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What to Do When Your Child Has a Nosebleed

When the air gets cold and dry, like in winter time, it makes nosebleeds more likely. Children are the most susceptible. Fortunately, there are easy tips for handling and even preventing your child's nosebleeds.

What Causes Nosebleeds?

In most cases, a nosebleed occurs because the tiny vessels inside the nose have broken. This type of nosebleed, called an anterior nosebleed, occurs because the blood flows out of the front (or anterior) part of the nose.

These types of nosebleeds are usually not serious and generally stop by themselves or require only simple steps to stop the bleeding. They rarely require medical attention. Anterior nosebleeds are almost always a result of an irritation inside the nose caused by several factors, including:

Posterior nosebleeds, on the other hand, are much less common and occur when the blood flow comes from deep inside the nasal cavity and moves down the back (or posterior) of the mouth and throat. They are usually a sign of a more serious underlying medical condition, such as high blood pressure, hemophilia, other bleeding disorders, or a nasal tumor. Blood-thinning medications can also cause posterior nosebleeds.

Who Is Susceptible?

Children and teenagers are most susceptible to anterior nosebleeds, but adults can experience them as well.

What Should You Do?

If your child has a nosebleed that does not stop quickly take the following steps, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP):

A child with severe or recurrent bleeding, or bleeding from both nostrils, should be evaluated by a pediatrician and, if necessary, an ear-nose-throat specialist.

When the bleeding has stopped, children should keep their heads elevated and avoid heavy exertion and nose-blowing for at least an hour.

Prevention

There are several steps you can take to prevent your child from getting anterior nosebleeds, including:

RESOURCES:

American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery
http://www.entnet.org

Healthy Children—American Academy of Pediatrics
http://www.healthychildren.org

CANADIAN RESOURCES:

About Kids Health—The Hospital for Sick Children
http://www.aboutkidshealth.ca

The College of Family Physicians of Canada
http://www.cfpc.ca

REFERENCES:

Chronic nosebleeds: what to do. American Academy of Pediatrics Healthy Children website. Available at: http://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/ear-nose-throat/Pages/Chronic-Nosebleeds-What-To-Do.aspx. Updated November 21, 2015. Accessed February 10, 2016.

Epistaxis. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at: http://www.ebscohost.com/dynamed. Updated September 15, 2014. Accessed February 10, 2016.

Nosebleeds. American Academy of Family Physicians website. Available at: http://familydoctor.org/familydoctor/en/diseases-conditions/nosebleeds.html. Updated April 2014. Accessed February 10, 2016.

Last reviewed February 2016 by Michael Woods, MD