Nosebleeds

My son frequently has nosebleeds. My wife and I have already learned to "pack" his nostril with sterile cotton instead of running to the ER all the time.I am curious as to what you guys do when a nosebleed occurs. I am thinking of cotarization but am having 2nd thoughts re this.

By the way,I recently bought this product called bleedarrest. I still cant give feedback and will try to do so when i can. It's a hemostat product that is like cotton strips. A google search will end you up in Wallgreens selling it for 10 bucks each.

As an adult, I find that preventative care can make the difference. Depending on your childs age, it might be more difficult. Since I live in the Western US where the humidity levels are really low, I find that when if a put some saline gel (not spray) on a qtip and swab it around a couple of times a day, I don't get the nose bleeds. Running a humdifier at night in his bedroom may also help.

I've also found packing anything in the nose just causes it to re-start when you pull the plug out. Sit down and lean slightly forward so that blood drains out rather than into your throat (which can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea). Pinch the soft part of your nose just below the bridge (the bony part). Use the thumb and index finger to squeeze it for at least 5 minutes holding the tissue to catch the drops versus attaching to the clotting.

I have had cauterization done once after having daily issues with nose bleeds (and my counts were over 50K). Was done in PCP office, he put silver nitrate on a long q-tip and touched the capillaries that were weak.

I used to get nosebleeds all the time when i was younger and have had my nose cauterised more times then i could care to count and i hated having it done. It got to the point mum wouldn't tell me where we were going until we were there cause i used to get that upset about having it done and i am one that can put up with an awful lot of stuff too. I would really about it before getting it done, it is not a pleasent thing.

If i have a nosebleed now, i just put pressure on the soft part of your nose too and put my head forward so i don't swallow any blood and wait for it to stop. If i can't get it stopped in 10-15mins, then i know its time to get to hospital.

Cauterisation has made a really positive difference for my one of my sons who gets nosebleeds - doesn't have ITP, although he does seem to have a low platelet count sometimes. He still gets 2-3 nosebleeds a week, but they are light and easily resolved, rather than filling sinks! He didn't enjoy the procedure, but having experienced the results, I think he would recommend it.

Ali

Thats where we differ Ali cause i wouldn't recommend it at all. It is a terrible procedure to go through. It is basically burning the veins in your nose and is a terrible and yucky feeling. If it is a once off thing, then maybe i'd say go for it, but if it something that has to be done regularly, then i could not and would not recommend it. I'd rather have the nosebleeds then cauterisation, thats just my opinion though. If you do go down that path, i'd research it and see if there are any other options first.

thanks for your replies.

My 5 year old son gets his nose bleeds in waves. Not necesarrily all the time for there are months without us having a single bleeding. But when it coms, it comes often.

I will try cauterization and hopefully it works.

I pack my sons nose with cotton and petroleum jelly so the cotton wont stick too much to the inner nostril.

Bleedarrest works to stop the nose bleed, the problem is it hardens the next day in my sons nostril Im afraid to take out whatever thats left bec i might sart another episode.

bunnie: where can i get the saline gels and what brand? Thanks in advance.

Hi Athos,

Waves is exactly how my 14 year old gets them too - none for months, and then suddenly he will have a few months when he is getting between 2-10 a week.

Cauterisation wasn't particularly horrible for my son, but it wasn't nice either. In the immediate aftermath, it seemed to make the nosebleeds more frequent, but less intense - I think the week after he had it done, he was having at least one a day, but they were a lot lighter. It has made a big difference for him - doesn't miss lessons any more due to the fact that he is in the boys toilets, standing over a sink and trying to stop the bleeding.

I totally agree with Bunnie that prevention helps. I don't know whether it would work for everyone, but a daily application of vaseline seems to help my son! And make sure that your son knows the bit of nose to apply pressure to - according to the ENT doctor we saw, nearly everyone gets the wrong bit!

Ali

I suppose it is different for every person, but for me personally, it was one of the worst things i have ever had to go through and like i said, i can put up with a lot of things. I have a very high pain threshold, but that was torturous for me to go through.

I will try the cauterization process for my son once, if it doesnt work, i'll stop doing it. And probably the silver nitrate process, another doctor wanted to put my son to sleep thru generl anesthesia, i am hesitant with that one.

to make matters worse, even my daughter(8y) has nosebleeds nowadays.Of course she doesnt have ITP so its not a concern for me.

