Nose Bleeds - Jenks, OK

Hi A..

He could be picking his nose when no one is watching, and doing it in his sleep. It can become a habit very quickly. Watch him, when he thinks you are not watching him. It may take awhile. If his nose bleeds very easily, he may have weak capilaries in his nose. I suggest you speak to his doctor. Good luck!

It could also be something to do with allergies, my son gets nose bleeds but his are caused by his allergies and stuff in the air.

I use to get horrible nosebleeds growing up. Some tips that I remember (I finally "grew" out of them when I was in my 20's!) sleep w/cool mist humidifier,vasoline in my nostrils, sounds silly but I was active in sports in high school and college, I learned to cut slender tampons and use them so I could contiue to play despite the bleeding. I would cut the string short so I didn't have that hanging out of my nose!! Really did work though. Good luck........

If it was me I would take him to the Dr and see what he has to say it may be just a phase his little body is going through or it could be a symptom of something else. Is he rubbing scratching or picking at his nose without realizing it? I would also let grandma and any other caretakers know about this. As an older mom I know that even a little scratch on the kids use to make my heart beat faster something like what you are going through would of made me panic which would not have been the right reaction as I know the kids pick up on those feelings from us. So my best advice would be to call the Dr if you feel like your not getting a satisfactory answer contact a specialist.
Bblessed always in all things

My son started getting those when he was a little over a year old. Will happen in the middle of the night or day. I have had 2 ped. tell me to put vasoline in this nose it does help. Just use a Q tip and smear it in his nose . They said it is caused by dry air can be hot or cold. I just let people know that his is staying with so it doesn't scare them when it happens.

Hi A.-you already have lots of great advice but I will add some to the mix. My 8 year old started getting nose bleeds when he was 2-yes, the obligatory middle of the night, while in the car, at the grocery store, at summer camp, you name it-he's had one there. If you can, it helps to apply ice to the bridge of his nose while he is looking down and applying pressure. Also, if you don't already, be sure he takes a multi-vitamin high in vitamin K. Read the labels because some are higher than others, the higher you can get the better as this helps with blood clotting and a deficiency will cause nose bleeds. I have had suggestions from 2 different docs-one said carry around some slender tampons and when nose bleed starts just insert one into nostril. Never tried it but it makes sense. I think I would only try this at home! The other said carry around a bottle of Afrin-the medicated kind of nose spray, not plain saline-and take a dose when nose bleed starts. We have tried this and it did work but was a bit uncomfortable for my son, he said it burned. Since your son is only 3 you might want to check with his doctor before giving him medicated sprays. We do keep a bottle in our car, along with extra towels and a couple of those ice packs that you break open to make them cold. Nothing is worse than being unprepared. The best advice I can give you though, is stay calm, teach your son to deal these on his own because as he gets older he will be in situations where not even the adults will know what to do. I didn't realize how common this problem was, now I know why his doctor seems unconcerned when I mention it at EVERY appointment! Good luck to you!

It sounds like allergies. You should probably call your pediatrician and get them to check him out. I would be careful about getting the allergy shot though it is a steroid and should only be used if all else fails. I manage my allergies with meds and a nose spray(it is a steroid but more controlled than a shot) but when I was younger mom just used a humidifier in our rooms. I hope for your sake its allergies and not something harder to treat.

get or borrow an indoor weather station to check the humidity of the house. it should be about 50% and 70% is better. If its not, put a humidifier in their room and make sure you refill it every night. Clean with vinegar once a week.

http://www.health911.com/remedies/rem_noseb.htm

One of my girls was like that, it was so bad I started worrying about anemia and she was looking pretty haggard. I even had the morning horror show, only mine was face down hanging over the edge of the bed with a line all the way to the floor, where it had started pooling. Scary stuff. She wound up having it cauterized under general anesthesia. The doc told me it was an artery in her nose that was extremely large and close to the surface. It happened mostly when she got upset (she's a Gemini, so that's quite often :}), but she didnt have to do more than wrinkle her nose or wipe it to set it off. He also said that in his 30 years of experience, he had never seen one so bad. We havent had a problem with it since the procedure. You might want to pay your pediatrician a visit to discuss this. If they feel its necessary, they can give you a referral. My girl's ORL doc is out of St. Anthony and I really liked him. If you're interested in his info, let me know and I'll dig it up for you. Hope he gets better.

