Concerned About My Son's Bloody Nose

I had this problem when I was a kid. He probaly has a shallow blood vessel in his sinus cavity and it needs to be coterized by the Dr. Thats what stopped bloody noses for me.

You have a lot of good advice on the climate and moisterizing the nose. Like Anne said... pinch the nose to stop bleeding. You will also need to lean him forward hanging his head down, and put a cold compress on the back of his neck. This will help stop the bleeding faster. Never let him lay down or hold is head back. This will drain the blood down his throat and make his belly upset; and does not assist in clotting.

Heather my ex-husbands dad had a blood disorder. I can't recall the name at the moment but he was a free bleeder. And if he would get cut or bumped in the nose or what not he would bleed and bleed and bleed and bleed, I am thinking that he was under a doctors care for this. However my daughter kept having trouble with huge bloody noses not bleeding a lot at any other time and it was because of her viens being so dry in her nose they also gave me a creme to rub in her nose with a q-tip which seemed to help a lot.

One thing to add to other responses: when he does get a nose bleed, stay calm yourself, and help him calm down too- you mention that he is crying a lot during these. It's normal for him to cry after bein hurt, but it also speeds up the heart rate and increases blood flow...not what you want with a nosebleed. So try not to freak out when he comes in with a bloody nose, and soothe him as well.
As far as seeing the Dr, my brother and I both grew out of the nosebleeds without medical intervention. But you may want to call your regular pediatrician and run it past him/her. (My ped will handle many issues like this over the phone and let me know if my child needs to be seen right away, or at the next check up. You may have to leave a message and wait for a call-back, but it's better than an unneccessary trip in).
Hope this helps

Nose bleeds and really any bleeding from the head can be very alarming because of the volume of blood that comes from these injuries. The head is very vascular and it is normal to bleed heavily from injuries to the head. I wouldn't worry too much because both of these nose bleeds resulted from obvious injury. If he starts having nosebleeds for no apparent reason, or if he has trouble stopping the bleeding from other types of cuts and injuries, I may have him checked out. Based on these two incidents, I wouldn't worry too much right now.

It cannot hurt to have him checked, however I would say it is due to the climate here in Colorado. My daughter was goofing off with my son and she came to me with her nose just gushing out blood! I actually got on my son for being too rough and to be honest my daughter told me later he barely bumped her nose. Then it happened again really minor bump and she started bleeding. Our Pediatrician said that it is so dry here it makes the nasal passages really sensitive. I started using saline drops daily and then tried humidity. That helps a lot. Just have him checked for your peace of mind, to make sure nothing got damaged while playing the first time, but I am betting keeping maybe vaseline on the insides of his nose and saline can help prevent the bleeds.

My niece had a blood disorder where she would bleed a lot whenever she got a nosebleed. It is something she outgrew, but I would definitely take your son to a doctor.

I am a 56 year old working mom whose kids are grown.

Hi Heather,

I am not sure I have help to offer...other than a similar situation with my daughter who will be 5 this month. She may pick her nose and it bleeds and bleeds. We've finally helped her understand, NOT to pick her nose! Yesterday her brother bumped her nose and she bled. It is scary the amount of blood!!! We don't have insurance and don't really trust doctors either. The weather has been very dry lately. We put a humidifier in her room and that has made a HUGE difference in the regularity of the nose bleeds. We also have tried putting Mentholatum (Vicks rub) just under her nose at night. That helps...but can be tricky to remember. If your problem isn't always happening...then you might not have the same need. My husband did some research on the internet and found that at their age...the nasal passages are very thin. Still developing. The high altitude also is a factor. My husband has never had bloody noses like he does here. When he increases his iron intake...he does better. I don't know if any of this has helped. Good luck!

H.

Absolutely have him see a doctor. Making sure about something like this is never a waste of time. It might turn out to be nothing and it's always good in my book to make sure in case it is something. I don't see it as being big on doctors or not...I see it as being big on peace of mind.

I would agree that it's probably the climate. A humidifier might help, as might nasal spray. Breathing over boiling water would moisten him up very fast. I do know though, one time when my mom was sick, she kept getting bloddy noses. The doctor told her if it bled significantly, or for more than 5 minutes, to get to the hospital fast. I don't know if it was because she was sick, or if it was because a bloody nose is that serious. I hope you can find a good solution. I'm sure your son hates this interruption to his play!

Same as Jennifer o, I also had problems with severe bloody noses as a child. My pediatritian at the time said I just had very thin veins in my nose so when bumped they would open easily. I would often wake up in the middle of the night with terrible nose bleeds. I also remember being sent home from shcool because of this problem. Some kids are just prone to this problem but usually outgrow it (I did). Another reason may be due to the dry air durring the winter. You can try taking a q-tip and rubbing the inside of his nostril with vaseline this may help. But as a mother if you are truely concerned see his doctor.

