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How To Stop Toe Bleeding After A Toe Nail Injury?
My sister had an accident. Her big toenail was cut off. She has been to urgent care and has a big bandage and is supposed to see a Ped diet tryst tomorrow.She is soaking through the bandage with blood. It take an hour or so for this to happen. We were told to change the bandage twice until she sees the doctor. Is there anything we can do to help it stop bleeding ?
Wed, 30 Nov 2016
Hi there,
The best thing to do would be to apply firm direct pressure on the area. It is likely that the urgent care has ruled out a fracture, and it is simply an open wound. The nailbed is an area with a lot of blood vessels, and can cause quite a bit of bleeding, especially if she continues to walk on the affected leg.
Remove any soaked bandage, and use a thin layer of gauze to apply direct pressure on the wound for at least 10 minutes or so. Try not to remove the one directly on the wound, stack another on top if it continues to bleed. Resist the urge to keep checking, because every time you disturb the wound, the blood clots that have formed will be dislodged and it will bleed again.
Get her to sit and raise her leg to minimise unnecessary blood flow to the area. If after 10 minutes it is still soaking through, remove only the top gauze, leave the one that is in contact with the wound. Replace with a fresh one, then continue applying the pressure for a longer duration. Once the bleeding has somewhat stopped, keep the gauze in place with a stretchy bandage that will help maintain the pressure through the night. Be careful not to wrap it too tightly around the base of the toe and cut off blood supply, check with her to make sure the pressure is only at the nailbed where the wound is.
I would advise her not to walk on the leg until she sees the doctor tomorrow, since the movement might trigger it to bleed again.
Hope this helps, and all the best to you and your sister.
Regards,
Dr. Teh
The best thing to do would be to apply firm direct pressure on the area. It is likely that the urgent care has ruled out a fracture, and it is simply an open wound. The nailbed is an area with a lot of blood vessels, and can cause quite a bit of bleeding, especially if she continues to walk on the affected leg.
Remove any soaked bandage, and use a thin layer of gauze to apply direct pressure on the wound for at least 10 minutes or so. Try not to remove the one directly on the wound, stack another on top if it continues to bleed. Resist the urge to keep checking, because every time you disturb the wound, the blood clots that have formed will be dislodged and it will bleed again.
Get her to sit and raise her leg to minimise unnecessary blood flow to the area. If after 10 minutes it is still soaking through, remove only the top gauze, leave the one that is in contact with the wound. Replace with a fresh one, then continue applying the pressure for a longer duration. Once the bleeding has somewhat stopped, keep the gauze in place with a stretchy bandage that will help maintain the pressure through the night. Be careful not to wrap it too tightly around the base of the toe and cut off blood supply, check with her to make sure the pressure is only at the nailbed where the wound is.
I would advise her not to walk on the leg until she sees the doctor tomorrow, since the movement might trigger it to bleed again.
Hope this helps, and all the best to you and your sister.
Regards,
Dr. Teh
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