Frequent Nose Bleeds - Silver Spring,MD

K.,
I know it is scary to see that much blood come from your baby. My daughter never had a nose bleed until she was 2 years old, but from that time (she is ten now) we have experienced some hum dingers! This is what I have learned.... The nosebleeds happen most when the air is dry. We tried humidifiers as well, but they don't help. When she has a cold the nosebleeds can be much worse and not seem to want to stop. Putting an ice pack on the back of her neck makes the nose bleed stop almost instantly. I know that at 18 mths, your son is going to fight you on this, but trust me, it works. If putting an ice pack on the neck doesn't stop the nosebleed then it is possible that he has some snot built up that is collecting the blood. I know that sounds so gross, but if you can get him to blow his nose and get that snot out, the ice pack will work. It took me so long to get my daughter to understand that blowing her nose would get that out, but now she can take care of the nosebleeds herself. Also, there is a medicine that a doctor prescribed called "Bactraban". You can swab the inside of the nose with it and it seems to keep the inside of the nose moist while killing any germs. Definitely keep a diary for your doctor and hopefully this helps.

My son's nose bleeds were not real heavy so it may be different but he was having a few a day nearly every day. What worked for us (after doctor suggested cauterizing!!) was using a Q tip and saline gel to gently wipe out his nose every night before bed. Be careful not to use so much that it blocks his air flow. after a few nights (maybe a wekk) of doing that the problem stopped. If we skip one night he might have a nose bleed, If we do it every night NO nose bleeds! we started with saline gel and then eventually used vaseline. Hope it works for you!

Happened with my youngest. She had a spot inside her nose that would bleed at the slightest irritation. We had it cauterized twice, and eventually things got better, but she still gets nosebleeds more often than most kids do. Aside from dry air and the other factors people mentioned, the pediatrician said there's such a thing as Von Willendorf's Syndrome, which just makes people easy bleeders (and easily bruised, too). Not the same as hemophilia, no known cure, but it's not dangerous either--more of a nuisance. If the ice on the back of the neck doesn't work, try an icy cold cloth right on top of the nose, and DON'T lean his head back (which lots of people still tell a kid to do--and it sends blood straight down to the stomach). Above all, don't freak out--this is a nuisance, not a huge deal.

does you kiddo "dig for gold" aka go after boogies in the nose? this plus the move to the basement could be the cause ... plus most humidifiers are not strong enough for most basements ... our basement (we live in one too) needs two humidifiers.

We had the same thing happen with our older twin. She would have frequent decent nose bleeds thoughout the course of a couple months. Then, one night she woke up vomiting a MASSIVE amount of blood because her nose had a slow bleed that she was actually swallowing (gross, I know). The next day we took her to a ear, nose, throat dr. who did an immediate cauterization. She's been fine ever since.

when my daughter (now 24) was 2 years old - she started getting nose bleeds....they too gushed - literally - could hold a cup under her nose and it would fill it. We did NOT panic when it happened, stress and higher blood pressure (yes, toddlers can have high blood pressure) can make it worse, just act like it's just another day, keep tissues and diaper wipes (they are soooo much softer then kleenex) and DO NOT PANIC. Just handle it.

we found her body was VERY sensitive to caffeine...chocolate, soda, etc. so we had to watch EVERYTHING she ate. She had her nostrils cauterized at least 10 times from the time she was 2 to 10.

The membranes of the nostrils are VERY sensitive. It didn't help that she sucked her thumb and also stuck her index finger up her nose - it NEVER had a chance to heal.

We made sure that she kept her fingers out of her nose (VERY hard to do, I admit) and we used neo-sporin (on a q-tip) and but a DAB in her nostrils to make sure they were kept moist.

Keep using the humidifier-maybe some saline nasal spray-I know he's young-good luck on that one-maybe consult w/a pediatric ENT specialist.