Does your child get nosebleeds?

[teacup princess]

My 4y.o. has been having recurrent nosebleeds at night- Not every night, but maybe one every couple of weeks. They haven't been too bad until last night when he woke up and his pillow and bedsheets were covered. My first instinct was that he was picking his nose in his sleep, now I am not so sure. It could be weather related. We were having some decent weather but last night it dipped into the 30's and we did not have the furnace on so it was COLD. I know nosebleeds can be quite common in children but the worrywart in me keeps wondering if there is a problem. I don't want run him to the doctor just to have them tell him to stop picking his nose . Anybody been through this or have any thoughts

 

[lawone]

We have that issue, too. My daughter will get nosebleeds when the air is dry or cold. Wintertime is the worst for us. She also had her adenoids removed due to repeated ear infections and I swear that also contributes to the bleeds.... my nephew is the same way.

Hugs to you. Nothing worse that seeing all that blood! It does get better as they will most certainly outgrow it!

 

[disneymomjcs]

My DD12 has had nose bleeds since she was little. Our older son too. We had his nose cortorized and it didn't help at all.


During the dry winter they seem to be worse. If I remember correctly the doctor said it has to do with the capilaries in your nose that are close to the surface. I have a sheet protector on her bed so the mattress doesn't get ruined. She also wakes up with bloody pillows sometimes. I put a small container of water in her room each night to put some moisture into the room it does help. We've also used over the counter Ayr drops to moisturize.

When we have traveled to Colorado she had some really bad ones. So driy air does effect it more.

A few tips. Don't tilt his/her head backwards. Keep head forward and apply pressure to the area above the nostrils.

 

[disneymomjcs]

It is scary at first. But I have learned to stay calm and she stays calm and handles it well herself. She is in middle school and she tries to keep in on the down low if she has a nose bleed because for kids who don't know it looks really scary and looks like alot of blood.

Always carry tissues and baby wipes in the care for clean up. Get those Ayr drops too.

 

[arcticdisneylovers]

DD5 has gotten them since she was little. Mostly it is because we live in the arctic and the air is so dry. I'd suggest a humidifier in his room at night. Some people suggest a tiny bit of petroleum jelly inside thier nostrils but DD5 will not stand for that Sometimes during the day I think she been picking her nose (mostly because it is so dry up here) and that triggers a nosebleed. Sometimes she wakes up covered in blood. I'm hoping she'll grow out of it. But drs never seem to be concerned so I try not to worry since I suffered from nosebleeds as a child as well.

 

[damren]

I used to get them as a child, and I still get them now. I'm not picking my nose, but I do notice it more with temp changes

 

[polineedyan]

I would really make a note of what he is eating before bed. Also, a humidifier will help with the nighttime stuff.
Our son used to get nosebleeds on chocolate..just throwin that in..

 

[seashoreCM]

Chocolate, hmmm ...

My sister got nosebleeds after eating chocolate, although I did not.

It's many years later and she can take a little chocolate but is still very cautious.

It may take awhile to figure out different foods that aggravate the nosebleeds.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

DS10 used to have nosebleeds all the time, but they have seemed to back off has he has gotten older (it was more of a problem between 2 and 7).

But he ... er... causes them himself, most of the time. If you get my drift.

 

[nikkistevej]

I used to get them all of the time in the spring and summer- can't remember the last time I had one as an adult though. I guess I grew out of them.

 

[clanmcculloch]

I had them a lot as a child. My nosebleeds were my parents indicator that it was time to pull the humidifiers out of the basement for the winter. Sigh.... I outgrew these around puberty.

DD9 has always gotten a lot of nose bleeds. Hers don't seem to be tied to humidity though. We took her to an allergist for other reasons and one thing he did was an xray of her sinuses. It turned out she had a chronic sinus infection. The nosebleeds stopped for a short while when he treated that. She was diagnosed with some bad allergies so he started her on a seasonal regiment of Zyrtec (adult dose) and Nasonex. During her allergy season, if she skips 2 days then she's guaranteed a nosebleed. She of course takes that to mean she only needs her Nasonex every other day but we try to watch to be sure she takes it daily because it also helps her breathing. She hasn't had another sinus infection since doing this and her breathing is so much better as well (her allergist tested her for asthma and said she doesn't have it but her allergy load is high enough that he does often start seeing asthma symptoms start up so we keep on top of that; we've done enough rounds of prednisone and albuterol and don't want to have to do that again). The nosebleeds were another symptom of her bigger problem with allergies.

