Post a Comment On: A Nod to Nothing

This might be the most helpful post I've read in a very long time, even though #5 never seems to work for me.  If I relied on that, I might bleed all day.  This all reminds me I need a mirror in my office so I don't walk out with blood all over my face looking like Sweeney Todd the Manager.  From The Derm Blog:


Here a 5 tips to stop a nick from bleeding:
1. Grab an ice cube. The cold causes the tiny blood vessels to constrict, slowing the blood and allowing a clot to form.

2. Use your Chapstick or apply a dab of Vaseline jelly: the waxy ointment help seals the tiny nick and provides a surface for a blood clot to form.

3. Soak a Q-tip in witch hazel and apply gently to the cut. Witch hazel is an astringent, which like the ice cube, constricts blood vessels, slowing the bleeding enough for a clot to form. Warning: this will sting a little.

4. Use your deodorant. This is my favorite tip. Most deodorants have aluminum chloride or a derivative of aluminum chloride like aluminium chlorohydrate. It acts as a hemostatic agent, allowing a blood clot to form quickly — in fact, aluminum chloride is what I use in clinic countless times each day to stop bleeding from skin biopsies. Apply a little bit to your fingertip or spray onto a Q-tip to apply. A styptic stick, if you happen to have one, works the same way.

5. Just hold pressure. As we say in medicine: “All bleeding stops eventually.”