Bloody Nose!!

During a nosebleed, have your daughter lean forward and pinch her nose together near the top at the bridge. (The blood should stop dripping if you have it in the right place) She needs to continue to lean forward. Swallowing the blood will make her sick. You can apply an ice pack to the back of her neck. This will usually create a clot after a few minutes. Have her be careful not to blow her nose for a while; and then only gently. If it starts to bleed again, just repeat the process.

Sometimes it's the dryness of the air that causes nosebleeds. A cool mist vaporizor in the room during the night might help. It, also, helps to liberally coat the inside wall of each side of the nose with vaseline especially at bedtime. It's soothing and can be done, if necessary, upon waking during the night and during the day, until the area that keeps breaking loose heals.

Cauterizing is used in extreme cases.

Dear R.:

It is always a good idea to have things checked out by a doctor "just in case" so that you can actually correct the problem. You have been given some great ideas too.

One other thing that can help stop a nose bleed when it occurs is to roll up a bit of paper towel or toilet paper, dampen it, then stick it between the upper gums just above the front teeth and the top lip. I've been told that this compresses a nerve. However it works, it does seem to help stop the bleeding quickly.

Jen

Neo-synephrin nose spray. It causes the capillaries to constrict for a short amount of time. That should stop the flow and allow the scab to start to form. It is what is used in the ER, and can be gotten OTC. You may find it now behind the pharmacy counter, however, and may need to ask.
Leaning forward, with the bridge of the nose pinched also works. As dose small ice packs along the bridge of the nose.
You can use vaseline sparingly applied with a q-tip to the passages, but obviously not to deep. That will help keep them moist and lock in what moisture they do have. Get a moist humidifier for her bedside to raise the humidity in her room. If she is on anti-histamines for allergies, then you may want to cut back as they may be drying her out TO much. There is also nasal saline wash that is very helpful for keeping things moist and is not addicting and has nothing really but saline. Once she gets used to it, she will be surprised how well she will feel when using it (called ocean nasal spray etc.) Drinking more fluids can help also.
The problem is usually caused by dry sinus passages from a variety of sources. The skin up in there, cracks from dryness and bleeds. Or is kept irritated by repeated cracking and doesn't heal well, so continues to crack and bleed. The problem isn't to control the bleeding but to re-moisten the sinuses so that they can heal and as a preventative to stop the cycle. Just stopping the bleeding doesn't stop the cycle. IF none of that helps, I would ask the doctor for some Rhinocort low dose nasal steroid spray to help speed the healing process and take care of any inflammation up in there.
I used to have exactly what you describe, and have even been to the ER because we coudln't get the bleeding to stop. This was when I was younger, now they are not so bad. If I have them now like that, then I know that I am not doing the nasal saline etc. and start again. When I was in High School, I would spontaneous have a nose bleed while in class and have to rush to the bathroom! My nose bled all the time. So I know how she feels.
I am also a nurse (15 years now) so know that the advice I offer is safe. And have been there, done that.
Good luck,
L.

I second the response regarding having your daughter lean forward and pinch the bridge of her nose during a nose bleed. I got nose bleeds that lasted 30 min - 1 hour often when I was young, and everyone always told me to lean my head back. However, (sounds gross, but true) the blood does go down your throat, and after spitting up large blood clots during a 2 hour nose bleed my mom finally read in a First Aid book that one should lean forward. That way the blood clots in your nose at the site of the bleed and the bleeding definitely stops sooner.

I always got so anxious when I had a nosebleed...staying calm I'm sure definitely helps blood pressure stay lower and helps the bleeding stop sooner.

A.

my brother used to have really bad nose bleeds as well and one of his basketball trainers told him to put a piece of ice or a bag of ice on the top part of the nose, because this will freeze the nerve that is causing the bleeding. And it actually works I've used it several times myself. Also try putting Vaseline in her nose every day to keep it moist and not dry out.

my 11 year old has the same problem. Sometimes it is worse than other times.

Getting overheated outdoors can aggravate it.

A humidifier might help your daughter.

My daughter used to have nose bleeds pretty often when she was 7 or 8. They stopped suddenly just as they appreared. To help her we would just place a cold rug on her forehead and gently apply pressure on her nose...it was pretty bad too, what seemed to me like a lot of blood made me nervous, but the doctor did a check up and everything was fine. He told us that there were little vessels on the nose that were very sensitive (as a growing girl) so even at night she would wake up to a soaked pillowcase....as I said the nose bleeds eventually stopped, did not last long!

Gos Bless!!

I had trouble with that at around that age. A humidifier at night helped me alot. I would still check with a doctor to make sure her blood isn't having trouble clotting.

Dear R.,

I started having bloody noses as a child. When I was about 19 years old someone referred me to "Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist". The doctor carterized (?) my nose and stopped the problem that I had for many years. I wish I had know to go earlier. I am not sure how old you need to be to get your nose carterized.

R.

I used to get nose bleeds as a child (almost 30 years ago!). I remember my mother using a humidifier. I don't remember what we did to stop them, but I remember waking up a lot at night with them. You should probably talk to a doctor, but it might just be a normal thing some kids go through. I don't remember my mother being concerned about it, and she worked for a doctor's office, so she had access to medical professionals to discuss it.

