Expert: Dr Ian Jackson - please note UK based - 11/17/2008

Question
sorry if your the wrong person to ask... but if you can that would be great (having trouble finding a nurse or general surgery topic)

Hi. I have heard of medical reasons to discorage blood clotting... like anti coagulant medicines.

But I think I heard (or mis-heard) that in some cases blood clotting is encorage???

Why would you want to encoarage blood clotting?? im so confused. And how would they do it?

Thanks for your time

Lia

Answer
Lia
I'm not certain in what context this question is being asked. We sometimes have to replace clotting factors or facilitate the ability of the persons blood to clot when they are lacking some crucial factor in their blood. That could be seen as encouraging clotting - though we are merely enabling the blood to clot as it should.
There are also solutions now to apply to bleeding areas to encourage clotting in that area.
Hope this is of some help.
Dr Ian Jackson