Science desk
< July 10	<< Jun \| July \| Aug >>	July 12 >

Welcome to the Wikipedia Science Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

July 11[edit]

Does Hydrogen peroxide help blood clotting in small wounds?[edit]

If a person has a small cut (like one caused by shaving or a paper cut) and applies H2O2 3% on the cut, would the blood clot faster? Is there any negative effect of applying H2O2 on a cut that's still bleeding? --Yppieyei (talk) 03:40, 11 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

This writeup indicates you really should not use hydrogen peroxide on wounds. But if you have detailed questions about first aid or anything else medical, you should consult your doctor. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 05:36, 11 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

There are also sources claiming the opposite, that hydrogen peroxide is the best you can get against infections. However, I am interested more not about the infection, but about the clotting. And it is not about a concrete case, but in general. --Yppieyei (talk) 08:08, 11 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

This Ukrainian Medical Dental Academy lecture lists hydrogen peroxide as one of five Topically Applied Preparations for Termination of Capillary Bleeding in Dentistry, saying that it stops capillary bleeding due to denaturation of proteins. See Denaturation (biochemistry). -- ToE 13:06, 11 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]

See also Antihemorrhagic which lists several substances, but not hydrogen peroxide as styptics to stop small cuts from bleeding.A bit of tissue paper also somehow stops small cuts from bleeding, by promoting clotting. Edison (talk) 13:59, 12 July 2015 (UTC)[reply]