Nosebleeds can arise from several different sources; either they can be as a result of an injury, the entry of a foreign object or a sign of some systemic illness. Nosebleeds tend to happen during cold weather or when a person is around very dry air for a long period of time. If you get many nose bleeds, you should see a doctor as nosebleeds can also happen as a result of high blood pressure, malaria, scarlet fever, sinusitis, or typhoid fever. Sometimes they can even be a sign of a serious illness such as leukemia, hemophilia or liver disease and you should see a doctor as soon as possible to rule these more serious causes out.

What Can be Done?

First, if you insert things into your nose, such as fingers, q-tips etc... STOP you are being too rough and are causing your nose to bleed. Nosebleeds are much more common in children simply because they tend to pick their noses almost constantly. If this describes your child, sit them down and let them know that they are hurting their nose and that they may have to make a trip to the doctor if they do not stop.

If you run the air conditioner a lot, your nosebleeds are probably due to dryness and you can use an over the counter product such as OCEAN or other salt based nose sprays to keep the nasal membranes lubricated. Use caution with this if you have high blood pressure as it does contain salt and might make your high blood pressure worse temporarily. There are two types of bloody noses, posterior nosebleeds and anterior nosebleeds. Posterior nosebleeds are usually limited to the elderly or to people who have high blood pressure. When you experience a posterior nosebleed, blood comes running out of the back of the nose and runs down the back of the throat and is very dark in color or bright red. Blood from a posterior nose bleed only flows out of the nose if the bleeding is severe.

The second type of nosebleed is called an anterior nose bleed and is the most common type. The blood flows out of the nostrils and is bright red and is usually as the result of a trauma such as a fall or punch. In the event that you can not stop a nosebleed with the methods listed below, seek help from your local Emergency Room (ER).

Natural Remedies

First and foremost DO NOT TILT YOUR HEAD BACKWARDS TO STOP A NOSEBLEED! If you think that you are experiencing a posterior nosebleed go to your local ER as this type of nosebleeds requires medical attention. For an anterior nosebleed,  sit upright and pinch all of the soft parts of your nose between your thumb and your index finger, while breathing through your mouth. Have someone apply cold compresses or an icepack to your nose, neck and cheeks until the bleeding slows and then lie down. If it does not stop, soak a piece of gauze or cotton in a nasal decongestant spray and insert this into your nostril and pinch again for about 5 minutes.

Do not blow your nose for at least 12 hours after a nosebleed because it may blow out the clots that stopped the initial bleeding. On a daily basis try taking a Bioflavonoid complex with rutin as people who are deficient in this seem to have more nosebleeds. Eat plenty of foods that are high in Vitamin K, which is very important to help support the body's ability to clot. Avoid aspirin, coffee, tea, apricots, almonds, cherries and cucumbers as they thin the blood and can cause the nose to bleed again. 

Back to Natural Remedies Index