Nose Bleed Cause, Symptoms, Treatment

Most NOSE BLEEDS come from a rich blood supply on the thin inner wall of your nose called the septum.

For most nosebleeds no obvious cause can be found.

Common causes of nosebleed:

• Trauma like nose picking.
• Nose infections.
• Steroid nose sprays for allergic rhinitis.
• Drying out of your nose lining in heated rooms in winter - common.
• High blood pressure in the elderly.
• Cancer of the nose - rare.
• Leukemia, hemophilia and other bleeding disorders - rare.

Treatment of Nose Bleeds:

Most nose bleeds can be stopped by simply pinching your nose - like a pool diver - for five to ten minutes while sitting leaning forward and breath through your mouth. Don't blow your nose hard if you can help it. That dislodges the clot turning back on the blood trickle. Light blowing is ok.

Heavy bleeding is best treated by a doctor. Silver nitrate sticks can be used to burn bleeding spots in family practice. It's commonly done and very effective. The most severe cases have to be treated at a hospital where the nose is packed with gauze strips or a balloon catheter to compress the bleeding vessels for 24 hours. But this is rare.

Nosebleed Prevention:

• Use a humidifier in your home during winter.
• Quit smoking. Cigarrete smoke irritates and dries your nose lining.
• Cut fingernails short to avoid picking trauma.
• Try a sesame seed oil nose spray if you nose feels dry often.
• After a nosebleed try applying an over-the-counter antibacterial ointment into both nostrils via a Q-tip twice a day for 5 days to reduce bacterial load.

Nosebleed Kids Info

 

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