this same thing happens to my son and has been happening since he was around your sons age and my son is now 11, i have taken him to the drs and they said the only thing that can really be done is to cartrize the blood vessel in the nose, but they don't do that here. so she said at the pharmacy they have this nose spray gel that helps to keep the nose lubricated. i can't remember what its called but you can just ask the pharmasist!!

I know you have already had a lot of really good responses but I thought I would add one to the pile. I have had nose bleeds since I was about his age. I am 20 years old now. In the last few years, they have actually became more frequent. I have learned since I was at least 7 or 8 to deal with the nose bleeds. This is especially important. I knew how to hold my head and remain calm to calm everyone else around me. It can really scare people. LOL. I finally went to the doctor last year because they kept getting worse. I actually missed a test one morning for college because I couldn't get it to stop. That was the point I realized I needed to go. The doctor just gave me some meds that moistened my nose. They really seem to help. Also if it starts bleeding try putting your index finger under his lip and pressing up toward the nose. I know it sounds crazy but it works. You may have to press a little hard. And mine was not caused by any migrane or something. He will learn as will you. It will get easier. I promise.

Good Luck and God Bless
K.

well my son had the same problem,after taken him so many times to different drs finally when he was 11 he got diagnose with von willie brand disease only after doing blood work did they find this out they kept telling me he'll grow out of it

My oldest 3 never really had nose bleeds but my youngest 2 are a different story. we have prolly 2 a month from each child they can be from pretty small to the point where the front of the shirt is soaked. I have also had the middle of the night ones. Oh my! you think hatchet man has been in your house scares you to death!. I have talked to our Dr and have been told if they last for more than 10 min or become very frequent (like several in one day) they need to be checked out. We seam to have more when the air is very dry in the winter and when it is very hot in the summer. My oldest son is a Boy Scout he loves it when him little brother or sister get a nose bleed he gets to use his first aid training. If you pinch the top of the nose and look at the floor they stop pretty quickly. Don't worry about it happening at Pre-school his teachers should know what to do and can handel it same with grandma. I would make sure they do have a change of clothes just in case. My daughter freakes out if she gets blood on her clothes and has to wear them. Good Luck try not to worry (I know alot easer said then done)

My son started having them when he was 2. Really bad, and they sometimes happened at night. A few times I thought we were going to have to go the ER to get them stopped. First they were only ever so often, but then became weekly. The doctor's looked at everything and could find nothing wrong. It was his kindergarden teacher who asked me if I had him tested for allergies. I did and he was basically allergic to everything that grows out of the groud. He started taking 2 allergy shots twice a week and after the third week, he never had another bad one. He gradullay went to one shot a week, then once a month, etc. He's been off the shots about 4 years now and doesn't have nosebleeds or problems with allergies except once or twice a year (allergy season) but the nose bleeds are barely noticable, maybe last 2 or 3 minutes.

My daughter went through this and she did outgrow them. I taught her to fold a peice of tissue into a fat rectangle and put it in her mouth between her top teeth and upper lip as far up as she could. This would stop the nose bleed. Since your son is so young you will have to do this for him. The doctor told us that she just had a blood vessell that was very close to the skin and that it was not a big deal. He said it could be carterized if we wanted to but she didn't want that so we didn't. I think the word scared her. Also the doctor told us that any change in humidity like going from the heat to the cold or from being outside and coming into the air conditioning could trigger the bleed. But like I said she did outgrow them so don't worry too much. I don relate to the panic of seeing your babys face covered with blood in the middle of the night. Nothing worse!

I really hate to tell you this, but...

