Severe
bleeding either from a penetrating gunshot wound, a knife slash, an axe chop,
or whatever, KILLS, and if you don’t STOP it fast, it can kill QUICKLY!
Wrong! Let’s do the math, in 2017, CNN replicated an
analysis by the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence, and found that 39,773
people died by gunshot wounds (source HERE)
and since 60% of gun deaths are from suicide, that leaves 37% that are from
accident or from violence, and this number includes the 1% of mass shootings (source
HERE). This mean that in 2017, approximately 14,700 people
died of gunshot wounds in the US. That’s
about 40 people dying from bleeding or the other effects of gunshot wounds
every day!
Exsanguination,
bleeding out, a loss of blood greater than 40%, which for the average adult takes
between three to five minutes, and is a major cause of death for penetrating trauma
victims. Specific percentages vary from
study to study, but some show that over 50% of penetrating injury deaths, which
don’t affect the heart brain or other vital organs, are due to severe bleeding
and its accompanying shock, hypothermia, and acidosis.
Many
of these deaths could have been prevented if someone knew what to do to control
the severe bleeding associated with wounds, in the minutes before EMS arrives. Just like we learn CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver,
we need to add stopping severe bleeding to the required list of basic first aid
skills that everyone needs to know.
What is
Severe Bleeding
Volume
is the amount of blood present. Think
about a soda pop-can. Bleeding may be
life-threatening when the amount of blood is equal to about half of what a soda
pop-can contains, 6 fluid ounces or 178 ml. In children or infants, bleeding may be severe
at a much lower amount.
The
size of a 6 fluid ounce puddle of blood, if the victim is bleeding on a non-porous,
flat surface, like tile, linoleum, or glass, which allows the blood to spread
out more thinly, covering a larger area, around 12 to 16 inches (30 to 40 cm) long
or in diameter. This will make the
volume seem more than it is. On porous absorbent
surfaces, like carpet, fabric, or soil, the blood quickly soaks in, leading to
a much smaller, more concentrated, and less spread-out appearance. This makes the volume seem less than it is.
Don’t forget to come back next week and read “Severe Bleeding and STOP
the Bleed©”, where we will talk about what to do to stop severe bleeding.
I hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me on YouTube at BandanaMan Productions for other related videos, HERE. Don’t forget to follow me on both The Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE, and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube. If you have questions, as always, feel free to leave a comment on either site. I announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.
That
is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!
Sources
American
Red Cross; “Bleeding, Life-Threating External”, © [2025 The American Red Cross],
https://www.redcross.org/take-a-class/resources/learn-first-aid/bleeding-life-threatening-external?srsltid=AfmBOoruukIMCkbnGCNWGd3QY5C2xHdip6lYe1NlsTuzRMF7j7trgnYI,
accessed December 6, 2025
DHA,
“Deployed Medicine”, January 2024, [© 2024 Primal Survivor™], https://books.allogy.com/web/tenant/8/books/a30c619d-7270-4bfe-be4f-eb4d27adc783/,
accessed December 6, 2025
Vuković,
Diane; “How to Treat and Pack a Bullet Wound in the Wilderness”, September 11,
2023, https://www.primalsurvivor.net/treat-gunshot-wound/,
accessed December 6, 2025
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