Epistaxis - what to do

First measures for nosebleeds

  • bend forward
  • Allow blood to drain freely
  • Put a cool towel or cooling compress on the neck
  • Collect blood to determine the amount of blood
  • DO NOT put your head back
  • if no stop after 20 minutes for children or 30 minutes for adults, see a doctor

Further behavior

Well-known home remedies are usually used in advance to stop nosebleeds. If a nosebleed has started, the patient should turn his head Forward hold bowed and the blood flow off unhindered to let. If possible, the blood should be collected, otherwise one has no idea of ​​the Amount of bleeding can make. Especially with the following medical treatment is this information of interest.

Contrary to some opinion, the head should not be pulled back, as otherwise most of the blood on the back of the pharynx flows towards the stomach and, above a certain amount, causes nausea. Depending on the general condition of the patient, this can be undesirable or even dangerous.
As a further initial measure, a cool, wet towel or a cold compress is placed on the patient's neck, which reflexively leads to a contraction of the vessels and thus reduces the nosebleed. Often times, a nosebleed will stop spontaneously unless there is a more severe cause, but if it lasts longer, a doctor should be consulted to stop the nosebleed. A maximum duration of thirty minutes is recommended for adults, and after twenty minutes for children.

If a doctor's visit is necessary, a hospital outpatient clinic or a general practitioner will be able to provide further help in addition to the ear nose doctor who should ideally be visited. The ear nose doctor often tries first to coagulate the affected vessel with electricity or a laser, but this is only possible if the source of bleeding is in the anterior nasal region in the so-called Locus Kiesselbachi can be found.
As an alternative to the 'Front' bleeding An anterior nasal packing can also be used, in which, regardless of the affected half of the nose, strips of gauze soaked with ointment are inserted into both nasal cavities. This fills the nose as completely as possible, which, similar to a pressure bandage, compresses the bleeding source.

Also read the following article on the subject of nosebleeds: Homeopathy for nosebleeds

Is the source of bleeding im posterior nasal region found, a rear nasal packing is attached here immediately, in which the rear nasal opening is blocked in the direction of the throat and then proceeded in exactly the same way as with the front nasal packing. Either way, the tamponade remains for about 2-3 days and after it has been removed you make sure that there is no further bleeding. Posterior nosebleeds arise from another vascular area that is close to supplying the base of the skull. If it is not possible to achieve breastfeeding with a posterior tamponade, surgical hemostasis is necessary.

Read more on the topic: Hemostatic cotton.

The method often used in this case nowadays is neuroradiological vascular obliteration, in which a catheter, which is inserted through the inguinal artery, as is the case, for example, with a cardiac catheter, and the catheter is then advanced into the beginning of the artery causing the bleeding. The blood vessel is now obliterated by a drug injected through the catheter, thereby stopping the bleeding. A minimal surgical ligation of the vessel is also possible and was carried out before the neuroradiological treatment option became available. It is still a good alternative when the neuroradiological method cannot be used in a patient for various reasons.

In addition to the direct treatment strategies, the doctor naturally also takes care of the clarification of a responsible underlying disease. Most of the time, however, there is a spontaneous nosebleed, which should be clarified more thoroughly the more frequently it is repeated in a short period of time. It may be advisable to temporarily stop blood-thinning medication during the course of treatment. In particularly severe cases, a patient may lose such an amount of blood that it has an effect on the circulatory system, a volume deficiency shock occurs, or even collapse or loss of consciousness. In all these cases, in-patient observation or further treatment is unavoidable, where the blood loss that has occurred is counteracted, for example, by administering red cell concentrates.

Read more on the topic: Epistaxis