Nosebleeds are typically messy and annoying, but it is generally possible to stop them at home without needing to seek medical assistance. Some of the most common causes of nosebleeds are colds and allergies, impacts to the nose, dry climate (low humidity concentration in the air), high altitude, picking or blowing ones nose, and blood thinning medications such as aspirin.
How To Prevent Nosebleeds
- If your nose becomes extremely dry, breathe in moist air through your nose for a few minutes. You can do this by putting a pan of water on the stove and bringing it to a boil. Put our face over the steam and breathe in deeply through your nose. Do not allow your face to get close enough to the water to be splashed with the boiling water or to get burned by the steam. Another option for breathing in moist, warm air is to take a several minute long shower. After breathing in the moist air, dab a small amount of petroleum jelly on the inside of your nose. This will help prevent any cracking and bleeding of the skin inside your nose. Using a saline nasal spray may also help improve dryness inside of the nose.
- Humidify your house , especially your bedroom, and keep the heat low during sleeping times. If you do not have a whole house humidifier, you should consider using a room humidifier at bedtime. Dryness of the nose is worse in the winter because of the drying effects of the cold weather and a running furnace. Using a humidifier can limit the drying effects of the furnace.
- Limit your use of aspirin, which thins the blood, making blood clot less and contributing to the amount of blood loss in a nosebleed, and the length of time it takes to stop a nosebleed. Consider using acetaminophen, or ibuprofen for pain relief rather than aspirin.
Home Treatments To Stop A Nosebleed
- Sit in a upright position and tilt your head forward slightly. Leaning your head back will cause blood to run down the back of your throat.
- Blow your nose to clean out all of the blood clots. Then, squeeze your nose between your thumb and forefinger, applying firm pressure against one or both bleeding nostrils for 10 complete minutes. Do not remove the pressure after only a couple of minutes to see if you nose is still bleeding or not.
- After you have held your nose for a complete 10 minutes, check to see if your nose has stopped bleeding, If it is still bleeding, hold your nose for 10 more minutes. Nearly all nosebleeds will stop after applying direct pressure in this way for 10 to 30 minutes.
- Stay quiet for several hours, and DO NOT blow your nose for a minimum of 12 hours after the bleeding has ceased.
When To Seek Professional Medical Assistance
- If blood is running down the back of your throat even when you are pinching your nose.
- If your nose looks deformed after an injury, as it is likely broken.
- If the bleeding continues after you have been applying direct pressure for 30 minutes.
- If serious nosebleeds occur frequently.
Now that you know what to do when you experience a nosebleed, you will likely be able to stop the bleeding sooner and with less of a mess. Also, using the preventative techniques, it is likely that you may be able to prevent the majority of nosebleeds altogether.