 

[Scully12]

I used to get nose bleeds a lot in middle school. I went to the doctor, he said I had an enlarged blood vessel. He cauterized it with some silver nitrate (basically burning it closed) and that fixed the problem.

 

[princessmom29]

My sister got them a lot as a child. They were allergy related and could be really bad. I can remember the school calling mom to come get her on a couple of occasions wher no one could get it to stop. She eventually outgrew them for the most part, but still gets them occasionally with a
really bad flare up.

 

[fortheluvofpooh]

My 4 yr old used to get them, 1x a month, and we had her tested for allergys. She is allergic to dust mites, rotten apples, and kentucky blue grass. Also the dry air takes its toll on her. We have gotten a humidifier and run it in her room every night. Works wonders. Also 1x a week I wash and dry her stuffed animals and pillow and comforter/bedding. HTH.

 

[PollyannaMom]

DS gets them easily too - usually from the dry air when the heat or air conditioning is running more than normal. We use a humidifier in his bedroom at those times, and it helps. (The vaseline trick works too, but he only goes for that if he's really bothered by them.)

I did ask his pediatrician about them, but she reassured me. And I second keeping calm as most important. If you treat it as just something to deal with matter-of-factly, usually the child will too.

 

[YoMickey]

We have friends with a kid who had this. Turns out it is a small blood vessel that was too close to the surface and any time he bumped or picked it broke open the flood gates. They had him go have an outpatient procedure to cauterize the blood vessel. Hasn't had one since. GOod Luck!

 

[momofrrr]

Our DS (now 22) used to get them all the time when he was little, elementary age. I would go to his room to wake him in the mornings and it looked like Lizzy Borden had been in his room. He finally just outgrew it, thank goodness!

 

[Sadie22]

My 4y.o. has been having recurrent nosebleeds at night- Not every night, but maybe one every couple of weeks. They haven't been too bad until last night when he woke up and his pillow and bedsheets were covered. My first instinct was that he was picking his nose in his sleep, now I am not so sure. It could be weather related. We were having some decent weather but last night it dipped into the 30's and we did not have the furnace on so it was COLD. I know nosebleeds can be quite common in children but the worrywart in me keeps wondering if there is a problem. I don't want run him to the doctor just to have them tell him to stop picking his nose . Anybody been through this or have any thoughts

Since he could become anemic due to the frequent bleeding I recommend you do speak with the pediatrician about the nosebleeds.

My DS did have these as a child usually at the onset of the heating season and needed more moisture in the air and lubrication of the sore nose. The doctor said it was the combination of dry indoor air and capillaries close to the surface - once there was one nosebleed and a scab formed a sneeze could start a nosebleed. I can recall having to tell well-meaning relatives not to tip his head back (which would cause blood to run down his throat) but instead to have him tip his head forward, pinch the bridge of the nose and/or put a wet cloth or cloth-wrapped ice cube there.

He has outgrown this now that he is in his 20s. I think they stopped in high school, maybe about the time we all figured out he was lactose intolerant.

 

[KarenW]

I had them as a child and all my kids have them. My DS10 has them the worst - sometimes it is so bad it comes out his tear ducts. Boy, was that freaky the first time (it has only happened twice)! We do use the vaseline in the nose at the worst times which are usually winter and middle of summer. Dry air and extreme heat (although maybe that is the AC) seem to cause them the most. As others have said, DON'T tip the head back. This actually caused me to throw up with a really bad one. You didn't ask, but for blood in clothing and sheets the best thing I have found is Grease Lightening cleaner. You can actually see it turning the blood green as soon as you spray it on and it has even removed dried in blood. It is sometimes hard to find, but they do have it at Lowes and Home Depot and sometimes at Target in the car section. They do get better with age. I rarely have them anymore and they got less and less as my kids got older.

 

[heatherleigh]

Yes, we get them in our family too. I've been getting them since I was a kid. It was so bad, I had to sleep w/ a vinyl cover on my pillowcase. Back then, the water-proof cases weren't very comfy.