That Bloody Nose! (m05.17.10)
Thankfully, I don’t have a child whose nose bursts into a red fountain at any undeclared moment. I have seen plenty of them though in the nursing business and my compassion is there for the child and the person who is trying to stop the bleeding!
Nose bleeds usually aren’t dangerous, but they are scary when you are in the middle of stopping one. Although, they are common in children, the main thing to do is fake calmness to reassure your child it’s “not that bad.” Even though it may resemble Dan Ackroyd portraying Julia Child cutting her hand episode on Saturday Night Live!, the child is not losing that much blood. As with any injury involving the head, blood seems to appear to flow fast, but just keep your calm.
On television and in the old days, parents and teachers were told to have the kid tilt the head back and pinch the nostrils. All this does is keep the blood flowing, but down into the child’s stomach. Which after having several surgeries myself where blood went into my stomach, the BLOOD WILL RETURN in the form of vomit later. Now you have blood and vomit to deal with; hence, more to clean up! Trust me, you don’t want that!
The blood vessels which are bleeding are located just below the bony “bridge” and as in any bleeding injury, you want to apply firm pressure to the area. So pinch (firmly) the nose just below the bridge with a facial tissue or a clean towel you don’t want to use again and don’t have the kid lean backwards. You want them to tilt a little forward to keep the blood from going back into the child. You want to do this for approximately ten minutes unless you are sure the bleeding has stopped.
Another great tip, if I must say so, is to apply an ice pack to the bridge of the nose. Now this can be tricky since you are trying to act calm, while keeping the blood geyser from destroying your new carpet or white tile grout, pinching the nose and balancing the ice pack with a fighting child is oh, so much fun!
After you have the nose bleed under control, have the child take it easy for awhile. Make sure they are clear that they should NOT rub, pick or blow their nose for awhile and avoid full contact sports for the rest of the day!
When to Call the Doctor:
- If your child has frequent nosebleeds.
- Is starting to bruise easily and frequently.
- Or if bleeding is happening from other areas of your child’s body.
- If you have tried the 10 minute pressure two times (20 minutes total) and it won’t cease.
Emergency Trip’s Indicated:
- Can’t get the bleeding to stop and the child is weak, dizzy or loses consciousness.
- If the child gets the nosebleed from head injury or trauma.
As always, if you are concerned about your child, PLEASE call their medical provider for their opinion. These are just tips and don’t replace the recommendations of your physician.
Tags: bloody noses, icing nose, pediatrician, pinching nose
Posted in Nursing tips | Comments Off
