Emergency deep open wound : washing and stopping blood

chopper20ss - February 22, 2021

Skills

was wondering if pouring liquid styptic on a deep open wound is a good thing to do before applying pressure to stop the bleeding? Then using saline or clean water to wash?

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Styptic mixtures can damage the surrounding tissue so I would advise against this course of action. Following this action by then washing out the solution you have poured into a wound would also dislodge blood clots that are already forming, slowing the clotting process overall. As someone with a genetic blood clotting disorder my parents tried basically every styptic powder, mixture and imbued blood stop bandage on me as a child, and most are honestly fairly worthless and expensive. If you want to use something for a severe injury, Celox (with an applicator) or a tourniquet is probably a good way to go. I would also like to note that depending on the type of wound – pouring something into it could trap debris that you may want the blood flow to flush out before applying pressure. The Prepared has a good article under the blog tab on stopping bleeds and packing wounds – it is worth checking out – the authors also do not suggest using styptic mixtures. 

 

Great info! Thanks

 

https://theprepared.com/survival-skills/guides/stop-bleeding/

 

Thumbs up!

 

No, it is not a good thing.  Apply direct pressure ASAP to stop the bleeding.

 

That seems to be the best advice.

 

To add to Camille’s post, according to our in-house medic (Former paramedic and Navy Corpsman – medic – with Marine Recon in Iraq, now teaching wilderness medicine) the correct steps to treat a bleeding wound are:

1. Control bleeding
2. Clean the wound
3. If needed, close the wound with sutures, staples, glue, etc.
4. Protect the wound with dressings and bandages

To clean the wound it is recommended to abundantly flush using only clean water.

More here: https://theprepared.com/survival-skills/guides/clean-wound/