My son is going through a really bad "wave" of nosebleeds this month, how i wish i could suffer in his place.
But there's a reason for everything.

My daughter Kayla has quite a few bloody noses. We try to prevent with Vaseline in the nostrils, and the humidifier. When she gets a bad one our hemonc suggested Afrin nasal spray and this really seems to stop the bleed. Kayla has had a bleed high up in her sinuses once which caused her eyes to bleed, they had never warned me that that was possible but we happened to be at the clinic when it happened and they just recommended the Afrin

^wow, eyebleeding? thats new. Will search regarding the afrin nasal spray, thanks.

more platelets to Kalya


Peter.

Athos, I use the "AYR" brand and have found it in most drugstores (CVS, Walgreens) and major superstores like Walmart. If I can't find it, I like Mentholatum over Vaseline, but the doc's don't recommend the petrolum products.

If I'm traveling and don't have the humidifier, running water as hot as you can stand it over a clean washcloth, wringing it out until it doesn't drip, and putting it over the nose and mouth and breathing through it for several minutes will help.

My Allergy clinic recommends Afrin to clear the estachian tubes and for relief of heavy congestion. Caution, however, if you use it for more than 3 days, you get a re-bound effect.

My nine year old son gets nosebleeds when his count is low -- they've gone on for as little as ten minutes and as long as five hours. When he gets them, we do everything suggested here: sit up straight, not back; pinch the bridge of the nose; use tissues and change them frequently. We use Rhinaris saline gel every night before bed, applying it in each nostril with a q-tip. Our ENT has told us that we shouldn't give him Afrin or anything like it under any circumstances, since it can cause nosebleeds, so that's interesting. We've thought about, and even planned, a cauterization, but he's too freaked out by any medical procedures at this point to do it without sedation, and we're leaving it alone for now.

He's had two really significant ones -- four and five hours respectively. The four-hour one was the first really long one, and we kept thinking it was going to stop and then, since we weren't careful about his not leaning back, he vomited. Once that happened, we got him to the hospital, where he was admitted and given IVIG, his usual treatment. The nosebleed stopped, I kid you not, at the door of the hospital.

The five-hour one happened about two and half years later when he was home with my husband and I was on an airplane. It kept starting and stopping, and ultimately it needed packing and silver nitrite at the ER, where I met them, having turned around to come home.

May all of your son's be of short duration, and, even better, may they stop completely. Good luck.

Dots, thanks for the encouragement.

My son also had very long episodes at times but we dont notice it so much because we pack it here at home with compressed cotton and petroleum jelly. If its a major bleeding or if he soaks the cotton in a few minutes we apply some ice and some pressure. If we still can't stop it then we run to the hospital(we take a car but we could actually run since its only 250 meters away ). But disappointingly, they do the same things we do here at home. So at the back of our minds, we shouldnt have left the convenience of home.

My son has also swallowed blood one time when he was sleeping and his nose bled. He woke us up to an upset stomach after which he vomited blood. This happened when we didnt know anything about that, so it scared my socks off. Bloody nose, bloody pillows and covers, then my son vomits so much blood, i honestly thought it was game over. My faith in my Creator and Redeemer buckled a bit, revealing my weaknesses, but at the end, He provided the grace and peace.

We just came from the ENT a few hours ago and had my sons nose checked. The doctor performed a type of "Cauterization" that did not involve Silver Nitrate, saying it was too strong for the nostrils, i forget what chemical he used but he showed me everything thru his scope, and it stopped bleeding.

7 hours and counting without an episode. And as i look back at my 5 year old precious Tonio sleeping comfortably, i am thankful i have this peaceful moment. Hoping that he sleeps straight till morning.

Peter
Father of Tonio(28k latest count), 5 yrs old
Manila, Philippines

Hi Peter,

Really hope that the cauterisation works for Tonio, or at least improves things. I'd forgotten what they used on my son, but seeing it written down, I've remembered that it was silver nitrate - it produced a strange sort of staining on his skin for a few days afterwards.

Ali

Cauterization worked for a good 17 hours before bleeding again in the left nostril, a sneeze triggered the next nosebleed. I had to plug again after unsuccessfully trying to ice and squeeze the nose. I think i got the right spot to squeeze, everytime i squeezed it would stop, the moment i let go, the blood would drip again. So in the end, a plug stopped it. I hope in the long run it works like you guys say it did for your kids.

