis
pharmaceutical
Certain medications and some treatments can increase your chances of bleeding or even cause bleeding. Your doctor will warn you about this when he first prescribes treatment. They will tell you what to do in case of bleeding.
Medications that may be responsible for bleeding include:
- blood thinners
- Antibiotics, when used long term
- radiotherapy
- Aspirin and other NSAIDs
When is bleeding a sign of an emergency?
If the bleeding is severe, seek help immediately. You should seek emergency help if you suspect internal bleeding. This can become life threatening.
People with bleeding disorders or taking blood thinners should seek emergency help to stop the bleeding.
Seek medical help if:
- The person is shocked or has a fever
- The bleeding cannot be controlled by pressure
- The wound requires a tourniquet
- The bleeding was from a serious injury
- The wound may need stitches to stop the bleeding
- Foreign objects stuck in the wound
- The wound looks inflamed, such as swelling or leaking whitish-yellow or brown pus, or redness
- The injury occurred as a result of an animal or human bite
When you call for help, emergency services will tell you what to do and when they will arrive.
In most cases, emergency services will tell you to keep applying pressure on the wound and continue to reassure the person who is bleeding. You may also be asked to lie on the person to reduce the risk of fainting.
How is bleeding treated?
A person can bleed to death in 5 minutes. Bystanders may be able to save their lives before the emergency crew arrives.
There is a nationwide campaign called "Stop the Bleeding" to teach anyone how to stop the bleeding. People died in mass casualty events from blood loss even when their wounds weren't fatal.
First aid for traumatic bleeding
External traumatic bleeding can be treated. Seek emergency help if the person has any of the above emergency signs and if you need help to stop the bleeding.
A person who is bleeding should try to remain calm to keep their heart rate and blood pressure under control. A high heart rate or high blood pressure will cause the bleeding to increase.
Lie down on the casualty as soon as possible to reduce the risk of fainting, and try to elevate the bleeding area.
Remove loose debris and foreign particles from the wound. Leave large items such as knives, arrows, or weapons in place. Removing these things can cause more damage and is likely to lead to increased bleeding. In this case, use bandages and bandages to keep the body in place and to absorb the bleeding.
Use the following to apply pressure to the wound:
- clean cloth
- bandages
- Clothes
- your hands (after putting on protective gloves)
Maintain moderate pressure until the bleeding slows and stops.
don't:
- Remove the cloth when the bleeding stops. Use duct tape or a piece of clothing to wrap the bandage around and hold it in place. Then put cold compresses on the wound.
- Look at the wound to see if the bleeding has stopped. This can irritate the wound and cause it to start bleeding again.
- Remove the cloth from the wound, even if blood seeps through the bandage. Add more material on top and keep pressing.
- Transferring an injured person to the head, neck, back or leg
- pressure on the eye injury
Use tourniquets only as a last resort. An experienced person should apply a tourniquet. To apply a tourniquet, follow these steps:
- Determine where to place the tourniquet. Put it on the tip between the heart and the bleeding point.
- Make a tourniquet using bandages, if possible. Wrap it around the tip and tie a half knot. Make sure there is enough room to tie another knot with the loose ends.
- Place a stick or rod between the knot.
- Roll the stick to tighten the bandage.
- Hold the tourniquet in place with duct tape or a piece of cloth.
- Check the tourniquet at least every 10 minutes. If the bleeding has slowed enough to control the pressure, release the tourniquet and use direct pressure instead.
What are the signs of a medical emergency?
You will need emergency medical care if:
- Bleeding from a serious injury
- Bleeding cannot be controlled
- internal bleeding
Paramedics will try to control the bleeding before taking you to the hospital. In some cases, care may be provided at home or while using a stretcher. The treatment required depends on the cause of the bleeding.
In rare cases, surgery may be needed to stop the bleeding.
What are the consequences of not treating bleeding?
Anyone with unexplained or uncontrolled bleeding should be seen by a medical professional.
traumatic bleeding
If an injury or accident causes bleeding, it may be stopped with local first aid. If it's just a minor wound, it may heal without further care.
More significant wounds may require sutures, medicated dressings, or corrective surgery.
medical bleeding
If a medical condition is causing the bleeding, and the condition has not been identified or diagnosed, the bleeding is more likely to recur.
Any bleeding that continues without medical treatment can be fatal. For example, if someone has severe bleeding in a short period of time and loses 30 percent or more of their blood volume source, they may bleed to death very quickly and will require intravenous fluids and a transfusion of stacked red blood cells for resuscitation.
Even medical conditions that cause slow blood loss over time can accumulate and cause significant organ injury, possibly even death.
Exhaustion, which is severe bleeding or bleeding to death, can occur without any visible external bleeding. Catastrophic internal bleeding can cause significant blood loss, as can a ruptured aneurysm.