I have had some experience with this. I am irish and norwegian, which can have a lot to do with this type of problem. But it can happen to anyone. What happens with people in my family is that on the inside of our noses, the blood vessels are too close to the surface so when the skin gets irritated and breaks so do the blood vessels. Because of the type of skin in your nose as well it makes it harder for things to clot. I always found this to be more of a prblem in dry weather as well. So try putting a humidifier in your sons room all the time, and you may want to ask a doctor about it o be sure, but that is what happens with my family. Just don't let the doctor crterize the vessles in his nose, it rarely works and it is extremely painful. Hope this helps.

Hi,
I haven't had the same situation.
But I have had lots of bloody noses.
TO stip the bloody nose
I take tissue and fold it lond wise to
about 1 to 1.5 inches then roll it up.
The I wet mine but you don't have to.
Put it inside the upper lip this puts
pressure on the spot to help it stop
bleeding and I do let the blood run out of the
nose not down the throat.
I hope this helps in the future
with any bloody nose
B.

Dear Heather R.
A test for clotting factor is as simple as getting a blood sample drawn (for children they can usually get away with a sample from a finger prick) and that can be done by a nurse.
The level of bleeding you describe is, as you have suggested, far from normal, and your son should be looked at immediately before something more serious occurs. Maybe the solution is as simple as a dietary supplement, but regardless it is good to know what is going on.
All the best,
F.

Sounds pretty frightening.
I am 55 years old and my son who is now 31 used to have severe nose bleeds. He would get a nose bleed at the drop of a hat, there would be so much blood his shirt would be soaked.
Once I got a call from school to bring him clean clothes. There also used to be large blood clots in his nose bleeds. Gross, but as bad as it sounds it was not serious. When ever there is an injury to the head or face it bleeds more than anywhere else.
His sinus's were very sensitive and dry. The doctor recommended using Neosporin for Noses, regular Neosporin works as well. This helped tremendously. As he got older the nosebleeds stopped. Since your son was hit in the nose, his nose may have not been broken but very sensitive and was reinjured eaisly. If the situation does not improve I would take him to the doctor just to be on the safe side.

First of all you say you are not big on doctors and you go when absolutely necessary---aren't you putting yourself in the position of being a doctor without professional training, with your child's health potentially at risk, when you say you are determining when health care is necessary?

With that being said, nosebleeds can be caused by a number of things and most commonly in Colorado is the arid environment. Also, I would keep in mind there are a lot of blood vessels in the nose so trauma, sometimes even the mildest like picking boogers, can set off a bleed. Another possibility is when he was rough-housing with his grandpa, you didn't think his nose was broken but is it possible there was some trauma that did occur that has since healed but now sets your son up to bleed easier?

Lastly, nosebleeds more seriously can be caused by a clotting disorder, as another mother has stated, and can also be an early sign of some childhood cancers---however, I would expect the frequency to be increased and the nosebleeds would be difficult to stop in a reasonable period of time.

I would suggest increasing humidification/applying petroleum jelly as previously recommended and if they don't do the trick, get over your vice about seeing a doctor, perhaps find a new one, and have your son evaluated. Specifically, a trip to an ENT would put to rest if there is any lingering trauma from his rough-housing with his grandpa.

Best wishes.

From your son's point of view, it might feel less tramatic to have a doctor's visit now exploring the issue, than an ER visit with lots of blood during another bump in the nose. Good luck.

It's ok, relax, I had chronic bloody noses as a child, and this is no joke, there are very few pic's of me when I was little that I don't have a wash cloth pressed to my face. The air is very dry right know my 3 year old just had one and she has never had one, her's sis scare me cause she had been sleeping, started to cough and sat up with blood everywhere, the she threw up blood, freeked me, I figured it seeped down her throat but went to the E.R any ways, lucky I did she had an ear infection headed our way, but my idea was correct as far as the nose, and I am like you very laid back when it comes to stuff like this, anyways, sorry got off track, some trick to help prevent further bleeds is to use a moisturizing nose spray once a day, saline can sometimes help, once he has a bleed have him blow his nose, yes this is contradictory to what you hear, but you need to get the clot out, have him lean his head back, just a slight tilt, pinch the nose between the eyes, if after 5 minutes that hasn't slowed it down, add an ice pack just above where you are pinching, I have had mine bleed as long as 30 minutes and it can be scarry even to me at 36, but I also know that it can take up to 45 minutes, it shouldn't be gushing at that point but it can still drip for lack of better termanology, once in the E.R they will want to carterize...no fun. hope this helps!!!

