# Help! My fiance won't quit bleeding! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 16, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-fiance-wont-quit-bleeding/560879 "2010-11-16T17:58:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-fiance-wont-quit-bleeding/560879/41 "2010-11-17T02:46:55Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Sorry, I forgot that you guys only go to the doctor when you can afford to go, not when you need to go. 🙂 Selection bias. People who can afford to go to the doctor do so, and don’t post here, so you don’t see those folks represented. People with money troubles try the Internet in hopes of saving a buck. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-fiance-wont-quit-bleeding/560879/42 "2010-11-17T03:08:42Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > It’s been almost a week now, and every day or so, it starts bleeding again. > [@](#): > > Honestly, this is the first time in my life I’ve ever described bleeding as “annoying”. How do we get it to quit? Tampon? ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-fiance-wont-quit-bleeding/560879/43 "2010-11-17T03:28:58Z")
Bleeding is merely a complication from having a heartbeat. Stop that, and the bleeding will dry up really quick. ---
**Author:** ![Gleena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b3f665/32.png) [@Gleena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gleena)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-fiance-wont-quit-bleeding/560879/44 "2010-11-17T03:39:28Z")
> [@EvilTOJ](#): > > C’mon people, this isn’t something that’s going to martyr one way or the other. Seriously, why do people on the SDMB just crucify you if you ask a simple question? ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-fiance-wont-quit-bleeding/560879/45 "2010-11-17T06:47:24Z")
I take it amputation is right out of the question. Declan ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-fiance-wont-quit-bleeding/560879/46 "2010-11-17T12:55:54Z")
if you apply liquid bandage, works well and can hurt huge, then do so with the finger bent. ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-fiance-wont-quit-bleeding/560879/47 "2010-11-17T13:05:01Z")
Will a pharmacist be able to offer free advice? Sounds like the sort of thing they’d be able to assist with (i.e. instead of random superglue they might have liquid bandage). ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-fiance-wont-quit-bleeding/560879/48 "2010-11-17T13:23:35Z")
> [@Wilbo523](#): > > She may have “[von Willebrands](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Von_Willebrands)”. I have it, but didn’t discover that I did until I was 35. It is estimated that approximately 3% of the human population has this condition, although a very small % of those people are ever diagnosed. Von Willebrand’s is certainly one of my top-three list of coolest disease names. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-fiance-wont-quit-bleeding/560879/49 "2010-11-17T15:27:02Z")
1.0 Eat a Popsicle 2.0 Keep the stick resulting from step 1.0 3.0 Apply a band aid to the area from whence the bleeding originates 4.0 Extend the now band aided digit and tape it securely to the stick resulting from step 1.0 5.0 Take two aspirins 6.0 Report results ASAP 7.0 Statement is in the mail 8.0 Pay your bills promptly If the bleeding does in fact result from some miracle, as in goddiit, ignore steps 7.0 and 8.0 ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-fiance-wont-quit-bleeding/560879/50 "2010-11-17T15:32:15Z")
> [@LouisB](#): > > 5.0 Take two aspirins Seriously, if the OP’s gf is using aspirin for some reason, it can have an effect on clotting.😉 ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-fiance-wont-quit-bleeding/560879/51 "2010-11-17T15:35:11Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Seriously, if the OP’s gf is using aspirin for some reason, it can have an effect on clotting.😉 Yes, I know. I’m opposed to clotting. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-fiance-wont-quit-bleeding/560879/52 "2010-11-17T23:05:56Z")
I come home today and she’s in the kitchen, cooking dinner again, but I notice her lip is trembling a little. “Honey, what’s wrong?” “I
I have another hole.” “What?” “Like my finger” “Where is it? Is it bad?” “It’s in the top of my foot.” “😕” “I think it’s
_stigmata_!” “
 
 
 I was joking about the fish.” That’s what I get for leaving this thread up before I went to work. Did I mention she’s a professional actress? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Taenia\_spp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5e925/32.png) [@Taenia\_spp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taenia_spp)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-fiance-wont-quit-bleeding/560879/53 "2010-11-18T05:27:50Z")
