How do I treat a stab wound?
Helping someone who’s been stabbed doesn’t have to be complicated. In such an instance the simpler the strategy, the better.
4 Things that cause death from a stab wound:
- Blood loss
- Shock
- Organ failure
- Infection
Here are the vital points to remember:
- Do NOT remove the object, this will cause more bleeding. If the object has hit a lung and you remove it, the oxygen entering the lung will cause it to collapse.
- Make sure to phone an ambulance service. Call 10111 or ER24 on 084 124 and press your Blue Security Panic App Button.
- If a person has been stabbed multiple times, attend to the biggest wound first. The wound that spews the most blood will be the one to attend to first.
- Apply pressure. This is by far the most important thing to remember.
- If you are applying pressure to the wound yet there is still blood seeping from it, you are going to need to clog the wound.
- If you are wearing a jacket use it, if not use your shirt by either using your whole shirt or by ripping off some material.
- You need to try and keep the wound as clean as possible.
- Try to keep the victim as calm as possible to lower the heart rate which will simultaneously lower the blood flow.