Nose bleeding probably happened to everyone – light, severe, caused by trauma, or “spontaneous”. What should you do when it happens again? It’s time to leave the advice of our grandmothers on the shelf, who poured icy water on the neck to stop the flow of blood from the nostrils and think about what to do. How to stop a bloody nose?
The most common causes of a bloody nose
Quite often, nosebleeds are caused by local causes such as:
- Injuries, including popular nosebleing, as well as bumps, inhalation of irritants and trauma in the nasal cavity that arose during procedures.
- Inflammation including, for example, sinusitis and acute inflammation of the upper respiratory tract.
- Excessive drying of the nasal mucosa.
- Atrophic rhinitis, most often caused by the abuse of nasal drops that constrict the mucosa and taking cocaine.
- Nose septal defects.
Health causes of nosebleeds
- Cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension, atherosclerosis, chronic circulatory failure.
- Congenital hemorrhagic diathesis such as thrombocytopenia and hemophilia.
- Acquired blood coagulation disorders after medications (heparin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, anticoagulants).
- Cachexia.
- Diseases with the formation of granulation tissue, including tuberculosis, Wegener’s granulomatosis, syphilis
- Infectious diseases, including Infectious mononucleosis, measles, typhoid fever.
- Uremia and liver failure
- Neoplasms of nasal cavities, sinuses, nasopharynx.
How to stop bleeding
If you have a nosebleed, DO NOT tilt the person’s head back. This causes the blood to run from the nose down the throat wall, which can cause vomiting or even choking. Instead, we should sit (or place the bleeding) in a sitting position, lean forward and firmly compress the wings of the nose (just below the nose bone).
We should stop the hemorrhage for a minimum of 10-15 minutes to allow the clot to form. After stopping the bleeding, we should not blow the nose for about 4 hours, if absolutely necessary, it should be done with great delicacy.
Applying cool compresses to the bleeding forehead or nose is not a way to stop nosebleeds, but it can increase the comfort of the bleeding person.
Remember – nosebleeds are not usually life-threatening, and therefore a reason to call an ambulance. If bleeding occurs often and recur, then we should go to a medical consultation to rule out systemic causes. If the hemorrhage lasts more than 30 minutes or is very heavy, transport the injured to the hospital. The doctor may use a non-invasive method of treatment – electrical coagulation or chemical cauterization, after prior anesthesia of the nasal mucosa. If the bleeding site is difficult to locate, it may attach anterior and posterior tamponade. Invasive methods of treatment, considered a last resort, are used when bleeding continues. Invasive methods of treating nasal hemorrhage include primarily surgical occlusion of blood vessels or embolization of vessels during subtractive angiography.
