Doctors Explain Exactly What to Do When a Cut Won’t Stop Bleeding

We’ve all been there—maybe you sliced the tip of your finger instead of the bagel, nicked yourself shaving, or got swiped at by a feisty cat. Even the smallest of cuts can bleed excessively, and you should never ignore a bleeding cut, no matter its size.

How to Stop a Minor Cut from Bleeding

❗️The following tips apply to relatively mild injuries. If blood spurts out of your cut, you have an abdominal or chest wound, or bleeding is so severe that it pools on the ground or soaks through your clothes, then call 9-1-1.

First, wash your hands

If the cut is small, first head to the nearest sink and wash your hands to prevent spreading infection to the open wound, according to the doctors. However, if your wound is very large, you’ll want to start applying pressure immediately.

Then, apply pressure

This is the most important step when you have a cut that won’t stop bleeding. “Apply constant pressure for several minutes to allow natural clotting to occur,” explains Joshua Zeichner, MD, director of cosmetic and clinical research in dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.

Use a clean cloth or bandage and gently press on the wound. “Unless someone has a bleeding disorder, applying pressure for 10 to 15 minutes, at most, should be effective. If that doesn’t work, they should be seen by a provider,” says David Brill, DO, a family medicine physician at Cleveland Clinic.

Think twice before you try any home remedies

You may have heard about alternative remedies for helping a wound stop bleeding—usually, these involve placing ingredients like paprika, bentonite clay, or coffee grounds on the cut to help the blood clot. “Paprika has high concentrations of iron, which likely explains its use as a natural treatment to stop bleeding,” says Dr. Zeichner. Bentonite clay and coffee grounds also contain properties that may constrict blood vessels and skin tissues to promote clotting. That being said, it’s impossible to know whether these methods are truly sterile. If you do use one of these ingredients, it’s crucial that you still clean and disinfect the wound afterward.

What to do when the bleeding stops

After the bleeding has stopped, you’ll want to take a closer look at the wound, analyze the damage—is there any dirt lodged inside?—and then clean it. “It is important that the area is thoroughly cleaned,” says Dr. Zeichner.

Clean your cut thoroughly with soap and water—and tweezers, if necessary

Run the wound under some water and gently wash the area around it with gentle soap—but try not to get soap directly in the wound, according to the Mayo Clinic. Make sure you’ve removed any dirt and debris that might’ve gotten into the wound, using tweezers if you have to. If there’s anything you can’t remove yourself, you’ll want to see a doctor for assistance.

Apply antibiotic ointment

When the wound is clean and no longer bleeding, it’s time to start the healing. “It’s important that you are applying antibiotic ointment to the wound after it stops bleeding to prevent an infection,” says Dr. Zeichner. This helps keeps the cut moist and protected.

Dress the wound

Smaller cuts and scrapes can stay uncovered after you've applied ointment, but if your wound is larger or you feel like you need extra protection, you'll want to place a bandage or gauze held with tape over the cut. Be sure to change the dressing at least once a day until the cut is completely closed up and healed.

Get a tetanus shot

If the wound is deep or dirty, consider getting a tetanus shot if you haven't had one in the past five years, according to the Mayo Clinic. This will help prevent infection and serious illness. The doctor recommends getting a Td booster shot every 10 years so you're covered in situations like this.

Finally, keep an eye on your cut as it heals

If you follow all these steps, chances are your wound will heal up normally over the next week or two. However, you should stay alert for any signs of infection, like redness, warmth, tenderness, drainage, or swelling around the cut. If you think the cut could be infected, see your health provider ASAP.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.   

https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations  
https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes    
https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement

 

Beat Stress by Practicing This Relaxation Technique

We are living in an extremely stressful time. The coronavirus pandemic continues triggering fear, stress, frustration, and anxiety in people everywhere. It has taken an emotional toll on all of us. People with preexisting anxiety disorders are finding it harder and harder to cope with the ongoing mental stress and uncertainly caused by the pandemic. Learning how to manage our stress is now more important than ever.

Many effective and well-known relaxation exercises can help you cope with stress – from meditation and yoga to progressive muscle relaxation. One of the most comprehensive self-help approaches aimed at reducing anxiety is called autogenic training. 

 

Autogenic training is a wonderful relaxation technique that helps focus your mind on positive feelings and allows your body to relax and de-stress. It was first introduced by German psychiatrist Johannes Heinrich Schultz in 1932.

Schultz noticed that people experiencing hypnosis tend to enter a relaxed state where they feel calm and at ease. The psychiatrist then tried to recreate a similar state in people to help lessen their anxieties and stress.

How Does Autogenic Training Work? 

Autogenic training works by repeating a series of statements about calmness and warmth in different parts of the body. It can be used for managing the symptoms of anxiety and promotes a positive effect on the nervous system. A 2008 study found that relaxation exercises like autogenic training can be effective in treating symptoms of anxiety. 

 

Health experts say that practicing autogenic training regularly can also help manage daily stress and even panic attacks. In fact, mental health professionals are using this terrific relaxation exercise in counseling sessions to help people combat their feelings of extreme anxiety.

