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We are now going to discuss the different types of bleeds. First, we discuss your beating heart and what is actually happening inside. There are two sides of the heart. The right side pumps blood into the lungs where it is oxygenated, then it goes back into the heart, on the left-hand side where it is pumped out through the arteries. This oxygen-rich blood is under pressure and is pumped in pulses out of the heart. As the blood is oxygen-rich, it is bright red in colour. From the arteries, it travels to your body's organs and capillaries, and then it heads back through your venous system to the heart. The blood in the venous system is not under pressure, is not pulsing, and is heading back to the heart to be re-oxygenated. This blood is dark red in colour, as the oxygen has been used. With first aid, a cut that is pulsing, and the blood is bright red, this is likely to be an artery cut. Depending on how or what artery's cut will depend on whether you see a slight pulsing as it comes out, or an obvious blood spat. A cut that has dark red blood that is not pulsing, but flowing is a cut to a vein. A cut that is oozing and is easily stopped, is a cut to the capillary. Artery cuts are very serious because blood is coming out to pressure. They're going to lose a lot of blood, which is  hard to stop, and they go into shock very quickly. Venous bleeds are, again, a serious bleed as the patient loses a lot of blood quickly, and as there are a lot of blood being lost, it is hard to stop. Capillary bleeds are less serious as they are easy to stop, but they can also be serious depending on where they are and how large they are. The final type of bleeding that is worth mentioning is internal bleeding, and we will cover this in the section under shock. Internal bleeding is where you have a bleed inside your body, as it is internal, there is not a lot you can do to treat the bleed, but we would treat them for shock by laying them down and elevating their legs.
Managing Different Types of Bleeding
1. Capillary Bleeding
Capillary bleeding occurs in superficial abrasion wounds and usually stops in a few minutes. If needed, bandage the wound, avoiding adhesive contact with the abrasion.
2. Venous Bleeding
Venous bleeding, while not as severe as arterial bleeding, involves steady oozing of dark red blood. Follow these steps:
- Apply direct pressure with a bandage or gloved hand.
- Do not lift the bandage to check for clotting; lift your hand to inspect for blood seepage.
- If necessary, have the patient hold the dressing in place.
- Use roller gauze to secure the bandage, starting at the distal end (away from the heart).
- If bleeding persists, activate EMS.
3. Arterial Bleeding
Arterial bleeding is characterized by bright red blood that may pulsate or spurt. Follow these steps:
- Apply direct pressure with a dressing.
- If blood seeps through, remove and dispose of the old dressing, and add a new dressing over the injury.
- If significant bleeding continues, consider removing all dressings and reapplying.
- Use your judgment to determine if additional pressure is needed.
- If there are no bone fractures or spinal cord injuries, elevate the wound above the heart.
- Secure the dressing with roller gauze, starting at the distal end and working towards the heart.
- You can twist the gauze for added pressure.
- Check for any blood seepage and ensure the bandage is not causing a tourniquet effect.
- Elevate the wound, and either call EMS or transport the patient to the nearest hospital.