Life for most children is a long round of scrapes, falls, cuts and bruises as they learn to walk, climb and understand how to safely manoeuvre around dangers. Even tiny amounts of blood can seem like a lot to a child and bleeding may be frightening because the child may not understand that the blood loss will soon stop when clotting occurs.

Adults usually watch small toddlers carefully. It's when children get a little older, start riding bicycles and skateboards and exploring the house and garden without parental supervision that more serious cuts and trauma becomes a risk.

Dark red blood may ooze from small skin scrapes or flow quickly from larger cuts. If an artery is damaged, the blood will appear brighter red and may spurt in pulses from the wound. If there has been an accident involving glass, it may be possible to see the glass in the wound and this can be particularly painful, especially if the child tries to move the affected area. In major accidents, broken bones occasionally stick out through a cut.

Bleeding usually follows some sort of traumatic incident

Bleeding usually follows some sort of traumatic incident. In most cases, the blood loss is minor and soon stops on its own accord. Gentle pressure on the wound can help slow blood loss. A clean dry pad or plaster may be applied to keep the wound clean.

If bleeding is profuse it's important that it's stopped as quickly as possible. Raise the affected part of the body if possible and apply pressure to it using a clean pad of tissue or fabric. Hold the pressure until bleeding stops and then tape the pad in place. Don't disturb the wound or try to remove any foreign bodies, glass or dirt embedded in it, or bone extruding from it. Get advice from your local accident and emergency unit.

If bleeding doesn't stop, call an ambulance.

If the child has lost a lot of blood, lie them down with their feet raised on a couple of pillows. Keep them warm with a blanket and call for an ambulance. If a child has repeated bleeds or bruising, especially without any notable accident or trauma, or if they have bleeding that seems very slow to stop, get medical advice. Bleeding disorders such as haemophilia or von Willebrand disease are rare but can occur in families with no history of the problem.

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