To hate the term 'bleeding out'...

[Powersout]

I mean you're not going to be 'bleeding in' are you? I've seen it in lots of reports of someone seriously injured. Just seems sensationalist and crude somehow.

Well yes, you can actually bleed in. Internal bleeding.

Internal bleeding can and does happen, so...

To me it shows the seriousness. If I cut my finger I'm bleeding, if I slice a massive gash on my arm and it's pouring with blood and potentially life threatening I'm bleeding out.

I would say bleeding out would mean bleeding to an extent that is life threatening if not stopped, as opposed to just “he’s bleeding” which could be pretty minor.
But that’s a bit of a mouthful, so bleeding out is probably quickest. Even “bleeding heavily” might be open to interpretation. You could say someone was bleeding heavily from a nosebleed when what you mean is it’s bad for a nosebleed, you don’t mean “this is life threatening.

Bleeding out is a colloquial medical term that actually means something - it means the person is in genuine danger of dying (or has died) due to blood loss.

The technical term is exsanguination.

But ‘bleeding out’ means a specific thing, both that, as pps have said, it’s not internal bleeding, and that it’s a massive blood loss which will cause death if not treated, the person given a transfusion etc..

I suppose. But no bystander who witnessed an accident and is stating what they saw woukd know that would they.

But do medics actually use the term? I've only ever heard it used by some bystander to a stabbing/accident who is describing what they saw.

If non-medical people use the term then that is annoying, unless they've been told it by someone who knows what they're talking about. I presume they mean 'bleeding heavily' or 'there was a lot of blood.'

Yes they do. I've heard it used most in obstetrics, but I imagine emergency doctors use it.

Yes, I get that 'bleeding out' rather than 'bleeding heavily' would be useful to use in a 999 call. But 'bleeding heavily' just seems so much more respectful when reporting what was seen at the scene of an incident.

I was on a first aid course yesterday and the trainer actually spoke to us about the need to be serious and specific when dealing with medical emergencies. The world isn't pink and fluffy and shit happens to people. Nobody should be sugar coating medical terms. They are not there to offend you.
Bleeding out is serious and allows medics to immediately recognise the need to act quickly.
I assume you prefer the term "unalived" too. Give me strength.

It's the 'oh shit' step up from 'she's haemmorhaging'

To die from blood loss - https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/bleed-out

Absolutely, but I'm not talking about medical use. I'm talking about the bro on the street who's just witnessed a stabbing and is talking to the Daily Mail.

This seems quite a niche issue - is there a reason it's bothering you?

Everytime I read it it just makes me feel like the dead are being disrespected somehow. It's the vivid imagery I suppose.

I don't think I've ever read it - does it come up a lot?

Yes, I'm noticing it more and more. Have just read about the awful synagogue terror attack and eyewitness account on BBC uses it. Sorry, don't know how to link.

The medical term is exsanguinate, but most non medical people wouldn't know what it means- so bleeding out is a good term IMO.

As someone who spent years working in A&E, is hardly sensationalist and crude- it sadly the true reality that some of us have witnessed first hand.

OP- What word would you prefer the media to use?

I think you're the first person I've heard describe the words 'bleeding out' as disrespectful. I'm not sure why you feel this way or why it bothers you enough to start a thread. Anyway I'm sure people will continue to use the words so perhaps you will need to find a way to cope.

It means someone is exsanguinating, whether the blood loss is internal or external, though I can't say it's a term I have heard used very much despite having spent the majority of my working life in operating theatres and ICUs, both environments where major haemorrhages are not uncommon. A lot of the way staff behave and speak on medical tv programmes - even the "reality" ones - doesn't bear very much resemblance to what I've experienced over the decades. I guess it's necessary for the purpose of story telling but real life is far less dramatic than portrayed on tv, even in real emergencies.

‘Exsanguinate’ is brilliantly used by Hilary Mantel at the execution of Anne Boleyn in Bring Up the Bodies.