This is strange and not sure if your daughter has the same thing that i had when i was a little girl, but I had the exact same problem and my mom took me to an ear, nose and throat doc for the problem and I had broken blood vessels in my nose which caused unexplaned nose bleeds in the middle of the night and during school, always seem to happen during PE. and I was always in the nurses office for it. Not sure if this is the problem but it is a very easy fix, for me they just put me under and cartorized those blood vessels that were broke. And the only way i got it to stop was to wad up some tissue stick it up my nose, apply pressure and hold my head back. but unless you find the problem and get it fixed, I am affraid that it will just keep happening. Hope this helps and good luck!!

I have had this problem my whole life. My suggestions are first, have her rub vaseline or mentholatum in her nose every night before bed to keep it moist. Second, make sure she drinks plenty of water and use nasal spray when her nose feels dry (this works better than humidifiers I think). To stop a nose bleed, make SURE she leans her head forward NOT backwards! I find washing my face in cold water or laying a cold rag accross my nose helps a lot too. The doctor suggests packing the inside of your cheeks/mouth with cold rags also, the coldness slows down the blood flow. The combination of these things should help, I don't think she has any medical condition... I think it's just the dry air, the dry heaters, the dehumidifying air conditioners, and the texas wind combined with dust.

Hi R., My daughter use to get bloody noses and I had to take her to the emergency room several times.One time they were talking about cauterizing the blood vessel inside her nose.Gad! they did'nt though- the DR.told me to keep vaseline inside the top and sides of the lining of her nose.He said those vessels were very thin and if her nose was dry AND she picks the scab it would continue to bleed.She really had some whoppers!!!! Big clots etc,don't want to gross you out but you get the enough of the picture.So keep it moist and tell her not to pick or even scrunch her nose cos that will break the scab too.Hope that helps I remember how scary it was.God Bless S.

Not to be a downer but have you seen a dr about this? Maybe an MRI would be a good idea to make sure there is nothing going on.

Good luck
AJ

A simple way to stop nose bleeds is press tongue up in between upper gum and lip. I don't know how it works, but it does. I think by putting pressure there it cuts or slows blood flow to the nose.

I had this myself when I was little, around 6 y.o. My parents ended up taking me to a ear-nose-throat specialist who had to cauterize (sp?) the inside of my nose to make it stronger. Since then, I can count the number of nosebleeds I've had on one hand. Take her to your regular doc and maybe get a referral to a specialist - good luck! (BTW, I would also advise getting this fixed a.s.a.p. - it was pretty traumatizing for me and ended up affecting my sleep for years, because, like your daughter, mine would start in the middle of the night and it was very scary to wake up all bloody.)

R.,

I'm not trying to scare you...but does your daughter take decongestants? that could raise her blood pressure and cause bloody nose. Has anyone checked your daughter's blood pressure? and her vitamin K levels? platelete level (blood clotting). does she drink caffeinated beverages? does she take anything that can "thin" her blood?
how is the temperature in her room? does she cover her head while sleeping and getting overheated? I hope there are no medical condition causing the bloody nose. ~C.~

Help is on the way. I too suffered from a bloody nose. My doctoer advised me to use a cotton ball soaked in proxide to help stop the bleeding. When applying the proxide soaked cotton ball, have your daughter lay on her back with her head lower than the rest of her body. Put pressure on the nostril that is bleeding. He also had me to start eating alot of jello because it helps thicken the blood and suggested that I use a cool mist vaporizer in my bedroom at night. Our heating and cooling systems tend to dry the air out. If this continues, see a nose, ear and throat specialist.

I'm so sorry to hear that! My younger sister cannot sleep with the ceiling fan on as it gives her nose bleeds. Maybe this will help?

My daughter suffers nose bleeds especially this time of the year. When i asked the doctor he said to put her on claritin. It has worked ever since.
S.

My 16 year old daughter had the same problem. I took her to a nose specialist who did an in-office procedure that involved fusing blood vessels in her nose. It was a little uncomfortable, but she was very happy that her nosebleeds have since stopped. The doctor name is Allison Wyll in Garland off of George Bush Turnpike.

Good luck!

My daughter gets them too, my mom and brother did lots as well, and they both had the blood vessel (or whatever you call it) cauterized and they have been thrilled, so we may lean in that direction for my daughter. Ask your dr. or ent. I dont know much more than that, but they both say it was a great thing for them. ~A.~

My son is 14 and has suffered from nosebleeds pretty much his whole life. When he was 7 we lived in Oregon and he was to the point where he was getting them every day several times a day so I took him to the Dr. The Dr said that his vein was really close to the surface and that any irritation (allergies, rubbing, aggresive blowing) was causing it to break and bleed. So they cauterized the vein. It was a very short, simple, painless procedure that they did right there in the office. (it is basically just burning that part of the vein closed, I think)
Anyhow that took care of that vein in that side of his nose and he did not have any problems until about 6 mo ago the vein in the other side started doing the same thing. our Dr. here in FW referred us to a ENT and guess what? he said lets cauterize it. So THAT vein is not done too and no more problems. Hope this helps and I do sympathize, my son was just reading over my shoulder and says "oh, man that stinks, she needs to get it fixed like i did!"
Best of luck to you and your daughter.