Small Cuts and Scrapes

Bleeding from small cuts and scrapes in the skin are usually easy to treat.  People with bleeding disorders do not bleed faster from cuts.  They do bleed longer.

How to treat small cuts and scrapes:

• Wash the skin with soap and water.
• Press down firmly on the cut to stop the bleeding.
• Put first-aid cream and a clean bandage over the cut or scrape.  Use Band-Aids® that let air get to the wound.  The first bandage you put on should press down snugly.  Put the later ones on more loosely.
• Change the bandage every day and put on more first-aid cream until the wound is healed.  Change the bandage if it gets wet.
• If a cut needs stitches, you need to take factor or other treatment to help your blood clot first.

Remember these things, too:

• People with hemophilia usually don't need to take factor concentrate for small cuts and scrapes.  The platelets in your blood stop the bleeding from small blood vessels.  Small cuts do not affect most people with hemophilia any more than anyone else.  People with hemophilia do not bleed more or faster than others.  They just bleed longer if a fibrin clot instead of a platelet plug is needed to stop the bleeding.
• Most small cuts and scrapes will stop bleeding if you hold pressure on them.  However, cuts on your tongue, the inside of your cheeks, or around your scalp and face can continue to ooze blood.  Recheck these cuts for a day or two.  If you have a cut in your mouth, call your doctor to see if you need to take Amicar® liquid or pills to help stop the bleeding.  Amicar® pills can be crushed and put in applesauce or soft food.

Call your doctor or treatment center if:

• The cut is large or deep or may need stitches.
• The cut does not stop bleeding.
• A young child has a cut that continues to bleed.  Because of their small size, young children can’t afford to lose as much blood as adults.