Why am i bleeding from my nose

Nosebleed causes & treatments | NHS inform

Most nosebleeds can be stopped without the need for medical attention, but occasionally further treatment may be required.

What to do

To stop a nosebleed:

• sit down and firmly pinch the soft part of your nose, just above your nostrils, for at least 10-15 minutes
• lean forward and breathe through your mouth – this will drain blood into your nose instead of down the back of your throat
• place an ice pack or bag of frozen vegetables covered by a towel on the bridge of your nose
• stay upright, rather than lying down as this reduces the blood pressure in the blood vessels of your nose and will discourage further bleeding

If the bleeding eventually stops, you won't usually need to seek medical advice. However, you should still follow the recovery advice outlined below.

When to seek medical advice

Contact your GP or call the NHS 111 service if:

• you're taking a blood-thinning medicine (anticoagulant) such as warfarin or have a clotting disorder such as haemophilia and the bleeding doesn't stop
• you have symptoms of anaemia such as heart palpitations, shortness of breath and a pale complexion
• a child under two years of age has a nosebleed (this is rare and there's a chance it's caused by something serious)
• you have nosebleeds that come and go regularly

Ask someone to drive you to your nearest accident and emergency (A&E) department or call 999 for an ambulance if:

• the bleeding continues for longer than 20 minutes
• the bleeding is heavy and you've lost a lot of blood
• you're having difficulty breathing
• you swallow a large amount of blood that makes you vomit
• the nosebleed developed after a serious injury, such as a car crash

Find your nearest A&E department

Medical treatment

If you see your GP or go to hospital with a nosebleed, you will be assessed to determine how serious your condition is and what's likely to have caused it. This may involve looking inside your nose, measuring your pulse and blood pressure, carrying out blood tests and asking about any other symptoms you have.

The main treatments that your GP or hospital doctor may use to stop your nose bleeding are described below.

Antibiotic ointment

Your doctor may prescribe an antibiotic ointment. This should be applied by squeezing a pea-sized amount onto the front of the nasal septum (wall between the nostrils).

This can reduce the inflammation and crusting in the nose and reduce the severity and frequency of nosebleeds.

Antibiotic ointment is particularly effective in children.

Cautery

If your doctor is able to identify exactly where the bleeding is coming from, they may carry out a minor procedure to seal the bleeding blood vessel by cauterising (burning) it.

This is normally done using a stick of a chemical called silver nitrate. A local anaesthetic will be sprayed into your nose to numb it and the silver nitrate stick will be held against the bleeding point for up to 10 seconds.

Nasal packing

If cautery is ineffective or your doctor is unable to identify a specific bleeding point, they may recommend packing your nose with gauze or special nasal sponges to stop the flow of blood by applying pressure to the source of the bleeding.

Packing will usually be carried out after local anaesthetic has been sprayed into your nose. The gauze or sponges often need to be left in place for 24-48 hours before being removed by a health professional. You'll usually need to be admitted to hospital to be monitored during this time.

Further treatment

If the treatments above don't help, you may be referred to a hospital specialist such as an ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctor for further treatment.

Additional treatments that may be used in hospital include:

• electrocautery – an electric current running through a wire is used to cauterise the blood vessel where the bleeding is coming from
• blood transfusions – a procedure to replace the blood you've lost
• tranexamic acid – medication that can reduce bleeding by helping your blood to clot
• packing under anaesthetic – your nose is carefully packed with gauze while you are unconscious from general anaesthetic
• ligation – an operation using small instruments to tie off bleeding blood vessels in the back of your nose

Recovery

Once your nose has stopped bleeding, you should follow the advice below to reduce the risk of your nose bleeding again and to stop you picking up an infection:

• avoid blowing or picking your nose, heavy lifting, strenuous exercise, lying flat, and drinking alcohol or hot drinks for 24 hours
• don't remove any crusts that form inside your nose – these may be unpleasant, but they're a useful part of the healing process
• if you need to sneeze, try to sneeze with your mouth open to reduce the pressure in your nose
• avoid people with coughs and colds

If you see a GP or a hospital doctor about your nosebleed, they may give you a prescription for an antiseptic nasal cream once the bleeding stops. This should be applied to the inside of your nostrils several times a day for up to two weeks to help prevent further bleeding.

If your nose does start to bleed again, follow the first aid advice above and seek medical advice if the bleeding doesn't stop.

How To Stop & Prevent Nosebleeds

Written by WebMD Editorial Contributors

Medically Reviewed by Poonam Sachdev on October 19, 2021

In this Article

• Why Is My Nose Bleeding?
• How Do I Stop My Nosebleed?
• How to Prevent Nosebleeds

Why Is My Nose Bleeding?

Several things can trigger a nosebleed. The most common cause is dry air, either from having the heat on in winter or being in a hot, low-humidity climate. Other causes include:

• Picking your nose
• Blowing your nose too hard often
• Injuries caused by a fall or getting hit in your nose
• Side effects of medication, like blood thinners
• Allergies
• High altitudes, where the air is thin

How Do I Stop My Nosebleed?

Nosebleeds usually aren’t serious. You can treat most by yourself at home by doing the following:

• Stay calm. If you start to get nervous, it can actually make you bleed more. Try to relax.
• Sit up, don’t lie down. Keep your head above your heart.
• Lean a little bit forward. This keeps the blood from draining down the back of your throat.
• Pinch your nostrils closed. Use your thumb and index finger to hold your nostrils closed for 5 to 10 minutes while you breathe through your mouth. This puts pressure on the part of your nose that’s bleeding and can make the blood stop flowing.

