My Child Has a Nose Bleed, What Should I Do?
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Lynda Visher, D.O Board Certified Otolaryngologist About the author: Dr. Visher, is a Board Certified Otolaryngologist, with a special interest in making people feel better practices in Dallas Texas for 22 years. |
It’s a scary thing to see a child with a nose bleed, especially when it doesn’t stop. Of course, the child needs to see a doctor but in the meantime, what is a parent to do? First stop the bleeding. The child should sit down and try to relax. Pinch the nose shut and put an ice bag on the bridge of the nose. When the bleeding stops, put in nasal saline gel to keep the area moist so it doesn’t crust over.
Usually nose bleeds occur because the front part of the septum, the middle divide inside the nose, gets dry and irritated and scratched. This happens because of allergies, irritants, and infection. The nose bleeds and then tries to heal with a scab but when the scab dries out and falls off, it leads to recurrent bleeding. The scab falls off, it bleeds, another scab forms and falls off and bleeds again leading to recurrent nose bleeds. The treatment is to stop the cycle. Using nasal saline spray during the day keeps the lining of the nose moist and prevents a scab from developing. Have the child use the spray frequently during the day. I recommend having the child with help from the parent put 2 big sprays in each nose and spit out the mouth. This keeps the nose moist but also rinses out allergens and irritants and infectious agents that may be causing the problem. Use the nasal saline irrigation 4 times a day. At night so the child can sleep, use a nasal saline gel instead. Squirt the gel inside the nose so it covers the irritation and keeps the nose from drying out. Sometimes, an antibiotic prescribed by the doctor is needed to stop the recurrent nose bleed. If that’s the case, the doctor can order a special compound with antibiotic that is mixed with the saline. The NeilMed bottle can be used to instill the compound into the nose. Also, antibiotic ointment like mupirocin can be use inside the nose at night if infection persists.
A nose bleed can be scary, but can be managed and healed and prevented from reoccurring.
Contact Dr. Visher’s practice at entsurgicalcare@att.net .
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