Nosebleed Remedy Yields Amazing Results

Home remedies are usually reserved for minor irritations. Hiccups, heartburn, colds and warts are often treated with remedies passed down from one generation to another.
Nosebleeds are common, but they can be more serious. That’s why we were surprised when a reader of this column shared an anecdote about stopping a bad nosebleed by putting a huge key ring down the victim’s back. The bleeding stopped in less than a minute, though standard first-aid attempts had not worked.
After we wrote about this story, we heard from dozens of people who had been raised with this approach to nosebleeds. One reader wrote: “I grew up in Ireland and the immediate treatment for a nosebleed was to get the biggest coldest house key and put it down the person’s neck.”
Another remembered: “I was born in Belgium and when I was a little girl I had many nosebleeds. My mother was always grabbing the big key from the front door and putting it on my back to stop the bleeding right away.”
Someone else offered: “I attended Catholic school and when anyone had a nosebleed the nun would hold something cold against the back of the neck–ice, cold water on a paper towel, keys or a crucifix.”
We can’t explain how this remedy works, and we always warn that prolonged or profuse nosebleeds need medical attention. But we recently heard an astonishing tale from a man who has had a lot of medical intervention for his nosebleeds: “I am 55 years old and have had frequent severe nosebleeds since age seven. I have tried cold cloths, ice and pressure.
“Doctors have told me not to blow my nose or pick at it, which I never did. Over the years, the nosebleeds have become an everyday thing and more profuse. Cauterization stops the bleeding temporarily but the nosebleeds always return.
“Last year for the 63rd cauterization a specialist tried an argon laser. This expensive procedure was no better than other cauterizations.
“Finally, another specialist decided this isn’t normal. He sent me to a blood specialist at the cancer center. The tests showed that I have a platelet storage pool abnormality. The doctor said my blood platelets barely work at all. It’s not cancer but there is no cure.
“My nosebleeds last for teens of hours (18 being the most). Extra Strength NeoSynephrine helps, but only a little.
“After reading your column, I put keys down my back with my wife as a witness. I had the usual gusher that had been bleeding for nine hours and I felt real dumb dropping keys down my back. My nose quit bleeding in one minute 25 seconds. I was dumbfounded.
“I had another gusher yesterday. Instead of dropping the keys I held them against my upper back. My nosebleed stopped in 20 seconds. AMAZING!”
We agree that such results are amazing. Home remedies rarely produce such instantaneous relief.
These days, most physicians prefer “evidence-based” treatments. It is not likely that there will be a randomized, double-blind clinical trial to test keys down the back of the neck for nosebleeds. But we can think of few safer and less expensive approaches.
If it works, wonderful. If it doesn’t, the nosebleed victim hasn’t lost more than a few minutes before seeking medical advice.