Rinsing a wound with cold water helps clean it, but it may not be enough to prevent infection. Bleeding is the body’s natural way of cleansing a wound.

Then again, too much bleeding isn’t healthy either.

Here’s how to stop heavy bleeding, courtesy of the American Academy of Family Physicians:

• If available, use a sterile or clean piece of cloth, gauze or tissue.
• Hold the material over the wound, gently applying pressure.
• Have another piece of clean material on hand. If the bleeding soaks the first piece, apply another clean piece on top, but don’t remove the first piece.
• Hold the clean material in place for another 20 minutes with firm pressure.
• Raise a bleeding leg or arm above the level of your heart.

Source: HealthDay