Bleeding
Nearly all bleeding stops with firm, direct, uninterrupted pressure. Press clean gauze or cloth onto the wound and hold it for a full ten minutes by the clock without lifting it to look, because peeking tears the clot loose. If blood soaks through, add another layer on top rather than removing the first. Call 911 for blood that spurts, blood that will not slow under pressure, or any deep wound to the chest, belly or neck.
Cleaning and closing a cut
Once the bleeding stops, hold the cut under cool running tap water for several minutes, and wash the skin around it with soap. Skip the hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol, which damage healthy tissue and slow healing. Apply a thin layer of fragrance-free antibiotic ointment or plain petroleum jelly and cover it, since a wound kept moist and covered heals faster and scars less than one left to dry out. Change the dressing daily. A cut needs stitches if it gapes open, shows fat or deeper tissue, crosses a joint, sits on the face, or still bleeds after ten minutes of pressure. Go within a few hours, because wounds are harder to close safely after that.
Burns, sprains and nosebleeds
- Cool a burn under cool running water for at least ten minutes, then cover it loosely with a sterile nonstick dressing. Never use ice, butter or toothpaste, and leave blisters unbroken.
- Rest a sprain, ice it through a cloth for twenty minutes at a time, wrap it snugly with an elastic bandage, and prop it above the level of your heart.
- Stop a nosebleed by sitting up, leaning slightly forward, and pinching the soft part of the nose shut for ten minutes without letting go. Do not tip your head back.
When it is past first aid
See a professional the same day for a burn larger than your palm, a burn on the face, hands, feet or genitals, any animal or human bite, a sprain you cannot put weight on, or a nosebleed that outlasts twenty minutes of pinching. Deep or dirty wounds call for a tetanus booster if your last one was more than five years ago. In the days afterward, watch for infection: spreading redness, warmth, swelling, pus, fever, or red streaks running from the wound toward the body. Any of those means a visit now, not next week.
Note A blow to the head followed by confusion, repeated vomiting, a worsening headache or unusual drowsiness is an emergency, even if the person seemed fine at first.
