Bleeding from the nose is extremely common in a hot and
dry weather especially in children. It happens mainly because the dryness
hampers the mucocilliary clearance -
which means that the hair like cells that form the inner lining of the nasal
cavity stop working properly due to dryness. The function of these cells is to
push the secretions backwards towards the throat and keep the sinuses and nasal
cavity clean. When they stop working the mucus accumulates, dries up and forms
crusting. These crustings when removed by sneezing or nose picking leads to
bleeding.
Do's :
1. Sit up and bend forwards with your mouth open and take
deep breaths from your mouth.
2. With your index finger and thumb pinch the nose
strongly at the soft part of the nose at a point where it is closest to the
bony region.
3. Keep the nose pinched for at least 10 minutes for the
bleeding to stop.
4. Keep an ice pack over the nose to help stop the
bleeding faster.
Don'ts :
1. Do not panic. Bleeding of up to 50 - 100 ml is common
in bleeding due to dryness. It may be more if you are hypertensive or on blood
thinners.
2. Do not lie down or look upwards.
Let the blood come out through the mouth into an open
container.
3. Do not swallow blood: The acid in the stomach reacts
with the blood to form a very corrosive component called acid hematin that can
cause vomiting and injury to the stomach and food pipe.
4. Do not put water over the head. It has no effect on
the bleeding.
See an ENT doctor if the bleeding is profuse and not
stopping with one or two attempts of the above technique.
Follow the above while travelling to the hospital.
To avoid nasal bleeds apply saline nose drops 4 to 5
times a day in dry months to keep the nose wet which helps normal restoration
of the mucocilliary clearance.
Dr. Jagdish Chaturvedi
ENT Specialist
