• Question: I'm not sure wether this is a sensible question, but it made me wonder. If loss of blood can sometimes cause death, is it at least a little bit possible for us to die from a small cut on our finger?

    Asked by canavanlwh to David, Helen, Ian, rhysphillips, Sarah on 22 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: David Corne

      David Corne answered on 21 Jun 2011:

      It is a very sensible question. You’re right, why shouldn’t that be possible? For almost all of us, luckily that won’t happen, because the body has ways of preventing us from “bleeding out”. There are enzymes that notice the damage and cause all sorts of things to happen, the key thing being that a blood clot forms. Basically, the damaged blood vessels get deliberately clogged up with an obstruction. That happens in a few minutes, and then, over a longer period, everything heals up nicely. BUT, if you are unfortunate enough to have severe haemophilia, then your body is not able to form these blood clots, and so every cut is a real danger. Luckily that’s rare, and sufferers simply have to be extremely careful.

    • Photo: Helen Fletcher

      Helen Fletcher answered on 21 Jun 2011:

      Hi, not due to blood loss but you could get an infection in the cut (tetanus) and that can kill you

    • Photo: Ian van der Linde

      Ian van der Linde answered on 21 Jun 2011:

      David is right – for most of us, the blood will clot and stop the leak very quickly. For a haemophiliac, a cut is a serious medical emergency and needs treatment to stop the bleeding. The rest of us could die from a more severe cut though, like one on a main artery in our neck, as the pressure might be too high and the cut too large for a clot to form to block the bleeding. Best not run with scissors!

    • Photo: Rhys Phillips

      Rhys Phillips answered on 22 Jun 2011:

      It is possible but not for most people as the blood will clot before you lose that much of it. Some people have a condition called haemophilia which means their blood doesn’t clot properly.

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