10 answers

Chronic Nosebleeds and a Mom's Frustration

So, I really need to vent on this and get some other opinions. My son is 7 and has had chronic, long-lasting nosebleeds for about 3 yrs. We finally got the approval earlier this year to take him to an ENT and they decided to take his adenoids out, sure that that would solve this. Now, the nosebleeds are even worse. Next we went to an oncologist that specializes in pediatrics. He drew 5 tubes of blood from my son and said we will call you next week. They did call, and the answer I got was, "All the tests came back normal. We will call you next week when the doctor decides what to do next." I am just so tired of watching my child suffer, and feeling so helpless to stop this from happening to him. We have tried every nasal spray and humidifier there is. I guess the reason I am here is to see if anyone has any suggestions on where we should next seek help for our child. They have tested for Von Willebrand Disease and tested his platelet count and function. I am assuming they have tested for leukemia and hemophelia, I mean, it only seems logical that they would. I have ruled out leukemia though just because I am sure other symptoms would have prevented themselves by now. Has anyone else had to deal with something similar, or know someone that has? I have searched the internet until I can't see straight anymore. I am honestly desperate. I am just so emotionally exhausted. He had one last night that he slept straight through, which scares me to death. I am worried that he could choke on the amounts of blood that he looses during one of these nosebleeds. We have considered the idea that he picks his nose and this causes the bleeding, but one thing changed that for us. We will be in the middle of a conversation with him and watch one just start. Or we will be watching a movie together and he will just look over and say, "Uh, mom. Nosebleed." Not to mention the fact that he has had several start in the middle of the night when he was in a dead sleep. They usually wake him up, except for the one last night. Thank you all for taking the time to read this and just let me vent. I am open to any and all suggestions at this point. Again, thank you.

What can I do next?

So What Happened?™

Well, the oncologist has decided to send my son to a platlet clinic in Iowa City. We are now waiting on the insurance approval. I was talking to my family doctor about possible causes, and we came up with a lot, as well as ruled out a lot. I brought up cauterizing his blood vessels, and mentioned that I was scared that could just mask a much larger problem. The doctor asked if my son had any bruising, and I remembered something I had seen a few weeks prior. I pulled his pant legs up and from his knees to his ankles was nothing but black, blue, and purple. My doctor immediately agreed that there is a much larger problem than nosebleeds. He said that the nosebleeds with bruising is a definate indicator that there is some kind of blood disorder. I will check back in after we have seen this next specialist. Thank you all for the advice, sugestions, and encouraging words. It is so comforting to know that I am not alone in this. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart!

More Answers

My niece had this problem as well. They had did cauterization and the nose bleeds has stopped. Simple procedure and probably shoud have been done long before the removal of adnoids.

Hi Lindsay,

I used to get chronic nose bleeds, migraine & cluster headaches. But I was older, and it only lasted during a very rough time in my life.

I ended up in the emegency room only once after an hour of bleeding. They would come out of nowhere too. But never when I was sleeping in the middle of the night.

The doctors found out that a lot was due to stress. Believe it or not. Is your hubby gone a lot? Is your son stressed about his daddy's job?

Or, perhaps Is it dry in your home?
What type laundry soap do you use. He might be allergic to the chemicals in the laundry soap. We sleep on our pillows and sheets. It takes sixteen rinse cycles to rinse the chemicals out of using just one load of (store bought laundry soap).

Windex has a chemical in it that damages the blood and stops the blood from producing blood. Pledge has butane & propane gas in it. Your son might have an allergy to the chemicals in his environment.

Think about. Education is key.

I found out that my migraines were triggered by Pledge, Windex, Tide, etc. .

All I can say is to keep taking him to the doctor's until you get the answer you feel is the right one.

Feel free to give me a call. One thing I do best is educate!

J.

Our son had the same problem and I had the same fears.
At age 5 after a very scary hospitalization, he was diagnosed with a vitamin K deficiency. Vitamin K which aids in clotting, is normally produced by the body but our son does not produce it. We put him on a good multivitamin and he is fine. Even now (he is 21) if he gets lazy about taking his vitamins, the nosebleeds come back.
I would see if this was one of the tests the doctors ran. It is rare, but so easily treated.

Hi L.! I dont know if you found a way to treat the chronic nosebleeds yet, but when I was little around 6 this happen to me, oh I remember those days and nights and it was horrible, I know exactly what your son feels like! I got them all the time, Im talking lots and lots of blood they never stopped bleeding. The doctors never did anything about it and when my mom would take me in they would say "oh its normal" Normal no its not normal, they never did find out really why it kept happening but when I was in high school I finally had enough I use to wake up with bloody noses and have to miss school they would bleed for so long, I could tell when I would be getting one because I could taste the blood in the back of my throat(I use to spit up blood alot too, like bloodclots)anyway finally I had one that bleed for over an hour and I was crying I thought I was dying my dad brought me in and right there and then they finally cauterized my nose its been 16yrs now and I honestly only had 2 since then and I think they were just from dry air or my allergies. I dont know I think I would try the cauterizing thing before you do anything else if the Doctors arent finding anything. Good luck! Its not fun!
J.

My FIL, BIL, husband and daughter all get nose bleeds extreme nose bleeds. After many doctors and specialists, surgeries, etc. Here is what our family found...
1. Dry air
2. Caffeine- even little things like chocolate
3. Tempature change- when we walk into a building and it is cold outside often my hubby would get a nose bleed
4. Dust

Good luck and from all of us that have been there and are still there... you are in our thoughts and always carry kleenex! :)

I don't have any experience with your issue, I'm sorry to say, but I feel for you and your son. I am going to say something that may sound incredibly stupid, but I overlook the obvious sometimes and ....

well is it possible, kids being kids and all that he is aggressively picking his nose? that would at least justify no medical explanation....

Hi L.
i am very sorry you are going through and feel bad for your son. My husband and son both get nose bleeds often. Our doctor told my husband he has a severly dry nose so to put neosporin in his nostrils for a week this helped a ton. now he only gets a nose bleed if we go somewhere that is really dry. This may help your son. My other advice is to take him to a chiropractor and see if they may have a answer. I feel for you. Hang in there You are in my prayers.:)T.

Adding my thoughts here. One of my son's gets nose bleeds a lot as well and some of them can be horrifying w/ the amount of blood that comes out. And yes, he has woken up some mornings w/ a pillow full. My husband said he used to get them a lot when he was little too. Mostly it seems boys get them more often than girls. Usually they are not that serious just scary, but when they bleed for over an hour that can be concerning. He will most likely grow out of them, but I agree w/ the one response that if you don't like what you are hearing from the docs get a second opinion. There are great docs out there who have a natural instinct for stuff that other docs don't consider or see. I grew up in Denver so not only was it dry, but we had the high altitude as well. We had to put Vaseline in our noses to stop getting nose bleeds.

Good luck and hang in there. BTW, how often does he get them?

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