H., My daughter who is 5 also has this problem. We went to the ENT. He told me it was a blood vessel close to the surface. Like your other responses, in the dry weather and bumping causes a huge mess!! My daughter would even throw up. The doctor told me to pinch the soft part of the nose hard for about 3-5 min. Then use a medicine called Ary-Gel. It is in any pharmacy in the nasal spray area. Just put a little inside the nose both sides to be safe 2 times a day. I put in in my daughters nose at night before she goes to bed and in the morning before school. The doctor also said that he doesn't like cauterizing this young. They have to put them out to do so. He said to use this as long as I can until she is older. I didn't look at where you are from, but my ENT is Dr. Hill in the Memorial Clinic in Salt Lake City and is the BEST!! My kids really like him alot. They have all been to him for something! Good luck!--H. too!! :0)

I had the worst nose bleeds when I was a kid. Anything would trigger them, sneezing, a small bump, or just dry air. I had to sleep with a wash cloth and rarely made it through the night with out a nose bleed. They started around 5 and lasted until I was 10 or 12 when I finally got my nose cauterized. It burned and stung like crazy, but that ended the nose bleeds. Now I could probably break my nose without it bleeding.

The doctor said I had a lot of blood vessels very close to the surface, so it didn't take much to rupture them. I don't know if I would advise the cauterizing unless it gets very severe, but it's an option.

I wouldn't worry too much about the loss of blood. It's hard to get them stopped. Everyone always says to lean back, but I found leaning forward helped much better and the blood doesn't run down your throat. I would get ice, pinch my nose right where the bone starts, and lean my head forward. Don't change the tissues until they are completely soaked, it lets the blood pool and clot faster.

Good Luck!!!

Hi Heather,
My daughter had a few of those bloody noses. One was splashing on kids around her and the school office ladies said it was pouring into their hands and onto the floor. She had to miss school the next day and was pale and tired. The other one lasted three hours.
I took her to the Ear Nose and Throat Dr. who said there was nothing physically wrong with her. I took her to my Chiropractor who also does muscle testing. He said her skull bones were too tight, pulled on them a bit and she has not had one since. We also noticed that the nose bleeds happened after she had taken tylenol, so she will not take it any more.
It is hard to find a Chiropractor who does the muscle testing, but if you can find one, it is worth it! Good luck!
K. Loidolt, Author - Shopper's Guide to Healthy Living ____@____.com

I don't know how much advice you already have but I have a son who has been plagued with bloody noses. I have found that vitamin K helps. I give it to him about once a week. Also make sure he either eats green vegetables often or give him Chlorophyll every week also. If you do have him start taking chlorophyll you will want to give it to him right before a really good meal because if you don't - it is nasty when you burp. --M.

Hi, I don't mean to scare you, but I would take him in. At least call the office and talk to the nurse. Bloody noses like that could be a sign of leukemia. Sorry, I know that sounds completely awful, and it is. I think it's worth checking out. Best of luck!

Here's a tip I learned in a CPR/firstaid class: there's a pressure point under your upper lip where the lip connects to the upper front teeth. You can apply firm pressure to that directly or roll up some thin paper board like a cereal box say about half inch by half inch then roll it up and place it at that pressure point. Have the person sit and lean foward to let blood drain out of mouth, it's much better than swallowing the blood. I'd ask a doc about your son's clotting ability, maybe he needs some meds for that....hope this helps...

I was kicked in the nose really hard when I was a child. It bled real bad, but we didn't feel that it was broken and I never saw a doctor for it. After that incident, I would have bloody noses that would never seem to stop, whenever my nose was in the wrong place at the wrong time. This was an issue for some time, until I finally saw the doctor and they carterized (not sure how to spell) the blood vessel because the doctors determined that it had damaged. Now I have a 12 year old and he has the same issue. We have had the doctors look at him and they said that in our dry climate, your nose dries out very easily and becomes very sensitive. The best option they could give me was to keep his room humidified and the encourage him to irrigate his sinuses often. You can purchase an irrigation solution over the counter or make your own with salt, baking soda and water and use a baby aspirator. I've heard of a million ways to help stop the bleeding, but my best advise is to try and keep him and you calm, have him lie on an incline (not flat on his back) and put a cold washcloth on the bridge of his nose. I've been there and it's really scary. Hang in there.

I used to have a lot of bloody noses too, some were the kind where they had to hose down the area. It wasn't too big a deal.

One thing that you need to learn, and so does your son, is how to stop the bleeding fairly quickly. What I learned, and there may be a better way, was to pinch the bridge of my nose to cut the flow to it, and to hold it for a little while before checking. If you tip his head back he will be swallowing a lot of blood and hate it.

They also cauterized my nose, but I don't think that did much other than building up scar tissue in my nose. I still get them sometimes and the pinching the bridge of the nose works without stopping anything else.

Good luck.

It is upsetting, but I have suffered from this as well. I have spider veins and small capillaries in my nose that rupture easily, from stress to being hit to change in temperature. I had to have my nose carterized a few times and it has helped a lot. I would ask his Doctor to see an ENT so that he may be diagnosed and have this procedure done. It is a little uncomfortable but quick! Hope this helps!