Frequent Nose Bleeds - cauterization?

[Bearvet]

DS17 has had frequent nose bleeds for the last few years - some have been really bad. We finally saw a Dr. who suggested cauterizing the blood vessel inside his nose which should help - no guarantees, but could give hime 4 years or so of little to no nose bleeds.

Has anyone had this done? It's scheduled for Thursday and he's really nervous - they'll do it right in the Dr's office. What is recovery like? Is it very painful? Most of all - is it worth going through this?

Thanks for your help!

 

[slimplaw]

DD had this done when she was 6. She had frequent nose bleeds. The cauterization ended her nose bleeds. She is now 23 and has never had this problem again. I do not remember her complaining of it hurting too much. I don't remember if they did any deadening before.

 

[disneynutt1225]

I had it done when I was a kid. It wasn't a painful thing, but I do know that if they stuffed my nose with any more cotton I was going to freak out. They really packed it in there. I don't believe I had a very long recovery time. A few days at the most.

It helped a lot for around 8 years or so. Now I get semi-frequent nosebleeds - moreso when I'm very stressed out and when the air is really dry. Most often they occur in the middle of the night, which is a major pain in the butt.

But my mother often says that having the procedure done was the best thing she did because it ended the suffering from the nosebleeds for a long time.

 

[Metro West]

I had it done in my early teen years. I swam year round and the cold always aggrevated my nose. I had a paper route at the time and the doctor said DO NOT touch the nose for any reason and try not to sneeze or blow your nose for something like 24 hours. It was painful at first but then it didn't bother me too much. After two days, I didn't even notice anything had been done. I don't have frequent nose bleeds anymore so it's good that I had it done.

 

[summerrluvv]

My son gets nosebleeds. They seem to be worse in the Summer. He had 6 last week alone while he was visiting relatives. Prior to that he hadn't had one for about six months. I took him to the doctor and they did blood work on him last year. It turns out he has Factor VII Deficiency which is a blood disorder and nosebleeds are one of the symptoms. It's hereditary, so I'm not sure who he got it from..me or his dad, because we haven't been tested.

Anyway, if they are bad, you might want to have the doctor do bloodwork just to make sure everything is okay.

 

[Bearvet]

Just wanted to give an update - it's been about 10 days since DS17 had his nose cauterized and everything went very well. They did numb the area first and then cauterized which only took a few minutes. It hurt for about 5 seconds and that was it! The Dr had him use Bacitracin for a few days and told him to avoid blowing his nose (and sneezing if possible) for the first 24-48 hours.

So far, no nose bleeds!! Even if it helps for a few years it will be well worth it. Today DS17 is having a minor surgery on a blocked tear duct that he got as a result of massive eye drops used to treat a corneal infection. The poor guy! We need to schedule his senior portraits soon and just waiting for all of these problems to get taken care of!

 

[LindsayDunn228]

I had this exact problem when I was in college. I went to an ENT and was told the same thing. I said "No way, Jose" to getting a numbing shot in my freaking NOSE. It got better on it's own

 

[Bearvet]

Actually they put something on a cotton ball and let it sit in his nose for about 5 minutes - no shot needed. It seemed to numb the area enough to be worked on.

 

[Laurajean1014]

I see that you had his nose cauterized.

My son gets about 6 a year and his Dr. was dead set against it, so of course, we followed his recommendation.

My sister gets nose bleeds more often and she was against it was well. I think it had something to do with the inflamation of the other blood vessels and a possibility of clotting.

 

[Bearvet]

His regular Dr not only recommeded it, but did the procedure himself. DS would get 3-4 nose bleeds in one week, sometimes more. He'd also get them a few times a day and lasting as long as 20 minutes. He'd get many during the night and we've gone through lots of bedding. It was time to stop!

The Dr could see the affected blood vessels and they were close enough to the opening of his nose that he felt it would be safe. This is the longest DS has gone without a nose bleed so I think (hope) it was the right decision.

 

[my3kids]

I've got a bleeder here too. We've had the cauterization done, i think, 3 times. Works for a while then it has o be redone. I don't know how someone can lose that much blood and still be standing!

 

[pogo791]

Bearvet,
Good to hear all went well. I've had the blood vessels in my nose cauterized twice now - once about twenty years ago, and then some five years later. As with your son, it really was a minor procedure, with little muss or fuss, and a quick recovery.
The reason I had to get the blood vessels recauterized five years after the first round was that I had a very bad cold, with lots of sneezing. That started the nose bleeds coming again. Fortunately, the second time seems to have held things in check. (I'm still keeping my fingers crossed! )