Puncture wounds are painful, bloody, and potentially fatal. You need immediate care to stop bleeding and relieve pain. The victim must be stabilized pending examination by a doctor. Keep your head clear and work quickly so that your life saving first aid and bleeding control are as effective as possible.
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Part 1 of 3: Assess the situation
Step 1. Review the situation
A stab wound is often the result of violent clashes and the attackers may still be in the area. This can be dangerous for you and the injured person. Do not become a potential victim by attempting to negotiate with or get close to the attackers. Do not approach the victim unless you have determined that the area is safe.
While it may seem like valuable time is lost waiting for the attackers to leave the scene, having more people injured is of little help in saving the victim
Step 2. Call 911 immediately
If the person is bleeding profusely, you can ask someone else to call 911 while you are providing first aid to the victim.
If you're the only person around, you can use your own phone and call 911. If you don't have a phone with you, try to find a passerby or an open store nearby
Step 3. Lay the person down on the floor
Before doing anything else to treat the stab injury, you should bed the person comfortably on the floor. It is easier to stabilize the victim in the event of fainting or dizziness. You don't want to risk the injuries being made worse if the victim faints.
Put a jacket or bag under the victim's head. Alternatively, ask other people nearby to sit next to the victim's head and speak to them comfortably while they hold their head on their lap. This can placate the victim and tend to remain calm
Step 4. Look at the victim and determine the extent of the injury
Examine the person and try to determine the extent of the injuries. Does the victim have more than one stab wound? Other blows can be seen. Where does the blood come from?
- You may need to undo the victim's clothing to properly see the wounds. Try to examine all of the wounds before starting treatment.
- If you find a particularly serious injury that needs urgent treatment, it should be addressed immediately. A serious wound can bleed profusely all the time. Blood can well up like a fountain. Pulsating blood is usually a sign that an artery has been hit.
Part 2 of 3: The treatment of the stab wound
Step 1. Put on disposable gloves, if you have them
Alternatively, you can put plastic bags over your hands. This step is not essential for treating the stab wound, but it is important to reduce the risk of infection for the victim and yourself.
- If available, choose nitrile gloves or other latex-free gloves. They minimize the risk of an allergic reaction to latex and thus prevent complications from allergic reactions during treatment. Nitrile gloves and other latex-free gloves are usually blue or purple and are increasingly replacing the white latex gloves that were previously used as standard.
- If you don't have gloves with you, try washing your hands or using a hand disinfectant. If you don't have anything, you can try using your clothes to create a barrier between you and the victim's blood.
- Remember that if you think you are at risk of infection or if you are otherwise uncomfortable with the situation, you "don't" need to touch the person. Wait for the emergency room if you have any doubts. If you choose to treat the victim, you should keep contact with the victim's blood to a minimum whenever possible.
Step 2. Check the victim's vital functions
Check your airways, breathing, and circulation.
- Check that the person's airway is free from obstruction.
- Listen to the sound of breathing and watch the person's chest move.
- Check the pulse and control the heartbeat.
- If the victim is not breathing, you will need to do CPR resuscitation. [1].
- Once the person is conscious, you can begin your work, but remember to keep talking to the victim in order to lower the heart rate. If possible, try shielding the victim's eyes so they cannot see the wound.
Step 3. Remove your victim's clothing in the area of the injury
You can see the exact location of the stab wound better and treat it better. Puncture wounds can sometimes be obscured by clothing, blood, dirt, mud, or other liquids. That depends on where the victim was found.
Be very careful when opening clothing as the victim may be in a lot of pain
Step 4. Do not remove the stabbing weapon if it is still in the victim
Leave the object in the wound if it's still there. Withdrawing the weapon can increase blood loss. If the weapon is pushed further into the wound, internal organs can be injured.
Put pressure on the wound and bandage it around the object as well as you can. A doctor is more able to pull the object out of the wound without injuring internal organs or causing massive bleeding in the process
Step 5. Stop the bleeding
Apply pressure to the wound with a clean, absorbent material, such as a bandage, T-shirt, or towel. If the object is still in the wound, you should press firmly on the surrounding area of the skin to slow down the flow of blood.
- Some first aid courses recommend "sealing" the wound with the edge of a credit card. Most people always have this handy tool with them. In addition to blocking the flow of blood, it may also prevent the lungs from collapsing (by keeping air out of the wound) in wounds in the chest area.
- If the wound is bleeding profusely, you can put pressure on the main artery with your hand while you put pressure on the wound with your other hand. These areas are called "pressure points". For example, to stop the bleeding in your arms, you need to apply pressure on the inside of your arms just above your elbow. If the wound is on the leg, you will need to apply pressure on the groin or behind the knee.
