The Case of the Appearing and Disappearing Nose Bleeds

A rule of thumb: every time an emergency happens it happens "after hours."

My dear father-in-law experienced this rule several times in a two weeks period when he had nose bleeds that stopped during the day time and began again in the evenings and lasted through to the following mornings. 

He and I made trips to various HMO walk in clinics and once to the ER with no positive diagnosis for the phenomena. However I did gather some helpful hints along the way for those of you who either suffer from nose bleeds or, more particularly and worrisomely, have older relatives who do.

Hint 1

Drink plenty of fluids. Apparently the current dry and hot spell we are having can cause the nose membranes to dry out. An additional help is the use of a humidfier.

Hint 2

Nose bleeds can be caused by excessive and hard blowing of the nose. Avoid this and just swab the nose area if you are experiencing the spring or summer allergy drip.

Hint 3

Blood pressure in the nasal cavity can change rapidly when going from a sitting/standing position to lying prone. It is advisable to sleep at a 3/4 angle through the use of pillows or a recliner until you are free from nosebleeds for a two week period.

Hint 4

When recovering from a nose bleed try to avoid bending over to pick up shoes or other objects. The bending over causes a shift in blood pressure which can open a healing nose bleed and start it all over again. You can buy a grabber from various medical supply stores or online to help with this.

Hint 5

Even though a trip to a clinic is time consuming and can be expensive, if you have high blood pressure, are elderly, and/or have persistant nose bleeds with no explanation, get someone to take you. Nothing helps relieve anxiety for you and your loved ones like hearing, "I can't find anything wrong but here is what you should do. . . ." And if there is something wrong, you are right where you need to be to get proper care.

No doctor we saw ever was able to find out what was causing my father-in-law's nose bleeds, but their common sense advise helped me make changes in his environment and practices that led to cessation of bleeding. We are now 60 days clear and counting. My father-in-law just had his ninety-fifth birthday and we are so happy he's back to normal.