How to Practice Autogenic Training

Practicing autogenic training is quite easy. Before you begin, though, make a few preparations. Firstly, find a quiet place where you are alone. Lie on a chair or sofa. Even the floor will work. If you have a garden, you can lie down there, too. Make yourself comfortable and rest your hands on the chair or at your sides. Make sure that you remove glasses, contacts, or any tight clothing before you start the training session. 

 

Now, follow these step-by-step instructions: 

 

* Start by taking a few slow, even breaths. Once you have arrived at a steady pattern of breathing, quietly tell yourself, "I am completely calm." Don’t think about anything else. Just keep repeating this sentence to yourself a few times quietly, and you should start feeling a little more relaxed. 

 

* Now, focus your attention on different parts of your body. For example, you can start with your arm and say, “My arm is very warm. I am completely calm,” to yourself. Repeat this six or seven times. Make sure that your breathing is slow and controlled. Do the same thing with your other arm and the legs. 

 

* Next, shift your attention to your heartbeat. Keeping your breathing slow and steady, and tell yourself, "My breathing is calm and regular." And then say, “I am completely calm.” Now, continue the same process with the other parts of your body like the abdomen, the chest, and even the forehead ("My forehead is pleasantly cool”). Whenever you focus on each part, make sure that you stress the words “relaxed,” “cool,” or “warm” in your sentences. Always end with the lines "I am completely calm,” whenever you are focusing on each part of the body. 

 

* Let the feelings of warmth, calmness, heaviness, and relaxation sweep over you. Close your eyes and savor those feelings. Once you feel you are ready to get up, tell yourself quietly, “Eyes open. Breathe deeply.”

In addition to these steps, you can also try listening to a voice recording with directions, preferably in headphones. This will allow you to simply focus on the technique without having to repeat the sentences yourself.

Try practicing autogenic training for a few weeks, and you should start noticing a difference in your mental state. If you feel no reduction in your feelings of anxiety, stress, frustration, or sadness, despite practicing autogenic training for weeks, it’s probably time to try something else or see a mental health professional that can assess your situation better.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations  
https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes    
https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement

10-Second Trick To Feel Instantly Calmer

Anxious thoughts are surely the least pleasant kinds of thoughts-and as soon as they pop up, your main goal is to get them gone (which, honestly, only seems to make them multiply). 

You can't necessarily stop yourself from ever having them...but you can learn how to manage them and prevent them from getting worse-that's where meditation comes into play.

Meditation can actually teach you how to recognize anxiety-inducing thoughts, observe them, and then let them go. Basically, you're learning to recognize and respond to your feelings rather than instantly reacting to them, says a meditation and mindfulness expert.
Still, it can be hard to know where to start-and, uh, what to do when you're actually feeling anxious. Try one of these seven quick meditation tips for anxiety to help bring yourself back to reality ASAP.

1. Focus on the rising and falling of your breath.

With your hand on your stomach, focus on your breath as you inhale and exhale. Count your breaths-"one" on the rise, "two" on the fall-as you pay attention to the movement of your body, to bring you back to the present moment, suggests the expert. Do this for 10 seconds, he says, repeating if necessary.

2. Pay attention to how your feet feel on the floor.

Or how your hands feel on your keyboard; or how your back feels against the chair-anything that grounds you to where you are and what you're doing at that very moment.
Allow thoughts to come and go as you normally would (because they will-meditation isn't void of thought), but as soon as you realize you’re lost in the thought, pivot your thinking back to the sensation you were focusing on, he says .

3. Do a full-body scan, starting at the top of your head.

Close your eyes and focus on your forehead-then begin to scan down your entire body, stopping at specific parts (like your eyes, your mouth, your neck, etc.) to take note of each sensation-good or bad-that you feel, says the expert.

Don't pass judgement or fixate on any specific feelings-just make a note of it and move on; scanning your entire body two to three times, paying attention to how you feel before versus after the scan is complete.

4. Imagine bright, warm sunlight shining down above your head.
You know how it feels when you're sitting next to a window (or lying on the beach) and a beam of sunshine hits your face just right? Imagine that feeling the next time you're overwhelmed-but instead of just your face, imagine the light beam filling up each part of your body, from your toes to your head, suggests the expert. "Allow the warmth, light, and spaciousness to melt away any tension in the body," he adds

5. Let your mind think about whatever it wants to think about.

Yep, that even means feeling anxious, he says. It sounds counterintuitive, but when you sit with your thoughts-without any expectations, sense of purpose, or focus for several minutes-you give your mind the extra space needed to help it unwind, he says.

6. Picture someone you love-and breathe in their anxieties.

All right, this one sounds weird but just go with it: Hold an image of someone you love in your mind, and imagine yourself taking on their anxieties and insecurities with every inhale. On the exhale, think about all of their good qualities and the great times you've had together-kind of like breathing in the bad and breathing out the good.
This exercise of putting the happiness of others before your own is called "skillful compassion" according to him, and it's "one of the most effective ways to let go of a strong emotion such as anxiety is to focus on another person," he says.

7. Talk to yourself like you'd talk to a friend.

Ask yourself, “what do you appreciate most in your life?” Once you've got something (or things) in mind, dwell in that gratitude for 30 seconds.
Inquiring in the second person separates you from your mind and encourages a space of appreciation, free from any overwhelming emotions,he explains. 

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/                                                                                                                                                                             FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                                                             https:// kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com/                                                                                       FOR CROCHET DESIGNS                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com