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Medical Author:

Benjamin Wedro, MD, FACEP, FAAEM

Benjamin Wedro, MD, FACEP, FAAEM

Dr. Ben Wedro practices emergency medicine at Gundersen Clinic, a regional trauma center in La Crosse, Wisconsin. His background includes undergraduate and medical studies at the University of Alberta, a Family Practice internship at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario and residency training in Emergency Medicine at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.

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Medical Editor:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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In most cases of internal bleeding, there is no role for self-care at home until the patient has been seen and released from a medical practitioner. Then self-care consists of rest and avoiding situations that cause rebleeding (for example, rest after surgery, avoiding alcohol).

If significant internal bleeding has occurred and the person appears to be in shock, emergency medical services should be activated (call 911 if available). The person should be laid flat with their fleet elevated if possible. However, if the bleeding is due to trauma, and there is a possible risk for neck or spine injury, the individual should not be moved (in most cases) until they have been evaluated by emergency personnel.

If the patient has signs of a stroke, emergency medical services should be activated since it is difficult to determine if the decreased brain function is due to bleeding in the brain or because of decreased blood supply due to a blocked blood vessel. Treatment for this second situation requires that the individual get to the hospital as soon as possible because the time window to start treatment is very short.

Other potential internal bleeding illnesses need medical care in a timely fashion and it is reasonable to contact your health care practitioner for direction.

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