slow bleed- how long before I go to ED or wait till Gp opens tomorrow?
My daughter scrapped her foot in the swimming pool today at 230pm, at 630pm I showered her and her foot is still bleeding. It is only a very small bleed (the scrap is about 5mm round) but it has been continusly bleeding for hours.
I have re-dressed it and put a pressure bandage on to try to stop the bleeding (which I need to check again before I go to bed) but how long would you leave it before seeking medical help?
A friend I was talking to said wait till tomorrow morning which given how small the scrap is I don't want to go rushing off to ED but I don't want her to continue bleeding all night. She has had a lot of other medical issues lately so I am wondering if that is causing the lack of clotting.
Some things to try (if you haven't already), elevate the foot. Keep her OFF it. NO PRESSURE - applying weight to the foot will re-split it. Don't take the dressing off, if it seeps through, just add more another bandage - every time you remove the bandage, you are dislodging the clot and reactivating the bleed.
Not knowing her recent medical conditions, I'd loath to advise you what to do right now. But follow your gut instinct. Many medical centres have the facilities to pop in a single stitch or will be able to look at it and advise if you should go to ED. If you DO go along to a medical centre or ED, make sure you take anything that she has bled through so that they can see the extent of what has been happening.
Thanks guys,
When I checked on her again the bleeding had slowed, I called Nurse on call and after giving a full history of the last few months of health issues. We decided since the bleeding has slowed considerably (after I wrapped her foot and ankle in a pressure banadage and put her in bed) to monitor her over night but leave it till this morning by which time it had finally stopped with limited bleeding from 830pm till 730am. The school nurse had a look at it this morning and was happy with it. I will be mentioning it to the doctor when I can get hold of him to add to the list of issues. She has never been like that before, if she hurts herself like that she usually stops fairly quickly.
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