First aid for bleeding

Direct pressure is the most reliable way to stop bleeding.

The sequence

1. Call 119 — immediately if the bleeding is severe.
2. Protect your hands with gloves or a plastic bag if possible, to prevent infection.
3. Cover the wound with clean cloth or gauze and press firmly with your palm.
4. Don't lift the cloth even if blood soaks through. Add more on top and keep pressing.
5. Raise the injured part above heart level if possible.
6. Lay the person down and keep them warm.

What not to do

• Never pull out an embedded object (knife, glass, rebar). Removal causes a surge of bleeding. Stabilise around it with cloth and call 119.
• Don't dig into the wound trying to wash it out.
• Don't apply a tourniquet casually. It can cost a limb. Only on 119's instruction.
• Don't pour disinfectant deep into a wound.

By situation

• Nosebleed — sit down, lean forwards and pinch the soft part of the nose for ten minutes. Tilting back sends blood down the throat.
• Cuts — after pressure, wash with clean water, disinfect and dress. Deep or gaping wounds need stitches at hospital.
• Amputation — wrap the severed part in clean cloth, seal it in a bag, and put that bag in iced water to take with you. Never let ice touch it directly.
• Internal bleeding (vomiting blood, blood in stool) — call 119 immediately.

When to go to hospital

• Bleeding that won't stop or spurts
• Deep or gaping wounds
• Numbness or inability to move — possible nerve or tendon damage
• Wounds from rusty objects or animal bites — tetanus and infection risk
• Injuries at work — always as an industrial accident. See industrial-accident-report.

Where to go

• 119 emergency (multilingual interpretation available)
• 1339 Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency
• 1588-0075 Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service
• 1577-1366 · 1345 interpretation

Questions people ask

I feel faint at the sight of blood. Help while sitting or lying down. The rescuer must not collapse. Don't push yourself — call 119 and follow instructions.

Is it safe to touch someone else's blood? Use gloves or a plastic bag where possible. Without them, press through several layers of cloth.

The wound is gaping — does it need stitches? Deep or gaping wounds are best stitched quickly. After time passes, stitching becomes difficult. Go to hospital.

Do I need a tetanus shot? Wounds from rusty metal, soil or animals may require one. Check at the hospital.

Take care

Pulling out an embedded object is the most common and most lethal mistake. That object may be plugging a blood vessel. Leave it in place, stabilise around it, and call 119.

Related

first-aid-basics · burns · cpr · industrial-accident-report · call-119

Source

Korean Red Cross www.redcross.or.kr / As of 2026-08