What Does A Pint of Blood Look Like?

What Does a Pint of Blood Actually Look Like?

Most of us have between 10 and 12 pints of blood in our body. Most of us know what a pint of lager looks like and, going old-school, some of us may remember what a pint bottle of milk looks like, but what about a pint of blood?

At Help! First Aid Training, our instructor, Graham has a really effective way of demonstrating exactly that. Beware, a pint of blood goes a lot further than you might think!

This photo was taken during a First Aid at Work course at our training centre, in Shildon, Co-Durham, for clients from companies based in Newton Aycliffe and Darlington. 

You could be forgiven for thinking that this is a catastrophic bleed scenario and most of us, on meeting this scene in real life, would hit the panic button straight away but Graham says that panicking is the number one thing that we mustn’t do.

We have to remember that we can donate a pint of blood, usually with no side effects at all. Most of us can replace the plasma, which is the main part of our blood, within 24 hours of a blood donation. It’s the red blood cells that take the time, up to around 12 weeks to replenish, which is why we must wait between blood donations.

A casualty would need to lose around 30% of their blood supply, to be in grave danger, a situation, which, in Graham’s experience, is very rare.

Should you ever encounter a real-life bleed situation, Graham’s advice is this;

·      Don’t panic! As demonstrated in the picture, the scene can look worse, at first glance, than it is. 

·      Remember, life threatening bleeds are rare.

·      If you are in any doubt at all, refer the casualty to further medical treatment.

·      Have a go at emptying a pint of water outside and see just how far it spreads!

Find out more about all of our first aid courses at www.helpfirstaidtraining.co.uk