<p>Those of you who don’t want to be grossed out, stop reading now.</p>
<p>OK- I have never before had a serious nosebleed, but had 2 today (first one was at the office!). Have had a cold for a while now and I guess the dry air and irritation did me in. I’ve tried pinching the bridge of my nose, tilting my head back and having DH put pressure on my neck, but with little success. I would prefer to avoid ice, and don’t think I believe the cold spoon down the back thing. Any other suggestions? I am of course trying not to blow my nose and cause bleed # 3.</p>
<p>I used to pinch D2’s nose just right below her eyes (bridge of her nose), and not tilting her head back. She used to get massive nose bleed as a young child.</p>
<p>Jym, do not tip your head BACK, that encourages blood to go down your throat and make you sick. Always lean forward. Leaning back is “old school”. So says my wilderness first aid training anyway.</p>
<p>I agree with esobay, tilt your head forward. To help prevent nosebleeds due to the dry air, nasal spray/sterile salt solutions are wonderful. Any brand is fine.</p>
<p>Don’t forget the good ol’ neti pot. Does wonders for keeping things in working order when the air is dry. The nasal sprays help, too. I also concur that you never want to tilt your head back.</p>
<p>I agree-get a couple bottles of saline spray–just get whatever is the least expensive–it’s just water and salt. It helps keep the nasal passages moist. I wouldn’t do any netipot treatments until you stop with the severe nosebleeds though, it will dislodge any scabs and start them all over again.</p>
<p>Pinch the bridge of your nose, hard, for a long time and apply ice. Ice shrinks the capillaries that are bleeding and pinches them off. You can also do our old sports stand-by and put a “feminine product” up your nose. It not only absorbs the blood but also applies pressure from within…</p>
<p>My kids have a mild bleeding disorder, and nose bleeds is one of their issues. I agree that pinching and leaning forward are the correct actions. The rule of thumb we were given is that if the nosebleed lasts more than an hour, you should seek medical attention.</p>
<p>Cauterization worked for a little while for my younger son, but then the nose bleeds started up again. They are definitely worse in the winter.</p>
<p>from my experience, if a nose bleed doesn’t stop within 10-15 minutes, then either it is a huge nose bleed that just doesn’t stop because of a huge amount of blood flow, or there’s a big ass clot in the back of your nose that just keeps getting bigger. It would be pretty obvious. If it feels like the nose bleed stopped, but isn’t, then just blow your nose out of the bleeding nostril (GENTLY), to get that big clot out of your system. I’ve done this many times, especially during cold, dry seasons, and it works for me.</p>
<p>At some point of her life, D. had persistant nosebleeds. Her doc. advised to be very careful blowing nose. He said that it is a burst vessel that needs to be healed and it takes time. Worked perfectly! Just be extrememly careful over long period of time, it will go away. And it always happens at such an inconvinient time, like sport competition…D. has not had a single incident after her nose got OK.</p>
<p>OP, sometimes a persistent nose bleed is a sign of seriously high blood pressure. This happened to a coworker and my mother within the last 6 months - both required hospitalization. Have you had your BP checked?</p>
<p>Yes, BP has to be checked very frequently, nosebleed or not, feeling terrific or down. You eat, sleep, got to the bathroom and you check your BP and preferrably Blood sugar also, it is as routine as breathing.</p>
<p>As an ENT, here’s my advice:
Pinch the soft part of the nose together between finger and thumb (like a clothespin). Hold for 10 WHOLE minutes while sitting up. That should stop bleeding, if not, go to an ER.</p>
<p>Then, increase humidity. Nose bleeds happen because surface blood vessels (almost always in Kisselbach’s plexus, on the septum) dry out and crack open. Put a dab of vaseline or nasal gel gently on to the inside of the nose every night. This will prevent drying out. Do not sratch, pick, place tissue or other materials in the nose.</p>