Skip to main content
British Red Cross logo
DONATE
  • Back
  • Get help
    • Get help
    • Coronavirus
    • Hire a wheelchair
    • Hire a toilet aid
    • Support line
    • Support at home
    • Help with loneliness
    • Find missing family
    • Help for refugees
    • Help for young refugees
    • Help with money problems
    • Prepare for emergencies
  • Get involved
    • Get involved
    • Donate
    • Volunteer
    • Fundraising and events
    • Partner with us
    • Coronavirus
    • Teaching resources
    • Jobs
  • First aid
    • First aid
    • Learn first aid skills
    • Baby and child first aid
    • Do a first aid course
    • Find a first aid venue
    • Teach first aid
    • Buy a first aid kit
  • About us
    • About us
    • What we do
    • How we're run
    • What we stand for
    • News, media and research
    • Our history
    • Contact us
  • Shop
    • Shop
    • Find a charity shop
    • Donate goods
    • Volunteer in our shops
    • Furniture and electrics
    • Online shop
    • Independent living products
    • Visit our eBay shop
    • Our ASOS vintage shop
    • Books
    • Wedding dresses
    • Vintage and designer clothes
  • Stories
    • Stories
    • Health and social care
    • Migration and displacement
    • Disasters and emergencies
    • Our Movement

How to help someone who's been stabbed

Anyone who's been stabbed needs immediate help. Their life could be at risk.

Someone helping a stabbing victim.

Helping someone who's been stabbed is actually straightforward. Just follow these steps and you could save someone's life.

Three simple steps to help someone who's been stabbed:

  1. Put pressure on the wound.
  2. Call 999.
  3. Keep pressure on the wound until an ambulance arrives.

What if there is an object in the wound?

If there is an object in the wound, don't remove it as this could make the bleeding a lot worse. Apply pressure around it.


The person looks pale, feels cold and is dizzy. What does this mean?

This means there isn’t enough blood flowing through the body. This physical response to an injury is called shock, and it can be life-threatening.

If you suspect someone is going into shock:

  • continue to apply pressure to the wound to stop the blood coming out
  • call 999 if you haven't already done so
  • lie them down and lift their feet higher than the rest of their body. This keeps their legs higher than their heart, which helps increase blood flow to their brain and heart
  • reassure them and wrap them in coats or a blanket to keep them warm.

Is there anything else I can do?

The best thing you can do is keep applying pressure to the wound to help stop or slow the blood flow and wait for an ambulance to arrive.

  • Get more first aid tips and advice
  • Download our free first aid app so you are always ready to help
  • CONTACT US
  • JOBS
  • SITEMAP
  • CYMRAEG
  • LOGIN

  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy
  • Cookies
  • Modern slavery statement
  • Accessibility
  • Cookie Settings
  • Facebook
  • TikTok
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn

©2022 British Red Cross The British Red Cross Society, incorporated by Royal Charter 1908, is a charity registered in England and Wales (220949), Scotland (SC037738), Isle of Man (0752) and Jersey (430).

Registered with Fundraising Regulator