Q. I’ve been prone to nosebleeds most of my adult life. I’m 62 now, and I can’t remember when it started.
They seem to be most prevalent in spring and fall. Is there anything I can do to reduce the likelihood of these incidents? Also, is there a way to shut them off quickly? (The worst ones take me 15 minutes or more to stop.)
A. Keeping the nasal passages from drying out may help prevent nosebleeds. Saline sprays are safer than petroleum jelly for this purpose. You might also find that using sterile saline solution in a neti pot to wash out the nasal passages as few times weekly would be helpful if the nosebleeds are related to spring and fall allergies. A neti pot looks like an Aladdin’s lamp, but is part of traditional Indian medical practice. The water is poured into one nostril and runs out the other.
Readers have offered lots of suggestions for stopping nosebleeds. One of the most popular is something cold on the back of the neck. Some people use cold metal keys.
Ice might work as well, as this story suggests: “Years ago, I was serving lunch to some seniors. One woman started bleeding from her nose. She picked up her table knife and seemed to be stabbing herself in the back of the neck. A man across from her exclaimed, ‘Cold! She needs something cold!’
“I went into the kitchen, grabbed a large cloth, filled it with crushed ice and placed it on the back of her neck. In seconds her nosebleed stopped completely.”
You will find more information on dealing with allergies in our book, Best Choices From The People’s Pharmacy. In it, we discuss ways to make your home environment less irritating to your delicate nasal tissue.
10/27/18 redirected to: https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/articles/how-to-use-cold-keys-to-stop-your-nosebleed/
