Help with Bloody Nose

My son has this problem. His nosebleeds now are more normal, dry-air bleeds and they last just a few minutes (and he knows how to cope with them.) But when he had the problem of nosebleeds that lasted for 10 minutes, the culprit was one vein in his nose. We had it lasered by his ENT, which stopped those long, heavy bleeds that made his teachers and caretakers nervous!

Anyway, he still has the short bleeding episodes every once in a while in the winter (MUCH less often - maybe once a month.) I'd see if you can get an appointment for someone to look at it, especially if the bleed seems to be from the same nostril. Our pediatrician was able to tell by looking which vein was causing the problem, and he referred us.

We have had good luck preventatively by keeping the room humidified and swabbing the inside of the nostrils with a bit of Aquaphor at night (vaseline would probably work too) to prevent skin dryness.

Oh, I feel for you. We have had this problem with my little boy who is 5. It has been going on for about 2 years and we took him to the ENT and he told me to put Saline drops in his nose for a while. We did that and they stopped but started again. And they will bleed and bleed. Sounds like you are having the same problem.

S. bailey CLD
aurora
www.tendermomentsdoula.com

You already received lots of great advice. Besides the vaseline in the nose and the humidifier, my son (age 3)also benefitted from additional Vit C and alfalfa. Once I added this to his supplement regimen for a day or two, his nose bleeds stop.

If you need any recommendations on where to find goood quality supplements (especially herbs), let me know.

T.
www.shaklee.net/fruth

I haven't dealt with this with my kids but with myself. Talk to your ped about vitamins. Sometimes low iron levels cause nosebleeds. As for getting them to stop place a cold compress on the back of the neck. It constricts the blood vessles to the head and helps slow the folw down so it can clot.

Karen,

I hate to sound simplistic, but this was happening to my daughter for a while.. turns out, she was picking her nose. She will still sometimes get bloody noses from this... i just had to tell her, look, if you absolutely NEED to pick... use a tissue becasue the fingernail is scratching that very sensitive skin.

The absolutely best way to stop a bloody nose...

There is a flap of skin that attaches the upper lip to the gums, put pressure on it. we would take a piece of paper and fold it up a bit, stick it between the lip and the gum, and put pressure in an upward motion on that flap.

if the pressure is held there long enough and with enough pressure it will stop the bleeding. don't tip the head back - he'll just end up swallowing the blood. Also make sure he understands that it will be sensitive to bleeding for a couple days until the skin heals.

i dont know why kids seem to have a need to 'clean house' in their noses at night, but once my daughter stopped picking, the bloody noses stopped for the most part. I also told her the best time to blow, to clean up things in there, is after a shower.

She has seasonal allergies too, and i know she gets irritation due to that. her medications will sometimes dry up her nasal passages as well and cause a bleed.

What do we do? well... we kind of accept it as somewhat normal... clean it up and move on. If your sons nose hurts or feels dry (he should be able to verbalize this with some very specific questions) try a little saline nasal spray every night and morning. held in the upright position, you can deliver a fine mist, which will just help moisturize a bit.

Good luck...

~J.~

My son gets lots of bloody noses too. Our doctor recommended taking a Q-tip with a little Vaseline and wiping right inside his nose before bed. It does help. We use a vaporizer too, but it did not stop them. Good luck, hopefully it's seasonal and will be done soon!

Andre

Dry nose can be a culprit, it's possible that a saline nasal spray would be helpful. Whn my DH returned from Iraq he had nosebleeds for a few months until he got readjusted to the climate. Is there any chance he is "exploring" his nose at all? That could also cause a problem.

You might check in with your doctor about it. There are some less likely medical problems that could cause this but also your doc might have some input on a nasal spray or other cure. Good luck:)

What is the humility level in your house? I know as an adult if the humidity level falls below 50% my nose dries out inside and I have to spray nasal saline in each nostril every night. If I run a cool mist humidifier in my room I have less problems at night.
My son and husband do not have the same problem as me but I would try the cool mist humidifier or spray nasal saline that can be bought at walmart, sams, osco, walgreens and other store of a dollar or two. It is located in the nose spray area. Do this till the humidity level goes up outside.

Hope this helps...