Causes of Nosebleeds and How NCEENT Can Help!

Anterior nosebleeds generate at front of the nose and begins with a flow of blood out of one nostril when the patient is sitting or standing. Anterior nosebleeds are common in dry climates or during the winter months when heated, dry indoor air dehydrates the nasal membranes. Dryness may result in crusting, cracking and bleeding. 

This can be prevented if you place a bit of lubricating cream or ointment about the size of a pea on the end of your fingertip and then rub it inside the nose, especially on the middle portion of the nose.

Stopping an Anterior Nosebleed:

• First pinch all the soft parts of the nose together between your thumb and the side of your index finger toward the face, compressing the pinched parts of the nose against the bones of the face.
• Hold that position for a full 10-minutes by the clock.
• Keep head higher than the level of the heart.
• Sit up straight, don’t lean the head back (blood will just flow down the nose into the throat).
• Apply ice (crushed in a plastic bag or washcloth) to nose and cheeks.

Seek medical help if the bleeding cannot be stopped or keeps recurring, bleeding is rapid or blood loss exceeds a coffee cupful, you feel weak or faint from blood loss or blood goes down the back of the throat rather than out the front through the nose.

Posterior nose bleeds can be more serious and difficult to treat. Posterior nosebleeds often begin deep within the nose and flow down the back of the mouth and throat. Posterior nosebleeds are more likely to occur in older people, persons with high blood pressure, and in cases of injury to the nose or face.

North Carolina EENT has offices in Cary, Durham, and Chapel Hill for treatment of nosebleeds.
Contact us today!  Make an appointment at one of our nearby offices, to discuss treatment options.