Once the bleeding has stopped, do not touch or blow your nose. This may start it bleeding again. But if it does restart, gently blow your nose to get rid of any blood clots. You can also spray a decongestant such as oxymetazoline (Afrin, Mucinex, or Vicks Sinex) in both nostrils. Then pinch your nostrils shut and breathe through your mouth for 5 to 10 minutes.

Call your doctor if:

• You fell or hit your nose on something
• You get nosebleeds often
• Your nosebleed lasts longer than 20 minutes even after you put pressure on it
• There’s so much bleeding that it’s hard to breathe.
• You’re taking blood thinners, such as warfarin (Coumadin), dabigatran (Pradaxa), rivaroxaban (Xarelto), fondaparinux sodium (Arixtra), or aspirin, or you have a bleeding disorder.

If your doctor can’t get your nosebleed to stop with pressure, they might try:

Cauterization.This procedure burns a blood vessel closed. After your doctor numbs your nose, they’ll use either a heated electronic device (an electrocautery) or a chemical called silver nitrate to close the leaky blood vessel.

Packing.Your doctor puts a latex balloon or gauze into your nostril. This puts a lot of pressure on a blood vessel until it closes.

How to Prevent Nosebleeds

You can’t always prevent nosebleeds from happening, but there are certain things you can do to help lower your chances of getting them:

• Keep the inside of your nose moist. Dryness can cause nosebleeds. Use a cotton swab to gently smear a thin layer petroleum jelly in your nostrils three times a day, including before you go to sleep. You can also use an antibiotic ointment like Bacitracin or Polysporin.
• Use a saline nasal product. Spraying it in your nostrils helps keep the inside of your nose moist.
• Use a humidifier. Your nostrils might be dry because the air in your house is dry.
• Don’t smoke.Smoking can irritate the inside of your nose and dry it out.
• Don’t pick your nose. Also, don’t blow or rub it too hard. If your child is getting nosebleeds, keep their fingernails short and discourage them from picking their nose.
• Don’t use cold and allergy medications too often. These can dry out your nose. In some cases, certain medications can cause nosebleeds or make them worse. You may need to discuss your medications with your doctor. But keep taking them unless your doctor tells you to stop.

Nosebleed: what to do?

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September 1, 2021

Nosebleed, or epistaxis, is an unexpected and even frightening phenomenon.

Should one be alert when such an unpleasant symptom appears, what factors provoke it and how can one help in such a situation? Let's figure it out further.

Why does the nose bleed?

Bleeding from the nose is classified into "anterior" and "posterior". In the first case, the cause is damage to small blood vessels, this type is usually easy to stop. The second case is considered more dangerous, bleeding occurs due to injury to large vessels located deeper in the nose, so it cannot be dealt with at home. If the blood is "in full swing" - this is a reason for an urgent call for an ambulance.

Causes of nosebleeds include:

• trauma to the nose;
• thinning of the mucous membrane;
• inflammatory processes in the nasal cavity;
• vascular fragility, diseases of the heart and blood;
• sudden increase in blood pressure;
• uncontrolled intake of certain drugs (anticoagulants, NSAIDs, vasoconstrictor drops for the common cold).

What should I do if my nose bleeds?

At the moment when the bleeding starts, it is important to try not to be nervous, because the excitement makes our heart beat faster, which leads to more blood loss.

The bleeding stop algorithm is as follows:

• Sit straight, tilt your head forward.
• You should be comfortable: loosen the belt and collar, if necessary, open the window.
• Place a cold, wet towel or ice on your nose and a warm heating pad on your feet. This will help constrict the vessels in your nose and dilate them in your legs, which will reduce bleeding.
• Clamp the bleeding vessel: squeeze the wings of the nose with your fingers for 3-5 minutes, the blood should stop. Also for this purpose, you can enter a gauze swab previously moistened with hydrogen peroxide into the nostril.

If you have completed all the above steps and the blood continues to flow, call an ambulance immediately, because even a small loss of blood can lead to fainting.

What to remember about nosebleeds?

• Do not lie down and do not let your feet be above your head - this will increase bleeding;
• Do not tilt your head: a large amount of blood entering the stomach can cause vomiting, and blood can also flow into the windpipe and make breathing difficult.
• After the bleeding has stopped, refrain from eating and caffeinated drinks to avoid high blood pressure and new bleeding.

Prevention of nosebleeds

Remember, frequent nosebleeds are a reason to see a doctor. The specialist will identify the cause of the problem and prescribe treatment, which may include the use of hemostatic agents, as well as drugs that improve blood circulation.

To prevent rebleeding, a specialist may recommend:

1. Taking medications, as well as vitamins to strengthen blood vessels.
2. Proper diet. Adding foods rich in vitamin K and C to the menu. Vitamin K is responsible for blood clotting, they are rich in parsley, spinach, basil, bananas, avocados, broccoli, bran, etc. Vitamin C strengthens the walls of blood vessels, it is found in large quantities in rose hips, sweet pepper, currant, citrus, etc.
3. Activity and moderate exercise: light exercise in the morning, daily walks in the fresh air, swimming pool, etc.

Be healthy!

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Disclaimer

This blog is not intended to provide diagnosis, treatment or medical advice. The information on this block is provided for informational purposes only. Please consult your physician for any medical and health-related diagnoses and treatments. The information on this blog should not be considered a substitute for consulting a physician.

Why does the nose bleed? - GAUZ OZP City Clinical Hospital No. 8

• Post author: Press Secretary
• The entry was published: 24.07.2019
• Post category: Prevention