Rest, Ice and Compression. These words are key when someone with a bleeding disorder develops a bleeding episode.
What do they mean? What they mean is that the person needs to rest the area where the bleed occurred. For example, if the bleed occurred in an ankle, the person needs to rest and take weight off the ankle where the bleed occurred.
The next important step is to place ice on the site of bleeding. Why ice? Ice produces a contraction of the blood vessels which feed the bleeding site in a function known as “Vaso Constriction.” This, therefore, reduces the amount of blood that reaches the site of bleeding.
Finally, compression. This can take the form of simply wrapping your hands around the site of bleeding to as complicated as an ACE bandage or another form of compression bandage around the bleeding site.
If we follow these classic but important guidelines, we will help to make any and all bleeds a much more controllable event.
