 Treatment of nosebleeds
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A nosebleed occurring in the front of the nose, in an area known as Kesselbach's Plexus, can usually be stopped by pinching the front of the nose and applying pressure for about 10 minutes to the area that is bleeding. The head should be tipped forward during the bleeding to prevent the swallowing of blood and irritation to the stomach. The head should always be higher than the level of the heart, because if the head is placed between the knees there is a pressure increase to the head. Care should be taken to not put anything in the nose while it is bleeding, such as tissue or cotton. Although this packing can help stop a nosebleed, once it is removed, the body's natural blood clot is dislodged and the bleeding restarts.
A nosebleed caused by bleeding further back in the nose requires the attention of a physician and either a cauterization or nasal packing. If the bleeding cannot be controlled by these measures, sometimes a surgical procedure is required to tie off the blood vessels. In more advanced medical centers, a procedure similar to a cardiac catheterization is used to embolize or seal off the bleeding vessel with tiny beads after the precise location of bleeding is identified. Any of these treatments for a more serious nosebleed require a physician who is highly skilled in this area.
There are many treatments for HHT running the gamut from packing the nose with salt pork to using an Argon laser to spot cauterize the abnormal vessels. In recent years, new research has shown a tremendous improvement in bleeding frequency/intensity and the flattening of the telangiectases in HHT by using an estrogen cream in the nose twice a day. NoBleed™ is an all-natural bioequivalent to estrogen cream with the added benefit of a natural moisturizer Vitamin E to prevent drying of the nasal mucosa. |
