Archive for April, 2010

While nosebleeds are one of most common types of  medical problems any rescuer will encounter, rarely are they ever life-threatening. Nosebleeds (or epistaxis) typically occur with trauma (blunt forces, blowing, etc) to the nasal cavity, where small blood vessels are damaged causing hemorrhaging. Although the effect of blood pouring from your face is quite frightening, the treatments for nosebleeds are very successful.

Steps for treatment:

1. Pinch just above the nostrils for at least 10 minutes to allow enough time for scab formation
2. Lean forward permitting blood to drain out of you instead of coagulating into the back of your throat.
3. Cold/ice packs are great resources that you can use to promote vasoconstriction disallowing blood-flow.
4. If all else fails, putting pressure on your maxillary artery (half an inch above your front teeth) acts as a pressure point to reduce the bleed.

Never insert cotton-balls up your nose! While working as an EMT, I was examining the eye of an 15 year old girl who put 9 cotton-balls up her bloody nose, to my disbelief a blood-clot had traveled from her nasal cavity into a blood vessel in her sclera (the white part of your eye). If that wasn’t bad enough, watching her sneeze out the five-inch congealed clot full of mucus was almost enough to call it quits.  If you absolutely must put something in your nose, make sure you can take it out. A common technique used by many sports-med trainers is a tampon, cut in half and put into each nostril.

If you are constantly getting nosebleeds or if the hemorrhaging continues profusely for more than 20 minutes, consult your doctor; serious underlying medical conditions may manifest as nosebleeds. Vaseline at the base of your nostrils has shown to moisten the airway decreasing the risk for bleeds caused by a dry climate.

Moral of the story: keep your fingers out of the orifices of your face.