NOTICE FOR OWNERS

In all cases of bleeding veterinary attention should be sought as soon as possible.

Description

Owners often notice blood loss from their animals. Blood loss from the body should always be considered to be potentially serious as even a small cut can be fatal in an animal with defective blood clotting (e.g. haemophilia). In addition small volumes of blood found outside an animal may only represent a fraction of the amount of blood being lost through internal haemorrhage. However, in reality, in most animals blood clotting occurs very rapidly and it is only when major blood vessels (arteries or veins) are severed that blood loss is life-threatening.

Sometimes the origin of the haemorrhage is obvious, but on other occasions it may be difficult to identify where it has come from. Blood on the exterior of an animal may have originated from another animal, or a person.

In all cases of bleeding veterinary attention should be sought as soon as possible.

Application of first aid measures to reduce haemorrhage should be considered as a short term, temporary measure and should only be performed by someone experienced. Applying dressings to wounds or bandages to limbs can cause more harm than good if they are not applied properly.

For further information about bleeding from different sites, visit the following links :

Blood in the faeces (stool)

Watery bloody diarrhoea - dysentery

Blood in the stool - haematochezia

Dark redbrown or black tarry faeces - melaena  

Mucus and blood being passed - colitis

Last updated : October 2013