Vitamins Or Herbs For Blood That Does Not Clot

Whether from thin blood, internal hemorrhaging or an external wound, when blood does not clot bleeding can quickly become extremely dangerous and even life threatening. Fortunately, certain vitamins and herbs posses blood clotting, or coagulating, properties. Keep in mind that when bleeding occurs no vitamin or herbal therapy should replace immediate medical care by a doctor.

Herbs for External Use

Herbs that stop bleeding go by several classifications, including coagulants and hemostatics, which perform their function by helping blood to clot, as opposed to styptics, which stop bleeding by constricting blood vessels. Herbs that fall under the categories of coagulants and hemostatics, according to John Lust's "The Herb Book," include the powdered root of spotted cranebill and club moss as well as black red and smooth alder.

Herbs for Internal Use

Deni Bown's "Herbal: The Essential Guide to Herbs for Living" also lists agrimony as helpful in controlling internal bleeding. A related herb in Chinese medicine, shaggy speedwell, contains a large concentration of vitamin K and has been found to increase blood clotting by as much as 50 percent. Bown explains that agrimony, when combined with great burnet and bletilla, can be used to help stop internal hemorrhaging. Lust adds to this list red burnet, knotweed, lady's mantle, plantain, shave grass, comfrey and milfoil.

Vitamin K

A 2007 study published in "Thrombosis and Haemostasis" describes vitamin K's reputation for coagulation. In this study, researchers found that people prone to certain unwanted side effects from anticoagulation medication are vitamin K deficient, and that vitamin K supplementation may help remedy those effects. The Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University explains that the "K" in vitamin K comes from "koagulation," the German word for the blood-clotting action attributed to this vitamin found in leafy green vegetables, liver and certain vegetable oils.

Interactions and Counterindications

Certain vitamins can actually impede coagulation. For example, vitamin E is a blood thinner. According to the National Institutes of Health, doses of vitamin E higher than 800 units per day can interfere with vitamin K's blood-clotting function, as evidenced by a 2004 study published in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition," which determined that high enough doses of vitamin E can antagonize vitamin K. "Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease" reports that high doses of vitamin A can interfere with vitamin K absorption. High doses of niacin, or vitamin B3, have also been found to interfere with coagulation.