The right nostril is another story, it acted up at around 4 am my time(GMT+ and stopped right away.

ANother trip to the EENT today.

Some medical expert should develop a contraption to pinch the spot under the bridge to stop nosebleeding.... and if he could integrate a cooling system with it that would be swell. If they can device masks for broken nosed athletes maybe we're not to far away from this...

Peter, they do make a contraption! The emergency room nurse clamped a clothespin type device on my 9yr old's nose when he had an hour plus nosebleed. It worked great-made of plastic with a little firm padding on the clamps that squeeze the nose. Here's a picture he took with his Nintedo DSi
LaMonica mom to Camden 9yrs (dx 6/09)

wow, where to get that?????

Do a google search

www.schoolhealth.com/product/first+aid/wound+%26+blister+care/noseaid+nosebleed+clip.do

or
www.allmed.net/catalog/item/1,1394,1459,1469

Thanks Steve, will check link.

2 days without a bloody nose and the stress is momentarily gone.... im keeping my fingers crossed it wont come back........ ever.

Julianne (16) has had nosebleeds in waves at times, too. We recently visited an ENT, who found a lesion on her septum, and did not want to cauterize at that location, because it frequently must be repeated, and eventually it may perforate the septum. He prescribed nasonex steroid nose spray for a month; saline rinses several times per day; and ointment swabbed just inside the nose. He said any antibiotic ointment would do, as it is just to cut down on the turbulence of the air rushing through the nostril, prematurely drying the sore spot, and causing any scabbing to come off. She didn't do the ointments or rinses. (She's 16, and it's hard to get her to do anything that's "gross" or might be visible to her peers.) The steroid nose spray, however, has resulted in the nosebleeds stopping within a day. (Which is really a great result, because she had been having them sometimes three times a day for the month prior while we waited to see the ENT.) We'll soon stop the steroid spray and see how she does. Our ENT also recommended against packing stuff into the nose. (She'd been doing this despite her parents' and hematologist's advice to pinch instead of pack.) She finally listened to the ENT. The ENT also said for us to avoid the decongestant sprays unless absolutely necessary. In the past, on advice of the doctors, we had her use Afrin spray as the nosebleed abated a bit, to make it shrink that vessel and make it stop completely. (The ER ENT had packed her with neosynephrine-soaked gauze once after she lost about a pint through her nose.) Still, as an emergency measure, I think it's good to have the Afrin on hand in the house and in her purse. When these were really bad and she was younger, I kept a gallon ziplock bag in the car, with tissues, Afrin, and a bottle of water - to rinse the nasty blood out of her mouth and throat when the bleeding had stopped. Having the nosebleed "kit" really helped when she had them in the car. Good luck. I hope you find something that works for your child.
Norma

Thanks Norma. I'm really anxious right now and have been for the past hour. That's why i went online to see/hear responses from people who have similar situations. My son's nose is packed right this moment, since it's 11pm and time to sleep. On other occasions i'd wait till it's really messy before i pack his nose, but i always make sure its with petroleum so as not to aggravate the existing openings of his capillaries. I'll try to make him go to school tomorrow, despite his nosebleeds and many bruises. Just by looking at him my paternal instinct tells me his counts are low. It's probably due to th fact that he has a cold now, probably from school. Sheesh, i hate when these things happen.

I'm still hoping that my son gets through this and somehow lives a "normal" life. I just hope that as he ages(he's 5.5 yrs), his body changes and copes better with his condition. I also hope that God grants the prayers we have been offering for the last 2.5 years. Lastly, i hope that God gives me the strength NOT to sin against Him in these anxious and worrying situations as I try to focus on the Creator and His sovereign purpose in our lives.

Does having a cold make bleeding more frequent? My son has had a cold virus for 3 days now and bleeding again....

When i have a cold, I tend to get more nose bleeds probally cause your blowing your nose more often and aggrevating the veins in your nose

nosebleeds wont be here for a while i hope. My son's count was 264k!Time to taper the roids!


I just want to enjoy this moment and thank my Lord.

Thats wonderful news, hope they stay up for a long while so you can relax a bit

nosebleeds are back.

not as bad, but still, theyre back.