Step 6. Position the victim so that the wound is over the heart
This can limit blood loss. If the victim can sit, you should maneuver them into an upright position. If not, you can support the victim appropriately if possible.
Step 7. Cover the wound
If you have first aid bandages with you, you can secure the bandage with a bandage or tape. Do not lift the bandage or the blood will clot and the wound will start bleeding again. If the bandage is soaked in blood, you can cover it with more bandages.
- If you don't have material to hold the bandage in place, you can just keep applying pressure. This will promote blood clotting.
- Be extra careful with chest wounds. Cover the wound with plastic wrap or a plastic bag or tape and just cover three Sides of the wound. Leave one side open or cover it with an open bandage. The air must escape on one side of the dressing to prevent it from entering the pleural cavity of the chest. When air enters the pleural cavity, the lungs can collapse.
- Never use a tourniquet except as a last resort, life-saving measure. Know when and how to use a tourniquet. If a tourniquet is improperly applied, it can lead to unnecessary injury or loss of the affected limb.
Step 8. Continue to press on the bleeding wounds until help comes
While you are waiting for the emergency room, you should monitor the vital functions: airways, breathing and circulation.
Monitor and manage the symptoms of shock. These symptoms include coldness, clammy skin, paleness, rapid pulse or breathing, nausea or vomiting, dizziness or fainting, and increased anxiety or agitation. If you suspect that your victim may be in shock, you should immediately loosen any tight clothing and cover the victim with a blanket to keep them warm. Try to get the victim to stay calm. on treating shock for more details
Step 9. Determine if the victim is conscious
If the victim is passed out, act quickly. Lay the victim in the safe side position. The head should be tilted back. The hand that is farther from the ground should support the head. The arm that is closer to the ground is straightened out. The leg that is farther from the floor (the top leg) should be bent so that the body is stabilized and cannot roll forward. Do not place someone in this position if you suspect the victim may have a spine injury. Observe the victim's breathing.
If the unconscious person stops breathing, try using HLS resuscitation to try to reanimate them
Step 10. Keep the victim warm and ensure their comfort within your means
Both shock and blood loss can cause the victim to suffer from a lowered body temperature. Cover the victim with a blanket, coat, or other warming material to protect them from the cold.
Keep the victim as calm as possible. Whether in a sitting or lying position, the victim should remain as still as possible. It is important to have someone with the victim at all times to calm them down and monitor their condition
Part 3 of 3: The cleaning and closure of the stab wound
Step 1. Start cleaning the wound
If you are isolated and unable to call 911 (for example, if you are outdoors or camping), you should clean the wound once you have controlled the bleeding. Under normal circumstances this is the job of the paramedic, but there may be situations where you need to take action yourself.
- Remove any debris from the wound if it is dirty. Remember that even a wound with no apparent debris will be filthy from the intruding object. It is usually not possible to determine how clean this object was. In other words, each wound should be properly cleaned.
- Fresh, clean water is best for rinsing the wound. Hydrogen peroxide or alcohol are also suitable for cleaning wounds.
- You can also make a saline solution. Mix one tablespoon of table salt with one cup of warm water.
- The victim will likely be in pain when the wound is cleaned. So warn the victim if they are conscious.
Step 2. Close the wound
After cleaning, you can start to close the wound so that no further contamination from the outside can penetrate the wound and increase the risk of infection.
- First, make sure the wound is dry. If you have some glue, you can apply a tiny amount to the edges of the wound (not inside the wound). Put an adhesive tape on the edge of the wound and close the opening of the wound with your hand. Press the strip on the other side of the skin. Cover the wound with a clean bandage, tape, or other material you have on hand to keep dirt and other infectious substances out of the wound.
- If a wound doesn't stop bleeding, it should NOT be closed. Instead, cover it with clean towels and just loosely secure the bandage over the wound. In this case, you are simply covering the wound instead of bandaging it. Wait for the blood to clot.
Step 3. Apply antibiotic ointment to the wound if you have medicine handy
If you have an antibiotic ointment, you can apply it to the wound regularly. This also prevents infections from getting stuck.
Step 4. Check the bandage so that it is not too tight
Check the limbs in the injured area that is furthest from the heart. For example, if you're dressing a wound on your arm, you need to control your fingers. If the person has a wounded leg, you can control the toes. If the bandage is too tight, it can cut off blood flow to the areas below. This is dangerous and can lead to permanent tissue damage. You can tell whether the bandage is too tight based on the change in skin color (blue or dark). If you notice any skin discoloration, loosen the bandage and take the victim to a doctor as soon as possible.
