From this article you will learn: how to stop blood from the nose, when it can be done on your own, and when you need to see a doctor. How to prevent repeated nasal bleeding.
Contents of the article:
- Stopping nasal bleeding at home
- How to prevent the reoccurrence of nosebleeds
- When to call a doctor
- Medical stop
- Prevention
- Forecast
Nasal bleeding is quite common. Many people do not take them seriously, believing that it is very easy to stop the blood flowing from the nose quickly. In most cases, this is really so - you can stop nosebleeds using simple and effective methods. However, sometimes even an experienced doctor can not cope with this problem.
If at home you can not stop the blood, you need to contact LOR.If a person has blood flowing from his nose often, cardiologists, therapists, hematologists can take part in treatment, in addition to the doctor of this specialty.
Stopping nasal bleeding at home
Most bleeding develops from the front of the nose, and they can be tried to stop at home.
To do this:
- Do not panic. A frightened person raises blood pressure, which leads to increased blood allocation.
- Tilt your head forward. This will prevent blood from entering the back of the nose and pharynx.
- Place the thumb of your hand on one side of the nose, and the index finger on the other. Slowly slide them down to the place where the bone is replaced with cartilage.
- Squeeze your fingers together, squeezing your nostrils, and hold them in this position.
- The pressure to be applied must be sufficient so that the lateral parts of the nostrils are firmly pressed against the nasal septum. This pressure will press the bleeding vessel.
- If the bleeding has slowed or stopped, then you squeeze the nose in the right place. If this does not happen, change the position of the fingers by sliding them up or down.
- Hold the compression of the nostrils for at least 5-10 minutes, then release them. You may need to repeat this procedure if the bleeding does not stop.
- At this time you need to sit still, holding your head above the level of the heart. Do not lie down and do not place your head between your knees.
To stop bleeding from the nose helps also ice attached to the nose or cheeks. The effect of cold helps to narrow the blood vessels in the mucosa of the nasal cavity. The same mechanism of action has vasoconstrictive drops for the nose.
If nosebleeds develop against a background of greatly increased blood pressure, you can take one of the medicines for hypertension. A prerequisite in such a situation is that the patient drank the drug prescribed by the doctor to him.
Trying to stop the flow of blood from the nose, you can not throw your head back. This leads to blood flowing into the pharynx, after which the person should spit it out or swallow it. Swallowed blood can cause stomach irritation and vomiting, which worsens the condition or leads to the re-development of bleeding. For the same reasons, you can not go to bed.
A widespread method of stopping blood at home is tamponade of the nasal cavity with cotton wool or gauze. Do not do this, because such a tampon is not enough that it does not provide the right pressure to stop the blood, but it also prevents it from flowing out. A person can swallow the accumulated blood, it gets into the stomach and causes vomiting.
How to prevent the recurrence of nasal bleeding?
Know how to stop nasal bleeding quickly, sometimes not enough. It is also necessary to prevent its re-development. For this:
- Go home and rest, lying with the head of the bed raised at 30-45 degrees.
- Do not blow your nose, do not pick your nose and stick it. If you need to sneeze, do it with your mouth open so that the air comes out through it, and not through the nose.
- Do not strain while emptying the intestine. If you have constipation, use medications that soften the stool.
- Do not lift anything heavy, since physical stress can increase pressure in the blood vessels of the nasal mucosa.
- Try to keep the head above the level of the heart, this will help reduce the level of arterial pressure in the vessels of the nose.
- Do not smoke, as it dries and irritates the nasal mucosa.
- Eat soft and cool food, drink cold drinks. Do not use hot liquid for at least 24 hours.
- Do not take any medications that may interfere with blood clotting. These medicines include aspirin, ibuprofen, clopidogrel, warfarin, xarelto. But it should be remembered that you can cancel treatment with these drugs only after a meeting with a doctor.
- If re-bleeding does develop, try clearing your nose from blood clots, blowing your nose badly. Then splash or dip into the nose vasoconstrictive drugs containing oxymetazoline. Remember that these drugs can only be used for a short time, since they can be addictive to them.
- Repeat the sequence of actions to stop the flow of blood from the nose. If the blood flows from the nose further, seek medical attention.
When should I see a doctor?
You need to consult a doctor if:
- You are taking blood-thinning medications( warfarin, xarelto) or have problems with blood coagulation( eg, hemophilia), and bleeding does not stop.
- You have symptoms of anemia: palpitations, shortness of breath and pallor.
- Nasal bleeding has developed in a child younger than 2 years. This happens very rarely, so there is a risk of a dangerous disease.
- Your nose blood flows regularly.
Ask someone to take you to a hospital or call an ambulance if:
- the duration of epistaxis exceeds 20 minutes;
- blood from the nose flows very strongly, and you lost too much of it;
- you have difficulty breathing;
- you swallowed a large amount of blood, which caused vomiting;
- epistaxis developed after severe trauma - for example, after a car accident.
Medical stop
Stop of anterior nasal bleeding
Minor stopped nose nose bleeding most often does not require any treatment. In these cases, the damaged vessel is closed by a thrombus.
If the doctor can see the source of the bleeding, he can cauterize the affected vessel with silver nitrate. This procedure is carried out after applying a solution of local anesthetic to the mucous membrane. Chemical moxibustion is the most effective method of stopping blood if the source is in front of the nose.
Moxibustion of the nasal mucosa with silver nitrate In more difficult cases, anterior tamponade of the nose may be required to stop the blood. This tamponade exerts direct pressure on the affected vessel, promoting blood clotting and stopping bleeding. As a tampon most often used gauze turundas, impregnated with sterile vaseline oil or ointment levomecol, and synthetic sponges that expand in wet conditions.
Most patients after the front tamponade of the nose go home. Since this tampon blocks the paranasal sinuses, doctors often prescribe antibiotics to prevent infections. The tamponade is left for 48-72 hours, the doctor removes it.
Stopping of posterior nasal bleeding
It is impossible to stop the posterior nose bleeding at home, even if the person knows how to stop the blood from the nose. It either stops on its own, or professional medical care is needed. This type of bleeding can be very dangerous, so it is often necessary to hospitalize a patient in a hospital.
To stop such bleeding, otorhinolaryngologists use a posterior tamponade of the nose, using balloon tampons most often. In contrast to the anterior, the posterior tamponade of the nose is much more unpleasant, therefore, it often requires the administration of sedative and anesthetic drugs. This procedure can cause infectious complications and difficulty breathing. Therefore, such patients need careful monitoring of the otorhinolaryngologist.
The posterior tamponade is left for 48-72 hours. If it can not stop the blood, surgical treatment may be needed - the ligation of blood vessels that supply blood to the nasal cavity.
If the tamponade of the nose could not be helped, the hospital can also conduct:
- Electro-cautery - cauterization of the damaged vessel by electric current.
- Blood transfusion for the treatment of severe blood loss.
- Treatment with tranexamic acid is a drug that improves blood coagulation and stops bleeding.
Prevention
To prevent nasal bleeding:
- Use a humidifier in the rooms.
- Do not pick your nose.
- Do not abuse the use of drugs from allergies and drugs from the common cold, as they dry the nasal mucosa.
- Monitor the blood pressure level and do not allow it to increase greatly.
- If the condition is caused by a disease, follow the doctor's advice on how to treat it.
Forecast
With proper care, nosebleeds in most people do not affect their health in any way. However, in a small number of patients there can be very severe blood loss, which carries a danger for their life.
