Cure for Bloody Noses

Hi S.!
I don't know of a cure for bloody noses. Direct pressure is the number one way to stop bleeding, but this is very difficult when it comes to nose bleeds. Your suppose to sit up, firmly squeeze nose, with head tilted foward, for 10 min. Humidifiers are suppose to help, which you have tried. Normal saline nose spray 4 to 5 times a day may help. At bed time you can place a thin coating of vaseline on the inside of the nose on each side of the septum(the midddle part of the nose). I have heard that ice packs or cold compresses can help. Cold causes the blood vessels to constrict which should in turn cause the bleeding to slow or stop. I have also heard that when a nose bleed occurs you can spray a nose spray like afrin in the nose before holding pressure and this is suppose to help. If her pediatrician hasn't been helpful, maybe you could ask for a referral to an ear, nose, and throat specialist. I hope this helps!

Welll... I don't know if this is the case with your daughter or not, but when I was young I would get nose bleeds ALL the time. Sometimes 3 or 4 a day and lasting an hour or more. They seemed to happen seasonally, more or less. After several doctors and many appointments, I was referred to an ear/ nose/ throat doctor who diagnosed that I had a horrible sinus infection. (He made this diagnosis with a simple x-ray.) He said I had had it for years, and it had finally gotten so bad that it caused the nose bleeds. He put me on some pretty heavy antibiotics, which didn't help, and eventually I had to have sinus surgery because it came to light that my sinuses had congenital problems (which were diagnosed with a CT scan). I am pleased to say that it has been over 20 years since that surgery, and I have not had a sinus infection or nose bleed since, so his diagnosis was correct. (By the way, since that surgery, I have never had "allergies" either!)

Your daughter's problem may be nothing like mine, but I thought I would share it with you since like your daughter, I had been diagnosed with allergies by doctors, and they had used that to explain away my symptoms.

Hi S.,
Kim is right about saline spray and Vasaline. They are the best things for prevention and easy to do. My daughter now only has occasional bleeds, bu they still will sometimes cluster a few in one day. The doc said this is because the liesian (spelling? docs use interesting words!) from the first bleed can be re-openned by the slightest bump or sneeze until it has a chance to heal fully. Vasaline applied with a q-tip helps a bit with this, as does limiting activity for an hour or so after a bleed.
If she has a bleed that last for more than 20/30 mins. you should take her to her doctor. If you call the office and let them know what is happening they will usually be able to fit you in right away without you needing to go to urgent care. My daughter's doc said that blood loss can cause real problems and the nose may need to cauterized (done in the office very quickly) and she may need to stay out of school for the day to allow her blood counts to recover. This has only happened once to my daughter, but was pretty scary at the time.
Good luck with this and realy try the saline and vasaline!

S.,
My 7 year old has horrible allergies about 7 months out of the year, as well as severe bloody noses During her allergy outbreaks. Part of this is due to the fact that her blood vessels are so close to the surface, (just like her dad, he had to have surgery as a child to correct this problem and it did reduce the number of bloody noses he gets, but boy when he gets one it is bad). What has helped my daughter is staying on top of the allergies, (she is on zyrtec and flonaise) as well as having her wipe her nose, not blow it). We also try to keep her from doind to much running around until the second or third day of being on the allergy meds. I would have a talk with her doctor and make sure she is on allergy meds that work for her and possibly see a ear Nose and throat specailist. Good luck
Amanda

The responses you have received are right on with everything I was taught in first-aid training to be a lifeguard. The only thing I would add is hydration...make sure your daughter is drinking lots of water! The vaseline helps to lock in moisture.