My neurologist said that unexplained nosebleeds in childhood are a pretty sure sign that you'll get migraines (esp the kind with aura) and that the nosebleed actually IS the migraine. I had them so bad that I'd have to go to the ER after bleeding for HOURS.

Also...I had unexplained vomiting spells...always in the middle of the night (my poor Mom) which are also a sign of migraine. I now have migraine with aura which can be with or WITHOUT head pain...the brain just sort of short circuits and weird stuff happens (vertigo, smells that aren't there, light/touch sensitivity, facial numbness, etc.) I finally had a ped tell me something about "stomach migraines" and I was floored that the medical community was starting to recognize this!

I hope it turns out to be just nosebleeds, but I thought I'd let you know the possibilities since so many peds are not aware of this.

Good luck, ~K.

it may be allergies i would take him to the doc and doubel check. My kids and I both get nose bleeds becasue it is too dry or our allergies are acting up.

You are right they are fairly common some children get them some don't I WAS ONE OF THOSE CHILDREN. The doctor's told my mom all i could do was grow out of them and trust me they can happen anywhere... I was going down the road one day and sneezed and here it came... my mom had to pull over... there is nothing that triggers them and nothing you can do to prevent them. my mom used to carry wet wipes with us wherever we went some in the car some in her purse and some at home... B/c when they come they come quick and you don't want to have to go home to change clothes.

My son used to get nose bleeds all the time. The nasal saline helps - he uses it almost every night before bed. It keeps the nasal passages moist. He had one last year in kindergarten. It was not as big of a deal as I had dreaded. The teacher dealt with it just fine. Our ENT taught him to look straight ahead and apply pressure to his nose for at least 5 minutes before checking to see if it has stopped. He is 6 now as has not had one in quite a while. They can be really scary, though. We had one during the middle of the night that lasted 25 minutes - I even called the doctor. My son has allergies & sinus problems - I think that is related to the nose bleeds. Hope this helps.

I had this problem and it happened a few times when I was in Kindergarten. My mom eventually took me to the doc and it turned out I had an iron deficiency so they gave me an iron supplement and it fixed me right up. After i finished the run with the supplement my mom would make sure I ate plenty of red meat and dark green leafy veggies to get enough iron, and I would have a nose bleed every once in a while, but it was more like once a year, and some were because of sports and weather and such. I have also heard of kids where the capillaries are close to the surface inside the nasal cavity and that can cause them to bleed just from a slight bump.

Hey A., my oldest son had nose bleeds as well. We never really got a straight answer from a doctor about them or how to keep them from happening. He also would wake up during the night with them. As he got older they basically stopped even tho he would occasionally have one. His son has them as well. I've been told that some people have thinner membranes in their noses and that's the cause. As far as preschool and grandma, just let them know that he's having them and tell them what to do for them....I understand watching them closely but don't stress they don't seem to be all that uncommon. Take Care, R.

Hello A.,
My daughter use to be bad about getting nose bleeds and she still will upon occassion, I know how scarey it is to walk in and find them with a bloody face and my heart goes out to you. alot of my daughters nose bleeds were from her sinuses getting to dried out.
What helped her was making sure there was enough moisture in the air to help her sinuses from drying out.
Try a humidifier or boil some water on the stove to help put some moisture back in the air.
It probably wouldn't hurt to also have him seen by a doctor just to be on the safe side.
Chella

My son started having nosebleeds around age 2. The first one ever was a blowout in the middle of the night. He didn't even know it had happened. I went in to get him in the morning and he and his crib were covered in blood. I was scared to death to say the least! This became a regular occurrence during the dry months of the year especially. The doc says it is from being in too dry of air - it can cause spontaneous nosebleeds or it can make the nose sensitive to touch, especially if the capillaries are close to the skin there. My child is jinxed with both. Also I should note that this is very common in Guatelmalan children (or children from that part of the world) so all of you adoptive parents out there beware!

