Removing blood stains: The unexpected household skill hemophilia taught me
Blood stains are simply one of those messy realities you learn to deal with
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One of the stranger skills I’ve developed in my marriage to someone with hemophilia isn’t medical — it’s domestic. It’s the art of removing blood stains.
To be fair, I already had some experience dealing with blood simply by being a female person who menstruates. But when you’re married to someone with hemophilia, you pick up a few additional techniques along the way. My husband, Jared, has severe hemophilia, which means bleeding — whether internal or external — is something we’ve learned to navigate as part of everyday life.
Over time, blood has a way of appearing in the most inconvenient places: towels, sheets, clothing, and occasionally furniture.
The most recent reminder came just a few weeks ago. I’d decided to walk a couple miles up a hill to my usual gym, wearing a brand-new pair of khaki Converse shoes. It seemed harmless enough at the time. The shoes were cute, and the walk felt manageable. Somewhere along the route, though, my bunions and heels began to sting. I ignored it and kept walking.
Eventually I looked down — and immediately regretted it. The backs of my shoes were stained with blood. The stiff edges of the shoes had rubbed my heels raw without me noticing until it was too late.
It’s one of those moments that sticks with you — the mix of horror and disbelief, followed by the immediate practical question: Well, how do I get this out?
As it turns out, that’s a question I’ve had to answer many times.
Tried and tested techniques
Ice-cold water is usually the first line of defense. If the blood is fresh, rinsing it quickly can remove most of it. But it rarely solves the problem entirely, at least in my experience.
Hydrogen peroxide is the real hero. Anyone who has used it knows the bubbling reaction when it hits blood. Fresh stains disappear quickly, but even older ones can lift surprisingly well. People often recommend diluting peroxide with water, but I’ll admit that when I’m tired or overwhelmed, I sometimes just pour it straight onto the stain and hope for the best. So far, I haven’t experienced the fading people warn about.
Then there’s oxygen bleach, which works, but requires a bit more care. Leave it on too long and the fabric can start to lighten or even turn white.
My dad showed me a technique that worked well on those Converse shoes. He applied bleach directly to the stain, rubbed it vigorously, rinsed it quickly under running water, and repeated the process several times before soaking the shoes in water to make sure no bleach remained.
The blood stains disappeared. Unfortunately, they left behind faint greenish marks from broken-down blood components. Still, the shoes were wearable again, which felt like a small victory.
When healing gets messy
These days, blood stains show up for a different reason.
Last December, Jared suffered a second-degree burn on his right hand. After several hospitalizations, staged debridement procedures, and a full surgery, he’s now in the long, slow stage of recovery where rehabilitation matters most. His occupational therapy sessions at the hospital have been helpful, but the exercises he has to do at home can be difficult.
Burn recovery isn’t tidy. As the skin stretches, fragile areas sometimes crack open again. And sometimes they bleed.
Recently, while doing his rehab exercises on our couch — my beloved soft, brown sofa — Jared noticed that blood had dripped onto the upholstery.
He was more distressed about the sofa than about the pain. He knows how much joy I get from decorating our little home. Creating a comfortable, beautiful space has become my way of managing stress over the years.
But the truth is that furniture can be cleaned or replaced (although it costs a lot of money, which we sure could use for treatment).
So I asked him — kindly — to grab some cleaning wipes and scrub the fresh blood out before it set. In a home shaped by hemophilia and recovery, blood stains are simply one of those messy realities you learn to deal with. Another small problem to solve while the far more important work of healing continues.
Note: Hemophilia News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Hemophilia News Today or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to hemophilia.
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