I had pretty much the same situation a couple years ago; I got a puncture wound right on the most distal joint of my index finger. It went okay for a bit, then would keep opening up and bleeding. I finally, in a panic, went to the doctors’ who ended up giving me a bandage and heavy duty medical tape, as well as a several hundred dollar bill. Of course, you should go to the doctor if you’re really worried about it, but I think all that needs to be done with it is to minimize the amount of movement the area experiences, and to just wait it out until it heals. Try getting some bandage pads and putting that over the wound, slapping some gauze on top of that, and wrapping the whole thing in a couple layers of heavy duty medical tape. Change a couple times a day, or as needed, and it should heal up in a week or two (these types of wounds are persistent buggers). P.S. I’m still the pedantic sort, and your girlfriend should properly be referred to as your _fiancĂ©e_. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-fiance-wont-quit-bleeding/560879/54 "2010-11-18T05:52:16Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > OK, we’ll go with the liquid bandage. I was thinking of super glue but I didn’t know if people ever actually did that. Not only do people actually do it (including several people in this thread). It’s actually (sort of) what it was invented for. > **[Was Super Glue invented to seal battle wounds in Vietnam?](https://www.straightdope.com/21343325/was-super-glue-invented-to-seal-battle-wounds-in-vietnam)** > > A STAFF REPORT FROM THE STRAIGHT DOPE SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD > **[Cyanoacrylate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanoacrilate)** > > Cyanoacrylates are a family of strong fast-acting adhesives with industrial, medical, and household uses that are derived from ethyl cyanoacrylate and related esters. The cyanoacrylate group in the monomer rapidly polymerizes in the presence of water to form long, strong chains. > Specific cyanoacrylates include methyl 2-cyanoacrylate (MCA), ethyl 2-cyanoacrylate (ECA, commonly sold under trade names such as "Super Glue" and "Krazy Glue"), n-butyl cyanoacrylate (n-BCA), octyl cyanoacrylate, an... Something interesting I just read (that seems important here) in the wiki article. Apparently, when in contact with cotton (like a bandage) it can get hot enough to cause burns. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-fiance-wont-quit-bleeding/560879/55 "2010-11-18T13:04:52Z")
> [@VarlosZ](#): > > Liquid bandage. Or, you can use super glue (seriously), since that’s more or less what liquid bandage is. I had a cut at the base of a fingernail once that just wouldn’t close (skin was too thin), and the super glue stopped it up immediately. Burned a fair amount for a couple minutes, though. Actually, no, superglue and liquid bandage are NOT the same thing, at least not always. The original liquid bandage was a form of nitrocelluose or pyroxylin in an alcohol base, and such is still sold. The other variety is either ethyl cyanoacrylate - which, by the way, breaks down into toxic byproducts in the body - or octyl cyanoacrylates, which do not break down into toxic stuff. Perhaps I should note that the superglue you buy at the hardware store is the ethyl variety, and the “expensive stuff” the doctor uses is the octyl variety that is not prone to becoming poisonous. Which would you prefer to use? Granted, a small amount of the ethyl superglue won’t kill you, but why be mean to your liver if you don’t have to? > [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Because it’s the lamest freakin’ wound you could possibly have. What’s a doctor going to do about it, anyway? Look at it and go “hmm, yeah, that sounds annoying”? It’s not like he can stitch it. And what test could he possibly do? We know what’s wrong with it- it’s how to stop it that’s the question. > > We’re not going to waste a doctor’s time and go “yeah, this bleeding is annoying.” OK, if you’re NOT going to the doctor you need to restrict to motion of the finger in question so it stops breaking open. Just don’t bandage so tight you cut off circulation. If it doesn’t close up within 2 weeks see a doctor. If it show signs of infection see a doctor. It does seem to be an unusual amount of bleeding, but that might be accounted for by the location of the wound. A doctor could cauterize it to stop the bleeding, but more conservative measures should be tried first. probably. > [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > OK, we’ll go with the liquid bandage. I was thinking of super glue but I didn’t know if people ever actually did that. IANAD, but do note that Band-aid brand liquid bandage uses the more toxic ethyl cyanoacrylates - read the label and use a brand that uses either octyl cyanoacrylates or the nitrocelluose/pyroxylin compounds. By the way - it IS possible to acquire a bleeding/clotting disorder. Not typical, but if she starts having problems with other minor wounds bleeding a lot that would be reason to see a doctor. Clotting disorders, even minor ones, can have serious ramifications and if present should be noted in a person’s medical information as that can definitely impact treatment. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2010, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-fiance-wont-quit-bleeding/560879/56 "2010-11-19T15:42:11Z")
1. Give it a squirt of Neosynephrine (or equivalent, NOT saline) nasal spray. It will constrict the blood vessels in the immediate vicinity. 2. Next, hit it with liquid bandage. 3. Immobilize the finger. If none of that works, amputate at the neck. Neosynephrine is in our drug boxes for treatment of nosebleeds. Works like a charm, too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-fiance-wont-quit-bleeding/560879.md?page=2)