The doc's advice is to use a humidifier in the bedroom and spray Ocean Spray in his nose 3 or 4 times a day. He also highly recommends using a Q-Tip and applying Vasoline inside the nasal canals when it is very dry. I could never bring myself to do that!

I am sure your son will be fine. You just have to get used to the idea that it might stick around for a few years until his little body develops the appropriate mechanisms to handle the dry air, allergens, or whatever the case may be.

A.,
I have not had any experience with these as a mother, but my younger brother and I have suffered from these nose bleeds since we were 2 years old. I eventually "grew out" of having these, but my brother still has them and so does my father. I know it may be scary at times, especially when your son wakes up at night with blood everywhere. But its really more common than you think it is and if it happens at school or anywhere else when you're not around, his teacher or whomever is taking care of him at the time will know how to handle it. And as he gets older he will learn how to handle this by himself. Hope I could help.
Whit

My youngest had nosebleeds very often. I stayed calm and showed him how to deal with them. Kept Kleenex in his reach when he was still in the carseat in the back seat of the car. He was great! He knew to get the Kleenex to his nose, look down and as he got older to apply pressure to the nose to get them to stop. I would have him throw the Kleenex on the floor and get more as needed. (I know that is kind of gross, but I was driving and sometimes we would be stuck in traffic and I couldn't pull over)
He knew what to do if he were at school or someone's house and had a nosebleed. When he was in kindergarten and began riding the schoolbus, I kept a big ziplock bag of Kleenex in his backpack for nosebleeds on the bus. I told all bus drivers, teachers, and coaches that he had frequent nosebleeds and he knew what to do. I kept a box of Kleenex on the bench in his soccer, baseball, and basketball games. He did great taking care of himself. And only once did a teacher tell him to put his head back instead of down...my son said "I have to put my head down, if I put it back, the blood will drain down my throat and I will swallow it".
My son is 18 now and the nosebleeds have finally slowed down. He has been an all-star athlete all his life and the nosebleeds haven't been an issue for him. I remember when he got off the schoolbus once in kindergarten and announced "I had a nosebleed on the bus and Lauren helped me get my Kleenex out of my backpack!" He was very proud of himself and that a classmate had helped him.

When you take your son to school just inform his teacher or care giver of the nose bleeds and they should be able to handle it just fine. I work at a school and we have all been training on how to handle when a kid is hurt or has a nose bleed.

I had them when I was a child for years, including the night bleeds. I ended up going to an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor and getting my nose cauterized. It had to be done twice over the next several years. The doctor said that my veins were very shallow and to moisturize my nasal passages regularly with Vaseline and use a humidifier. I do still. I rarely have problems now (25yrs later), but if I am in low humidity, I still might have a bleed for a minute or two (not excessive). So, my suggestions are humidifier, petroleum jelly, and an ENT dr. Good luck!

Our daughter has had this also happening since she was about 2-3. By the time, she was 4-5 she could tell by the runny nose feeling that it was a nose bleed and would hop up and grab a tissue or napkin. It would scare us both really bad and when I mentioned it to the doctor he said it was probably caused by a little blood vessel in her nose that was more exposed. They could possibly cauterize (spelling??) it but that was not a certain cure and was a very painful procedure - nothing that we really wanted to consider. They have gotten less over the years (she's nine now) but they still occur and usually in spells and then not for a while. I tell the teachers each year about them so they will be prepared if she hops up. Keep an extra shirt packed in his bag so if they by chance get any on their clothes. Don't lean the head back like we we heard when we were younger. Just put a little pressure at the base of nose with the tissue/napkin and barely blow to clear the nose. They should stop pretty quickly but it will look like lots of blood. If you stay calm, he'll learn to deal with them also in that manner.

I was having trouble with nosebleeds for the last 2.5 years (ever since I was pregnant with my now 2 year old). I went to my ENT, and he saw a blood vessel in my nose that was right at the surface. It was causing my nose to bleed about once a week or so. He cauterized it in-office, which had to be repeated again 2 weeks later due to re-occurance of a nosebleed, but now I am nose-bleed free! :)